This page is for any user of PhixFlow. It explains the different areas in the PhixFlow interface.
Overview
Todo-Anthony PhixFlow appears slightly different depending on how you are using it. I feel this is too vague and doesn't add any value. Can we not say words to the effect of app mode and dev mode or as a user or designer, and you get different options as described below?
Application User
You do all your tasks using one or more PhixFlow applications. You may work on:
- a desktop or laptop computer
- a mobile device, such as a tablet or smartphone.
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Overview
PhixFlow has two distinct modes depending on what you need to do.
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Application
designers use this mode to create and configure applications. This includes designing screens, creating workflows and actionflows, defining data structures and relationships. You can also set up complex data processing using analysis models.
We recommend that application designers use
on a desktop or laptop computer, as you require screen space to Insert excerpt _design_mode _design_mode nopanel true
configure PhixFlow.
An application designer can switch modes to see their application in action. To switch mode, click the mode icon in the top right of the PhixFlow window.
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Application Mode
Todo-Anthony final image. Needs header bar label. Will admin be visible?? There is now a flow for this: Flow 1.11. Admin will be available if you have privileges
Applications are shown as a set of cards. You can use the buttons on the right to switch between a grid and a list view of the application cards or search for an application by name. This is also where you can find links to the latest videos from the learning centre.
Click anywhere in a card to open the application. PhixFlow always asks if you want to confirm any action, including opening an application. Click Yes to continue.
You can return to the Welcome window by clicking on theInsert excerpt _app_mode _app_mode nopanel true
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Application users run PhixFlow applications in this mode.
PhixFlow displays only essential menus and toolbars in
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You can run a PhixFlow application on:
- desktop or laptop computers
- mobile devices, such as a tablet or smartphone.
An application designer can configure application user access to the specific applications and data that they need; see Controlling User Access to Applications.
Introducing Application Mode
Opening an Application
When you log in, PhixFlow displays the Welcome window and the application menu. Anytime you want to return to the application menu, in the top left corner of the PhixFlow window, click Insert excerpt _app_menu _app_menu nopanel true
- you are running PhixFlow on a mobile device
- your administrator has configured the PhixFlow logo to display your company logo instead.
See also: Application Menu.
On Mobile Devices
Todo-Anthony - provide mobile screenshot for final implementation
PhixFlow applications are often deployed on
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You can change the layout of the application menu, using icons in the top right of the application window.
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To open an application:
- Double-click anywhere in a card or on a list line.
- PhixFlow asks you to confirm.
- Click Yes to continue to the application's Home window.
From here you can select an aspect of your application on which to work.
To create a new application from the application menu, click the
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Using Applications on Mobile Devices
PhixFlow supports mobile devices, such as tablets and phones. This means team members can access and update data whilst
on the
move. As mobile devices have less screen space available, the header bar is simplified to show the icons:
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- option available depend
Application Help
Application designers are responsible for providing help about how to use an application.
Design Mode
The Welcome window lists all the applications available to you, as for - user's permissions.
Introducing Design Mode
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You can
- plan the workflows and tasks for application users
- define data structures
- design application screens
- configure user interactions for buttons and options on a screen, so that an application user can make changes to specific data records
- import, batch process and export large volumes of data using analysis models.
This means PhixFlow can exchange data with your existing systems and databases.
Loading an Application
When you first log into Insert excerpt _
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, PhixFlow displays the a list of the applications available to you. To return to the
application menu at any time, click Insert excerpt _app_menu _app_menu nopanel true
in the top left.
In the application menu, applications are shown as cards or as a list. To switch view, click the icons in the top right of the application window.
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card _
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If you do not want to work on something that is in an application, such as an analysis model, click the repository icon on the right. The repository list slides open and you can search for the item you want to work on.
When you select an application, PhixFlow opens the application Home window; see Building Applications for details.
PhixFlow Window Areas
PhixFlow is a visual tool for configuring applications or modelling data. The arrangement of PhixFlow's window is consistent for designing screens and for the different diagrams that you can work on, such as ERDs and analysis models. The following labelled screenshot shows the main areas of the PhixFlow window when you are working on a diagram, in this case an ERD.
To load an application:
- Click anywhere in a card or on a list line.
- PhixFlow asks you to confirm.
- Click Yes to continue to the application's Home window.
From here you can select an aspect of your application on which to work.
To create a new application from the application menu, click the
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Home Window and Workspace
When you load an application, PhixFlow opens its home window.
This window layout remains the same when you select different things to work on. For example, the following screenshot shows an entity relationship diagram (ERD). In addition to the repository, you can see that the right panel is displaying context help for ERDs.
The home window has the following parts.
Header Bar
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The header bar runs across the full width of the PhixFlow Window. It shows, from left to right:
: reopen the application menu to load a different application.Insert excerpt _app_menu _app_menu nopanel true -
: also opens the application menu. Depending on the way your administrator has configured PhixFlow, this logo may be replaced by your company logo.Insert excerpt _phixflow_logo_name _phixflow_logo_name nopanel true - Quick access to the main activities:
Insert excerpt _header_bar _header_bar name home nopanel true Insert excerpt _header_bar _header_bar name workflow nopanel true Insert excerpt _header_bar _header_bar name erd nopanel true Insert excerpt _header_bar _header_bar name screen nopanel true Insert excerpt _header_bar _header_bar name analysis nopanel true
- The name of the PhixFlow server on which you are working.
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- : options to manage your user
- details, passwords and
- to
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- Open the
.Insert excerpt _repository _repository nopanel true - Open the
, which monitors different processes and tasks.Insert excerpt _console _console nopanel true - The
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- lists the system options; see Administration Menu. The options you see depend on your permissions.
- The option to switch to the other PhixFlow mode,
- either
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- either
- or
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- or
Workspace and Tabs
Every diagram or screen that you
have open in the workspace has a tab at the top. Click on tab switch between different open items in the workspace.
Popup Toolbar
This toolbar has options specific to the item on which you are working.
Layers Panel
When you are working on screen design, PhixFlow displays a Layers panel on the left of the screen. This panel shows how the different items on the screen are related to each other, and highlights any element you have selected. Click the
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Right Panel
On the right there are several things that PhixFlow can display. You can click
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in the right
panel:
- Context Help
Context help is available for all major activities within PhixFlow. They consist of a short video to help you get started and a set of links to key areas within the topic and further information. To configure whether or not the context help is displayed, use your User Details → Show Contextual Help option. - Repository
List all of the items that you can use; see Using the Repository. Properties
Click on the name of an item to open its properties
on the right. Usually PhixFlow opens each property
pane in the same space and automatically closes any saved property
pane.
- To switch between
- property panes, click on
- its tab, which shows the name of the item.
- To keep a property
- pane open, click the
icon in itsInsert excerpt _pin _pin nopanel true
- pane open, click the
- tab, then click the
icon to then close it.Insert excerpt _pinned _pinned nopanel true - To view
- tab, then click the
- panes side-by-side, drag
- a property
- pane onto the workspace. This creates a second
- right panel. You can create
- multiple right panels and you can drag
- property panes between them.
- To close a property tab, click on the white cross on the tab.
- To resize the right panel, drag its border line.
Every properties
pane has a toolbar at the top, next to the item name. If the item name is long, toolbar icons are condensed into a
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For information about the properties tabs and their toolbar options, see Menu Options and Toolbar Buttons.
Repository
For any task, PhixFlow provides list of the relevant items that you can use. If you want to see all the items in your application click theAccessing Help
- The help button in the header bar will take you to the learning centre where you will find, video tutorials, example data sets, template applications, as well as the ability search our extensive help library for your specific topic.
- Item properties and windows in PhixFlow include a
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- icon on the toolbar. Click the help icon to open the
Todo-Anthony - Left Panel? add the layers section on the left is implemented
Notifications- associated reference help page, which has details about each option.
Notifications and Errors
PhixFlow displays notification
popups on the screen. The different coloured notifications are:
- Green - information
- Blue - warnings
- Red - errors.
You can click Dismiss
notifications in the header bar to close all green and blue notifications.
You may also see a small notification about the number of running actions in the bottom right of the PhixFlow window: 
Accessing Help
There are several ways to get help in PhixFlow.
This provides quick access to Learning Centre videos about new features in PhixFlow
In
In
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It also links to more detailed tutorials and reference in the Learning Centre.
To close the help panel, tick the check box at the bottom of the panel.
To set your preference for having the help panel open or closed, see User Details.From any item properties.
The property toolbar includes the
Selecting and Deleting Items
Either in the repository or in diagrams, you can click an item to select it. A selected item is highlighted. Also the highlighting on any previously selected items is cleared.
There are several places in PhixFlow where you can make a change to several items at the same time, for example deleting items. To select a continuous subset of items in a list,
- Select the first item on the list.
- Hold down the Shift key.
- Then select the last item.
To select several items separately, press the Control (Ctrl) key as you click the different items. This will add each item to the list of selected items. If you click on an item that is already selected, it is removed from the selection list.
Remove from or Delete Everywhere
When you are working in diagrams and you no longer want an item to appear, you can:
- either remove it from the diagram.
Use this to remove an item that you want to keep in the repository. - or delete it from this diagram and from the repository.
You may want to do this if you created the item for this diagram only, and now no longer need it.
When you use Delete Everywhere, the item is deleted from the repository and from any model or dashboard that contains it. Deleting cannot be undone. For this reason, PhixFlow:
- always asks for confirmation that you really do want to delete an item before actually deleting it.
- will not delete an item when another object within PhixFlow still refers to it.
PhixFlow notifies you about how many and what type of items still refer to the item you are trying to delete.
Drag-and-Drop
The user can drag-and-drop many of the items in PhixFlow. What happens when you drag items depends on the context. In general:
- Items can only be dragged onto a compatible location. PhixFlow does not let you drop an item if it makes no sense for the item to be in that location.
- You can often drag multiple selected items to/from lists.
- Items can be reordered when dragged into ordered lists. For example, the order of the items is important in the Stream Attributes.
- In analysis model diagrams, you can drag single or multiple modelling objects around the canvas; see Analysis Model Window and Toolbars.
- One or more Stream Views can be dragged onto Dashboards to display data
Right-click any item to display its context menu. You can display a context menu when you right-click:
- in the repository: an item's name
- in a diagram: an item's icon on the canvas
- in a screen: a component.
Error Messages
If you are using a PhixFlow application, the messages you see related to actions within the application are written by application designers using the Action → Confirmation Message.
Todo-Anthony - new feature coming... No longer entirely true in the new world. Not sure this should be included on the interface page? but if it is then we have a new means of generating errors and confirmations which we should include here. See actionflow validation Also link to reference
If→ System → Configuration you can set the Notification Timeout to automatically close these popups; see System Configuration.
If there is an error that prevents PhixFlow completing something, it will display
a red error message. You must close these messages individually.
| The message window can include | If | Administrator Links |
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| a More Detail link to technical information | your user account or user group has the Show Console privilege | |
| a button to open the log file containing the error message | your user account or user group has the View Log Files privilege | |
a Report button to email the details to IT support, The email includes a link to the log file, so the administrator can easily access full details of the error. | there is an IT email recipient configured in System Configuration → General settings → Error Reporting Email Address. |
Administrators monitor the details of what PhixFlow is doing using the System Console and can configure how much detail is logged; see System Monitoring and System Logging Configuration.