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Creating Actions
To create an action:
Actions created this way appear in the repository in Actions. You can also export this type of action.
Optionally, you can also create an action that belongs to a stream. This option is available for backwards compatibility with applications designed with earlier versions of PhixFlow, that did not have stream item actions.
You can create actions on layout components, such as buttons. You can also create actions in grid cells that contain:
- strings
- numbers
- dates or date-times
- boolean true/false.
?? Once configured, an action can be dragged onto stream views associated with the Stream on which the Action is configured to create a set of Action Buttons which appear on the top of the Stream View. Actions can also be dragged into the menus belonging to an Application.
See Configuring Actions for related pages.
The following fields are configured for actions:
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Basic Settings
Context Parameters
Use context parameters to specify conditions that apply to the action
A grid listing the context parameters. Double-click to open the properties for a context parameter
Confirmation Message
FieldFile Upload
If this flag is ticked, users will be prompted to browse to a file and select it for upload when they run this action.
If this flag is ticked, a message will pop up asking the user if they want to proceed with the action. By default, the message is:
Please confirm that you want to apply action Action Name
To provide a customised confirmation message, use the next field.
When the action runs, PhixFlow
A list of rules that determine which of the listed Micro-Action will run. Double-click a rule to open its properties and specify rule details and attributes: see Micro-Action Rule. This grid displays:
- Order: The order in which the rules are evaluated.
- Stream: The backing stream.
- Name: The rule name.
- Expression: If this expression evaluates to true, this action will be run. A blank (null) expression counts as true.
When the action runs, PhixFlow evaluates the SIA rules in order. For each SIA rule that evaluates to true, PhixFlow will run that SIA.
The action type of the first stream item action rule is overwritten if the button that initiates the action has both an Action Type and an Action; see Layout.
Run Task Plan
A list of task plans that can be run for this action, for each one a rule to determine whether the task plan is actually run.
The first task plan whose expression evaluates to true will be run. Only this task plan will be run. If none of the expressions evaluates to true, no task plan will be run.
Double-click a task plan rule to specify:
- Order: The order in which the rules are evaluated.
- Task Plan: The task plan that will be run if the accompanying expression evaluates to true.
- Expression: If this expression evaluates to true, this task plan will be run. A blank (null) expression counts as true.
See Task Plans for details.
Action Completion
If you tick this flag, a separate dashboard will be opened once the action has completed. The dashboard to open is determines by the Dashboard Rules. These are only available if you have ticked this flag.
Any filter of any view on the post dashboard can reference any Context Parameters set on this action. If the specified dashboard is already open it will be brought to the front and refreshed, rather than a second instance of the dashboard opening.
This field is only available if the Open Post Dashboard is ticked.
A list of dashboards that can be opened after this action, for each one a rule to determine whether this is the dashboard that will be opened.
The first dashboard whose expression evaluates to true will be opened. Only this dashboard will be opened. If none of the expressions evaluates to true, no dashboard will be opened.
For each dashboard rule define the following fields:
- Order: The order in which the rules are evaluated.
- Dashboard: The dashboard that will be opened if the accompanying expression evaluates to true.
- Expression: If this expression evaluates to true, this dashboard will be opened once the action has completed. A blank (null) expression counts as true.
Result
Enter the text for a message that PhixFlow will display when the action has completed. Use the toolbar to format the message. You can use the message to notify the user of a summary of the action, or the to provide information about the completed state.
You can include expressions within the message by enclosing each expression in curly brackets { } . PhixFlow evaluates each expression in turn before displaying the message.
For result messages that report on the status of the action, you can use the following internal variables in the expressions:
- _error: Details of the error messages generated.
- _errors: The number of error messages generated.
- _warning: Details of the warning messages generated.
- _warnings: The number of warning messages generated.
- _messages: The number of warning messages generated.
- _taskPlan: The name of the Task Plan that the Action ran (may be null)
- _runId: The runId of any Stream data generated by this Action (may be null).
- _action: The name of the Action.
- _file: Details of files processed (imported or exported) by the Action.
- _fileCount: The number of files processed by the Action.
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Action {_action} failed with {_errors} errors and {_warnings} warnings. |
number of
You can also use context parameters and values to report different messages. For example if you have a context parameter (called balance) that calculates the outstanding balance, you can use an expression that reports different messages depending on the calculated value.
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{if(_context.balance < 0,"Money still owed", "Balance paid")} |
Access Permissions
This field only appears if the All Users Can Run Action box is not ticked. This is a list of the User Groups permitted to run this Action.
This list provides the button 
- press this to bring up the list of user groups. Drag user groups into the list as needed.
Advanced
If you tick this box, a single user will not be able to run this action more than once at the same time. I.e. if a user has started this action, they will not be able to start it again until the first action has finished.
You can specify a form view to appear when the user starts the action.They will be able to enter values on this form view, and the values can be used to update selected records for an update action, or populate fields for an insert action.
Select a form view from the drop-down list of all forms views in PhixFlow, or by pressing 
- this brings up the list of streams in PhixFlow; you can select a form view from a stream, and drag it into the form view field.
Values entered in the form view are referenced in expressions in the action with the form
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_prompt.<form field name> |
For example, if there is a field on the form with the label Name, then the value entered in that field by the user can be referenced in subsequent expressions as
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_prompt.Name |
If this is an update action, then the form will be pre-populated with the values from the selected record. Where multiple records are selected, then only those values which are common to all the selected records will be displayed. For insert action, when the form pops up all fields will be blank.
Additional Properties for Update or Delete Actions
Maximum Items Expr.
If the number of items selected on the view from which this action is initiated, or retrieved by the filter configured on this action, is greater than this number then an error message will be generated and no updates or deletes will take place.
Minimum Items Expr.
If the number of items selected on the view from which this action is initiated, or retrieved by the filter configured on this action, is less than this number then an error message will be generated and no updates or deletes will take place.