In this chapter we will create a simple workflow, to create invoices for a chosen contact. This uses many of the features of app building you have used up to this point, and adds a new feature - context variables - which are crucial as you take users from one screen to another in a workflow.
Intermediate step: assign transaction to contact
In this exercise, we will create the intermediate step of the workflow, where the user can assign a transaction to a chosen contact. In the exercise you will need a sample file of transactions. You can download the file here:
Create this first step of the workflow in your app. To recap the steps in the video:
- Add a file collector to your model, call this
Invoice Transactions - Upload the test file Invoice Transactions.xlsx to configure the file collector and create a stream
- Load the list of invoice transactions
- Create a new dashboard
Assign Transactions - Add two views:
- In the top half, create a form called Contact Details Assign Trans
- Open the configuration form for the stream Contacts, and drag on all attributes to the form
- Hide the UID field, and re-arrange the fields on the form - don't forget about the layout options on forms under [right click] → Arrange the selected items
- Create a grid view in the bottom half, from the stream Invoice Transactions, including all attributes from the stream
- Create an action on the Contacts stream - this will initiate the invoice creation process from the Contacts dashboard:
- Name: Start invoice creation
- Display Name: Start invoice creation
- In the section Action Completion:
- We will not tick Close Parent Dashboard - in this case, the parent dashboard is the Contacts dashboard, and we want to leave this open
- Tick Open Post Dashboard, then Apply
- Drag in the dashboard Assign Transactions to create a dashboard rule
- Open the section Context Parameters
- Create a new context parameter:
- Name: UID
- Expression: _form.UID
- This will take the value of UID from the currently select contact in the Contacts app, and save it to a context variable; we can then use this value at the next stage of the process
- Add a button to the Contacts dashboard to start the invoice process
- Call the button: Create Invoice
- Associate the custom action Start invoice creation
- Update the button label to Create Invoice
- Apply a filter to the Assign Transactions to show the selected contact
- Right click on the contact form in the dashboard, and go to Dashboard Options → Show Element Details
- In the element details, add a background filter:
- Name: by UID
- Condition: UID = _context.UID (don't forget to make the condition an expression, by pressing the ABC button)
- Open the Contacts dashboard, and go into App Mode. Select a contact, and press the Create Invoice button - this will take you to the Assign Transactions dashboard, with details for the select contact shown.