This page is for application designers who want to share PhixFlow items and components across multiple applications.

todo-fiona See flow: 5.13.2 Marking a Package as a Template

Overview

If you are designing multiple applications, you are likely to have a set of items that you want to use in all your applications. Items can include:

analysis models and modelling objects
streams and steam data
dashboards and components
images and styles.

You can group together the items that you want to share in a package. When is created, different applications can use it. You can also group items into multiple packages as applications can use several packages. Packages may be used to group objects required by a number of applications.

We supply the Theme 1 and Theme 2 palettes as packages. To import Theme 1 and Theme 2 to your instances, see Installing Template Packages. You can use the theme in any application; see About Template Packages.

Moving Packages Between Instances

You can export packages and then import them to another instance of PhixFlow. If you export an application, you must also export the packages it uses.

The import process compares the contents of the import with the items that are present on the target instance.

If an item is not present on the target system and is present in the import, the new item is created on the target system.
If an item is present on the target system and in the import, PhixFlow replaces the item on the target system.
If an item is present on the target system but is not present in the import, PhixFlow permanently deletes the item on the target system. This includes streams and stream set data.

If you have moved an item from an application to a package, remember to export/import the application and package together. The item is deleted from the application and added to the package. If you do not export/import the package, the item is deleted from the application and is no longer available. This also deletes references, so adding the package at a later date will not reinstate the reference between the application and the item.

To reinstate the deleted object and references to it, export/import the application and the package together.

Properties Tab

For information about the properties toolbar, and about the sections Parent Details, Analysis Models, Description and Audit Summary, see Common Properties. We recommend you always add a Description that explains the purpose of the item you are creating.

For a full list of all the PhixFlow property tabs and windows, see Properties, Windows, Menus and Toolbars.

Basic Settings

Field	Description
Name	The name of the package.
Model Validation Status	When you save changes to the properties of a table or view attribute, PhixFlow validates that the properties are set correctly. If there is an issue with the properties, PhixFlow indicates the status of the validation check: UNKNOWN - PhixFlow has not run the validation check yet. Save the properties to run the check. SUCCESS - the properties are set correctly ERROR - PhixFlow has found issues that need attention. Scroll down the properties to the Errors section where you will find the list of properties that need correcting. When a table or view attribute has validation errors, PhixFlow also reports that the parent application and package have errors. PhixFlow can process data from tables or view attributes that have validation errors. The validation checks help you to configure tables and view attributes so that PhixFlow can continue to run efficiently. For example, PhixFlow reports an error if a table has no Data Retention option set because it can affect performance when all old tablesets are retained, To run validation checks on all tables, view attributes, applications and packages, use Administration Menu → More → Validate Model Objects.
Version	The version of the package.
Template	Untick to Tick to Packages now have a new option "Template" when marked as true the package gains new features, including a "Template Icon" as well as default styles and a default palette as well as default components. Upon creating a new application you will be given the option to choose a template and doing so will copy all of these default properties over to the new application. Additionally the default components have been moved from the default palette directly onto the system configuration / application.

Template Details

Available when Template is ticked. When you create an application, you can set default styles, pallets and components for the application project. These options are set in the parent package and can be changed or set in the following properties.

Field	Description
When you drag a table or view onto a screen canvas, and select a grid component to display the table data, PhixFlow adds a grid. In this section, set the default appearance of grid views:
Grid Header Style Grid Header Button Style Grid Header Icon Style Grid Header Drop-down Button Style Grid header Drop-down Pane Style Grid Paging Style Grid Row Style Grid Column Header Style Row Selection Style	For the Grid options, select the default styles for grids. You can: Select an existing style from the drop-down list. Click Style to show only the styles that already belong to this package. Click Add New to open a new properties panel; see Style. The styles you select override any styles set in System Configuration. You can override these defaults for individual grids using the style settings in the View properties.
Default Date Format	For the Date options, select the default formats for dates and date-times to use in components and attributes. You can: Select an existing date or date-time format from the drop-down list. Click Date Format to show only the date formats that already belong to this package. Click Add New to open a new date format properties panel; see Date Style and Date Time Format.
Default Date/Time Format
Default Number Format	Select the default format for. You can: Select an existing number format from the drop-down list. Click Date Format to show only the date formats that already belong to this package. Click Add New to open a new date format properties panel; see Date Style and Date Time Format.
Default Component Palette	Select the palette that you want to use when you drag a table, view or attribute onto a screen canvas. If the list is empty, add the palette you want to use to the package. If you do not select a default palette, PhixFlow uses the system default palette. Basic palettes are installed with PhixFlow. Additional palettes are available, see About Template Packages and Installing Template Packages.
Template Image	Select an image from the drop-down list. PhixFlow displays the template image in the list of available templates when you create applications. If the list is empty, add the image you want to use to the package.

Applications

A list of applications linked to the package. Drag applications from the repository into this list to add them to the package.

Errors

This section has a toolbar with standard buttons.

When you save changes to the properties of a table or view attribute, PhixFlow validates that the properties are set correctly. If there is an issue with the properties, PhixFlow indicates this with a Model Validation Status of ERROR.

The Errors grid contains a list of the validation checks. For those that failed, the Validation Message indicates which properties need fixing. For example, PhixFlow reports an error if the steam has no Data Retention option set. Double-click on a row to view a full message.

PhixFlow can process data from tables or view attributes that have validation errors. The validation checks help you to configure tables and view attributes so that PhixFlow can continue to run efficiently. For example, PhixFlow reports an error if a table has no Data Retention option set because it can affect performance when all old tablesets are retained,

When a table or view attribute has validation errors, these are also be listed in the Errors section of the application or package to which the table or view belongs.

Description

We recommend that you always enter a description to explain the purpose of this item.

Access and Audit Tab

Audit Tab

Audit Summary

See the Common Properties page, Audit Summary section.

Sections on this page

Learn More

For links to all pages in this topic, see Analysis Models for Batch Processing Data.

Terminology changes in progress

As part of the redesign of PhixFlow, we are changing the following terms:

dashboard → screen
stream → table
stream attributes → attributes
stream item → record
stream set → recordset
stream view → view
stream item action → record-action
stream action → table-action
driver class → database driver

Package