By the end of this chapter you will understand what a Calculate action is and how to use them, and you will have created three Calculate Actionflows in your application.

What is a Calculate Action?

The Calculate action manipulates and processes data. Calculate nodes have their own attributes, which can reference incoming data via expressions, using one or more of the 135+ Functions available in PhixFlow.

Creating Calculate Actions

Click and drag the Calculate icon from the toolbar onto the canvas
Enter a name for the Calculate action, then select Create Action
In the Calculate Action Properties on the right, click the icon in the Output Attributes section to add new attributes

Example Uses

Calculate Actions can be used for: I HAVE UPDATED THE EXAMPLES

inserting static text strings, e.g. when inserting a new record set a value of "New" in a status field
Calculating values using Functions, e.g. Calculating the amount of VAT on a customer invoice
performing lookups against a view action node or lookup connection point, e.g. counting records in a grid or retrieving details of all students on a course

Worked Examples

Here's a worked example using the School Data (available from the Learning Centre). LINK DIRECTLY TO DOWNLOADS, CHECK OTHER LINKS.

If you are completing this chapter as part of the Actionflow course and using a training instance, this data has already been pre-loaded into the Actionflow Application.

Use a Calculate Action to Add Static Text

Earlier in this course we created an Actionflow that opens a blank input form for adding new courses to the School Courses grid. In this example we will enhance that Actionflow by adding the static text "New Course" to the blank input form.

Open the Course Management screen where the Actionflow will be initiated from
Right-click on the button on the School Courses grid and choose Display Actionflow
Click and drag the Calculate icon from the toolbar onto the canvas
Enter a name for the Calculate Action:
1. Name: Course Header
2. Select Create Action
The Properties tab for the Calculate Action will open on the right
1. If the Properties tab is not open, click the Calculate Action node on the canvas
In the Output Attributes section, click the icon
Enter the following details for the new Output Attribute:
1. Name: NewCourse
2. Type: choose String
3. Expression:
```
"Create New Course"
```
4. Then Apply and Close
Drag and drop the Course Header Calculate Action onto the connector between the input node and the Open Course Form Action
Right-click on the connector between the Course Header Calculate Action and the Open Course Form Open Screen Action and choose Open Mappings
On the Mappings window, drag the NewCourse attribute onto the Heading attribute to create the mapping
1. Press Save
Close the Actionflow to return to the Course Management screen
Lock the screen and press the button to see the Actionflow in action
1. We can see that the Actionflow is working because it displays the string, New Course, in place of the original heading on the input form

Use a Calculate Action to Perform a Function (Optional)

In this example, we will configure a button to run an Actionflow that uses the now function to insert today's date into a dynamic text field. This example uses no data for the input.

Setup the Input and Calculate Action

Description?

On the Course Management screen open the Layers and expand the area, Screen Header
Expand the area, Right, and you will see two components - a button and a dynamic text field
Click on the button, Button Date, in the Layers to highlight it on the screen
Right-click on the button on the screen and choose Add Actionflow
Enter a name for the Actionflow,
1. Name: Populate Date Field
2. Select Confirm
Select Click to Connect and for the input, choose the On Click Action Event, then select Connect Input
Click and drag the Calculate icon from the toolbar onto the canvas
Enter a name for the Calculate Action:
1. Name: Get Date
2. Select Create Action
The Properties tab for the Calculate Action will open on the right
In the Output Attributes section, click the icon
Enter the following details for the new Output Attribute:
1. Name: TodayDate
2. Type: choose String
3. Expression:
```
now()
```
4. Then Apply and Close
Click and drag the input onto the Get Date Calculate Action

Setup the Output and Write Back to the Screen

DESCRIPTION?

In the Connections panel on the left, click Add to create a new connection point
Enter the following details for the new connection point:
1. Name: out
2. Type: choose Output
3. Select Create Connection Point
Select Click to Connect and for the output, choose the Form datasource
1. Select Connect Output
Close the Mappings window that automatically opens
Hover over the Calculate Action node and select out
A red arrow will appear - click on the output node under Connections
On the Mappings window, drag the attribute, TodayDate, from the left (Calculate Action) to the right (output connection point) to create an attribute on the output
1. Select Save
Under Connections, right-click on the connector, out, and choose Configure Mappings
Drag the TodayDate attribute from the left (output connection point) and drop it onto the DateField target parameter on the right (Course Management screen)
1. Select Save
Close the Actionflow to return to the Course Management screen
Lock the screen and press the Button Date on the screen to see the Actionflow in action
1. We can see that the Actionflow is working because it displays today's date in the format DD/MM/YY in the DateField dynamic text field

Use a Calculate Action to Perform a Function

In this example, we will modify the Save Actionflow we created in an earlier chapter to perform the function, toUpper, which will format the course name into upper case. This example uses data for the input.

Setup the Input

On the Course Management screen click the or button to open the Course Form
Right-click on the button and select Display Actionflow
Click and drag the Calculate icon from the toolbar onto the canvas
Enter a name for the Calculate Action:
1. Name: UppercaseName
2. Select Create Action
Right-click on the input connection point under Connections and choose Configure Mappings
On the Mappings window, drag the attribute, Name, from the left (Course Form) into the Drag and Drop space on the right (input connection point)
1. Select Save
On the canvas, drag the UppercaseName Calculate Action node onto the in connector between the input node and the SaveCourse node and drop it when the icon appears
Right-click on the in connector between the input node and the Calculate and select Open Mappings
On the Mappings window, drag the Name attribute from the left to the right (calculate action)
1. We only need to map the Name attribute here because it is used within the Calculate Action.
  The CourseID attribute will pass through the Calculate Action and can be used later on in the Actionflow.
2. Select Save

Setup the Calculate Action

Select the Calculate Action, UppercaseName, to open its Properties
In the Output Attributes section, click to create a new attribute:
1. Name: UpperName
2. Type: choose String
3. Expression:
```
toUpper(in.Name)
```
Right-click on the in connector between the Calculate node and the Save and select Open Mappings
On the Mappings window, drag the attribute, UpperName, from the Calculate Action (left) onto the Name attribute on the Save Action (right)
1. Press Save
Close the Actionflow to return to the Course Form
Ensure the screen is Locked, then add or edit the course details and press the button to see the Actionflow in action
1. You can see that the Actionflow is working because the Name for the course you just added/edited is now in capital letters on the School Courses grid

1.11 Calculate Action Configuration