By the end of this chapter you will understand what an Open URL action is and how to use them, and you will have created a Open URL Actionflow in your application.

What is an Open URL Action?

The  Open URL action opens a URL in a new tab. This action node can also be configured to send emails and call telephone numbers. 

The  Open URL action node contains three input parameters, which can be mapped onto:

To open a webpage, a valid URL must be mapped onto the URL attribute, in the format:

https://www.phixflow.com

Creating Open URL Actions

1. Click and drag the  Open URL icon in the toolbar onto the canvas
2. Enter a name for the Open URL action, then select Create Action
3. In the Open URL Action  Properties on the right, the available Input Parameters can be seen

Worked Example

Here's a worked example using the School Data (available from the Learning Centre).

In this example, we will use the Teachers data on the Teacher Management screen to configure an icon in a grid to open a webpage.

Open URL Action to Open Webpage

Setup the Input

1. On the Teacher Management screen, where the Actionflow will be initiated from, click on the attribute, Find Address, on the grid (column header) to open the View Attribute  Properties
2. Click on the  Actions tab
   1. 
3. Here you will find a blank Actionflow, FindAddress, along with the Action Icon Style you can see in the grid - 
4. Click on the Actionflow link, , to open the blank Actionflow
5. Select Click to Connect and for the input, choose the School_Teachers  View datasource, then select Connect Input
6. On the Mappings window, drag the attribute, Address, from the left (Teachers View) to the right (Input Connection Point)
   1. Select Save
7. Click and drag the  Open URL icon from the toolbar onto the canvas
8. In the Create Open URL Action window enter:
   1. Name: Open Map
   2. Select Create Action
9. Click and drag the  icon onto the  Open URL action node

Setup the Calculate and Open URL Action

We need to add a Calculate Action to the FindAddress Actionflow because the attribute data we want to use for our Open URL node is not in a URL format. We will use a calculate node to turn our address data into a google search.

1. Click and drag the  Calculate icon from the toolbar onto the canvas
2. In the Create Calculate Action window enter:
   1. Name: Add Prefix
   2. Select Create Action

3. Drag the Add Prefix Calculate Action node onto the in connector between the  input node and the  Open URL Open Map node and drop it when the  icon appears

4. Right-click on the in connector between the  input node and the  Calculate and select  Open Mappings
5. On the Mappings window, drag the Address attribute from the left to the right (calculate action)
   1. Select Save
6. Click on the Add Prefix Calculate Action to open its  Properties and in the Output Attributes section click 
7. Create the following attribute:
   1. Name: PrefixedAddress
   2. Type: choose String

   3. Expression: 

   4. "https://www.google.com/search?q="+in.Address

   5. Select  Apply and Close

8. Right-click on the in connector between the  Calculate node and the  Open URL and select  Open Mappings

9. On the Mappings window, drag the Address attribute from the left (Calculate Action) onto the URL input parameter on the right (Open URL Action)

   1. Select Save
10. Close the Actionflow to return to the Teacher Management screen
11.  Lock the screen and press the  icon for a record to see the Actionflow in action
    1. We can see that the Actionflow is working because a new tab will open in your browser, with the Address line in a Google search 

1.15 View Action Configuration