This page is for application developers who want to provide one or more menus for application users.

Overview

You can add menus to help the users of your Application or Stream View. To do this you add menu items to the repository. The top-level menu item is the container for all the menus in the application. The menu items it contains are:

• either menu options that trigger an action
• or sub-menus that list other menu options. 

When you create an application, PhixFlow automatically creates an empty top-level menu item in the repository. When you add an menu items to this menu and refresh the browser window, PhixFlow displays the menu(s) for the loaded application. 

For applications that are designed for use on both PCs and mobile devices, consider the usability of your menu on a small screen. A single menu may work in both form-factors. However, it can be helpful to have an alternative menu for mobile display. 

Adding Menu Items to the Repository

To add menu items, in the repository for your application, find the Menus branch. For a new application there is always one menu item, which is added by Phixflow when you create the application.

1. Double-click the menu item to open its properties.
2. Optionally, you can change its Name.
3. In the Menu Items section, click  Add New.
4. Select one of:
   • Add a new sub-menu
   • Add a new menu item 
5. PhixFlow opens a new menu item properties.
   • For a menu item, select an action and specify the order for the menu in the menu bar.
   • For a sub-menu, enter a name, a display name and an order then add the sub-menu items.

The structure of the menu items in the repository reflects the menu structure you have created, for example:

• Top-level menu item is the top of a tree of menus in the repository. The menu items listed in the top-level menu are displayed in the menu bar at the top of the screen. The top-level menu does not have a display name because it acts as a container for the menus, rather than being a menu option itself.
• Menu options are associated with an action. Actions are often linked to underlying streams. When a use clicks the option, PhixFlow runs the action. For example, if your application has a form to which a user can add data, the menu option "Save Changes" would save the data to the underlying stream.
• Sub-menu contains more menu options or sub-menus so it is not associated with an action.

You can add 

• top-level menu items
• sub-menus
• sub-menu items

PhixFlow displays menu options on the menu bar. 

Changing the Default Menu

To specify a default menu for an application, In the repository, right-click on it the menu name and select:

• either Make Default Desktop Menu
• or Make Default Mobile Menu.

To specify an alternative menu to display instead of the default, provide users with a URL to the application that specifies the alternative menu.

Menu Properties

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.

Top-level Application Menus

For each top level application menu, the following fields are configured:

Menu Items

This section is available as long as Hide the Menu Bar is not ticked. A list of menu items. You can add sub-menus and menu items as required. See below for details of configuring menu items.

Order - the order in which items appear 

either on the menu bar. 1 means the option appears at the right of the line of the menu options. The highest number order appears on the far left of the menu bar

or in a sub-menu, the order in the list, with 1 at the top.

List - ticked indicates a sub-menu. unticked

Sub-menus and menu items

In stream views and under top level application menus, you can create sub-menus and menu items. Menu items make actions available to users on forms.

The following fields are configured for menu items: