What is a View Action?

The   View action selects and filters additional data to use in an Actionflow. This is useful where the originating screen or component does not include all of the data required by the Actionflow. 

Creating View Actions

1. Click the   View icon in the toolbar to display existing tables in the application
   1. Existing tables can be dragged from the Repository onto the canvas - choose   View in the pop-up box to create a View action node
2. Alternatively, drag the   View icon from the toolbar onto the canvas and select a primary table to view from the drop down list

Example Uses

  View actions are useful in these example scenarios.

Example: Many Attributes are Needed in the Actionflow

Solution: Rather than map all of these attributes into the Actionflow, the primary key can be mapped in and a   View used to access all of the other attributes.

Example: Not all Attributes are Displayed on the Screen

Solution: Where attributes from the table are needed in the Actionflow but are not displayed on the screen,   Views can be used to access all of the attributes in the table.

Worked Example

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

In this example, we are using:

• A Teacher Management screen containing a grid of the School Teachers data - the screen was created using the Tile with Buttons template
• A Teacher Form screen containing form fields and associated with School Teachers data by a background filter - the screen was created using the Edit Form template
• A Course Management screen containing a grid of the School Courses data - the screen was created using the Tile with Buttons template

We want the status of a course to be dynamically updated to On Hold if the associated teacher's status is changed to Inactive. To do this, we will add   View and  Calculate actions to a Save Actionflow.

Dynamic Updates Between Tables

Using a View Action, modify the Save Actionflow for the School Teachers data to dynamically retrieve and update the School Courses data.

Configure a View Action

Create a View Action to access the School Courses data within an Actionflow for the School Teachers data.

1. Open the  Save Actionflow for the Teacher Form
2. Right-click on the input connection point, under Connections, and select  Configure Mappings
3. Drag the TeacherStatus attribute from the left into the Drag and Drop area on the right 
   1. Click Save
4. Drag a   View Action from the toolbar onto the canvas
   1. Name: Get Courses
   2. Primary Table: choose School Courses 
   3. Select Create Action
5. Drag and drop the Get Courses   View Action onto the in connector between the  input Node and the  Save Action
6. Click on the in connector between the  input node and the   View Action to open the Mappings
7. Drag both the TeacherID and TeacherStatus attributes (hold Ctrl to multi-select) from the left into the Drag and Drop area on the right
   1. Select Save
8. Click on the Get Courses   View Action to open its  Properties
   1. In the Output Attributes section, select the  icon
      1. Drag the CourseID and CourseStatus attributes into the Output Attributes section in the  Properties
      2. Select OK
   2. In the Data Retrieval Options section, click the  next to Filter and create a filter:
      1. Name: ByTeacher
      2. Filter Details: 
         1. Click abc to tell PhixFlow to interpret the field as an expression
      3. Select  Apply and Close
   3. Select  Apply and Close on the Properties

Configure a Calculate Action

Create a Calculate Action to alter the CourseStatus data based on the TeacherStatus data.

1. Drag a  Calculate Action from the toolbar onto the canvas
   1. Name: Change Course Status
   2. Select Create Action
2. Drag and drop the Change Course Status  Calculate action onto the in connector between the   View action and the  Save action
3. Click on the in connector between the   View action and the  Calculate action to open the Mappings
4. Map across the CourseStatus, TeacherID and TeacherStatus attributes, as these are needed for the  Calculate action
   1. Select Save
5. Click on the  Calculate action to open its  Properties 
6. In the Output Attribute section, click  to create a new attribute:
   
   1. Name: NewCourseStatus
   2. Type: Choose String

   3. Expression: 

      // If TeacherStatus is Inactive, set CourseStatus to On Hold
      if(
          in.TeacherStatus == "Inactive", $pfCourseStatus = "On Hold",
      
      // Else, set CourseStatus to Open
          $pfCourseStatus = "Open"
      )

   4. Select  Apply and Close

Configure an Additional Save Action

As we are modifying the Save Actionflow for the Teachers table, we need an additional  Save Action to save the NewCourseStatus to the Courses table.

1. Drag a  Save Action from the toolbar onto the canvas
   1. Name: Save Courses
   2. Table: Choose the School Courses table
   3. Select Create Action
2. In the  Save Action's Properties, toggle on  Auto Save Attributes
3. Select Apply and Close
4. Hover over the  Calculate action and select out
5. When the red arrow shows, click on the  Save Courses action node
6. On the Mappings window:
   1. Drag the NewCourseStatus attribute from the left onto the CourseStatus attribute on the right
   2. Drag the CourseID attribute from the left onto the CourseID attribute on the right

   3. Select Save
      

       Checkpoint

      

7. Close the Actionflow and return to the Teacher Management screen
8.  Lock the screen and select a record to Edit
9. On the Teacher Form, change the teacher's Status to Inactive and press Save
   
   1. To see that the Actionflow has worked, open the Course Management screen
   2. Any course(s) assigned to the teacher you just updated should have a Status of On Hold