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Connection Points 

Connection points can be inbound or outbound. 

  • Inbound connection points receive data coming into the Actionflow
  • Outbound connection points return data out of the Actionflow

Inbound Connection Points

There are two types of inbound connection point - Driving and Lookup. Every Actionflow must have only one driving input, which causes the Actionflow to run. 

  •  Driving connectionrecords are pushed into the Actionflow one by one
  •  Lookup connectionall records are pulled as a single dataset but only when the connection is referenced in an expression inside the node. Records are then returned as a single dataset, which may contain multiple records, which are returned as an array

The input/data available to be mapped onto the Connection Points of an Actionflow depends on where the instance of the Actionflow is being called from. For example, if a screen has a grid of data and a card container, an Actionflow on a button which exists on this screen will have access to both sources of data. 

To select the source of data, click the input box under Connections.

Connection Point Types

Icon

Connection PointRelevant toDescription

Interface Driving

Input Interface

Output Interface

  • Defines the data attributes the Actionflow is expecting as an input. This data is then used in the Actionflow using  Driving connections and remains constant.
  • Defines the data attributes the Actionflow is expected to output. This data can then be mapped back onto components on the screen the action is being used.
  • Each instance of the Actionflow will map in its own set of data onto the expected data inputs/outputs of the connection point.

Interface Lookup

Input Interface

Output Interface

  • Defines the data (and events) the Actionflow is expecting as a requested input. This data is then used in the Actionflow using  Lookup connections and remains constant.
  • Each instance of the Actionflow will map in its own set of data onto the expected data inputs.
Driving Output 

Input Data Components

 Calculate

  View

 Gateway

 Actionflow

  • A data source which drives the Actionflow. Data is pushed through the Actionflow using  Driving connections.
  • Data flows from the  Driving output connection point to the  Driving input connection point.
  • Has attributes which can be mapped to any  Driving input connection point only.

Driving Input 

Output Data Components

 Calculate

  View

 Gateway

 Save

 Open Screen

 Open URL

 Run Analysis

 Phase

  • A data receiver. Data is received from  Driving connections.
  • Has attributes which can be mapped to any  Driving output connection point only.
Lookup Output 

Input Data Components

  View

  • Provides lookup data to the Actionflow using  Lookup connections.
  • Any node with a  Lookup input connection point can perform a lookup to a node with a  Lookup output connection point.
  • Has lookup attributes and data attributes
    • Lookup attributes are used in filtering. They are mapped to lookup attributes on the node performing the lookup. Lookup attributes are referenced in the nodes filter using
      filter.[attributename]
      Data is flowing from the  Lookup input connection point to the  Lookup output connection point.
    • Data attributes are mapped to data attributes on the node performing the lookup. These attributes are the actual data that is being returned from the lookup.
      Data is flowing from the  Lookup output connection point to  Lookup input connection point
Lookup Input 

 Calculate

 Gateway

  • Performs a lookup to  Lookup output connection points.
  • Has lookup attributes and data attributes
    • Lookup attributes are used in filtering. They are mapped to lookup attributes on the node being looked up to. Attributes that need to be sent to the node in order to filter the data must be added as lookup attributes.
      Data is flowing from the  Lookup input connection point to the  Lookup output connection point.
    • Data attributes are mapped to data attributes on the node being looked up to. These attributes are the actual data that is being received from the lookup.
      Data is flowing from the  Lookup output connection point to  Lookup input connection point

Action Nodes

Action nodes are represented as a circle with an icon and are the building blocks of Actionflows. They perform specific tasks, e.g. updating data, performing calculations, and API integrations, and are wired together.

Action nodes can be dragged from the toolbar onto the canvas to create a new action, and some can be clicked to see existing objects, e.g. click  Open Screen to list existing screens, then drag from the Repository onto the canvas.

Most nodes run once per record they receive on their driving connection point. However, some nodes only trigger once after receiving the final record or once per flow, e.g.  Open Screen,  Start Phase and  Open URL nodes.

Usually, action nodes have  Driving connections, which pass data through to the next action node. Some action nodes have a   Lookup connection, which send out a request for data, that is then returned to the action node data. 

Nodes must be connected sequentially starting from the  Driving interface connection point. Records will then pass through each node and be manipulated accordingly.

For most action nodes, data flow is configured when attributes are mapped to the input connection points. For  Gateway nodes, the data flow can be controlled by mapping to the output connection points. This is because the expressions in a gateway provide the logic for which path the data flows, and different paths may require different data to pass through the gateway.

Types of Action Node

The following table summarises the purpose of each type of action node, the types of connections available on an action node and how each node runs.

  • Pass-through and Join nodes (only attributes common to all paths leading to the Join can be passed through)


IconDescriptionHow it runsAvailable Connections         

 Actionflow

See Actionflow Node

Embeds an Actionflow within the current Actionflow.Once per record

 Driving connection

 Open Screen

See Open Screen Node

Add an action to open a specified screen.

If the specified screen contains a start phase button the node can then be connected to a start phase node. The buttons can be mapped to each output of the node to trigger different pathways depending on what the user clicks. For example, this method is used if the process requires confirmation by the user. A confirmation screen can appear with a message 'Are you sure?' with two options

  • Yes - the Actionflow continues to the yes output.
  • No - the Actionflow stops
Once per flow

 Driving connection

  View

See View Node

Add a node for a data view. The Actionflow uses views for additional data to use when processing records.Once per record

 Driving connection

 Lookup connection

 Calculate

See Calculate Node

Add an action to manipulate the data that is passed to the calculate action. In the calculate action, write an expression using one or more of the 115+ functions available in PhixFlow.

Once per record

 Driving connection

 Gateway

See Gateway Node

Add a node to specify decision logic. Gateways control the route that records take as they flow through the Actionflow.

Once per record

 Driving connection

 Lookup connection

 Open URL

See Open URL Node

Add an action to open a specified URL.Once per flow Driving connection

 Save

See Save Node

Add a node to save the specified record(s) to its table.

Once per record

 Driving connection

 DeleteAdd a node to delete the specified record(s) from its table.Once per record Driving connection
 Bulk Delete


 Run Analysis

See Analysis Node

Runs analysis on the specified tables.Once per record

 Driving connection

 HTTP

See HTTP Node

Performs an HTTP request.Once per record Driving connection

 Email

See Email Node

Sends an Email to specified recipients. Once per record Driving connection

 JSON

See JSON Node

Handles JSON data and returns record objects as defined by the configuration. Once per record Driving connection
 For Each


 Loop Node

See Loop Nodes

Facilitates the ability to loop within an actionflow for tasks such as polling or paging through results.Once per record Driving connection
 Converge


 Start Phase

See Phase Node

Starts the phase specified by the user on the node.

To add a phase node there must be more than one phase in the actionflow.

Once per flow Driving connection


The Calculate and Analysis nodes, and their connection points, can have an attribute type of Structured Data. Use this if you need the Actionflow to pass a list (an array of values), such as a list of identifiers.


 Understanding New Terms

We have covered numerous new terms in this chapter. Let's recap on the terms we have used and what they mean.

Inbound Connection Point

Outbound Connection Point

Input Parameters

Output Attributes

Input Data

Pass-through Nodes

Join Nodes


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