PhixFlow Help

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Navigation

PhixFlow screens have been designed to provide quick access to the functions you are likely to need from the current view without having to navigate complex menus. This help page provides an overview of the navigation features and key screens in PhixFlow.

On the left edge of the PhixFlow screen is the Explorer Bar containing icons which when pressed open up slider panes containing lists of all the configured objects represented by the icon. Until you are familiar with the meaning of each icon, you can hover the mouse over the icon to see a description of what it will do when clicked. Note that these descriptions can be found on all PhixFlow icons. The icons are logically grouped e.g. into categories which cover modelling, user administration etc.

Each opened slider pane has a common set of icons. Note that several of these icons are used on other forms to perform the same function:

Close the pane.

If the Pin icon is yellow when another Explorer Bar icon is pressed, then the slider pane will be closed and the other slider pane will be opened.

Clicking the Pin icon turns it red indicating that the pane is now pinned. This means that when another Explorer Bar icon is pressed, this pane remains open (in addition to the new pane opening).

Click the icon again to toggle the pinned status (which will also cause the pane to close).

Open up a grid showing more details about each item. General navigation properties of grids are explained href="#grids">below.

Delete the selected item or items.

Refresh the list (e.g. if the list has been updated on another computer by another user).

Create and insert a new item into the list.

Context sensitive help.

Note that on the Explorer Bar closes all open slider panes.

Across the top left of the PhixFlow screen is the Applications button. Clicking an Applications button opens a list of all Applications available for the user. The user can run the selected one using its default Menu by clicking (right-click allows also opening in a new tab/window) or use the particular Menu by choosing it from the drop-down list which is shown after clicking on an Applications which contains more than one Menu.

The user can also choose an Application and Menu by adding a application=APPLICATION_NAME-MENU_NAME to the PhixFlow URL where APPLICATION_NAME is the name of the selected application and MENU_NAME is the name of the selected Menu.

Across the top right of the PhixFlow screen are the Perspective buttons. Clicking a Perspective button minimises open windows and sets up a standard layout containing the most useful lists and forms for that perspective:

Default Dashboard Opens the Default Dashboard defined for the currently logged in user.
Console Opens up the list of Task Plans and the System Console showing Task Logs, Audit Trails and Archive Logs.
Alarms Opens a drop down menu giving access to:
Admin Opens a drop down menu giving access to some high level operations:
  • System Configuration opens the System Configuration Form which defines basic system settings which are generally configured when PhixFlow is first installed.
  • Manage Email Accounts opens the Email Accounts List which shows Email Accounts defined in the system. The user can configure Email Accounts in order to fetch and send emails.

  • Reset Configuration permanently deletes all existing configuration objects (E.g. Streams, Alarm Generators, Analysis Models, Macros, Dashboards, the Control Framework) except for Users, User Groups and minor objects (e.g. Alarm Priorities). Working data (including Stream Data, Stream Sets, Log files and Audit logs) are not deleted.

    Reset Configuration requires the Reset Configuration Privilege.

    You should only run Reset Configuration when so instructed by PhixFlow Support.

  • Export Configuration opens the Export Configuration Form to allow the user to select which objects to export to an XML file which can then be imported into another instance of PhixFlow using the Import Configuration function.
  • Import Configuration imports configuration data from the XML configuration files created by the Export Configuration function.

  • Cleanup Configuration removes orphan objects (e.g. Stream Sets) that can be left behind by failed or incomplete operations.

    Cleanup Configuration requires the Cleanup Configuration Privilege

    You should only run Cleanup Configuration when instructed by PhixFlow Support.

  • Publish Streams checks all Streams for configuration changes and aligns underlying Stream Tables in the PhixFlow Database. Note that from version 3.2 onwards Streams are published automatically and it is no longer necessary to use this function.
  • Purge Streams checks all Streams for configuration changes and removes any underlying Stream Tables in the PhixFlow Database that no longer match the Stream configuration. This function also removes data for any Stream Attributes that have been removed from a Stream.
  • Download Log Files allows you to download server log files and performance files for analysis.
User Opens a drop down menu giving access to basic user functions:
  • My User Details opens the User Details Form allowing the user to change his own account settings (including his password).
  • Help opens this online help system.
  • Online Support opens a browser window into PhixFlow's online support desk. Your designated support contacts will have login details.
  • Send Feedback Email opens a new email window.
  • About PhixFlow shows general information about PhixFlow in particular the current version that you are using.
  • Reload Application reloads the PhixFlow application.
  • Logout returns PhixFlow to the startup screen so that the user must log back in to resume work.

The Control Framework (opened by clicking on the href="#explorerBar">Explorer Bar) is a fully configurable tree-like structure which enables you to group key configured objects in a way that makes sense to your organisation. The high level tree structure is achieved by adding Control Groups (represented by ) either to the top level of the tree or as sub-branches of an existing Control Group. Top level Control Groups can be added using or the Control Group context menu. This menu also enables you to add child Control Groups and Controls (represented by ).

You can drag key objects from other lists and drop them under the Control that they help implement e.g. Analysis Models, Alarm Generators, Charts, Dashboards etc. This provides you with fast access to those key items. It is also possible to drag these objects and drop them directly under Control Groups just to provide a useful grouping.

Dragging and dropping items in this way just creates a shortcut - it does not remove the original object from its list. If you want to create multiple links to the same object from different parts of the Control Framework you can drag the object multiple times or you can copy an existing shortcut on the tree by pressing the Control key and dragging the item to the new location.

You can modify the tree structure at any time by dragging any leaf or branch and dropping it under another branch (the whole substructure is moved). Shortcuts can be removed using the Remove Shortcut context menu item.

Make sure you do not confuse the Remove Shortcut menu item with Permanently Delete which removes the target object completely from PhixFlow!

If you move your mouse pointer to the bottom of the screen the PhixFlow Form Bar will appear. This bar contains links to all open forms (both open and minimised). Click on a link to restore the form (if needed) and bring the form to the front of the screen. Each form link also has a context menu which allows you to close the form directly.

On the far left of the Form Bar is an icon which when clicked minimises all open windows.

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