This page is for application designers who need to configure actionflows. This page explains how to wire together individual actions in an actionflow.

Overview

All actions within an actionflow must be wired together via their connection points. Data flows from the input of the actionflow, either then triggering a data component or event, and then from each action to the next using connections. There are two types of connections that can be used in actionflows,

 Driving connections and

 Lookup connections.

Driving Connections

Driving connections push records through the actionflow one by one.

Records pass from a

•  Driving output connection point to a
•  Driving input connection point

Lookup Connections

Lookup connections are used to look up to data as a batch when requested by nodes within the actionflow. Records are returned as a single dataset. This dataset may contain multiple records which are returned as an array.

Records pass from a

•  Lookup output connection point to a 
•  Lookup input connection point

Adding & Connecting Wires

Add wires to Actionflows to make connections.

1. Hover your mouse pointer over a node on the canvas
2. PhixFlow displays a popup connector icon
   1. 
3. Click out, and either: 
   1. Connect to new node: click onto the empty canvas 
      1. PhixFlow opens the popup toolbar.  Select which type of action you require and enter a name
   2. Connect to existing node: click onto an existing node

Connect to new node

Connect to existing node

Inserting Nodes onto Wires

Actionflow nodes can be dropped and inserted into existing connections.

1. Click and drag the node you wish to insert
2. Hover over the existing wire and drop the node when the  icon appears
3. PhixFlow will merge the node into the existing connection  

Disconnecting Nodes

Individual nodes can be disconnected from an Actionflow, without disconnecting the surrounding nodes.

1. Right-click on a node and choose Disconnect
2. PhixFlow extracts the node from the connection and reconnects the surrounding nodes

Removing Wires

Wires can be removed from between nodes. 

1. Right-click on a wire and choose Remove Connector
2. A red plink appears on the successive nodes to indicate they are not connected

Mapping Connection Points 

Instance inputs connect to the input interface in order to pass data to the Actionflow. Attributes are mapped via these connections to use in the actionflow using the mapping window.

1. Data selection
   This option appears when connecting a multi-record data bound component such as a grid or a card component. The user can define what data to bring into the actionflow. The options include
   
   • Selected
     The user selected records on the grid or card component
   • Edited
     All records the user edits 
   • Page
     The entire page of the grid, card component or form.
   • Dragged items
     Records that are dragged by the user
   • Drop Target items
     Records that are dropped onto by the user
2. Mapping options
   Contains buttons to quickly map attributes from the source to target and to clear any mappings already present.
3. Output connection point
   Displays the source output connection point details in the form object name > output connection point name

4. Output connection point attributes
   Displays the attributes available from the output connection point. These could be from a variety of nodes depending if the source is a pass through node. The source output connection point is displayed in the source column. Attributes can be created here on some nodes using  Add New.
   

   Pass through means that any attributes that are not directly mapped to a node, but are connected via a driving or lookup connection, can be used in the mapping of subsequent nodes.

   
   

5. Mappings
   The arrows represent which source attributes are mapped to which target attributes. Target attributes can only be mapped to one source attribute. Source attributes can be mapped to multiple target attributes.
6. Input connection point
   Displays the target output connection point details in the form object name > input connection point name. 
7. Input connection point attributes
   Displays the attributes available from the input connection point. These attributes can be created in multiple ways
   
   • Using  Add New
   • Dragging attributes from the source output connection point attributes onto the grid. This creates input connection point attributes and maps them automatically.
     
     
     
     
8. Confirmation Buttons
   Closes the popup once mapping has been completed by the user.

Example

The steps to create a mapping between a data input and an interface connection point are outlined below:

1. Click Connect to connect an input to the initial driving connection point.
2. Select the input from the screen that you would like to connect.
3. PhixFlow then opens the mapping window.
4. Drag the attributes from the Input Connection (Left) onto the Connection Point (Right)
   1. Ensure the type of data is the same i.e. we cannot map a text field onto a date field as they are not compatible.
5. Create Target Attributes (Optional): drag an attribute on the left to the white space on the right, this will automatically create an attribute of the same name and type.
6. Click confirm mappings when finished.
7. Repeat these steps for any additional mappings required.

What's next?

For details about the properties action connections, see: