What is an Open Screen Action?

The  Open Screen action opens new screens in PhixFlow. Open Screen actions run once per flow, or once after receiving the final record. This means that if 100 records are passed into the Actionflow, only 1 screen opens after receiving the final record (not 100 screens). 

Creating Open Screen Actions

There are several ways to create  Open Screen Actionflows.

Create Actionflow for Existing Screen

Use this method where the screen that requires opening already exists.

1. On the screen where the Actionflow will be initiated from, click  Screens in the toolbar to open the list of available screens
2. Drag and drop the required screen from the  Repository onto the button that will initiate the Actionflow, or drop anywhere and PhixFlow will create the button for you

Create Actionflow and Screen

Use this method to create the Actionflow and screen at the same time.

1. On the screen where the Actionflow will be initiated from, right-click on a button and choose  Add Actionflow
   1. Or, click Actionflow in the header tabs, then  Add New
2. On the Actionflow canvas, drag the  Open Screen icon from the toolbar onto the canvas and follow the steps to create or open an existing screen
3. Alternatively, click the  Open Screen icon in the toolbar to display existing screens in the application
   1. Existing screens can be dragged from the  Repository  onto the canvas to automatically create an Open Screen node

Create Actionflow and Screen using CRUD Wizard

A Grid Actions wizard is available to automatically create certain actions on a screen, such as Creating, Reading, Updating and Deleting data. These are referred to as CRUD actions. See Configure Action Buttons on 7. Editing Content on a Screen - Part 1.

Worked Examples

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

In this example, we are using:

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

We want to be able to add and edit courses on a Course Management screen. The first step to doing this is by creating two Open Screen Actionflows. Both will open the same screen containing form fields, but when we are adding a new course we want empty form fields, and when we are editing an existing course, we want the form fields to contain course data.

To save the new or edited course, the Save Action on the Course Form screen must be configured. This is covered in 1.09 Save Action Configuration.

Example 1: Open Screen to Add New Data

Create an Open Screen Action that opens an empty input form.

1. On the screen where the Actionflow will be initiated from, Course Management, right-click on the button and choose  Add Actionflow

    Can't see this option?

   Make sure your screen is  Unlocked.

   

   If you cannot see the toolbar across the top of the screen, your screen is  Locked. Right-click anywhere on the screen and choose  Unlock the Screen.

2. Enter a name for the Actionflow,
   1. Name: Add Course
   2. Select Confirm
3. Click the  Open Screen icon in the toolbar to display the existing screens in your application
4. Drag your pre-made  input form screen, Course Form, from the Repository onto the canvas to create an  Open Screen node

5. Select Click to Connect under Connections and for the input, choose the   On Click Action Event, then select Connect Input

6. On the canvas, click and drag the  icon onto the  Open Screen action node to connect the input to the action

    Checkpoint

   

7. Close the Actionflow to return to the screen
8.  Lock the screen and press the  button to see the Actionflow in action
   1. We can see that the Actionflow is working because it opens an empty form

Example 2: Open Screen to Edit Existing Data

Create an Open Screen Action that opens an input form containing data from the school courses grid.

1. On the screen where the Actionflow will be initiated from, Course Management, check it is  Unlocked
2. Right-click on the  button and choose  Add Actionflow
3. Enter a name for the Actionflow,
   1. Name: Edit Course
   2. Select Confirm
4. Click the  Open Screen icon in the toolbar to display the existing screens in your application
5. Drag your pre-made  input form screen, Course Form, from the Repository onto the canvas to create an Open Screen node
6. Select Click to Connect and for the input, choose the School Courses View Component, then select Connect Input
7. The Mappings window will open:
   1. Drag the CourseID attribute from the left (Grid) into the Drag and Drop space on the right (Connection Point), then click Save
   2. 
8. On the canvas, click and drag the  icon onto the  Open Screen action node to connect the input to the action
9. Right-click the connector between the  input node and  Open Screen node on the canvas
10. Choose  Open Mappings and the Mappings window will open:

    1. Drag the CourseID attribute from the left (Actionflow) onto the CourseID attribute on the right (Screen), then click Save
       

        Checkpoint

       

11. Close the Actionflow to return to the screen
12.  Lock the screen and press the button to see the Actionflow in action
    1. We can see that the Actionflow is working because it displays the data from the School Courses grid in the edit form