Open Screen Node

Owned by Sarah Gibson (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Jul 15, 2024 by Zoe Baldwin

This page is for application designers who need to configure functionality for components or events. It explains the properties for the open-screen node, which is part of an actionflow.

Overview

Use an  Open Screen node to open new screens within PhixFlow. To set the actionflow to close the active screen on completion, on the top right of the canvas, tick Close Parent Screen.

Example

The above video shows a basic actionflow to open a screen from a button. To open a screen:

  1. Right click on the button and click Add Actionflow
  2. Name the action
  3. Drag the screen you want to open onto the main body of the actionflow. You have just created an open screen node.
  4. Now we need to wire up an input to initiate the actionflow
  5. Click Add next to the inputs
  6. Name the new input connection point and select driving.
  7. Click create connection point
  8. Click on the on click input. This will start the actionflow when a user clicks on the button.
  9. Click connect input to finish setting up the actionflow
  10. Go back to the first screen to test to see if it works.

 Properties Tab

Parent Details

If this item is within or belongs to another, its parent name is shown here. See the Parent Details section on the Common Properties page for more details.

Basic Settings

FieldDescription
NameEnter the name for the open screen node.
Show in the Repository

An application can have many actionflows, and an individual actionflow can have many nodes. This can lead to many items being listed under Actionflow in the repository. Use this option to omit the node from the repository.

 to display this node in the repository.

 to omit this node from the repository.

Screen

Select a screen that this node will open. Use the drop down or  List Screens.

If the screen has not been created yet, create one using  Add New.

A red exclamation symbol appears on the node to notify you if a screen has not been selected.

From PhixFlow version 11, once a screen has been configured on an  Open Screen action, it cannot be removed or changed. Instead, create a new Open Screen action.


Model Validation StatusWhen you save changes to the properties of a table or view attribute, PhixFlow validates that the properties are set correctly. If there is an issue with the properties, PhixFlow indicates the status of the validation check:
  • UNKNOWN - PhixFlow has not run the validation check yet. Save the properties to run the check.
  • SUCCESS - the properties are set correctly
  • ERROR - PhixFlow has found issues that need attention. Scroll down the properties to the Errors section where you will find the list of properties that need correcting.

When a table or view attribute has validation errors, PhixFlow also reports that the parent application and package have errors.

PhixFlow can process data from tables or view attributes that have validation errors. The validation checks help you to configure tables and view attributes so that PhixFlow can continue to run efficiently.  For example, PhixFlow reports an error if a table has no Data Retention option set because it can affect performance when all old tablesets are retained, 

To run validation checks on all tables, view attributes, applications and packages,  use Administration Menu → More → Validate Model Objects. 

Input Connection Points

This section has a toolbar with standard buttons. The grid contains a list of all input connection points and their type.

  • To add a new input connection point, in the section toolbar click  Add New to open a new input connection point and set its properties; see Input Connection Points.
  • To edit an existing input connection point, double-click it in the list to open its properties.
  • To remove an input connection point, select one and in the section toolbar click  Delete.

The input connection point for an open screen node includes options related to data that can be passed to the screen; see Input Connection Points: Role, Type, Open Mode and Attributes properties.

Output Connection Points

Available when the screen attached to the node contains buttons with the action type Start Phase.

This section has a toolbar with standard buttons. The grid contains a list of all output connection points.

  • To add a new output path, in the section toolbar click  Add New to open a new output path and set the expression; see Output Connection Points.
  • To edit an existing output path, double-click it in the list to open its properties.
  • To remove an output path, select one and in the section toolbar click  Delete.


Description

We recommend that you always enter a description to explain the purpose of this item.

Errors

This section has a toolbar with standard buttons. The grid contains a list of errors where fields have been validated.

 Audit Tab

Audit Summary

See the Common Properties page, Audit Summary section.


Sections on this page

Learn More

For links to all pages in this topic, see Understanding Actionflows. 


Terminology changes in progress

As part of the redesign of PhixFlow, we are changing the following terms:

dashboard → screen   
stream → table
stream attributes → attributes
stream item → record
stream set → recordset
stream view → view
stream item action → record-action 
stream action → table-action
driver class → database driver