Understanding Actionflow Node Connections

Owned by Fiona Sargeant (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Jul 10, 2024 by Zoe Baldwin
3 min read


In an Actionflow, individual actions have connection points to receive data from the previous action. This page explains the type of connection point, and their properties.

Overview

Everything in an Actionflow is connected using connection points. They are blue when connected and grey when not connected. There are two types of connections:

  •  Driving connection and
  •  Lookup connection

For information about the concepts related to wiring Actionflows together using connection points, see Wiring Actionflows. 

For most action nodes, data flow is configured when you map attributes to the input connection points. For gateway nodes, you can also control the data flow by mapping to 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.

Connection Point Properties

For information on the options on the  Properties tab, see Connection Points.

Connection Point Types

Icon

Connection PointRelevant toDescription

Interface Driving Connection Point

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 Connection Point

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 Connection Point

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 Connection Point

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.


 Open Screen nodes have the following special properties for their input connections.

Available when Role is Component. For example,

When a screen opens, specify how data fields will display:

  • Insert data fields are cleared and variables are passed to the screen from the actionflow, the screen is then ready for the application user to add new data. Typically used for adding new data.
  • Update Variables created in the actionflow are set on the screen, any filtering is applied, data is retrieved from the server and displayed in the fields. Note the values set by the actionflow are persisted. Typically used for updating existing data.
  • Change Fields Variables passed to the screen are set. Typically used to set a value on one screen from another.

Lookup Output Connection Point

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 Connection Point

 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

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