What is an Actionflow?

An Actionflow is a diagram that represents a sequence of actions and data flows within an application. It controls the interactions users have with an application and its data, e.g. opening a new screen to edit data.

Actionflows are composed of individual actions nodes that each perform a specific task, e.g. opening a screen or saving data, and have input and output connections to screens, buttons, tables or other Actionflows.

Actionflows belong to an application or package, and are represented by the icon.

Example Actionflow

For this example Actionflow, the user clicks a button to trigger the Actionflow that saves a new record containing the text "New".

Click on any image to see it in a larger window.

Why are Actionflows used in PhixFlow?

Actionflows make PhixFlow applications interactive. They convert a static screen into a user interface by combining individual actions into advanced functionality. This enables an application user to interact with the screens and data.

Actionflows are composable and reusable across an application but with different inputs connected, making Actionflows "data agnostic" and flexible, and ultimately saving time and effort.

Actionflow Page Layout

The illustration shows the layout of an Actionflow:

Connection Points

Connection points are where data, or interactions, are passed into and out of an Actionflow. It is the connection points that create a separation between the Actionflow and instance where it is being used which in turn allows Actionflows to be reusable.

For example, an Address Cleanser Actionflow that takes in a single line of unstructured address data from an Input Connection Point, then returns a structured address to an Output Connection Point. This Actionflow can be reused by connecting in different address data. Each combination of connections is referred to as an Instance, that can be viewed by pressing the Instances button in the Settings above the canvas.

Action Nodes

Action nodes are the building blocks of Actionflows and are represented as a circle with an icon. They perform specific tasks, e.g. decision gateways, performing calculations, and API integrations, and are joined together using connectors.

What are Connectors?

Connectors are the arrows used in Actionflows to connect Action Nodes together, denote the flow of data and specify which data is mapped at each point within the Actionflow.

What are Mappings?

We use mappings where we want to use data in an action node. All data from the input is passed through all action nodes* in the Actionflow, therefore only the attributes that require editing need to be mapped.

*there can be exceptions, e.g. Converge action, Wait action.

Connectors link action nodes together, and facilitate the mapping of data from the Output Attributes of one action node to the Input Parameters of another.

Reusability

As Actionflows can be reused throughout your application, and other applications if shared via a package, you only need to create one Actionflow for functionality that occurs on different screens, e.g. processing address data or opening a specific screen. For each instance of an Actionflow, you specify the data that the Actionflow uses by mapping onto its Connection Points.

Actionflows are reusable because the inputs to the Actionflow are separate from the Actionflow itself, allowing instances of the Actionflow to be used in different contexts with data from many different sources.

Instances

For each instance, only the data coming into and out of an Actionflow changes. You can easily map a different input source to the attributes on the Connection Points.

Each time you connect an Actionflow to a different input, you create a new instance of the Actionflow.

Instance 1 = input A + Actionflow
Instance 2 = input B + Actionflow

What's Next?

If you are new to PhixFlow, the PhixFlow Fundamentals course provides a practical guide to using PhixFlow, including setting up Actionflows in your application.

Already started PhixFlow Fundamentals? Return to Actionflow Fundamentals.

If you'd like more in-depth knowledge of Actionflows, take one of our Actionflow Courses.

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