Common Properties
This page describes the sections and toolbars that occur on many property panes.
Overview
Items that you create in PhixFlow have properties, which are displayed in a panel on the right of the screen. Many items properties, toolbars or features in common.
Depending on the item, a property pane may have multiple tabs
- : set properties specific to this item.
- : design the appearance of items such as components on a screen; see Designing Screens and Style properties.
- : configure user-interaction functionality on items such as tables or components; see Understanding Actionflows.
- : manage which users can access this item; see Access Permissions, below.
- : keep track of changes that have happened to an item; see Audit Summary, below.
Tip about drop-down lists
Some properties are a drop-down list from which you can select an item. In some cases, when you open the list, its contents are created by PhixFlow based on the items in the repository. For example, if you want to select a table, PhixFlow has to look in the repository and create the list of tables. If you have many items in the repository, generating the list may take some time.
To clear a selection, click the X at the end of the list field, for example .
Where a property is the name of another item, it will have the option to
The screenshot on the right shows how the common sections appear in the properties pane.
Parent Details
Many items in models and applications are either "contained" within or belong to another item. For example, a view belongs to a table. The Parent Details section includes the containing item's type and name.
Parent Details → Container
For some items, the Parent Details section lists the things that use this item and that you have permission to view, such as:
modelling objects
layout components
applications
packages.
This list does not include analysis models as these are listed in the Analysis Models section. Click on a name to open its properties tab.
If you are thinking about deleting a modelling object, be aware that the list of containers may not be complete. Other objects, applications or packages that you do not have permission to view may also use this object.
To open the properties for the parent item, click the Container header.
Analysis Models
PhixFlow lists the analysis models that use this modelling object. Double-click on a model name to open the model.
Audit Summary
PhixFlow logs the changes to an object's settings, including:
the data and time.
who made the change
a brief description of the change.
This is shown in the screenshot on the right. The audit summary is a useful if you need to reverse changes made by mistake. Each audit entry shows both the new and old values. In the case of text fields, simply copy the old value and paste it into the form field. You can also see audit summaries on the system console; see the System Console section Audit Summary.
Access Permissions
For some items, you can specify a set of user groups. A user who belongs to a user group has permission to see the item.
You must have saved the property tab at least once before you can change the permissions.
Field | Description |
|---|---|
All Users Can View Application |
|
User Groups | This section is only available if All Users Can View Application is unticked; see the screenshot on the right. This section has a toolbar with standard buttons and The grid contains a list of user groups that have permission to access to this item. To add a user group to the list:
To remove a user group from the list, use the |
Toolbars and Controls
Properties are shown in an panel on the right. To show/hide the right panel, use the slider:
PhixFlow uses the same area on the right to show multiple property panes as tabs. If you want to display any of these tabs side-by side, drag a tab to the left side of the panel.
To
Main Properties Toolbar
Property panes have a toolbar at the top. Depending on the item and its state, the toolbar can include the following options.
If there is insufficient space on the header bar then some buttons are moved into this drop-down menu. | |
Delete the current item. Delete is:
| |
Close the properties Tab. Also use the x on the tab itself. | |
Save the current properties and close the tab. | |
Save the current properties and keep the tab open. | |
Display | For items that have associated diagrams, such as screens, ERDs or analysis models, open the diagram. |
Toggle between the current property tab and one that was previously open.
| |
Bring the repository tab to the front, filtered to show this item. You may need to scroll the explorer to see the selected item. | |
Collapse all the sections in the property tab. | |
Open the reference help page for this item's properties. |
Property Section Toolbars
Each property tab can contain a number of sections. Each section has a header with a small arrow before the section label. Click the arrow to:
- the section
- the section.
Some sections contain fields whereas other sections can contain grids. Sections which contain grids may have a number of icons on them to allow you to add and delete records, see a more detailed grid with more columns or refresh the current grid.
Create and insert a new item into the list. | |
Open up a grid showing more details about each item. | |
Delete the selected item or items. | |
Refresh the list (e.g. if the list has been updated on another computer by another user). | |
For large lists, show/hide the paging bar. |
Tooltips in Property Grids
Some property tabs have a section that displays grid of items and details about them. Where the details include an expression, you can hover your mouse pointer over the expression column to see the full expression.
For example in the action properties you can see tooltips for expressions in:
Context Parameters
Task Plan Rules.