Open

The 

1. Click and drag the 

    icon from the toolbar onto the canvas

2. Enter a name for the Calculate action, then select Create Action

3. In the Calculate Action 

    on the right, click the 
    icon in the Output Attributes section to add new attributes

Calculate Actions can be used for: 

• Inserting static text strings, e.g. when inserting a new record set a value of "New" in a status field

• Calculating values using Functions, e.g. Calculating the amount of VAT on a customer invoice  

• Performing lookups against a View action node or lookup connection point, e.g. counting records in a grid or retrieving details of all students on a course

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 add a message, "Create New Course", to the Course Form header that shows only when a new course is being created. To do this, we will add a Calculate Action to the Open Screen Actionflow for adding a new course.

Open

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

   Open

   

    button on the School Courses grid and choose 

   1. If there is no Actionflow to display, see 1.07 Open Screen Action Configuration

2. Click and drag the 

    icon from the toolbar onto the canvas

3. Enter a name for the Calculate Action:

   1. Name: Course Header

   2. Select Create Action 

4. The 

    for the Calculate Action will open on the right

   1. If the 

      is not open, click the Calculate Action node on the canvas 

5. In the Output Attributes section, click the 

    icon

6. Enter the following details for the new Output Attribute:

   1. Name: NewCourse

   2. Type: choose String

   3. Expression: 

      "Create New Course"

   4. Then 

7. Drag and drop the Course Header Calculate Action onto the connector between the input node and the Open Course Form Action

   1. Open

      

8. Right-click on the connector between the Course Header Calculate Action and the Open Course Form Open Screen Action and choose

9. On the Mappings window, drag the NewCourse attribute onto the Header1Dynamic attribute to create the mapping

   1. Press Save

   2. Open

      

10. Close the Actionflow to return to the Course Management screen

11.  the screen and press the 
    Open

    

    button to see the Actionflow in action

    1. We can see that the Actionflow is working because it displays the string, Create New Course, in place of the original heading on the Course Form 

In this example, we will add a Calculate Action that performs the function, toUpper, to a Save Actionflow. This function will format the course name on the Course Management screen into upper case, when the course is added/edited. 

Open

1. On the Course Management screen, click the 

   Open

   

    or 

   Open

   

    button to open the Course Form

2. Right-click on the 

   Open

   

    button and select 

3. Click and drag the 

    icon from the toolbar onto the canvas

4. Enter a name for the Calculate Action:

   1. Name: UppercaseName

   2. Select Create Action

5. Right-click on the input connection point under Connections and choose 

6. On the Mappings window, drag the attribute, Name, from the left (Course Form) into the Drag and Drop space on the right (input connection point) 

   1. Select Save

7. On the canvas, drag the UppercaseName Calculate Action node onto the in connector between the 

    node and the 
    SaveCourse node and drop it when the 
    icon appears

8. Right-click on the in connector between the 

    node and the 
    and select 

9. On the Mappings window, drag the Name attribute from the left to the right (calculate action)

   We only need to map the Name attribute here because it is used within the Calculate Action.

   The CourseID attribute will pass through the Calculate Action and can be used later on in the Actionflow.

   1. Select Save

1. Select the Calculate Action, UppercaseName, to open its 

2. In the Output Attributes section, click the 

    to create a new attribute:

   1. Name: UpperName

   2. Type: choose String

   3. Expression:

      toUpper(in.Name)

   4. Click 

3. Right-click on the in connector between the 

    action node and the 
    action node, and select 

4. On the Mappings window, drag the attribute, UpperName, from the Calculate Action (left) onto the Name attribute on the Save Action (right)

   1. Press Save

      Checkpoint

5. Close the Actionflow to return to the Course Form

6. Ensure the screen is 

   ed, then add or edit the course details and press the 
   Open

   

    button to see the Actionflow in action

   1. You can see that the Actionflow is working because the Name for the course you just added/edited is now in capital letters on the Course Management screen