This page is for application designers who want to create screens for application users.

Overview

This page explains the screen properties. For information on how to divide a screen into different panes, and how to add components to it, see Splitting a Screen.

Property Pane Toolbar

For information about the toolbar options, see the Common Properties page, Toolbars and Controls section.

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

Field	Description
Name	The name of the screen.
Description	We recommend that you always enter a description to explain the purpose of this item.
Open Maximised	Tick to open the screen maximised. Untick to open the screen as a popup window.
Allow Manual Resizing	Tick to enable the application user, when running in Application Mode, to resize the screen. Untick to keep the screen size fixed when running in in Application Mode. This option does not affect resizing the screen in Design Mode.
Always On Top	Tick to keep the screen on top of other screens. This is useful for a popup window that you want a user to complete before returning to another screen. Untick to allow other screens to be displayed in front.
Preload	Some screens, especially complex screens, can take some time to open, which can feel slow to the application user. Use this option when you need a screen to open quickly. Preloading screens adds to the time it takes PhixFlow to initially start up. For this reason we recommend you only preload screens that an application user will always want to open. Tick to preload the screen when PhixFlow first starts. When the user then opens the screen , it displays immediately. The data itself may still take time to load. Untick is the default. The screen does not need to be preloaded. Preloading relates to the screen itself. Any data backing the screen is only loaded when the screen opens, and this may also take time to load.

Screen Elements

Screen elements are specific sections on a screen that posses their own properties, specifically each element can be backed by a different table.

To view a list of the elements for a specific screen, open the Propertiesavailable from the screen toolbar; see Screen Element.

Advanced

Field	Description
Show Toolbar	Design Mode always has a toolbar with the screen name on the left and toolbar icons on the right. Tick to also display the toolbar in Application Mode. The screen name is displayed. Toolbar icons are not displayed. Untick is the default as the toolbar is usually not required in Application Mode.
Show Window Button Bar	Tick to display a Windows-style bar at the top of the screen. This has a maximise/restore button and a close button. Untick to have no Windows-style bar at the top of the screen.
Keep Data	Tick to allow screen data to be referenced even after the screen is closed. This is useful if an application user needs access to global data available in the system. Untick is the default. The screen data is not required once the screen is closed.
Cache Locally	If an application user is likely to require the same screen in different stages of a task. Use this option so that, when the user closes and reopens the screen, it loads immediately. Tick to cache the screen on the application user's client computer when the screen first opens. Untick is the default. The screen does not need to be cached. Caching relates to the screen itself. Any data backing the screen will be reload each time the screen is opened.

Styles Tab

Style Settings

Field	Description
Position	By default, new screens are set to Floating. If you want a screen to open with a fixed position, select one of the Pinned drop-down options: Pinned to top Pinned to bottom Pinned to left Pinned to right Floating Use the Pinned options to create a permanently visible screen. This is useful for a navigation area or toolbar that you want to be visible for all other screens. Floating screens do not overlap with pinned screens. When the user maximises a Floating screen, it expands only to the remaining space.
Width	For screens that are not set to Open maximised, specify a screen width in pixels, for example `500px` for a small confirmation window. The default size for a popup screen approximately 800px. If this is left blank, the screen will adjust its width to the content automatically.
Height	For screens that are not set to Open maximised, specify a screen height in pixels, for example `150px` for a small confirmation window. The default size of a popup screen is approximately 500px. If this is left blank, the screen will adjust its height to the content automatically.
Top	Available when Position is Floating. For screens that are not set to Open maximised, set an offset value in pixels to position the screen where it is required. For example, to display a screen as a popup window towards the top left of the screen, set: Top: `60px` Left: `60px`
Left
Right
Bottom

Actions Tab

Unconnected Actions

This section has a toolbar with standard buttons, see Common Properties. The grid displays a list of Actionflows that are linked to components on the screen that are not connected to a component. These can occur when Actionflows are created in a Workflow.

Actions

This section has a toolbar with standard buttons, see Common Properties. The grid displays a list of Actionflows or Table-Actions (Legacy) that are linked to the screen.

Menu Items

This section has a toolbar with standard buttons, see Common Properties and:

Show Table-actions
Filter

The grid contains a list of menu items. To add a menu item to the list, click Add New

Click Add New
Select
- either Add a new sub-menu
- or Add a new menu item; see Startup Actions Properties
PhixFlow opens a new properties tab for a menu item or sub-menu; see Startup Actions Properties for details.

To remove a menu, use the toolbar button Delete.

Menus and Toolbars

Screen Toolbar

There is a toolbar above the screen canvas. This provides the following options:

List options
Attributes	Opens the Available Attributes Window.
Table	Opens the repository showing the list of available tables for your application.
Screen	Opens the repository showing the list of available screens for your application.
Actionflow	Opens the repository showing the list of available Actionflows for your application.
Palette	Open the list of palettes.
Templates	Opens the repository showing the list of available templates for your application.
Style	Open the repository showing the list of available styles for your application.
Canvas options
Properties	Open the properties tab for the screen.
Unlock or Lock	Unlock a screen to edit its layout. Lock a screen to prevent accidental edits and to display the data content.
Refresh	Update the screen to reflect changes made elsewhere in PhixFlow, such as the screen properties, layer orders or shared styles.

Screen Popup Menu

Right-click on a screen to display its popup menu. The options available depend on where you click. If there are many options, some are moved onto the sub-menu Screen Options.

Menu option	Description
Unlock	Unlock a screen to edit its layout.
Lock	Lock a screen to prevent accidental edits and to display the data content.
Show Context Parameters	Open a window listing the context parameters in alphabetical order, if applicable.
Show Element Details	Open the properties for the screen element.
Delete	When a specific component is selected, delete the component. Delete options depend on the selected item, for example: Delete Selected Objects Delete Pane Delete Form
Palette	Open the palette to drag in components.
Find in Repository	Open the repository with to see the selected component in the list. This can be useful if you want to move a component.
Screen Properties	Open the properties tab for the screen.
Show Record Details	Display information about the table and its records.
Show the Table Configuration	Open the properties for the table.
Add Attribute to ...	Opens the Available Attributes Window.