View Node

Owned by Sarah Gibson (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Sept 20, 2024 by Zoe Baldwin
3 min read

Overview

When you are designing screens, you use a view to select and filter data for display. In an actionflow, the originating screen or component may not include all of the data that the actionflow requires. In this case, use a   View node to select and filter additional data to use in the actionflow.

How the actionflow processes the view data depends on whether the view is wired via a driving or lookup connection.

  • For a driving connection, records are returned individually to the view node and flow one by one through the remainder of the actionflow.
  • For a lookup connection, the records are returned as an array within one recordset.
    • For a worked example and video explanation, see Lookup Configuration
    • Lookup views require both:
      • Data Attributes: the attributes being passed into the view node. 
      • Request Attributes: the attributes from which you need to lookup data.


 Views vs Lookups

There are two kinds of View.

Views

  Views return a set of individual records which flow through the Actionflow one-by-one.

Typically, Views are used where the data requires processing, e.g. sending emails to individuals.

This is the most common type of view.

Lookups

Lookups are a type of View but they return records as an array within one recordset. 

Generally, Lookups are used where data requires listing, e.g. to display in a filter.


When you create a view node, PhixFlow prompts you to select the table on which this view is based. PhixFlow opens the Attributes window and the view node properties.

Drag attributes from the Attributes window and onto the Data Attributes or Request Attributes sections. You can add attributes from the base table and from related tables.

 Properties Tab

Property Pane Toolbar

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

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

FieldDescription
NameEnter the name of the action node.
Primary Table

Read-only. PhixFlow displays the table where the view attribute originates.

Data Retrieval Options

FieldDescription
Data Range

Select the data range that the view node will use:

  • All: use all the data 
  • Latest: use only the latest data.
Include History Records Tick to include superseded records in the view data. 
Default Sort Order

The sort order determines the order the data is displayed.

Select a sort order, or click  Add New  to create a new one; see Sort Order. 

Default Filter

A filter determines what data is retrieved.

Select a filter, or click  Add New to create a new one; see Filter.


Case Sensitivity on Filters

If PhixFlow is running on a SQL Server database, filters will not show the case sensitive option. 

Output Attributes

Output attributes are the attributes provided by the view or returned by a lookup on the view. 

The grid contains a list of the attributes in the view. Click  to show the list of available attributes from the primary table. Drag the attributes you want to add to the view into this list.

In the list:

  • To edit an attribute's properties, double-click the attribute. See View Attribute.
  • To delete an attribute, select it and click  Delete in the Output Attributes section header.
FieldDescription
NameEnter the name of the action node.
Type

Select the type of data this attribute contains; see Understanding Data Types.

  • String
  • Bigstring
  • Integer
  • Float
  • Decimal
  • Date
  • Datetime
  • Graphic
  • TrueFalse
Aggregate Function

See Aggregating Data

Filter Parameters

These are used to perform the lookup on a view. They are assigned a value by the mapping screen in the Incoming Mappings tab and are referenced by name no pipe prefix is required.

Create a new attribute

  1. Click  Add New 
  2. Set the Name and Type; see Attribute.

Change the properties of an attribute

  1. Double-click an attribute in the list; see View Attribute

Delete an attribute

  1. Right-click and select  Delete.

Map a Value to the Parameter

Parameters are used in the request to perform a lookup, obtaining their value from an attribute in the actionflow via the mapping screen.

  1. Click on the connector coming into the Lookup node.
  2. Request (Incoming) Mappings 
    1. Map attributes from the calling action node e.g. a calculate, to the View.
    2. Parameters can be dynamically created and mapped by dragging attributes from the calling action node into the drag-and-drop area on the parameters side.
  3. Click Next
  4. Return (Outgoing) Mappings 
    1. Map attributes returned by the view (defined in the output mappings above) to the calling action node.
    2. Attributes can be dynamically created on the calling action node and mapped by dragging attributes from the view attributes into the drag-and-drop area of the calling action node.

Output Connection Points

The grid contains a list of all output connection points.

  • To add a new output path, in the section toolbar click  Add New to open a new output path and set the expression; see Output Connection Points.
  • To edit an existing output path, double-click it in the list to open its properties.
  • To remove an output path, select one and in the section toolbar click  Delete.

Description

We recommend that you always enter a description to explain the purpose of this item.

 Access and Audit Tab

 Security Tab

Access Permissions

See the Common Properties page, Access Permissions section.

 Audit Tab

Audit Summary

See the Common Properties page, Audit Summary section.

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