This page is for data modellers and application designers who want to configure attributes to display data on a simple status dashboard or an application screen.

Overview

In a view you can select a subset of attributes to appear in the view, then configure options related to how the attributes are used in the view.

Access the view attributes properties from the View → View Attributes section.

For information about the properties toolbar, and about the sections Parent Details, Analysis Models, Description and Audit Summary, see Common Properties. We recommend you always add a Description that explains the purpose of the item you are creating.

For a full list of all the PhixFlow property tabs and windows, see Properties, Windows, Menus and Toolbars.

Properties tab

Basic Settings

Field	Description
Order	The order in which the attributes will appear in the view. For a grid view, this is the order of columns.
Name	The display name of the attribute in the view. By default, this is the same as the name of the attribute in the underlying table. Remember that if you are applying an Aggregate Function to the attribute, it is often useful to reflect that in the display name. For example: you are going to display the average monthly spend for each customer, by applying the aggregate function Average to the attribute `CustSpend`. You set the display name as `CustSpendAverage`.
Label is Expression	Tick to set the Label using an expression.
Label	An optional label for the column header. If left blank, this is the Name of the view attribute, formatted with a space before each capital letter. The label gives you more options for setting the column header - for example, control over the white space in the column heading - but you can also make this an expression. For example, if the column contains transactions for the currently logged in user, you could use: "Transactions for " + _user.username For user `JSmith`, this would give the column heading: Transactions for JSmith Multi-level labels These can be achieved by providing a comma separated list of values, alternatively an expression can provide a list of values. Where labels share the same parent value, this will used to group the heading (providing the view attributes are next to one another). For example, View Attributes with the label "Address, Address", "Address, City", and "Address, Postcode" will appear as follows: To use an expression in this field, tick the above box Label is Expression.
Role	This option is available if the view is a chart, i.e. not a data grid. This is the role that the field has in generating the chart. You can set the role manually in the view attribute properties. However, we recommend that you create charts using the visual editor. To do this: drag your view into a screen make sure you are in Design Mode Unlock the view (if necessary). You will see a visual chart editor. You can drag attributes onto this editor to create your chart; see View > Pivot Details and Charts, below.
Number Format	Available when the underlying attribute is Type Float, Integer or Decimal. Specify the number format as it will be displayed on a grid or form; see Number Format.
Date/Time Format	Available when the underlying attribute is Type Date or Datetime. Specify the format of a date/time as it will be displayed on a grid or form; see Date Time Format.
Aggregate Function	You can specify an Aggregate Function on this attribute. As soon as you have specified a single aggregate attribute in your view, any other fields will be either aggregate attributes - if you also specify an aggregate function for them - or used as grouping attributes. The following aggregate functions are available on all View Attributes: Average: returns the arithmetic average value of an attribute from records with the same key value Count: returns the number of non-null values of an attribute from records with the same key value. Distinct: returns the number of unique values of an attribute from records with the same key value. Maximum: returns the maximum value of an attribute from records with the same key value Minimum: returns the minimum value of an attribute from records with the same key value Percent: returns the percentage of the sum of values for each key value in relation to the total sum of values. Only available for PhixFlow instances running on an Oracle database. Sum: returns the sum of all values of an attribute from records with the same key value. See full descriptions on Aggregating Data. The following aggregate functions are used for Charts: Cumulative Percent: the running total percentage accumulated at each point in the data, ending in 100%. Cumulative Sum: the running total of the values.
Filter	Available when an Aggregate Function is selected. Choose a filter from the drop down list or select to create a new filter. See Filters on Data Views.

Backing Attribute

Field	Description
Attribute Name	The name of the underlying attribute.
Type	The type of the underlying attribute. This cannot be edited here. It must be edited in the table. See Table.
Relational Attribute	Indicates if the attribute is relational. See Using Relational Views.

For more information on adding and changing backing attributes, see Making a Card Container.

Grid Settings - see Grid Settings

Drop-Down Settings

Field	Description
Allow Empty Row	Tick to display an empty row in a the drop-down list. This means users can empty the cell value.
Cache Data	Tick to cache the drop-down rows after the first load.
Selection View	The view that will be displayed as a drop-down for the table cell.
Drop-Down Value Field	A custom field to be used for getting cell value from the drop-down.
Mappings	A list of additional mappings which can be used to set values of more table cells (columns) using this drop-down.
Background Filter Rules	A list of the filter rules applied to this view attribute. Click Add New to add a new rule; see Filter Rule.
Evaluate these filter rules as an OR	Tick to run the rules as a logical OR rather than an AND.

Form Settings

These settings are only available for form views - that is, grid views that have Form View ticked.

Field	Description
Read Only	This makes the field read-only in the form view.
Height On Form (pixels)	Sets the height of the form field for this attribute. PhixFlow will create the form field with a default height - you only need to specify a value in this field if the height you want is different from this default.
Width On Form (pixels)	Sets the width of the form field for this attribute. PhixFlow will create the form field with a default width - you only need to specify a value in this field if the width you want is different from this default.
Multiline on Form	Tick to enable form users to press the Enter key to create multiple lines in this field, or copy multi-line text into this field.
Selection View Attribute	This sets the drop-down list from which the user can pick a value. Drag the view attribute that you want to use for the drop-down list into this field. You must tick Show the drop-down button to display the drop-down. When a user is entering or updating data using a form view, you can use the internal variable _form to use a value already entered in the form in the filter on a selection view. That is, the values that appear in a drop-down list will be governed by values they have entered so far in the form. See Creating Pivot Views, for an example of configuring selection view attributes. If another view attribute has a Selection View Attribute set and has Show the drop-down button set to yes, then it is possible to set the current view attribute from the same selection view without a further drop-down list. Drag the view attribute that you want to use to set this view attribute into this field Drag the attribute out of the field to delete the contents of the Selection View Attribute.
Show the drop-down button

Errors

This section has a toolbar with standard buttons. See Menu Options and Toolbar Buttons.

When you save changes to the properties of a table or view attribute, PhixFlow validates that the properties are set correctly. If there is an issue with the properties, PhixFlow indicates this with a Model Validation Status of ERROR.

The Errors grid contains a list of the validation checks. For those that failed, the Validation Message indicates which properties need fixing. For example, PhixFlow reports an error if the steam has no Data Retention option set. Double-click on a row to view a full message.

PhixFlow can process data from tables or view attributes that have validation errors. The validation checks help you to configure tables and view attributes so that PhixFlow can continue to run efficiently. For example, PhixFlow reports an error if a table has no Data Retention option set because it can affect performance when all old tablesets are retained,

When a table or view attribute has validation errors, these are also be listed in the Errors section of the application or package to which the table or view belongs.

Styles tab

Formatting Rules

These settings are only available for view attributes for grid and pivot views. For details of formatting rule properties, see Formatting Rule.

A list of the formatting rules that apply to this field in the view.

All formatting rules whose Rule Expression evaluates to true will be applied to the field in the grid. However, you can tick Stop if True so that, if a rule evaluates to true, no styles that follow this in the list of rules will be applied - regardless of the result of their Rule Expression.

Grid Settings

These settings are only available for view attributes for grid and pivot views. This section is on the Styles tab.

Field	Description
Grid Default Width (pixels)	Specify a value, in pixels, to set a fixed column width for this attribute, overriding the default. If you do not specify a Grid Default Width for a grid view, PhixFlow automatically creates the grid and adjusts the column widths to fit the space available. For example, PhixFlow can flex the grid as the window is resized.
Minimum Width	Where no Grid Default Width is specified, set a Minimum Width in pixels for this attribute's column. Where space is available, PhixFlow will resize the column to fit the available space, but will not make the column narrower than the minimum specified here. A user can make the column narrower, by dragging its column divider in the grid. When Grid Default Width is specified, PhixFlow ignores this option.
Changes Row Colour	Tick to change the row colour when the value in this field changes.
Always Hidden	Tick hides this attribute's field on the view. This overrides the result of the Hide if evalutes to True expression. Use this option when you need to include a field in a view for a filter or Action, but displaying it would make the view cluttered.
Hide if evaluates to True	Enter an expression that determines whether or not the attribute's field is displayed on the view. When the expression evaluates to true, then the field will be hidden. When Always Hidden is ticked, the result of this expression is ignored.
Read Only	Tick to make this attribute read-only in the grid view.
Alignment	Set the alignment of values in this column to: Left Right Centre

Actions tab

Action Settings

Field	Description
Action Method	Select the type of action that PhixFlow will run when the user double-clicks the view. Actionflow Table Action
Actionflow	Available when Action Method is Actionflow. Select the actionflow that will run when the the user double-clicks on this view attribute. To show the list of available actionflows, click Actionflow. To create a new actionflow, click Add New; see Understanding Actionflows.
Action	Available when Action Method is Table Action. Select a table-action for this view attribute. For grid views, an application user can hover their mouse over the grid column for this attribute to display a cog. Clicking the cog to run this action on the clicked row.
Always Show Action Icon	Available when an Actionflow or Table Action is specified. Tick to always display the action icon in read-only grid cells. The user can click anywhere in the cell to run the action. Untick to only display the action when the user moves their mouse over the icon.
Hide the Input Field	Available when an Actionflow or Table Action is specified. Tick to hide the input field and to display the action icon in the column. Untick to display the input field in the column.
Hide the Action Icon	Available when an Actionflow or Table Action is specified. Tick to hide the action icon. The user can run the action by clicking anywhere in the cell. Untick to display the action icon in the column. This option is not available for editable columns (i.e. where Read Only is disabled), this is because the icon cannot be hidden where clicking the icon runs the action. If the column is Read Only, this option is available because clicking anywhere in the grid fires the action.
Action Icon Style	Available when an Actionflow or Table Action is specified.The style applied to the action icon. If no style is set, PhixFlow uses a default icon, .
Tooltip	Available when an Actionflow or Table Action is specified. Specify a custom tooltip on grid cells, such as displaying details of the action that will be run on click. This tooltip will override any tooltip set in the Actionflow Properties.

Sections on this page

Learn More

For links to all pages in this topic, see Analysis Models for Batch Processing Data.

Terminology changes in progress

As part of the redesign of PhixFlow, we are changing the following terms:

dashboard → screen
stream → table
stream attributes → attributes
stream item → record
stream set → recordset
stream view → view
stream item action → record-action
stream action → table-action
driver class → database driver

View Attribute