What is a Lookup?

Lookups are denoted by a dotted double-ended connector transferring data into and out of a View Action, and are used to lookup and retrieve records in other recordsets. Lookup views require:

Request (Incoming) Mappings: the attributes being passed into the View Action via the lookup connector
Output Attributes: the attributes being used by View Action to filter results
Return (Outgoing) Mappings: the attributes being passed out of the View Action via the lookup connector

For views, see View Action Configuration.

Views vs Lookups

Learn More

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.

Creating Lookups

Hover over an action node, e.g. a Calculate Action, on the canvas and select
Enter a name for the Lookup Connector
Click onto a View action on the canvas
Alternatively, click onto any empty space on the canvas to create a new View Action

Example Uses

Lookups are useful in many scenarios.

Example: Dynamic Parameters are Needed, e.g. where two lookups are used and the results of the second lookup are determined by the first

Solution: See how-to guide, Lookups with Dynamic Parameters.

Worked Example

Here's a worked example using the School Data (available from the Learning Centre).

In this example, we are using:

A Classroom Management screen - this screen was created using the Tile with Buttons template, and contains:
- A basic card container of the Classroom data
- A basic card container of the Courses data
- An empty string field, FilterField

If you are completing this chapter as part of the Actionflow course and using a training instance, the data and screens have already been pre-loaded into the Actionflow Foundation Application. For this example, we'll be working on the Classroom Management screen.

Lookup to Classroom Courses

In this example, we want to see the courses held in each classroom when each classroom is clicked. To do this, we will use the classroom data to lookup and retrieve the associated courses data, then output that data back to the screen where it can be used to filter the courses data.

To do this it we will:

Lookup the courses using the Classroom ID, which is found on both the Classroom and Course tables
Write those courses' Course ID(s) back to the screen onto a string field
Setup a background filter to only show courses in a Courses card container that match the Course ID in the field

Event Handler Setup

Event handlers facilitate actions occurring in response to a user action. For this example, we want a user clicking on a classroom card to run an Actionflow that populates a string field that we will later to use to filter the information that can be seen on screen

Click on the top card on the Classroom Management screen to open the Properties for the area, Card
Click on the Actions tab
Click the icon in the Event Handler section
In the New Card (On Click) Event Handler tab, click Apply
1. Enter a name for the Actionflow:
  1. Name: Filter Courses

Create Calculate Action and Lookup

Select Click to Connect and for the input, choose the Classrooms Card Component, then select Connect Input
In the Mappings window that opens, drag the ClassroomID attribute from the left to the right
1. Select Save
Click and drag the Calculate icon from the toolbar onto the canvas
In the Create Calculate Action window enter:
1. Name: GetCourses
2. Select Create Action
  
  For the input data, the attributes pass through the Calculate action without being processed. For the output data, the Calculate action processes the data into an array.
Click and drag the icon onto the Calculate action node
Right-click on the in connector and choose Open Mappings
1. Drag the ClassroomID attribute on the left onto the Drag and Drop area on the right
2. Select Save
To look up to the School_Courses table, hover over the Calculate action node and choose, Add Lookup
1. On the Add Connection Point window, name the lookup: luc
  1. We recommend choosing a name to indicate the action taking place, e.g. "luc" for look up courses
2. Click Confirm
With the red arrow attached to your mouse, click anywhere on the canvas
In the Create View Action window enter:
1. Name: Courses
2. Primary Table: choose School_Course
3. Select Create Action

Configure the Lookup

The Output Attribute Selection window will open automatically
1. Click the tick box next to CourseID
2. Click Next
The Request (Incoming) Mappings window will open automatically
1. Drag the ClassroomID attribute from the left (Calculate Action) into the Drag and Drop area on the right to create a corresponding attribute in the View action
2. Select Next
The Return (Outgoing) Mappings window will open automatically
1. Drag the CourseID attribute from the left (View Action) to the Drag and Drop area on the right to map a corresponding attribute back to the Calculate action
2. Click Confirm and Create Filter
We need to filter the data coming out of the lookup
1. Name: ByClassroomID
2. Click abc to tell PhixFlow to interpret the field as an expression
3. Filter Conditions:
  1. In this filter, the top CourseID is from the Courses data, and the bottom CourseID is from the Classroom data
4. Select Finish

Checkpoint

Configure the Calculate Action and Output

Click on the Calculate action on the canvas to open its Properties tab
In the Output Attributes section, click the icon to create a new attribute:
1. Name: CourseIDArray
2. Type: Choose Structured Data
  1. This will return the results as an array
3. Expression:
```
luc.CourseID
```
4. Click Apply and Close
Under Connections on the left, select Add
Add an Output Connection Point:
1. Name: output
2. Type: choose Output
3. Click Create Connection Point
In the Connect Output window, choose the ClassroomAvailabilityManagement Form, then Connect Output
1. Close the Mappings window that opens as we don't have any attributes to map to this yet
Hover your mouse over the Calculate action on the canvas and click out
When the red arrow shows, click on the node under Connections
1. On the Mappings window, drag across the CourseIDArray attribute from the Calculate action into the Drag and Drop area on the right to create a corresponding attribute on the output
2. Click Save
Click the output connection point, under Connections
1. On the Mappings window, drag the CourseIDArray attribute from the output to the string field, FilterField
2. Click Save
The Actionflow is now built

Checkpoint

Setting up a Background Filter

The Event Handler and Actionflow will now populate the string field, FilterField, by clicking each classroom card, but the Courses card container needs a background filter setting so it can be filtered by the values in the string field.

Troubleshooting

If at any point your screen does not display the expected results, such as clicking on the classroom card does not populate FilterField, or after creating the below filter the Courses cards do not filter, always try closing and reopening the screen first.

Return to the Classroom Management screen
Click on the Courses card container to open the Card Component Properties
1. Ensure you click on the white space underneath the top contact card to open the Card Component
On the Properties tab, in the Background Filter Rules section, click
1. Enter the Rule Expression: true
Create a new filter by pressing next to Filter:
1. Name: ByFilterField
2. In the Filter Details section, click Select an option and choose the CourseID in the Table Attributes
3. Filter Details:
1. Click Apply and Close on both the Filter and Filter Rule Properties
Lock the screen and click a classroom card to see the Actionflow working

Having trouble? See Troubleshooting above.

Once you have verified the Actionflow is working, the FilterField string field can be hidden in the Styles tab or Layers to tidy up the screen.

Browser not supported