PhixFlow Help

1. Create simple maintenance app

Steps to create a simple maintenance app are illustrated in the following video:

Build a contact app. To recap the steps in the video:

  • Go to the repository browser, and create an application called Contacts
  • Within the repository browser under the application Contacts, create an analysis model called Contact Management
  • In the model, create a stream called Contacts
  • Set the period of the stream to Transactional
  • Add attributes to the stream:
    • UID, with type = Integer

UID is a special field name. If you create an attribute with this name, PhixFlow knows that it must automatically increment this value when a new record is added to the stream.

The UID is a unique identifier for each record, and it used to link the two view on the dashboard in this example.

  • Contact fields - for each of these, you can leave the settings as default (type = String, Length = 50)
    • Address1
    • Address2
    • City
    • PostCode
    • PhoneNumber
  • Within the repository browser under the application Contacts, create a dashboard called Contacts
  • Open the configuration form for the stream Contacts, and bring the new dashboard back to the front (you may need to use the grey menu bar at the bottom of the application to do this)
  • Drag the stream icon  from the configuration form onto the dashboard, to create a Grid view
  • Drag all attributes from the stream on to the header of the grid view
  • Split the dashboard by adding a Horizontal Bar
  • In the bottom pane, right click and select Create New Form
  • Click on the pane (now you are actually clicking on the form, but it is currently empty) - in the form configuration form that pops up, enter the form name: Contact Details
  • Open the stream configuration: in the top pane, right click and select Show the Stream Configuration
  • Drag all attributes from the stream into the lower half of the dashboard - for each one, an edit field will be created
  • Create an add button:
    • In the lower form, right click and select Open Palette → Basic Components
    • From the palette, drag a button onto the form
    • Called the button Add Contact

The Name of the button is internal - it is a good idea to make this as description as possible, so that you can find this in your configuration and it is clear what this does.

  • Set the Action Type to Insert
  • Save your changes to the button
  • Click over the text in the button - this will open the configuration form for the button label
  • Update the Display Text of the label to Add
  • Save your changes to the label
  • In the same way, add update and delete buttons:
    • Update button:
      • Name: Update Contact
      • Action Type: Update
      • Display Text of button label: Update
  • In the same way, add update and delete buttons:
    • Delete button:
      • Name: Delete Contact
      • Action Type: Delete
      • Display Text of button label: Delete
  • If necessary, arrange the buttons on the form to make them look tidy
  • Link the two views: drag the column heading for UID from the top grid view onto the bottom form

To try out your app, go into App Mode.

Try adding some records, updating and deleting.

Next chapter: 2. Hide fields in apps




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