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This topic is for application designers who want to understand the concepts of actionflows.

For applications created in PhixFlow versions 8.3 and earlier, use actions and stream item actions to configure user interaction with data; see Using Stream Actions.

This page explains the concepts of the new actionflow feature, introduced in PhixFlow 9.0.

Overview

Actionflows are diagrams in which you create the functionality of your application. Actionflows are wired onto the screen using connectors and attached to event handers:

  • either on a component such as a button or area
  • to grid components and their attributes.
  • to card components

When the user triggers an action with an event handler, PhixFlow processes the actionflow. Actionflows can affect data, for example by making changes to stream-items, such as update or delete.

Actionflows can also move the user through their task, by validating input or opening the next screen.

For example, a simple contact application includes a screen where the user enters details of a new contact. When the user clicks the update button, PhixFlow runs the actionflow to:

  1. Check the input provided is appropriate
  2. Add the new contact stream-item to the database
  3. Provide a confirmation message.

This page explains actionflow concepts. For details of how to create an actionflow and their properties see: Actionflows.

Reusing Actionflows

You can reuse an actionflow throughout your application. This means you only need to create one actionflow for functionality that occurs on different screens or layouts, such as to update stream-items or open a screen. You can also include an actionflow as a node within another actionflow.

When you reuse an actionflow, you do not create a copy of it. You are using the actionflow itself. An instance of an actionflow is the combination of the actionflow and its input and output connections. You can change an actionflow and the same change occurs in all the instances where it is used. The changes do not affect the input and output connections of the actionflow.

For each instance of an actionflow, you specify which data the actionflow uses by wiring to connection points. This means you can connect to attributes with any name, and changing the names of these attributes will not affect the actionflow.

To select an existing actionflow to reuse it, click  Actionflow next to any actionflow field to display a list of previously created actionflows. Select the actionflow to use and drag and drop this onto the actionflow field. The actionflow will then open for you to specify the data the actionflow needs to use in that instance.

Actionflow Diagram

The adjacent illustration shows the layout of an actionflow diagram. The central white area with blue outline represents the reusable part of the actionflow. The outer grey area with pink numbers represent items related to the actionflow instance only. The numbered areas are explained below.

  1. Toolbar
    The toolbar contains icons that you drag onto the actionflow canvas to create the different nodes, such as a calculate action. The toolbar also contains canvas properties, such as zoom and alignment.
  2. Instance Origin
    The origin indicates the event that triggers the actionflow instance. It displays its location in a hierarchy showing:
    • the name of screen 
    • the name of the component, such as a button, grid or card component
    • the event type, such as a double-click 
  3. Instance Options
    These options affect the entire actionflow instance, such as hiding the loading spinner. 
  4. Instance Inputs
    Inputs to an actionflow for that actionflow instance
    • Event starts the actionflow regardless of data. The actionflow will always run when triggered by the origin.
    • Data provides data to the actionflow. The data displayed belongs to the same screen or component as the event handler.  Data could be any data bound component on a screen, including:
      • grid components.
      • card components.
      • forms
  5. Input Interface
    This is the first junction between the actionflow instance and the actionflow contents. The interface contains connection points which connect the inputs to the action nodes. There are 2 connection points available, these are:
    1.  Driving output connection point
    2.  Lookup output connection point
  6. Actionflow Canvas
    The canvas represents the reusable actionflow. It contains action nodes which are connection together using connection points. The nodes on the diagram represent individual actions that pass or process the data from the connections. The data passes using either a
    •  Driving connection or
    •  Lookup connection
  7. Output Interface
    This is the second junction between the actionflow instance and the actionflow contents. The interface contains connection points which connect the action nodes to the outputs. There is only 1 type of connection point available, a driving connection point.
  8. Instance Outputs
    Outputs from an actionflow for that actionflow instance. These are data bound components which you want to send data to after the actionflow has completed. The output resembles the input area without the event.     Outputs could be any data bound component on a screen, including:
      • grid components.
      • card components.
      • forms

Actionflow Nodes

In an actionflow diagram, each smallest action that PhixFlow can perform is represented as a circle, called a node. Nodes can be:

  • data interactions - save, delete, add
  • data calls and calculations - connecting to views to look-up, use or process stream-items
  • screen interactions - to open or close screens in the application
  • another actionflow - this means you can represent a complex step as a single node
  • gateways - decision points with logic to determine which path PhixFlow takes next.

As you add nodes to the actionflow, you wire the output connection point of one node to the input connection point on the next. In this way, you are create the logical steps needed to complete a specific piece of functionality.  Todo-Anthony Update picture

Unreachable Actions

Dashboards have a section called unreachable actions - Todo-Anthony - what this means and how to use it.

Illustration

The picture below shows an actionflow that validates the format of data to ensure it is a valid area code. It's input connection is called Area Code.

The actionflow is reused by two applications, shown on the left. Each application has separate data with different fields. The actionflow takes data from:

  • Postcode data in the Contact App
  • Zip Code in the Asset Manager App. 

This shows that an actionflow can take its input from an attribute with any name. It also illustrates the 2 instances of the actionflow:

  • Instance 1 is the actionflow with input from Postcode 
  • Instance 2 is the actionflow with input from Zip Code

As actionflows are reusable, you:

  • create an actionflow, setting up all the nodes, wires and the logic
  • use and actionflow, connecting it to screen components, events and data, thin mapping the data through the actionflow.
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