Overview
This page explains the screen properties. For information on how to divide a screen into different panes, and how to add components to it, see Drag-and-Drop Techniques.
Properties
Property Pane Toolbar
For information about the toolbar options, see the Common Properties page, Toolbars and Controls section.
The toolbar includes the button to Display Screen.Parent Details
If this item is within or belongs to another, it's parent name is shown here. See the Common Properties page, Parent Details section for more details.
Basic Settings
Field | Description |
---|---|
Name | The name of the dashboard. |
Open Maximised | Tick to open the dashboard maximised. Untick to open the dashboard as a pop-up window. |
Allow User to Resize | Tick to enable the application user, when running in Application Mode, to resize the dashboard. Untick to keep the dashboard size fixed when running in in Application Mode. This option does not affect resizing the dashboard in Design Mode. |
Show Toolbar | Design Mode always has a toolbar with the dashboard name on the left and toolbar icons on the right. Tick to also display the toolbar in Application Mode. The dashboard name is displayed. Toolbar icons are not displayed. Untick is the default as the toolbar is usually not required in Application Mode. |
Show Window Button Bar | Tick to display a Windows-style bar at the top of the dashboard. This has a maximise/restore button and a close button. Untick to have no Windows-style bar at the top of the dashboard. |
Always On Top | Tick to keep the dashboard on top of other dashboards. This is useful for a pop-up window that you want a user to complete before returning to another dashboard. Untick to allow other dashboards to be displayed in front. |
Keep Data | Tick to allow dashboard data to be referenced even after the dashboard is closed. This is useful if an application user needs access to global data available in the system. Untick is the default. The dashboard data is not required once the dashboard is closed. |
Preload | Dashboards, especially complex dashboards, can take some time to open, which can feel slow to the application user. Use this option when you need a dashboard to open quickly. Preloading screens adds to the time it takes PhixFlow to initially start up. For this reason we recommend you only preload dashboards that an application user will always want to open. Tick to preload the dashboard when PhixFlow first starts. When the user then opens the dashboard, it displays immediately. The data itself may still take time to load. Untick is the default. The dashboard does not need to be preloaded. Preloading relates to the dashboard itself. Any data backing the dashboard is only loaded when the dashboard opens, and this may also take time to load. |
Cache Locally | If an application user is likely to require the same dashboard in different stages of a task. Use this option so that, when the user closes and reopens the dashboard, it loads immediately. Tick to cache the dashboard on the application user's client computer when the dashboard first opens. Untick is the default. The dashboard does not need to be cached. Caching relates to the dashboard itself. Any data backing the dashboard will be reload each time the dashboard is opened. |
Position | By default, new dashboards are set to Floating. If you want a dashboard to open with a fixed position, select one of the Pinned drop-down options:
Use the Pinned options to create a permanently visible dashboard. This is useful for a navigation area or toolbar that you want to be visible for all other dashboards. Floating dashboards do not overlap with pinned dashboards. When the user maximises a Floating dashboard, it expands only to the remaining space. |
Width | For dashboards that are not set to Open maximised, specify a dashboard width in pixels, for example 500px for a small confirmation window. The default size for a pop-up dashboard approximately 800px. |
Height | For dashboards that are not set to Open maximised, specify a dashboard height in pixels, for example |
Top | Available when Position is Floating. For dashboards that are not set to Open maximised, set an offset value in pixels to position the dashboard where it is required. For example, to display a dashboard as a pop-up window towards the top left of the screen, set:
|
Left | |
Right | |
Bottom |
Dashboard Elements
Dashboard Elements are specific sections on a screen that posses their own properties, specifically each element can be backed by a different table.
To view a list of the Screen Element for a specific screen, open the Propertiesavailable from the screen toolbar. For more information on Screen Element and how to use them see: Screen Element.
Menu Items
This section has a toolbar with standard buttons and:
- Show stream-actions
- Filter
The grid contains a list of menu items. To add a menu item to the list, click Add New
- click Add New
- Select
- either Add a new sub-menu
- or Add a new menu item; see Menu
- PhixFlow opens a new properties tab for a menu item or sub-menu; see Menu for details.
To remove a menu, use the toolbar button Delete.
Mappings
This section has a toolbar with standard buttons.
Components on the dashboard, such as buttons or data-components, can have actions or stream-item actions. Stream-item actions can take data from attributes in different streams or views. Where the attributes have different names, you must map the attribute, so that the stream-item action recognises the data. This grid contains a list of mappings for the components on this dashboard.
To configure a mapping, in the dashboard, right-click a component and select Add Mapping.
Unreachable Actions
This section has a toolbar with standard buttons. The grid displays a list of actionflows that are linked to components on the dashboard, but do not exist yet.
Actionflows are a new way to configure actions, introduced in PhixFlow version 9.0.0; see Understanding Actionflows.
Actions
This section has a toolbar with standard buttons. The grid displays a list of actions and stream-item-actions that are linked to the dashboard.
Actions and stream-item-actions were the way to configure dashboard functionality before PhixFlow version 9.0.0; see Using Table Actions and Record-Action
Security Tab
Access Permissions
See the Common Properties page, Access Permissions section.
Description
We recommend that you always enter a description to explain the purpose of this item.
Audit Tab
Audit Summary
See the Common Properties page, Audit Summary section.
Menus and Toolbars
Screen Toolbar
There is a toolbar above the screen canvas. This provides the following options:
List options | |
---|---|
Table | Open the repository showing the list of available streams for your application. |
Screen | Open the repository showing the list of available dashboards for your application. |
Actionflow | Open the repository showing the list of available actionflows for your application. |
Palette | Open the list of palettes. |
Style | Open the repository showing the list of available styles for your application. |
Canvas options | |
Help | Open the help topic with details about working with dashboards. |
Properties | Open the properties tab for the dashboard. |
Error rendering macro 'excerpt-include' : No link could be created for '_layout_unlock'. or Error rendering macro 'excerpt-include' : No link could be created for '_layout_lock'. | Unlock a dashboard to edit its layout. Lock a dashboard to prevent accidental edits and to display the data content. |
Refresh | Update the dashboard to reflect changes made elsewhere in PhixFlow, such as the dashboard properties, layer orders or shared styles. |
Screen Pop-up Menu
Right-click on a screen to display its pop-up menu. The options available depend on where you click. If there are many options, some are moved onto the sub-menu Screen Options.
Menu option | Description |
---|---|
Error rendering macro 'excerpt-include' : No link could be created for '_layout_unlock'. | Unlock a dashboard to edit its layout. |
Error rendering macro 'excerpt-include' : No link could be created for '_layout_lock'. | Lock a dashboard to prevent accidental edits and to display the data content. |
Show Context Parameters | For dashboards created in PhixFlow versions 8.3 and earlier, open a window listing the context parameters in alphabetical order. |
Show Element Details | For dashboards created in PhixFlow versions 8.3 and earlier, open the properties for the dashboard element. |
Add Area Above | Use these options to divide a dashboard into multiple, resizable panes. Select the option to add a pane relative to the currently selected pane. To remove a pane, use the pop-up menu options Delete Pane. |
Add Area on Right | |
Add Area Below | |
Add Area on Left | |
Lock Width | Fix the height or width of the selected pane. You will no longer be able to resize a pane by dragging its dividing line. |
Lock Height | |
Delete | When a specific component is selected, delete the component. Other delete options that may be available relate to specific types of component in the selected pane. |
Delete | Delete options depend on the selected item. Examples are:
|
Delete Element | Delete a dashboard element. |
Create New Form | Create a new form in the current area. |
Pin/Unpin Selected Objects | Pin a component to fix its position; see Pinning and Unpinning. |
Palette | Open the palette to drag in components. |
Turn Auto Size Off/On | Toggle whether or not the currently selected component is automatically auto sized when an application window is resized by the user. Using this option, or manually resizing a component may change the state of the Layout → Style Settings → Auto Size property. |
Error rendering macro 'excerpt-include' : No link could be created for '_arrange_components'. | Options to arrange the selected components within a pane: Align Objects to Left Align Objects to Right Align Objects to Top Align to base Error rendering macro 'excerpt-include' : No link could be created for '_distribute_horizontal'. Error rendering macro 'excerpt-include' : No link could be created for '_distribute_vertical'. |
Find in Repository | Open the repository with to see the selected component in the list. This can be useful if you want to move a component. |
Screen Properties | Open the properties tab for the dashboard. |
Show Record Details | Display information about the stream and its stream-items. |
Add Mapping | Opens a new mapping element properties tab where you can map attributes with different names to components. |
Select All Children | For the selected parent container, select all the child components. |
Table Properties or Show the Stream Configuration | Open the properties for the stream. |
Show Attributes... | Show the list of attributes that are bound to the component. The attributes can be from a stream or view. This is shown in the option:
|