Adding Actions to Folder Extensions with the Flow Designer

Last Updated: 07/29/2016 Introduced in Verision: 2.0

Folder extension actions are any actions that can be taken on a folder of that folder extension type. To create a new folder extension action in the Portal, navigate to the Folder Behavior Actions Folder generated for the data structure, and select the Create Flow button.

Example

In our example, we create a new Edit Car action for our pre-designed Vehicle folder extension. The pre-designed Vehicle folder extension folder was created in the Designer Folder, using the Create Configuration Extension > Add Folder Behavior Action Folder option:
 
add folder behavior 
 
Any flow added in this type of folder will create an action available for use on that folder extension entity. It is possible to create multiple folder action folders, and in some cases, recommended. Reasons to create more than one actions folder are to (1) better organize by functionality, and (2) apply different security (thus restricting users to see only folder actions relevant to them).
 
This action will launch a form in which we can edit the details of our car. On submission, our folder will be updated with the details we’ve entered. This example also assumes that the form we’ll use “Edit Car Form” has also been pre-designed.
flow works
 
 
Begin in the portal by navigating to the Transportation.VehicleFolderBehavior that we created within our Designer Folder and selecting the Create Action button.
 car folder
 
 

In the resulting New Flow pop-up, we will call our action “Edit Car” and click OK to open it in the Flow Designer. Ensure that Base Folder Behavior Action Flow is the type selected.

new flow

 

To edit our folder, our flow must first get the folder using the Get Vehicle component.

The Get Vehicle component is in the Flow Designer start-up window, under the category Integrations > All Integrations > Folder Extension Data Structure > Vehicle.

 

 flowStarts

As a folder extension action, our flow comes preconfigured with an input called FolderId. This is the ID of the folder where the action is occurring. Map FolderId to the Id input of the Get Vehicle component.

map folder id

 

Next, rename the output “Result” of our Get Vehicle component to “Car” Expand the Forms [Interaction] > [Root Folder] > Designer Entities category of the Toolbox panel, and drag Edit Car Form to the workspace.

form dragged

 

Next, select the Edit Car Form step and map the properties of the Car folder we retrieved earlier to the inputs of our form.

mapping inputs to edit car

 

Next, perform the actual editing of our folder with the Edit Vehicle component. We will find it in the Toolbox panel, under the category Integration > Folder Extension Data Structure > Vehicle.

 

Next, map the inputs that are necessary for the Edit Vehicle component to work. Begin by mapping FolderId directly to FolderId. To edit the additional properties of our folder, change the mapping of ExtensionData from “Unknown” to “Build Data.”

build data

 

Next, map the outputs from our form to their respective properties in the Car we’d like to edit. We will also be sure to change the mapping type of ExtensionForType from “Ignore” to “Null”. Not changing this mapping will generate a fatal error in our flow.

map vehicle

 

When we edit our folder, we would like the name of our folder to reflect the updated properties as we’ve set them in our form. To do this, we will change the mapping type of FolderName to Merge Plain Text and, in the Merge Text Editor, define a name that includes our Car’s year, make and model.

folder name editor

 

This completes our flow, so we will save it and close the Flow Designer.

save flow

 

Now, when we navigate to a Car folder (eg, Honda Civic), we will see a new action called Edit Car.

action added

 

When we select this action, we will be shown a form that is pre-populated with the properties of this Car folder. In this example, our Car was originally defined as a blue 2011 Honda Civic. Using this form, we will redefine this car as a red 2009 Chrysler LeBaron, and click Save.

flow works

 

When we update the portal, we will see that the folder details have been updated and the folder name has changed.

updated portal

 

Additional Resources