Connections¶
The Connections tab allows users to visualize, edit and create connections. These operations link containers by defining which container is the origin point and which is the destination.
Connections can be set up not only in this tab, but also through the components’ context menu, via the Create Connection and the Set connection options.
Connections allow performing three operations:
Making Containers or Organizers visible/invisible on the interface.
Disabling editing of Organizers.
Changing other Options’ values.
Each existing connection is displayed in this tab, where a summary of its characteristics is displayed, and organized in the following columns:
Name: the name of the connection.
Origin: the controller which activates the connection when a specific condition is set.
Destinations: it contains the list of the controllers affected by the connection.
By clicking on the pencil icon in the top-right corner of the tab, the Connections Manager window opens.
When first opening it and no connects are set, this window is completely empty, so users need to click on the Plus button in the top-left corner to generate the first connection.
Each generated connection is assigned its own tab in the Connections Manager window, allowing users to browse, visualize, or edit existing connections.
Connections’ names can be edited by clicking on the Pencil icon next to each connection’s name.
Once a connection has been added, the Connections Manager window is divided in two areas: the origin area, and the Destinations area.
In the origin area, users select which Controller will verify the condition and activate the options set in the Destinations area. Users will find the options below:
Origin: select from the drop-down list the component which will trigger the connection. The Origin component must belong to the Controllers family.
Code: the condition which must be satisfied in order to activate the connection.
Warning
Each condition written in the Code field must be preceded by the prefix
__code__
and must be written using the gold code.The Controller specified in the Origin drop-down menu must be associated to an Option.
In the Destinations area, located at the bottom of the window, users can add Components to be linked to the Controller specified in the origin area and define the effect they will receive from the connection.
By default, this area is empty, and no maximum number of destinations is defined. Users need to click on the Add destination box to add a destination for their connection.
Once a destination has been added, the Destinations area is populated with the Destination drop-down menu, where users can choose the component which will be affected by the connection.
After selecting the Destination component, a series of options appears in the Destinations area, which vary according to the sub-family the Component belongs to.
Only one option is shared among all Components defined as the Destination, below you’ll find its features.
Negate: if selected, the connection will work only if the code specified in the Code field is not verified.
The paragraphs below list the options available for each Components sub-family when defined as the Destination.
Organizers¶
When a component belonging to the Organizers sub-family is selected from the Destination drop-down menu, the Destinations area is populated accordingly.
The shared options are listed above. Instead, to know more about Organizers specific options browse the tabs below.
Option |
Description |
---|---|
Action |
Select from the drop-down list the operation that will affect the component when the conditions set in the origin area are verified (or not verified, if the Negate checkbox is selected). The possible values are:
|
Option |
Description |
---|---|
Tab/Step to be focused |
Type the step number of the tab/step which will be visualized when the conditions set in the origin area are verified (or not verified, if the Negate checkbox has been selected). |
Enable visible |
If selected, the Visible tabs/steps option is activated. |
Visible tabs/steps |
Select from the drop-down list the tabs/steps which will be visible when the conditions set in the origin area are verified (or not verified, if the Negate checkbox has been selected). By default, all the tabs/steps are selected. This option is active only when the Enable visible checkbox has been selected. |
Disabled tabs/steps |
Select from the drop-down list the tabs/steps which will be disabled when the conditions set in the origin area are verified (or not verified, if the Negate checkbox has been selected). By default, no tabs/steps are selected. This option is active only when the Enable visible checkbox has been selected. |
Visualizers¶
In the Visualizers subfamily, when a Label is selected in the Destination drop-down menu, only the Negate checkbox and the Action drop-down are displayed: their characteristics are explained, respectively, in the introduction and in the container/collapse section.
Controllers¶
As previously said, Controllers are the only Components which can be specified both as an Origin and as a Destination.
Once they have been selected as the Destination, the following options are displayed:
Negate: the shared option among all components, the description can be found here.
Value: type the value of the controller when the condition specified in the origin area will be verified (or not verified, if the Negate checkbox has been selected).
Example¶
In this section, an example on how to set up a connection is provided.
Specifically, we want to set up a Carousel where users enter personal information. If the checkbox “University Student” is checked, the carousel will automatically move to a specific page with additional questions about educational background.
The user will not be allowed to browse through the pages manually, so as explained below, we will configure a connection in the carousel.
Follow the steps below:
After having created a View, add a General Button, right-click on it and select Set Event> OnClick (to know more about events, go to the corresponding page).
Choose the event type: as we need to build a Mask, a Modal Window or a Compute Flow event is required. In this example, we chose a Modal Window event.
Set up the Modal window type as Mask in the Modal window tab in the event window.
Start building your interface, in the Mask tab. In this case, we added a Carousel containing Text fields and Calendar fields in first page, while two Combobox have been added to the second page.
Add a Checkbox outside the carousel. It is important to place it outside the carousel because it will act as the controller triggering the connection.
- Click the pencil icon, in the Connections tab, to open the Connections Manager. Add a new connection, and configure it as follows:
Choose Check1 as the Origin.
Type
__code__ == True
in the Code field.Click on the Add destination button.
Choose Carousel1 as the Destination.
Specify 2 as the Step to be focused.
Leave the other settings unchanged.
Click Apply to make the connection effective.
Drag the corresponding option from the Options tab or set it up using the Options drop-down menu in the component layout menu, since a Connection works on a Controller linked to an Option. The Option must be a variable with the value
False
.
Save the event and save the view.
As you can see, when the checkbox is selected, the mask automatically moves to page 2.