Executing Actions

An Action Flow is a sequential set of Actions that is executed when you click a Designer configured user menu button in runtime. Each Action in an Action Flow can, and in some cases must, take inputs from prior actions and provide outputs to subsequent actions.

To create an Action Flow

Click the Action Flow button on the X-Author Designer ribbon.
Click Create.
Enter an Action Flow Name and then click Apply.

Note

Each Action Flow will ultimately be associated with an end user menu command, so use a name that clearly represents this flow. When you click Apply, the Action Flow in the left pane is updated with the name you enter.
To add a step in the flow, click Add Step.
On the right pane, under Step, type a Step Name (use any name, such as 1 or Search Account) and then click Apply. Under the Select Action section, select an Action from the list. If this action generates any output, select Persist Data as Output and under the Action Output section, type a Name for the output. You can use any name (like Opps). If this action requires an input, select Provide Input and select an input from the Action Input list. Based on the type of Action, X-Author Designer provides input suggestions. See the Action Flow Check Boxes table below for more information on when to use inputs and outputs.
Repeat steps 3 – 5 to add more than one step. Ensure that you click Apply after each step and notice the hierarchy updated in the left-hand pane.
To reorder a step in the hierarchy, select the step from the left pane and click Step Up to move the step up in the hierarchy. Click Step Down to move step down in the hierarchy.
After you have created the Action Flow, click Save and click Save App.

Action Flow Check boxes

Field	Description
Persist Data as Output	Select this check box if an action generates any output. Type a Name for the output. You can use any name. For example, Opps.
Provide Input	Select this check box if an action requires input. Select an action from the Action Input list. Based on the type of Action, X-Author Designer provides input suggestions.
Suppress Save Message	Select this check box if you have multiple save actions in a single action flow and you want to suppress the save message of that particular action. Note: This check box is enabled for the Save action only.

Suppress Message Validations

When no records found in a Save Action check box (App Settings)	Suppress Save Message check box (Action Flow)	Behavior
Yes	No	The message is not displayed.
No	No	The message is displayed.
No	Yes	No Records Found for Save message is displayed.
Yes	Yes	The message is not displayed.

When all records are saved successfully in a Save Action (App Settings)	Suppress Save Message check box (Action Flow)	Behavior
No	No	The message for each Save action is displayed.
No	Yes	The message is not displayed.
Yes	No	The message is not displayed.
Yes	Yes	The message is not displayed.

Action Flow Required Inputs and Outputs

Action	Input	Output
Check-in	It always requires input because the Excel workbook is saved to an individual record. Although the individual object is already identified when you create the action itself, it is possible you could have used that object in different ways in various action flows. Therefore, the Action Flow requires specific output from a prior action as input to this one.	Never
Check-out	It always requires input because the Excel file is opened from an individual record. Although the individual object is already identified when you create the action itself, it is possible you could have used that object in different ways in various action flows. Therefore, the Action Flow needs to have the specific output from a prior action as input to this one.	Never
Clear Fields	Never. Clear Fields is tied to a specific Save Map.	Never
Display	It always requires input. An output from a prior Action must represent any object on a Display Map.
Macro	Never.	Never
Query	Only if INPUT has been used in the query action filter.	Always
Dataset	It always requires input. Datasets take the outputs of query action as inputs. Output can be saved as a single dataset.	Always
Salesforce Method	Optional.	Optional
Save	Never.	Never
Search and Select	Input is required only if INPUT has been used in the Search and Select action filter.	Always

To edit or delete an Action Flow

Highlight an Action Flow on the Action Flow list.
Click Edit or Delete.
To delete an Action Flow that has already been associated with a User Menu button, first, remove the association in the User Menu.

You can auto-execute the action flow and launch an action from Source CRM as well.

To launch an Action Flow when the app is opened in runtime

An Action Flow can be kicked off automatically either when the app is opened directly in Excel or from your source CRM button.

When the App is opened from Excel

Click Action Flow.
Select the Auto Execute (Regular) check box for the action flow that should execute automatically.
Click Cancel.

When the App is opened from a Source CRM button

There are two choices:

Follow the steps above and select the Auto Execute (Launch from Source CRM) check box
Execute a different Action Flow for each source CRM button.

For example, if you are creating a quote from an Opportunity, you may want to execute the Create Quote Action Flow from the Create Quote button in your environment. For the Edit Quote, you may want a completely different user experience so you would create a second Action Flow and attach that to the Edit Quote button.