The Interface

Listing Page

Action Builder's listing page lists the actions that have been created by all users, in all universes. The toolbar provides a button to create new actions, and options for filtering and restricting the list.

This is a screenshot of the Action Builder index, which consists of a toolbar containing navigation and create buttons, a filter, and a data source dropdown list, and underneath the toolbar is a grid listing a large number of actions, against which are buttons for viewing, copying editing and deleting each action.

For each action, the grid shows you:

  • Name: The name of the action.

  • Universe: The universe it belongs to.

  • Amended by: Who last modified it.

  • Amended at: When it was last modified.

  • Locked by: If the action is locked for editing, this shows you who locked it.

  • Locked at: When the action was locked.

Each action can be unlocked, viewed, edited, copied or deleted.

Note: See Unlocking an Element for advice on locked elements.

If you create a new action or view an existing one, you will see Action Builder.

Action Builder

Screenshot showing the Action Builder interface, which has a text box labelled Description, a text box labelled Condition, and three sections where you can create steps for your action.

The Action Builder toolbar provides options for closing the builder, choosing an action to view (if you have more than one open), and returning to the listing page.

Below the toolbar are options for describing the action and for defining the steps that the action will follow.

Description

You can choose to provide a description of the action by entering a note in the Description box. For example, you might want to describe what the action does. The Description box supports regional and special characters.

Conditions

You can choose to make an action dependent on a condition.

You add a condition using Calculation Builder. Calculation Builder opens automatically when you click inside the Condition box. For guidance on writing conditions, see Calculation Builder.

Syntelate XA evaluates the condition when the action is run.

If you have added a condition, then you need to add steps for Syntelate XA to follow either when the condition is true or when it's false.

Action Steps

An action is comprised of one or more steps. The steps are organized into the following three groups that Syntelate XA runs in this order:

  1. Steps to run regardless of condition: These steps are always run and they run first. After running these, or if there is no step defined here, Syntelate XA checks the next step.
  2. Steps to run when condition is true: If there is a condition on the action and it's evaluated as true, any steps defined here will be run. If there are no steps defined here then Syntelate XA checks the next step.
  3. Steps to run when condition is false: If there is a condition on the action and it's evaluated as false, any steps defined here will be run. If there are no steps defined here then the action ends at this point.

Actions Without Conditions

If your action doesn't have a condition, then add steps to Steps to run regardless of condition and ignore the other step groups.

Actions With Conditions

If you have specified a condition, you can add steps to run regardless of the condition, but you must as a minimum add steps to run when the condition is either true or false.

Action Step Buttons

You can manage action steps using the buttons provided.

Button Description
View/edit action step Open Action Step Builder to edit the step. Or, to view it.
Save as Save a copy of the step under a different name.
Delete action step Delete the step.
Move action step down Move the step down one row within this group. Only used when there are multiple steps in the group.
Move action step up Move the step up one row within this group. Only used when there are multiple steps in the group.

What's Next?

Learn about the different types of action step: