Adding an Action

There are two ways to approach creating actions:

  • Create a new action.
  • Copy an existing action and edit according to your needs.

From A Desktop Control

Often the easiest way to add a new action is from the data entry element, script, or other desktop control in which you’ll use the action. To do this, follow these steps:

  1. From the Control properties of the control where you want to add the action, click New Action.

    The following example shows this for a Text box control in the Data Entry Designer:

    Actions for a text box control

  2. In Name, type a name for the action.
  3. From the universe dropdown, select the universe which the action will be saved to. (Remember that the universe is your data source.)
  4. Click Save.

Syntelate XA asks you if you want to view the new action.

If you choose Yes, you see Action Builder open.

If you choose No, you are returned to Data Entry Designer and will see the new action listed under Actions in Control Properties.

Tip: You can open any action attached to a control by expanding Actions in Control Properties and clicking on the action's name.

From the Action Builder

Adding New Actions

To add a new action from the Action Builder, follow these steps:

  1. Open Action Builder.
  2. On the listings page, click Add. The Add Action dialog is shown.
  3. In the Name box, type a name for the action.
  4. In the Universe dropdown, select the universe to which this action should be added.
  5. Click Save.
  6. You see Action Builder screen. Here, you can add the steps required to create your action.

When you are finished, click Close this view to return to the listings page.

Copying Existing Actions

To copy an existing action from the Action Builder, follow these steps:

  1. Open Action Builder.
  2. From the listings page, click Save As Save as. The Add Action dialog is shown.
  3. In Name, type a name for the action.
  4. From the Universe dropdown, select the universe to which this action should be added.
  5. Click Save. You are returned to the listings page where you see a success message. You also see the copied action, ready for you to edit.
  6. Click on Design Design to see and edit the action’s settings. The Action Builder opens.
  7. After you have made any required changes, save the action.