Action window

In the Action window, you change data records' fields, enter certain participants or create new, linked data records. Using the settings in the window, you can execute actions immediately for highlighted data records. In addition, you will see that various functions are available for actions to save them, load them or set them as favorites.

Participants can be changed when changing or creating data records.

Please note

The "Current user" variable must be entered exactly as it appears in this example: with a capital "C" and in inverted commas.

User names entered in the text field have to correspond exactly to the way the name is written in the program. This is ensured automatically through the Participants field, but can differ for other fields with text. So wherever user names have to be entered in other fields we recommend that you use Input help options and the Current user variable.

Functions

Select the Add option if you want to add more users as participants to the selected data records.
Activate Replace if you want to allocate the highlighted data records to participants other than those currently assigned to the data records.

Using Remove you can remove participants from a data record.

If you remove all the participants to a data record, then the action will not be performed. This prevents the data record from having no participants, and thus being inadvertently made public.

If you have activated Remove, then the Display deactivated users button will be available in the bottom left-hand corner of the Select participants window

If you move one or more deactivated users over to participants on the right-hand side, then these users will be removed as participants from data records.

Participants Opens the Select participants window, in which you can add or remove users as participants.

You will notice that an additional user can be selected in this window, the Current user. Selecting this user, enters the user as the participant who performs an action.

Select participants

With Maximum external access rights you will see the Unchanged option available in the Select participants window.

If you select a certain external access right, this external access right applies to all participants after the action.

For certain fields such as the Editor field in tasks, you can enter a user. When entering an action for these types of fields you can enter the "Current user" for Change value.

Then the user who carries out the action is entered into the field.

Fields can be changed with or without changing participants. If you fill in multiple rows in the Field values area, the entered changes are executed with the action one after the other in the displayed order.

Select Change data record in the Type of action drop-down list.
Select the Table field you want to change.

The Table field drop-down list contains all the available fields for the data record type for which you opened the Action function.

Possible changes

In the Change drop-down list, you select which kind of change you want to apply.

The Set entry can be selected for all table fields.
Transfer This function transfers a field value from one field to another field in the data record you wish to change.

The field value in the Value of change column is adopted in the field that has been selected as Table field.

For table fields with a date, users can also select the Today entry in the Value of change field.
Set in relation can only be selected for table fields that contain dates.

A value is set in relation to an entered time, for example, the entered date "plus x days". Enter the number of days as the Value of change.

Using Add, you can add a number to the available value.

Addition is only possible for integer type fields.

You change or add to existing texts in text fields using Paste text in front or Paste text in the end, or replace the entered text using Replace text element.

Adding/removing action texts for input help

In data record windows, users can add, replace or remove input help values of the checkbox or selection tree types.

With selection tree input help options you have to be careful when selecting a parent entry that this and all child entries are deleted. You can select and change multiple child entries simultaneously.

Open the desired data record.

Open the Action drop-down list on the toolbar in the data record window.

Click Additional actions.

The Action window will open.

Select Change data record in the Type of action drop-down list.
Select the required table field with the input help you want to change.
Select Change from the drop-down list if you wish to Add text or Remove text.
Select the Change value you wish to use.
Once you have completed the input you wish to make, click Perform action now.

If you select this action type, you can link the created data records directly with the selected data records of the list in which you have executed the Action function. The link type can be selected.

If you want data record text fields to be transferred to another new data record using an action, then HTML code is displayed in the new data record. For example, you do this to combine multiple tasks into one single task. The keywords from both tasks should be available in the new task. Don't use actions such as Compose, but instead the Adopt action. This will ensure that both field content and formatting are transferred.

Data records can be created with or without changing participants. If you do not enter any special participants, the user who executes the action is entered.

Select Create data record as Action type.
First, select the data record type and then the link type.

You can also enter primary links when creating data records.

In the Field values table, changes can be defined for every field.

With Set, the Value of change is entered for the selected table field.

With Set in relation, a value is set in relation to an entered time, for example, the entered date "plus x days".
Using Apply in the Change drop-down list applies the field value from a field in the originating data record to another field in the newly created data record.

The field value in the Value of change column is adopted in the field that has been selected as Table field.

Example

You wish to create job tasks whose set time is the same as the start time for the job start.

Select a job and create a new action. For the Type of action select Create data record and then set Tasks as the Data record type.

For Table field select Set time. This applies to the task. In the change drop-down list, select Apply. And for the Value of change field select Start from the drop-down list. And this field applies to the process.

With Renumber from consecutive numbers are entered into the field, begining with a number of your choice. You can only use the numbering consecutively function with integer type fields.

If you run an action in a list view or for data records, which you have marked, then the data records are numbered consecutively as they are displayed.

The number is only counted in the current running action. This mean that when you save the action and then call it again later, that is when the counting begins again for the number entered into the Value of change field.

When creating data records with an action, values are entered automatically into the Number field if your administrator has defined number assignments in the Management Console.

In the Action window, you should not enter any settings for the Number field.

Using Compose you can sum different values together. These are comprised of different values which are taken from different table fields and text which you have entered yourself.

Example: You want to create opportunities for a number of new addresses and also enter a unique subject for each for them.

Start off by selecting Compose from the Change drop-down list.

In the Value of change field, click Compose.

Select First name and Last name as table fields and leave a space between both the variables you entered. You can enter additional text into this field too.

The content from the Notes field of the out box data record can be applied to the Notes field of the new data record.

Select Notes as the table field and then Apply in Change. And for Value of change select Notes.

Click Execute action. The window is closed and data records are changed or newly created.
If you click Close, the window will be closed without saving your changes.
With Reset, the existing entries are deleted in all rows.

Saving actions

Save this action opens a window in which you can save the action under a new name.
If you select the Public option, this action is then available to all users who have been assigned the Edit/execute actions right.
You can set detailed access rights by defining several levels from public until private. Not all access rights levels are available for all rights settings.

Public means that all users have access to that particular data record, navigator, filter, and so on as no access rights are assigned. This means that all users can view, edit and delete this data.

Private data records can only be viewed by users who have been entered as participants.
You can reload a saved action.

In the Load saved action window, actions can also be deleted.

Favorites and general favorites

Define favorites opens the corresponding window.
If you select an action as favorite, this action is displayed as item in your menu or Action drop-down list.
If you define a public action as General favorite, this action will be displayed for all users with the Edit/execute actions right.
You can activate the General favorite option only for public actions and only if you have the Edit/execute actions right and administrator rights.

Checking mandatory fields

If a mandatory field is then not included in an action, that is, the field is not filled in, you will receive an error message when saving.

No mandatory primary links with actions

If you are using mandatory primary links, then under certain circumstances you will have to enter mandatory primary links when creating: jobs, appointments, tasks, documents and so on.

These mandatory primary links can be adopted from the data record through which you created a new data record with a primary link. When saving the new data record, the system checks whether the mandatory primary links have been entered.

You can also create new data records and adopt the primary links of the original data records through actions.

If you create new data records through Actions, then checking for mandatory primary links is not possible. As a result, data records could be created either with or without an incorrect primary link.

Example

You can use an action to create opportunities for one or more tasks you have selected. In the process, the mandatory primary links associated with the address from the task are adopted to the opportunity.

A mandatory primary link must normally be entered before the information is saved. This is not possible in this case as the primary mandatory link will automatically be adopted from the initial data record. But the system cannot check whether or not the right mandatory primary link has been added.

An opportunity can therefore be created using an action, because mandatory primary links are not checked when working with actions.