Tip: Interface patterns give you an opportunity to explore different interface designs. Be sure to check out How to Adapt a Pattern for Your Application.
Allow the user to publish several rows of data to a table through the a!writeToDataStoreEntity() smart service function.
Follow this pattern to create example data and supporting objects to use with other interface patterns (including those that use record types). After using this pattern, review other patterns to learn how to build reports and interfaces using this data in different components.
This scenario demonstrates:
Tip: Try to follow these setup steps verbatim. However, if you do need to adjust any of the values, you'll need to ensure that you make the necessary modifications to interface patterns that depend on this data.
For this pattern, we'll use a custom data type (CDT), then a smart service function to populate the related table with example data.
To set up this pattern:
Note: For certain design objects, we recommend starting object names with a short, unique prefix specific to the related application. To follow that best practice, start the object names used in this pattern with your application's prefix.
To create the CDT you'll need for this pattern:
Configure the following properties:
Property | Description |
---|---|
Namespace | Leave the default value. |
Name | Keep the application prefix that prepopulates this property, and add employee , so that the name is <prefix>_employee . |
Description | (Optional) Enter a brief description of the data type. |
id
.For each field in the following table, click New Field, then set the properties as specified:
Name | Type |
---|---|
firstName |
Text |
lastName |
Text |
department |
Text |
title |
Text |
phoneNumber |
Text |
startDate |
Date |
Next, create a data store named <prefix> Employee DS
in the same application where you created the CDT. Add an entity to the data store with the Name property set to <prefix> employee
and the Type property set to the employee CDT you created.
Next, let's create a constant for the data store entity, so we can use the newly created data store in an expression.
Create a constant with following properties:
Property | Description |
---|---|
Name | Enter: <prefix>_EMPLOYEE_ENTITY |
Type | Select Data Store Entity. |
Data Store | Select the <prefix> Employee DS data store you created. |
Entity | Select the <prefix>_employee entity you created. |
Save In | Select the appropriate folder in your application or, if it doesn't exist, create it by clicking the Create New Rule Folder link. |
Note: Constants inherit security from the parent folder.
Finally, let's create an interface to display the example data in a grid and trigger the smart service function to publish the data to your data store entity.
To create this interface:
Configure the following properties:
Property | Description |
---|---|
Name | Enter: <prefix>_employeeGrid |
Description | Enter: Grid of employees |
Folder | Select the appropriate folder in your application or, if it doesn't exist, create it by clicking the Create New Rule Folder link. |
'type!{urn:com:appian:types}employee?list'
with your data type's namespace and name. The format is: type!{<Namespace>}<Name>?list
.To test the expression out:
Notice the ID values went from all N/A to a sequential value when shown in the new grid.
After data has been published to the relational database table, the button text changes to DATA ALREADY PUBLISHED. The button will stay disabled and remain disabled as long as there is employee data present in the relational database table.
Note: To customize this pattern to fit your business cases, see the section, Substitute with Manual Data.
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a!localVariables(
/* The data to load into the data store entity. */
local!dataToLoad: cast(
'type!{urn:com:appian:types}employee?list',
{
a!map( firstName: "John" , lastName: "Smith" , department: "Engineering" , title: "Director" , phoneNumber: "555-123-4567" , startDate: today()-360 ),
a!map( firstName: "Michael" , lastName: "Johnson" , department: "Finance" , title: "Analyst" , phoneNumber: "555-987-6543" , startDate: today()-360 ),
a!map( firstName: "Mary", lastName: "Reed" , department: "Engineering" , title: "Software Engineer" , phoneNumber: "555-456-0123" , startDate: today()-240 ),
a!map( firstName: "Angela" , lastName: "Cooper" , department: "Sales" , title: "Manager" , phoneNumber: "555-123-4567" , startDate: today()-240 ),
a!map( firstName: "Elizabeth" , lastName: "Ward" , department: "Sales" , title: "Sales Associate" , phoneNumber: "555-987-6543" , startDate: today()-240 ),
a!map( firstName: "Daniel", lastName: "Lewis" , department: "HR" , title: "Manager" , phoneNumber: "555-876-5432" , startDate: today()-180 ),
a!map( firstName: "Paul" , lastName: "Martin" , department: "Finance" , title: "Analyst" , phoneNumber: "555-609-3691" , startDate: today()-150 ),
a!map( firstName: "Jessica" , lastName: "Peterson" , department: "Finance" , title: "Analyst" , phoneNumber: "555-987-6543" , startDate: today()-150 ),
a!map( firstName: "Mark" , lastName: "Hall" , department: "Professional Services" , title: "Director" , phoneNumber: "555-012-3456" , startDate: today()-150 ),
a!map( firstName: "Rebecca" , lastName: "Wood" , department: "Engineering" , title: "Manager" , phoneNumber: "555-210-3456" , startDate: today()-150 ),
a!map( firstName: "Pamela" , lastName: "Sanders" , department: "Engineering" , title: "Software Engineer" , phoneNumber: "555-123-4567" , startDate:today()-120 ),
a!map( firstName: "Christopher" , lastName: "Morris" , department: "Professional Services" , title: "Consultant" , phoneNumber: "555-456-7890" , startDate: today()-120 ),
a!map( firstName: "Kevin" , lastName: "Stewart" , department: "Professional Services" , title: "Manager" , phoneNumber: "555-345-6789" , startDate: today()-120 ),
a!map( firstName: "Stephen" , lastName: "Edwards" , department: "Sales" , title: "Sales Associate" , phoneNumber: "555-765-4321" , startDate: today()-120 ),
a!map( firstName: "Janet", lastName:"Coleman" , department: "Finance" , title: "Director" , phoneNumber: "555-654-3210" , startDate: today()-90 ),
a!map( firstName: "Scott" , lastName: "Bailey" , department: "Engineering" , title: "Software Engineer" , phoneNumber: "555-678-1235" , startDate: today()-30 ),
a!map( firstName: "Andrew" , lastName: "Nelson" , department: "Professional Services" , title: "Consultant" , phoneNumber: "555-789-4560" , startDate: today()-30 ),
a!map( firstName: "Michelle" , lastName: "Foster" , department: "HR" , title: "Director" , phoneNumber: "555-345-6789" , startDate: today()-30 ),
a!map( firstName: "Laura" , lastName:"Bryant" , department: "Sales" , title: "Sales Associate" , phoneNumber: "555-987-6543" , startDate: today()-14 ),
a!map( firstName: "William" , lastName: "Ross" , department: "Engineering" , title: "Software Engineer" , phoneNumber: "555-123-4567" , startDate: today()-10 ),
a!map( firstName: "Arya" , lastName:"Colson" , department: "Sales" , title: "Sales Associate" , phoneNumber: "555-927-3343" , startDate: today()-5 )
}
),
/* This value gets updated when the user clicks on the PUBLISH DATA button in order to disable it
so the user can't click it multiple times. */
local!submitted: false,
/* The refresh variable watches local!submitted and reruns the query when it changes. */
local!datasubset: a!refreshVariable(
value: a!queryEntity(
entity: cons!EMPLOYEE_ENTITY,
query: a!query(
pagingInfo: a!pagingInfo(
startIndex: 1,
batchSize: -1,
sort: a!sortInfo(field: "id", ascending: true)
)
),
fetchTotalCount: true
),
refreshOnVarChange: local!submitted
),
local!hasData: not(local!datasubset.totalCount=0),
a!sectionLayout(
contents: {
a!buttonLayout(
secondaryButtons:{
a!buttonWidget(
label: if(local!hasData, "Data Already Published", "Publish Data"),
saveInto: {
a!writeToDataStoreEntity(
dataStoreEntity: cons!EMPLOYEE_ENTITY,
valueToStore: local!dataToLoad,
/* Since the writeToDataStoreEntity function doesn't change values in the
interface, we add an additional save to update a local variable so the
the query in local!datasubset runs again. */
onSuccess: a!save(local!submitted, true)
)
},
submit: true,
style: "PRIMARY",
disabled: or(local!hasData, local!submitted)
)
}
),
a!gridField(
label: "DATA TO WRITE",
labelPosition: "ABOVE",
data: local!dataToLoad,
columns: {
a!gridColumn(
label: "ID",
value: if(isnull(fv!row.id), "N/A", fv!row.id)
),
a!gridColumn(
label: "First Name",
value: fv!row.firstName
),
a!gridColumn(
label: "Last Name",
value: fv!row.lastName
),
a!gridColumn(
label: "Department",
value: fv!row.department
),
a!gridColumn(
label: "Title",
value: fv!row.title
),
a!gridColumn(
label: "Phone Number",
value: fv!row.phoneNumber
),
a!gridColumn(
label: "Start Date",
value: fv!row.startDate
)
},
validations: {},
showWhen: local!datasubset.totalCount = 0
),
a!gridField(
label: "DATA WRITTEN",
labelPosition: "ABOVE",
data: a!queryEntity(
entity: cons!EMPLOYEE_ENTITY,
query: a!query(pagingInfo: fv!pagingInfo),
fetchTotalCount: true
),
columns: {
a!gridColumn(
label: "ID",
value: fv!row.id
),
a!gridColumn(
label: "First Name",
value: fv!row.firstName
),
a!gridColumn(
label: "Last Name",
value: fv!row.lastName
),
a!gridColumn(
label: "Department",
value: fv!row.department
),
a!gridColumn(
label: "Title",
value: fv!row.title
),
a!gridColumn(
label: "Phone Number",
value: fv!row.phoneNumber
),
a!gridColumn(
label: "Start Date",
value: fv!row.startDate
)
},
initialSorts: a!sortInfo("id", true),
showWhen: not(local!datasubset.totalCount = 0)
)
}
)
)
This section describes how you can use the following manual data in place of an entity query featured in an interface pattern.
The following data is what you'll use in place of the entity query in the subsequent examples:
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{
a!map( firstName: "John" , lastName: "Smith" , department: "Engineering" , title: "Director" , phoneNumber: "555-123-4567" , startDate: today()-360 ),
a!map( firstName: "Michael" , lastName: "Johnson" , department: "Finance" , title: "Analyst" , phoneNumber: "555-987-6543" , startDate: today()-360 ),
a!map( firstName: "Mary", lastName: "Reed" , department: "Engineering" , title: "Software Engineer" , phoneNumber: "555-456-0123" , startDate: today()-240 ),
a!map( firstName: "Angela" , lastName: "Cooper" , department: "Sales" , title: "Manager" , phoneNumber: "555-123-4567" , startDate: today()-240 ),
a!map( firstName: "Elizabeth" , lastName: "Ward" , department: "Sales" , title: "Sales Associate" , phoneNumber: "555-987-6543" , startDate: today()-240 ),
a!map( firstName: "Daniel", lastName: "Lewis" , department: "HR" , title: "Manager" , phoneNumber: "555-876-5432" , startDate: today()-180 ),
a!map( firstName: "Paul" , lastName: "Martin" , department: "Finance" , title: "Analyst" , phoneNumber: "555-609-3691" , startDate: today()-150 ),
a!map( firstName: "Jessica" , lastName: "Peterson" , department: "Finance" , title: "Analyst" , phoneNumber: "555-987-6543" , startDate: today()-150 ),
a!map( firstName: "Mark" , lastName: "Hall" , department: "Professional Services" , title: "Director" , phoneNumber: "555-012-3456" , startDate: today()-150 ),
a!map( firstName: "Rebecca" , lastName: "Wood" , department: "Engineering" , title: "Manager" , phoneNumber: "555-210-3456" , startDate: today()-150 ),
a!map( firstName: "Pamela" , lastName: "Sanders" , department: "Engineering" , title: "Software Engineer" , phoneNumber: "555-123-4567" , startDate:today()-120 ),
a!map( firstName: "Christopher" , lastName: "Morris" , department: "Professional Services" , title: "Consultant" , phoneNumber: "555-456-7890" , startDate: today()-120 ),
a!map( firstName: "Kevin" , lastName: "Stewart" , department: "Professional Services" , title: "Manager" , phoneNumber: "555-345-6789" , startDate: today()-120 ),
a!map( firstName: "Stephen" , lastName: "Edwards" , department: "Sales" , title: "Sales Associate" , phoneNumber: "555-765-4321" , startDate: today()-120 ),
a!map( firstName: "Janet", lastName:"Coleman" , department: "Finance" , title: "Director" , phoneNumber: "555-654-3210" , startDate: today()-90 ),
a!map( firstName: "Scott" , lastName: "Bailey" , department: "Engineering" , title: "Software Engineer" , phoneNumber: "555-678-1235" , startDate: today()-30 ),
a!map( firstName: "Andrew" , lastName: "Nelson" , department: "Professional Services" , title: "Consultant" , phoneNumber: "555-789-4560" , startDate: today()-30 ),
a!map( firstName: "Michelle" , lastName: "Foster" , department: "HR" , title: "Director" , phoneNumber: "555-345-6789" , startDate: today()-30 ),
a!map( firstName: "Laura" , lastName:"Bryant" , department: "Sales" , title: "Sales Associate" , phoneNumber: "555-987-6543" , startDate: today()-14 ),
a!map( firstName: "William" , lastName: "Ross" , department: "Engineering" , title: "Software Engineer" , phoneNumber: "555-123-4567" , startDate: today()-10 ),
a!map( firstName: "Arya" , lastName:"Colson" , department: "Sales" , title: "Sales Associate" , phoneNumber: "555-927-3343" , startDate: today()-5 )
}
Whether the query is in a local variable, or in the data parameter of a grid, you can replace it with the manual data. First, identify the entity query (a!queryEntity
) in the expression.
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a!gridField(
label: "Read-only Grid",
labelPosition: "ABOVE",
data: `a!queryEntity(`
`entity: cons!EMPLOYEE_ENTITY,`
`query: a!query(`
`selection: a!querySelection(`
`columns: {`
`a!queryColumn(field: "firstName"),`
`a!queryColumn(field: "lastName"),`
`a!queryColumn(field: "department"),`
`a!queryColumn(field: "title"),`
`a!queryColumn(field: "startDate")`
`}`
`),`
`pagingInfo: fv!pagingInfo`
`),`
`fetchTotalCount: true`
`)`,
columns: {
...
Next, replace it with the manual data:
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a!gridField(
label: "Read-only Grid",
labelPosition: "ABOVE",
! data: {
a!map( firstName: "John" , lastName: "Smith" , department: "Engineering" , title: "Director" , phoneNumber: "555-123-4567" , startDate: today()-360 ),
a!map( firstName: "Michael" , lastName: "Johnson" , department: "Finance" , title: "Analyst" , phoneNumber: "555-987-6543" , startDate: today()-360 ),
a!map( firstName: "Mary", lastName: "Reed" , department: "Engineering" , title: "Software Engineer" , phoneNumber: "555-456-0123" , startDate: today()-240 ),
a!map( firstName: "Angela" , lastName: "Cooper" , department: "Sales" , title: "Manager" , phoneNumber: "555-123-4567" , startDate: today()-240 ),
a!map( firstName: "Elizabeth" , lastName: "Ward" , department: "Sales" , title: "Sales Associate" , phoneNumber: "555-987-6543" , startDate: today()-240 ),
a!map( firstName: "Daniel", lastName: "Lewis" , department: "HR" , title: "Manager" , phoneNumber: "555-876-5432" , startDate: today()-180 ),
a!map( firstName: "Paul" , lastName: "Martin" , department: "Finance" , title: "Analyst" , phoneNumber: "555-609-3691" , startDate: today()-150 ),
a!map( firstName: "Jessica" , lastName: "Peterson" , department: "Finance" , title: "Analyst" , phoneNumber: "555-987-6543" , startDate: today()-150 ),
a!map( firstName: "Mark" , lastName: "Hall" , department: "Professional Services" , title: "Director" , phoneNumber: "555-012-3456" , startDate: today()-150 ),
a!map( firstName: "Rebecca" , lastName: "Wood" , department: "Engineering" , title: "Manager" , phoneNumber: "555-210-3456" , startDate: today()-150 ),
a!map( firstName: "Pamela" , lastName: "Sanders" , department: "Engineering" , title: "Software Engineer" , phoneNumber: "555-123-4567" , startDate:today()-120 ),
a!map( firstName: "Christopher" , lastName: "Morris" , department: "Professional Services" , title: "Consultant" , phoneNumber: "555-456-7890" , startDate: today()-120 ),
a!map( firstName: "Kevin" , lastName: "Stewart" , department: "Professional Services" , title: "Manager" , phoneNumber: "555-345-6789" , startDate: today()-120 ),
a!map( firstName: "Stephen" , lastName: "Edwards" , department: "Sales" , title: "Sales Associate" , phoneNumber: "555-765-4321" , startDate: today()-120 ),
a!map( firstName: "Janet", lastName:"Coleman" , department: "Finance" , title: "Director" , phoneNumber: "555-654-3210" , startDate: today()-90 ),
a!map( firstName: "Scott" , lastName: "Bailey" , department: "Engineering" , title: "Software Engineer" , phoneNumber: "555-678-1235" , startDate: today()-30 ),
a!map( firstName: "Andrew" , lastName: "Nelson" , department: "Professional Services" , title: "Consultant" , phoneNumber: "555-789-4560" , startDate: today()-30 ),
a!map( firstName: "Michelle" , lastName: "Foster" , department: "HR" , title: "Director" , phoneNumber: "555-345-6789" , startDate: today()-30 ),
a!map( firstName: "Laura" , lastName:"Bryant" , department: "Sales" , title: "Sales Associate" , phoneNumber: "555-987-6543" , startDate: today()-14 ),
a!map( firstName: "William" , lastName: "Ross" , department: "Engineering" , title: "Software Engineer" , phoneNumber: "555-123-4567" , startDate: today()-10 ),
a!map( firstName: "Arya" , lastName:"Colson" , department: "Sales" , title: "Sales Associate" , phoneNumber: "555-927-3343" , startDate: today()-5 )
! },
columns: {
When just the data is being used from a query, it's usually defined in a local variable. You can tell because the query has a .data
suffix.
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a!localVariables(
/* This variable stores the grid's selection. */
local!selection,
/* This variable stores the row information for the grid's selection. */
local!selectedRows,
local!removedIds,
local!employeeData: `a!queryEntity(`
entity: cons!EMPLOYEE_ENTITY,
query: a!query(
selection: a!querySelection(
columns: {
a!queryColumn(field: "id"),
a!queryColumn(field: "firstName"),
a!queryColumn(field: "lastName"),
a!queryColumn(field: "department"),
a!queryColumn(field: "title"),
}
),
pagingInfo: a!pagingInfo(startIndex: 1, batchSize: 10)
),
fetchTotalCount: true
)`.data`,
Replace the entire query, including .data
, with your manual data:
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a!localVariables(
/* This variable stores the grid's selection. */
local!selection,
/* This variable stores the row information for the grid's selection. */
local!selectedRows,
local!removedIds,
local!employeeData: `{`
a!map( firstName: "John" , lastName: "Smith" , department: "Engineering" , title: "Director" , phoneNumber: "555-123-4567" , startDate: today()-360 ),
a!map( firstName: "Michael" , lastName: "Johnson" , department: "Finance" , title: "Analyst" , phoneNumber: "555-987-6543" , startDate: today()-360 ),
a!map( firstName: "Mary", lastName: "Reed" , department: "Engineering" , title: "Software Engineer" , phoneNumber: "555-456-0123" , startDate: today()-240 ),
a!map( firstName: "Angela" , lastName: "Cooper" , department: "Sales" , title: "Manager" , phoneNumber: "555-123-4567" , startDate: today()-240 ),
a!map( firstName: "Elizabeth" , lastName: "Ward" , department: "Sales" , title: "Sales Associate" , phoneNumber: "555-987-6543" , startDate: today()-240 ),
a!map( firstName: "Daniel", lastName: "Lewis" , department: "HR" , title: "Manager" , phoneNumber: "555-876-5432" , startDate: today()-180 ),
a!map( firstName: "Paul" , lastName: "Martin" , department: "Finance" , title: "Analyst" , phoneNumber: "555-609-3691" , startDate: today()-150 ),
a!map( firstName: "Jessica" , lastName: "Peterson" , department: "Finance" , title: "Analyst" , phoneNumber: "555-987-6543" , startDate: today()-150 ),
a!map( firstName: "Mark" , lastName: "Hall" , department: "Professional Services" , title: "Director" , phoneNumber: "555-012-3456" , startDate: today()-150 ),
a!map( firstName: "Rebecca" , lastName: "Wood" , department: "Engineering" , title: "Manager" , phoneNumber: "555-210-3456" , startDate: today()-150 ),
a!map( firstName: "Pamela" , lastName: "Sanders" , department: "Engineering" , title: "Software Engineer" , phoneNumber: "555-123-4567" , startDate:today()-120 ),
a!map( firstName: "Christopher" , lastName: "Morris" , department: "Professional Services" , title: "Consultant" , phoneNumber: "555-456-7890" , startDate: today()-120 ),
a!map( firstName: "Kevin" , lastName: "Stewart" , department: "Professional Services" , title: "Manager" , phoneNumber: "555-345-6789" , startDate: today()-120 ),
a!map( firstName: "Stephen" , lastName: "Edwards" , department: "Sales" , title: "Sales Associate" , phoneNumber: "555-765-4321" , startDate: today()-120 ),
a!map( firstName: "Janet", lastName:"Coleman" , department: "Finance" , title: "Director" , phoneNumber: "555-654-3210" , startDate: today()-90 ),
a!map( firstName: "Scott" , lastName: "Bailey" , department: "Engineering" , title: "Software Engineer" , phoneNumber: "555-678-1235" , startDate: today()-30 ),
a!map( firstName: "Andrew" , lastName: "Nelson" , department: "Professional Services" , title: "Consultant" , phoneNumber: "555-789-4560" , startDate: today()-30 ),
a!map( firstName: "Michelle" , lastName: "Foster" , department: "HR" , title: "Director" , phoneNumber: "555-345-6789" , startDate: today()-30 ),
a!map( firstName: "Laura" , lastName:"Bryant" , department: "Sales" , title: "Sales Associate" , phoneNumber: "555-987-6543" , startDate: today()-14 ),
a!map( firstName: "William" , lastName: "Ross" , department: "Engineering" , title: "Software Engineer" , phoneNumber: "555-123-4567" , startDate: today()-10 ),
a!map( firstName: "Arya" , lastName:"Colson" , department: "Sales" , title: "Sales Associate" , phoneNumber: "555-927-3343" , startDate: today()-5 )
`}`,
Use the Write to Data Store Entity Smart Service Function on an Interface