Manage Screens

Overview

The Screens tab helps you manage the key user screens in your application. It gives you a clear view of the pages your users will interact with, and provides tools to quickly add or update those pages.

Appian automatically generates a starting set of screens based on your requirements, personas, and data model you've defined. You can customize these screens or add new ones as your application evolves.

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What to expect

After you create a new application plan, Appian uses AI to generate key screens with mock data. This includes the following set of foundational screens common to most applications.

The Home Page is always included in every application. Your home page is the first screen users see when they enter your application. It's designed as a launch point for key information and actions.

Appian Composer may also create these optional screens if your requirements call for them:

• Form: An interactive interface where users can view, enter, or modify data as part of a process or task.
• Record View: A comprehensive view that displays all available data for a specific record. This screen type helps users understand the full context of a record, including key data, related records, historical activity, and available actions.

Each screen is made up of components you can customize to fit your use case. You'll select and configure these components when you customize the screen.

Add a screen

To add a screen:

1. Click ADD SCREEN.
   Result: The Add Screen dialog displays.
2. Enter a unique Name.
3. Select one of these screen types from the Types dropdown list: Home Page, Form, or Record View.
4. Enter a Description.
5. Click ADD.
   Result: The new AI-generated screen displays at the bottom of the Screens tab. From here, you can customize the screen to match your needs by selecting components, editing content, and previewing the layout in real time.

Customize a screen

Whether you're customizing a home page, record view, or record detail, Appian Composer lets you tailor the layout and content to match your application's purpose and your users' needs. Remember, the generated screens display mock data to help you visualize the layout, but the data is not connected to any record types.

Follow these steps to customize your screen:

1. Locate the screen you want to update:
   • Internal home pages are often labeled as dashboards, or their description refers to a main landing page.
   • Record view pages are typically described as detailed views of a record.
2. Click the screen to open it in the configuration view.
3. In the Components panel on the left, check or uncheck the boxes to control which elements appear on the screen. Changes update immediately in the preview area on the right.

   Tip:  The available components vary depending on the screen type.

   Component	Description
   Contacts	Lists people or teams related to the record
   Event history List	Displays recent updates or activity logs
   Fields	Represent data from a specific column in your record type.
   Header	Adds a unique page title
   Links	Adds shortcuts to other screens or external resources
   Notifications	Highlights key alerts like pending approvals
   Record action	Allows users to launch actions like create, edit, or approve
   Record list	Shows related or frequently used records
   Record view	Displays detailed record data
   Related actions	Lets users quickly start a process directly from a record using information from that record, such as updating a case
   Tasks	Displays the current user's assigned tasks

4. Configure each component's content or settings:
   1. Click the arrow next to the component name in the Components panel.
   2. Update text, add or delete fields, or link to related tables or screens.
   3. Use mock data as a placeholder.
5. Click Home to return to the full list of screens.

Connect screens to your data fabric

The screens you create in Composer use mock data for visualization purposes. To make your screens functional with real data, you need to connect them to actual data sources when you generate your application objects.

During the generation process, Composer creates the foundation for data connections based on your data model and application plan. After generation, you can configure and refine these data connections in Appian Designer by modifying interface expressions, configuring record type relationships, and setting up connected systems for external data sources.

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