Configure Record Views

This page describes how to configure a record view and style your record header.

Overview

In a record type, each row of your source data is displayed as a record. But a record is more than just a row of data—it's a combination of record views and related actions.

Record views allow you tailor information to a user's interests and needs. You can have multiple record views to create a more comprehensive view of your data that benefits many users.

For example, in a Support Case record type, you may have support engineers and case managers who need to monitor submitted cases. Support engineers need to know detailed information about the case, while case managers need to know about the customer who submitted each case. To support both types of users, you can create two different record views.

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About record views

A record view is defined in the record type object and is composed of an interface that displays information from a single record to end users. You can have multiple record views to surface different insights about each record depending on a user's interests and needs. Learn more about creating an interface for a record view and passing the record data.

Although each record in the record type will contain the same record views, the layout and data that display for each record is determined by the expressions used to define the views.

Default record views

By default, each record type will have at least three views:

• Summary view: Each record has a Summary view. This view is displayed as the first view on the record and is always visible to users who can see the record. In addition to the Summary view, you can configure up to 20 additional record views on your record type.
• News view: This view displays the 20 most recent news events related to that record. Users can view and add comments to these news entries.
• Related Actions view: This view displays all related actions configured in the record type. Users can initiate related actions from this view.

The News and Related Actions views are pre-configured to save development time, so they cannot be modified. However, you can choose to hide the default views if you wish.

Generate a record view

Appian can generate the interface and configure the record view for you.

To generate a record view:

1. In your record type, go to Views.
2. Click GENERATE RECORD VIEW.

3. Select the record types for the records you want to include.

   By default, your base record type is selected. You can select any one-to-one and one-to-many relationships to include that related records in your view.

   

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4. Click NEXT.

5. Review the suggested values for the following properties, and change as needed:

   Property	Description
   View Name	A name for the view. This name is displayed as the name of a view on the record. For the Summary view, this defaults to Summary, but can be edited.
   Application	The application where you want Appian to search for existing objects or create new objects to support this action. If the record type is associated with a single application, this property is read-only. If the record type is associated with more than one application in your Appian environment, the value defaults to the current application, but you can select a different application from the dropdown list. If the record type isn't associated with any application, select an application from the dropdown list.
   Rule Input Name	The name of the rule input that references the record type in the generated interface.

6. Click NEXT.

7. Review the objects that Appian will use for your new view, and make any necessary changes:

   Note:  Existing objects are marked with the icon.

   If you use a new folder to store the new interface, groups will also be present in the list of objects. These groups will be used to configure security for the generated folder.

   

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   To change an object:

   • Click next to the object.

   • Continue as appropriate:

     Change	Action
     Rename a generated object.	Click Rename from the dropdown menu. The object name becomes an editable text box. Enter a new name in the text box.
     Replace a generated object with an existing object.	Click Replace with existing object. The object name becomes a dropdown list. In the object dropdown list, select an existing object. Note: You cannot replace the generated interface.
     Replace an existing object with a generated object.	Click Replace with generated object. The object name becomes an editable text box. Enter a name for the generated object.

8. Click GENERATE. Appian generates the view, creating and configuring the objects you reviewed.

   For details about the generated interface, see Generated interfaces.

9. Click CLOSE. Your new Summary view displays in the Record Views table.

The generated interface object will populate the Interface property of the view, and will pass in the rv!record variable to display your record data. For more information on rv!, see Reference record values in the record type.

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You may open the interface object to reorganize or edit it.

Generated interfaces

The generated interface includes the following components:

• A header content layout to organize the contents of the interface.

• A section layout for each record type you selected.

  The content of each section will depend on the type of relationship between the base record type and the related record type:

  Relationship with the base record type	Display format
  Self	All record fields and related record fields from any many-to-one relationship organized in columns.
  One-to-many relationship	All related record fields displayed in a read-only grid.
  Many-to-one relationship	All related record fields organized in columns.
  One-to-one relationship	All related record fields organized in columns.

• A section layout for each Text field that stores more than 255 characters.

• A document viewer component for fields of type Document.

• An event history list component for record types that have record events configured.

• A section layout containing all related actions configured on the record type.

• A milestone component representing the status field generated from the Choice List Fields pane in codeless data modeling.

The generated interface inherits security from the folder where it's stored. If your interface is stored in a folder Appian generated for you, the inherited security is as follows:

Group	Permission Level
Application administrators group you selected	Administrator
Application users group you selected	Viewer

Manually add a record view

If you’ve already configured the interface for your record view, or you're using a legacy record type, you can manually add a record view.

To manually add a record view:

1. In your record type, go to Views.
2. In the Views section, click CONFIGURE VIEW MANUALLY.

3. For View Name, enter the name you want users to see. This is an expression field, so encase text values in quotes (for example, "Order Details").

   If this is your first record view, a Default (“Summary”) option is selected. You can edit the name by clicking Expression.

4. For Interface, enter your interface expression or an expression rule that calls your interface.

   Tip:  For optimal performance, pass rv!identifier to your interface's rule input rather than passing the entire record.

   For example: rule!AT_customerView(customerId: rv!identifier)

   In this example, the interface takes the record identifier and queries only the data it needs to display.

5. (Optional) Configure related action shortcuts to display the actions as buttons on the view:
   • Under Related Action Shortcuts, select the related actions. This section is blank if you haven't added any to the record type yet.
   • Under Open Actions In, select whether the related actions for this view open in a dialog, a new tab, or the same tab. By default, related actions appear in a dialog.

   Note:  This configuration doesn't apply to Appian Mobile, where the record action form always displays as a full screen mobile view.

6. Click OK.
7. Click SAVE.
8. Configure Views and Actions Security to determine who can see the view. By default, all users who can see the record can see the view.

Configure a single record source

To display data in a record view in a legacy record type that connects to a web service, you must configure a single record source.

A single record source is an expression rule that calls an integration that pulls in data for a single record. You'll use this expression to define the data to return in a record view on your record type.

To create a single record source, create a new expression rule that meets the following requirements:

• Integration response requirements:
  • The expression calls an integration that returns a single object that maps to the data types in the record type. The integration can be called using a local variable, like local!integrationResponse: rule!AR_getSingleRecord.
    
• Function requirements:
  • The expression does not use plug-ins or any of the following functions: a!query, a!queryEntity, a!queryProcessAnalytics, a!queryRecordType.
    
• Rule input requirements:
  • The expression contains a rule input of type Number (Integer) that identifies the record identifier to return from the integration.

To configure a single record source in the record type:

1. In the record type, go to Data Model.
2. Under Single Record Source, for Data:
   • If you have an existing expression rule for your single record source, select it from the list.
   • If you do not have an existing expression rule, click Create Single Record Source to create one. You can create a new integration object during this workflow.
3. For Record Identifier, select the rule input used in the expression.
4. Click SAVE.

Bulk update launch styles for related actions

The Open Actions In property for each view controls whether the related action shortcuts for that view open in a dialog, a new tab, or the same tab.

You can configure this property one view at a time. You can also bulk update this property for all actions in all views at the same time.

To bulk update the Open Actions In property for all your views:

1. In your record type, go to Views.
2. In the Views section, click UPDATE LAUNCH STYLES.

3. Under Open All Actions In, select whether the related actions opens in a dialog, a new tab, or the same tab.

   

4. Click APPLY. Appian sets the Open Actions In value for all related action shortcuts in all views to the option you selected.
5. Click SAVE.

After bulk updating, you can change the Open Actions In property in individual views or again in bulk as needed.

Hide default record views

By default, a record will display all default record views. While a record must always have a Summary view, you can hide the News view or the Related Actions view on your records.

For example, you may want to hide these views if your application doesn't utilize the News feed, or you've used the record action component to display related actions on your interfaces.

To hide the News or Related Actions view for the record type:

1. In your record type, go to Views.
2. Under Default Views, clear the Show News view or Show Related Actions view checkboxes.
3. Click SAVE.

Users cannot see or interact with the view anywhere in the application. For example, if you configure a site to display the News view, but you've hidden the view in the record type, the News view will not display on the site.

Style the record header

Once you've created your record views, configure the record header. You can use Appian's out-of-the-box header for simplicity, or hide it to build fully custom headers when you need more design control.

The record header appears at the top of each record view and contains the record's title, breadcrumbs, and related actions. You can also configure the header background.

Hide the record header

By default, the Show Record Header checkbox is selected. To fully control the header, clear this checkbox.

To hide the record header:

1. In the record type, go to Views.
2. In the Header section, clear Show Record Header.
3. Click SAVE.

When hidden, the record title, record view tabs, and related actions no longer display.

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To display these in a custom header, use the following:

• To display the record title, reference the record type properties in a heading component.

  For example:

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  a!headingField(
    text: recordType!AKG Project.properties.recordTitle(ri!project),
    size: "LARGE",
    fontWeight: "SEMI_BOLD",
    headingTag: "H1"
  )
  

• To add navigation between record views, use the record link component. Use the dashboard parameter to link to specific record views.

  For example:

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  a!recordLink(
    label: "Tasks",
    recordType: recordType!AKG Project,
    identifier: ri!project[recordType!AKG Project.fields.id],
    dashboard: "__iVzdg"
  )
  

• To display record actions, use the record action component.

Configure the record title

The record title appears at the top of each record view, in components like the record picker, and in record tags in Tempo News feeds.

The way you define the record title will vary depending on whether you plan to display your list of records as a grid-style or feed-style list.

Record title for a grid-style record list

To define the record title for a grid-style record list:

1. In your record type, go to Views.
2. In the Header section, select one of the following options:

   • Guided Configuration: Select a field from your record to use as the title. By default, the selected field is the first non-primary Text field from your record type.

     Note:  This option is not available for legacy record types.

   • Expression: In the Record Title field, use the Expression Editor to define an expression for the title. See example record title expressions.

     Tip:  For optimal performance, avoid using queries, integrations, or other complex expressions to populate the record title.

3. Click SAVE.

Record title for a feed-style record list

For feed-style record lists, the record title comes from the title parameter in the a!listViewItem() function when you define the record list.

Record title performance

The record title is evaluated each time a component like the record picker generates suggestions. For best performance, use record fields or related record fields to define the title. Avoid using a!queryRecordType(), integrations, or other expressions that make additional data calls.

If you need to display data from a related record in the title, create a relationship and reference the related record field directly rather than querying for it.

Fix the record header position

By default, the record header will move with the rest of the page contents when a user scrolls up and down the page.

You can choose to fix the header to the top of the page to allow users to easily see the record title, views, and actions, no matter where they are on the page.

To fix the record header to the top of the page:

1. In your record type, go to Views.

2. Under Record Header Position, select Fix the record header to the top of the page when scrolling.

   

3. Click SAVE.

Using fixed record header with header content layout

If you want to use a fixed header in a record type, there are two options:

• Fix the record header only.

  

• Fix the record header and the header content layout header.

  

If you fix the header content layout header, but don't fix the record header, neither header will be fixed.

Fixed record header in mobile

In the mobile application, record views are already fixed to the top of the page. Fixing the record header will also fix the record title to the top of screen.

Fixed Record Header	Unfixed Record Header

Add a record header background

The record header background isn't styled by default, but you can choose to apply a background color or image.

If you change the name of the Summary view or hide the News and Related Actions tabs, these changes won't appear in the header preview.

Color backgrounds

Headers can display one background color for all records in a record type, or different colors based on an expression or variables within the record.

The record header will display the selected color style with the record title, breadcrumbs, and related action buttons in the card. For more information about selection colors, see the SAIL Design System.

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To apply a color background to your record view header:

1. In your record type, go to Views.
2. In the Header section, under Record Header Background, click COLOR.

3. Select one of the following options to set the background color:

   Option	Action
   Static	Use the color picker to select the appropriate color or enter a hex code.
   Variable	Use the dropdown to select the record variable of your color. This picker returns record fields of type Text.
   Expression	Enter an expression that evaluates to a valid hex color code.

Image backgrounds

You can configure headers to display one image or multiple images. You can select one image from a document or a URL for all records in a record type. Or, you can display different images based on variables within the record or using an expression.

You can customize the image overlay, height, and background color. The image overlay will contain the record title, breadcrumbs, and related action buttons.

To apply an image background to your record view header:

1. In your record type, go to Views.
2. In the Header section, under Record Header Background, click IMAGE.

3. Select one of the following sources for the image:

   Image Source	Description
   Document	Select an image using the document picker.
   URL	Enter a secure URL of a static image you want as your billboard image.
   Variable	From the dropdown, select the record field where you've stored a color value. This picker returns record fields of type TEXT, INTEGER, and DOCUMENT.
   Expression	In the Expression Editor, input an expression that evaluates to a valid document or image URL.

   Note:  If you use Variable or Expression to configure the image background, the live preview will not display the selected image.

4. Configure the following additional properties:

   Property	Description
   Image Height	Select Short, Medium, Tall, or Auto.
   Overlay Type	Select Bar or Full.
   Overlay Position	Select Top, Middle, or Bottom.
   Overlay Style	Select Dark, Semi-Dark, None, Semi-Light, or Light.
   Background Color	Specify any valid hex code. This color appears if your image is null, is an invalid value, or the user does not have permission to see the image.

5. Click SAVE.

Show record header divider

If you don't apply a color or image background to your record view header, you can choose to display a divider line below the header to separate the header content from the rest of the page.

To show a divider line below your record header:

1. In your record type, go to Views.
2. In the Header section, under Record Header Background, click NONE.
3. Under Header Divider, select Show Record Divider.
4. Click SAVE.

Record view security

Whether or not a user can see a record view is dependent on the record type security, record-level security, and the security rule or security expression configured on the view itself.

To view a record view, users must have at least Viewer permissions for the record type and, if you've applied record-level security, users must also be included in a security rule or a security expression. If a user does not have access to a record because of any of these configurations, the user cannot access the record views, even if given a direct URL.

Anyone with access to the record can see the Summary view by default. For each additional record view, you can configure record view security to show or hide the view from certain users based on the conditions you specify. Users may access additional record views by navigating in Tempo or by using a record link that is configured to go to a certain view. Record links respect record view security.

Learn how to configure record view security.

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