Flow Action form
Completing the HTML tab

Field

Description

Identify the source of the HTML code that produces the flow action form at runtime. In most cases, select Reference Section. Select:

• Reference HTML to use an HTML rule that defines the presentation.
• Reference Section to use a section that defines the presentation. For example, use this selection to present an embedded list view to users.
• No HTML to indicate that this connector flow action requires no user input.

The Define Form value, available in flow actions created in releases before V6.1, is deprecated and not available for flow actions created in V6.1+. See More about Flow Actions.

Selecting Reference HTML, displays the HTML Reference field.

Enter the second key part — Stream Name — of an HTML rule that defines what appears when a user at runtime selects this flow action from a Perform harness form. The system uses the Applies To key part of this flow action as the first key part of the needed HTML rule.

If this flow action doesn't require users to read or complete any fields, you can identify an HTML rule that doesn't contain any fields. The standard flow action Work-.ActionNoFields meets this need.

Reference Section is the default setting for all flow actions created in V6.1+. Flow actions automatically include a section.

Selecting No HTML generates the following message in the Layout tab:

This layout is NOT Auto Generated.
(No HTML must be checked to show this view. See HTML Tab.)

Select to cause your application to immediately validate the format of user input to dates, integers, and other fields within the browser window when focus leaves the form field, before a user submits the form.

This checkbox affects the input of many dates, times, text areas, and selected other properties, depending on the control associated with the property at runtime. See client-side format validation.

This feature operates best for those Flow Action forms that use the SmartFrames version of the Layout  tab and use only JSP tags, no directives.

Select to enable client-side format validation here for this flow action form. A similar checkbox on the HTML tab of the Harness form enables client-side format validation for the rest of the user form, exclude the Take Action area.

As a best practice, check when users are to enter dates, times, integers, or text through typing rather than through selection. Workstation-level validation can detect and mark invalid input earlier, and may consume less network traffic and bandwidth. Do not select if the flow action form contains only checkboxes, selection lists, combo boxes, and other input widgets that do not require typing.

Standard client-side validation scripts are in the text file rule webwb.CSValid.js; the corresponding error messages are in the HTML fragment rule CSValid to allow for localization. You can add custom client-side validation scripts or error messages on an application-wide by overriding the HTML fragment rule UserWorkForm, which is included in the fragment WorkFormStandard, which in turn is included in the HTML code for every user form.

You can enable this if the flow action form:

• Displays one or more properties computed by Declare Expression rules using forward chaining.
• Allows users to input another property value that affects the computed property.

Computation begins when user focus leaves the input field for a source property. The workstation transmits the input value to the PRPC server (using Asynchronous JavaScript and XML or AJAX), which applies the declarative rules and sends the results back for display. Only a portion of the form is redisplayed. Results may include a message indicating that a constraint was not met.

For Declare Expression rules, both the input property or properties and the computed or target property must appear on the flow action form, not elsewhere on a user form. See More about Declare Expression rules.

A similar but separate checkbox appears on the HTML tab of the Harness form; that field controls automatic expression calculation in areas of the user form other than the Take Action area.

Read-only if Reference Section is selected. Editable in pre-V6.1 rules if Define Form is selected.

Select On to indicate that you have designed and implemented your HTML to meet your accessibility requirements.

The Accessibility Report evaluates this field on each rule in an application that displays it, when calculating application accessibility compliance levels. See Using the Accessibility report.

Read-only if Reference Section is selected. Editable in pre-V6.1 rules if Define Form is selected.

Indicate which browsers and versions can correctly process the HTML code from this rule.

When you specify that the code is to be auto-generated, PRPC includes only those tags that can be displayed in supported browsers, which include Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, and Chrome. For the exact list of supported browsers and versions, consult the Platform Support Guide, available on the PDN.

If you edit the generated code or manually provide the code for the rule, select All Supported Browsers or IE only. When you do not use auto-generated code, PRPC does not validate your code. You must determine that it can be displayed across the browsers and versions you specify.

The Browser Compatibility Report checks this field to determine what percentage of the rules in your application provide cross-browser support. See Using the Browser Compatibility report.