Help with web components

RE: Help with web components

vimalkumars — Thu, 31 Oct 2024 03:20:09 GMT

As Yogi mentioned, you can generate an instance id(Eg:12045) of the form that is rendered and send that to the external site by passing it as an URL Parameter.

Based on your response, it seems like you can do step 1 and 2.

You can do step 3 by, one of the below

Option 1: Using Local Variables Refresh:

Have a local variable which will refresh in appian for every 30 seconds, this local variable value should call the query to pull the data pushed to Appian using Step 2.

Option 2: Using Refresh Icon:

Have an Icon/button within the page, which upon clicked should call the query to pull the data pushed to Appian using Step 2. if value is returned you can update your interface as you want or else you can continue to show the refresh and wait for results.

RE: Help with web components

Stefan Helzle — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 15:01:00 GMT

This does not work in sites.

Appian can display a XML string.

RE: Help with web components

joeys987 — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 13:57:46 GMT

I found this site in the Appian documentation that states:

"Instead of using a Document Download Link, you can configure a Web API in Appian which returns a document, either as an attachment or inline, and then call this Web API using a Safe Link. This will let users view, in the browser, any documents that the browser can render, rather than automatically downloading them."

We're using Sites for our user interfacing forms. How does Safe Link display the document? Can Appian display an XML string? Can the doc be saved to the DB? Safe Link doesn't have a save option as far as I can tell.

RE: Help with web components

joeys987 — Mon, 21 Oct 2024 18:53:16 GMT

Unfortunately, the tool we're trying to integrate with is not a simple form. The tool has complicated logic/rules (that can change in new releases) and generates an XML string used by other apps for outgoing messages. The customer developed this tool, and it is used in other apps which allows for some consistency between their apps. We created a watered-down version as a temporary measure and it's causing additional issues.

RE: Help with web components

Mathieu Drouin — Sat, 19 Oct 2024 10:42:14 GMT

This seems like a lot of trouble just to save on the development (and potential changes) of a form.

Have you considered replicating the form on your end, submit via API and display the response?

RE: Help with web components

joeys987 — Thu, 17 Oct 2024 13:55:26 GMT

I'm having a hard time understanding how step 3 would work. How does the Web API use the unique id to find the form that started the external site? Would the Web API invoke a Smart Service or Process Model? Does it save the XML to the DB and somehow the form gets refreshed to pull in the updated DB? I'm very new to Appian and I've been using this Creating Web APIs - Appian 24.3 (and the other Web API tabs) to try and understand Web APIs. Are there any examples I can look at?

RE: Help with web components

Yogi Patel — Thu, 17 Oct 2024 11:41:20 GMT

The following might be helpful:

Create a link in Appian form to open the external page in a new tab. Pass some ID(ex. correlation_id, ) as a URL parameter.
Once the user enters the required details and submits data in the external site, call Appian Web API to submit data(XML) back to Appian along with the ID passed in Step 1.
Show the received XML to the user in Appian. Use the ID sent in step 1 for mapping request/response

RE: Help with web components

Stefan Helzle — Thu, 17 Oct 2024 08:14:10 GMT

When you add a URL parameter, you should be able to read that in your external web app.

address.com/test.html

RE: Help with web components

joeys987 — Wed, 16 Oct 2024 19:17:44 GMT

These are docs I've been using for the web component. It doesn't mention sending unique ids.
Web Content Component - Appian 24.1
The URL I'm using is something like https://address,com/test.html

The test.html contains the logic for the button that launches the external website. How would I pass in a unique id?
How would the Web API on the Appian side know which form create the id?

RE: Help with web components

Stefan Helzle — Wed, 16 Oct 2024 19:06:08 GMT

I am not sure I fully understand this user interaction. Can you help me out?

In that web component, you call some URL that could include a unique identifier as a parameter.

RE: Help with web components

joeys987 — Wed, 16 Oct 2024 19:01:57 GMT

Thanks for the quick reply. Once the Appian Web API receives the XML string from the external website, how would the XML be displayed on the form that called the external website? As far as I know, the Appian form does not have an id that can be sent to the external website. The form receives an id for the DB when the user submits the Appian form, but that would be too late to show the XML on the form. We'll have multiple users working on the Appian app concurrently and we'll have to send the correct XML to correct user and form.

RE: Help with web components

Stefan Helzle — Wed, 16 Oct 2024 18:26:27 GMT

[quote userid="141979" url="~/discussions/f/integrations/37740/help-with-web-components"]I also thought about setting up an Appian Web API for the external site to call and send the data, but I'm not sure how to tell the Web API which form the XML should go to. [/quote]

This sounds like a reasonable idea. Can you explain what you mean with the following?

[quote userid="141979" url="~/discussions/f/integrations/37740/help-with-web-components"]tell the Web API which form the XML should go to[/quote]

An API in Appian can just take any XML you throw at it.