User Interface - Recent Threads

RE: views and action security refresh

alex.acosta — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 16:38:09 GMT

I would recommend changing the a!recordActionField() to use either the "MENU" and "MENU_ICON" with securityOnDemand set to true, this way the security evaluates when the user clicks to open the menu. Keep in mind that a!refreshVariable() with refreshAfter: "RECORD_ACTION" only controls when a local variable’s value is recalculated after a record action dialog completes; it does not control when the record action’s own visibility/security is re‑evaluated.

views and action security refresh

saisaran31 — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 21:11:22 GMT

Hello Everyone,

In my record view interface, I have a child interface that contains a related action. I recently added another related action whose only purpose is to refresh the data. In the parent interface, I’m using a!refreshVariable() so that local variables are refreshed after a record action completes.

The related action in the child interface has visibility logic defined both:

in the record type (Views and Actions → action security/visibility), and
inside the child interface itself.
When I click my refresh-related action, all the data and components in the interface are refreshed, but the visibility condition defined in Views and Actions is not re-evaluated. As a result, when I refresh to load the latest data, the related action does not appear on the screen unless I do a full browser refresh.

i tried to have a start form in my related action's process model even at that time screen was not refreshed. Pretty much tried everything still record level security was not evaluated without manual browser refresh

RE: views and action security refresh

saisaran31 — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 08:47:35 GMT

Thanks for your reply Shubham Aware and Stefan Helzle . Now i came up with the solution that to have a refresh related action in the record header so that when a user clicks the entire record get reloaded similar to a browser refresh

RE: views and action security refresh

Stefan Helzle — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 05:51:23 GMT

To refresh data, I typically use some local variable. Then, I wrap all the queries I want to trigger into a refresh variable referencing this local. Then, I modify that local using a button or link.

RE: views and action security refresh

Shubham Aware — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 05:16:07 GMT

Record action visibility defined in Views & Actions is evaluated at page load time, not on a!refreshVariable(). Even with a start form or refresh action, Appian does not re-evaluate action-level security mid-session without a full page reload.
You can try to move the visibility logic entirely into the child interface using a local variable that refreshes with your data. Remove it from Views & Actions.

RE: Loading one interface immediately after another

Chris — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 14:15:49 GMT

Unfortunately we cannot use a!startProcessLink() inside of a!buttonWidget().

Loading one interface immediately after another

Vladislav Morozov — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 10:45:21 GMT

Consider blue path only! I used activity chain to start "Choose policy" interface immediately after the main interface. The process is started by a startProcess inside a saveinto of a buttonWidget. After clicking the button the process starts, but the interface isn't automatically loaded. The owner of the task is set as pp!initiator. What could I miss?

Appian Grid

Gaurav Kataria — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 05:07:52 GMT

We are encountering the following error in our Appian application:

ERROR com.appiancorp.record.service.visitor.DiscoverAllRecordBindings - 
Exception encountered in grid field tree visitor, falling back in try catch.
java.lang.NullPointerException

This issue appears while working with a grid component (record-based or interface grid). There are no obvious breaking changes, but the error is being logged intermittently.

We suspect it may be related to:

Null values in grid field bindings
Record type relationships
Nested field references in grid columns

However, we are unable to pinpoint the exact cause.

What typically causes this DiscoverAllRecordBindings NullPointerException?
Are there recommended best practices to avoid this issue in grid configurations?
How can we effectively debug which field or binding is causing the problem?

Any guidance or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

RE: Appian Grid

Stefan Helzle — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 05:33:37 GMT

Do you see this message in log files only? Does the grid work? If both is true, I suggest to either ignore it, or open a support case to make Appian aware of this minor issue.

RE: Appian Grid

Shubham Aware — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 05:29:31 GMT

Wrap relationship field references in if(isnull(...), "", ...) or use a custom record field with null-safe expressions instead of referencing relationship fields directly in grid columns.
After any Record Type schema change, verify all grid column fieldConfigs still point to valid fields.

Also you can try debug,
Temporarily remove grid columns one by one and reload - when the error stops, the last removed column is the culprit.

RE: Styled Text Editor

ganesh_sasank18 — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 12:40:45 GMT

Hi Vaishal

Any solution you found for this implementation!

Styled Text Editor

Vaishal — Mon, 03 Nov 2025 08:09:57 GMT

Hello Everyone,

I’m using a Styled Text Editor for my comment thread component. If the character count exceeds 500 characters, I need to trim the text and display a "Show more" link outside the Styled Text Editor.

The problem I’m facing is that the Styled Text Editor stores values with HTML tags, so when I trim the content directly, it can cut through tags and break the markup. This results in invalid HTML and rendering issues.

Has anyone implemented an approach to safely truncate HTML without breaking tags? Any suggestions or best practices would be appreciated.

RE: Loading one interface immediately after another

Shubham Aware — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 15:11:30 GMT

Use a!startProcessLink() instead of a!startProcess() in the button saveInto.

RE: Loading one interface immediately after another

Chris — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 15:08:40 GMT

You cannot chain into a User Input Task with a!startProcess from a buttonWidget in another process - in this case your parent process is simply waiting for the secondary process to complete on it's own before continuing with the parent process (with a setting of "synchronous").

If you are moving the user from one process to another, why not utilize a Subprocess after the parent input task completes?

Ways to Start a Process

RE: Re-ordering dynamic list

Guy — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 16:27:25 GMT

This worked for me:

a!localVariables(
  local!map: { "data1", "data2" },
  local!data: a!map(
    data1: {
      a!map(sortOrder: 1, label: "A"),
      a!map(sortOrder: 2, label: "B")
    },
    data2: {
      a!map(sortOrder: 1, label: "C"),
      a!map(sortOrder: 2, label: "D")
    }
  ),
  a!forEach(
    items: local!map,
    expression: a!gridLayout(
      label: fv!item,
      headerCells: {
        a!gridLayoutHeaderCell(label: "Checklist Sections")
      },
      rows: a!forEach(
        items: local!data[fv!item],
        expression: a!gridRowLayout(
          contents: a!textField(value: fv!item.label, readOnly: true)
        )
      ),
      allowRowReordering: true,
      rowOrderData: local!data[fv!item],
      rowOrderField: "sortOrder"
    )
  )
)

Re-ordering dynamic list

Guy — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 12:08:40 GMT

We have a dynamic array containing lists of data. Dynamic here meaning data1, data2..etc could be any length.

We need a screen that allows users to reorder this data and we are attempting to do this with a gridLayout with allowRowReordering = true.

When attempting this example below, we are seeing the error Expression evaluation error at function a!gridLayout [line 15]: A grid layout component [label="data1"] has an invalid value for "rowOrderData". The value must be a list of records, a list of maps, or a list of dictionaries.

[embed:dc8ab71f-3b98-42d9-b0f6-e21e02a0f8e2:9c421f64-df4f-4e13-86e3-aed285fd2537:type=text&text=a%21localVariables%28%0D%0A%20%20local%21map%3A%20%7B%20%22data1%22%2C%20%22data2%22%20%7D%2C%0D%0A%20%20local%21data%3A%20%7B%0D%0A%20%20%20%20data1%3A%20%7B%0D%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%7B%20sortOrder%3A%201%2C%20label%3A%20%22A%22%20%7D%2C%0D%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%7B%20sortOrder%3A%202%2C%20label%3A%20%22B%22%20%7D%0D%0A%20%20%20%20%7D%2C%0D%0A%20%20%20%20data2%3A%20%7B%0D%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%7B%20sortOrder%3A%201%2C%20label%3A%20%22C%22%20%7D%2C%0D%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%7B%20sortOrder%3A%202%2C%20label%3A%20%22D%22%20%7D%0D%0A%20%20%20%20%7D%0D%0A%20%20%7D%2C%0D%0A%20%20a%21forEach%28%0D%0A%20%20%20%20items%3A%20local%21map%2C%0D%0A%20%20%20%20expression%3A%20a%21gridLayout%28%0D%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20label%3A%20fv%21item%2C%0D%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20headerCells%3A%20%7B%0D%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20a%21gridLayoutHeaderCell%28label%3A%20%22Checklist%20Sections%22%29%0D%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%7D%2C%0D%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20rows%3A%20a%21forEach%28%0D%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20items%3A%20local%21data%5Bfv%21item%5D%2C%0D%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20expression%3A%20a%21gridRowLayout%28%0D%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20contents%3A%20a%21textField%28value%3A%20fv%21item.label%2C%20readOnly%3A%20true%29%0D%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%29%0D%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%29%2C%0D%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20allowRowReordering%3A%20true%2C%0D%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20rowOrderData%3A%20local%21data%5Bfv%21item%5D%2C%0D%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20rowOrderField%3A%20%22sortOrder%22%0D%0A%20%20%20%20%29%0D%0A%20%20%29%0D%0A%29]

RE: Re-ordering dynamic list

osanchea — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 15:09:51 GMT

Hi. This could also work. Refer the code below:

a!localVariables(
  local!map: { "data1", "data2" },
  local!data: cast(
    type!Map,
    {
      data1: {
        { sortOrder: 1, label: "A" },
        { sortOrder: 2, label: "B" }
      },
      data2: {
        { sortOrder: 1, label: "C" },
        { sortOrder: 2, label: "D" },
        { sortOrder: 3, label: "E" }
      }
    }
  ),
  a!forEach(
    items: local!map,
    expression: a!gridLayout(
      label: fv!item,
      headerCells: {
        a!gridLayoutHeaderCell(label: "Checklist Sections")
      },
      rows: a!forEach(
        items: local!data[fv!item],
        expression: a!gridRowLayout(
          contents: a!textField(value: fv!item.label, readOnly: true)
        )
      ),
      allowRowReordering: true,
      rowOrderData: local!data[fv!item],
      rowOrderField: "sortOrder"
    )
  )
)

RE: Re-ordering dynamic list

Harsha Sharma — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 13:41:02 GMT

The code you shared was converting list of Dictionaries in a List of Variants. For row order the attributes need a structured map or dictionary. Try the below code where some data maps are created so that a linear structured list of dictionaries are formed as grid data source.

a!localVariables(
  local!map: { "data1", "data2" },
  local!data: {
    data1: {
      { sortOrder: 1, label: "A" },
      { sortOrder: 2, label: "B" }
    },
    data2: {
      { sortOrder: 1, label: "C" },
      { sortOrder: 2, label: "D" }
    }
  },
  a!forEach(
    items: local!map,
    expression: a!localVariables(
      local!dictionary: a!foreach(
        local!data[fv!item],
        a!map(
          label: fv!item.label,
          sortOrder: fv!item.sortOrder
        )
      ),
      a!gridLayout(
        label: local!dictionary,
        headerCells: {
          a!gridLayoutHeaderCell(label: "Checklist Sections")
        },
        rows: a!forEach(
          items: local!dictionary,
          expression: a!gridRowLayout(
            contents: a!textField(value: fv!item.label, readOnly: true)
          )
        ),
        allowRowReordering: true,
        rowOrderData: local!dictionary,
        rowOrderField: "sortOrder"
      )
    )
  )
)

Hope it helps!

RE: Unable to validate uploaded Excel file extension in interface

Stefan Helzle — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 18:02:04 GMT

Yes

Unable to validate uploaded Excel file extension in interface

Miquel Lara — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 08:30:56 GMT

Hi everyone,

I’m working on an interface where the user needs to upload an Excel file with the .xlsx extension. My goal is to validate the file extension directly in the interface, before enabling the "ACCEPT" button.

In my current setup, I’m using the disabled parameter of the a!buttonWidget() to check two things:

That the variable local!excel is not null or empty.
That the uploaded file name (converted to string) contains the .xlsx extension, which I have defined in a constant (cons!CEDT_CONS_EXTENSIONES_DOCUMENTOS).

When I use touniformstring(local!excel), it only returns the file ID (a numeric value), not the original file name. Because of that, I can’t compare it with the extension constant to validate the file type.

Here I’m attaching a demonstration of the interface when I upload a file that is not an Excel type.

Is there any way to retrieve the original file name (or its extension) from the uploaded file in the interface, so I can perform this validation before enabling the button?
Or is there another recommended approach to handle this kind of validation directly in the interface?

Thanks in advance for your help.

RE: Unable to validate uploaded Excel file extension in interface

vijayasreevasureddye0335 — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 14:57:17 GMT

Shubham , can we use this document() function to retrive its properties for multiple file in Expression Rule ??

so we can use that to show form level validation?? if user tries to submit

RE: Someone in our marketing department has asked the question: "What is the d

vladislavv175681 — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 14:24:09 GMT

That’s a pretty common question when working with Appian portals, especially when marketing teams start caring about layout consistency and visual presentation. The thing is, Appian doesn’t really define a fixed default width in the traditional sense like older web templates. Portal pages are built to be responsive, meaning the width adapts to the user’s screen size rather than sticking to a strict pixel value. Most of the time, the content is constrained within a centered layout that behaves similarly to modern web frameworks, typically maxing out somewhere around standard desktop widths, but it’s not something officially documented as a single fixed number.If precise control is needed, developers usually handle it through custom styling, column layouts, or embedded components to simulate a consistent width across different screens. It’s less about finding a default value and more about defining your own layout rules depending on the use case. For teams juggling both technical setup and marketing presentation, having access to broader resources that track tools, platforms, and implementation approaches like aff catalog can be useful for seeing how others structure similar solutions and maintain consistency across their digital assets.

Someone in our marketing department has asked the question: "What is the d

shawn.huffman — Fri, 19 Jul 2013 23:32:50 GMT

Someone in our marketing department has asked the question: "What is the default width of the page template in Appian?" This would be in the Portal view. I am not sure where I can find this information. Can anyone share?...

How to Make Stacked Column Chart with Multiple Series?

dcao — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 16:34:28 GMT

Hi Appian Community!

I have a requirement where in the column chart below, I need to show a breakdown of the data for each bar of all the series based on the date.

I had to manipulate the dataset so using a record type was not possible. Now I have my data structured where x-axis is dates, and y-axis is the percentage of each area of the office's seat booking. How do I show within each bar, a breakdown of say half is booking type A and the other half is booking type B?

RE: How to Make Stacked Column Chart with Multiple Series?

dcao — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 14:03:35 GMT

thanks shubham for your confirmation