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sunus0001
sunus0001
March 28, 2022
Question

Save UI values and bring it back when user need that again using process model ,something similar to save as draft for save button

  • March 28, 2022
  • 6 replies
  • 1 view

Hi Appian Team,

We have a functionality to save the data from the interface to the database where we are not submitting it to the parent table, but a temporary table or cdt and use the same process model as the submit and add the nodes for temporarily saving feature like save as draft.

Basically customized "Save as draft functionality". Can anyone help us to implement this functionality , if you have come across similar features in any of your application.

Thanks

Sunu Sam

6 replies

stewart.burchell
stewart.burchell
March 28, 2022

One option might be to use the externalize() and internalize() functions on your data. This would allow you to store your data from any CDT in a single text column in a database. You'd need to stash a key in order to retrieve the correct stored externalized data, and you'd need to make sure the table column definition was big enough to hold the longest possible value.

    sunus0001
    sunus0001Author
    March 29, 2022

    Hi Stewart,

    Kindly share with us a sample code snippets or related documentations so that we will get this in full form. Your help is appreciated! Thanks A lot for suggestions.

    thanks

    Sunu Sam

    mikes0011
    mikes0011
    Brainy
    March 28, 2022

    The most common way I've seen this done (though it does have pros and cons), is for an on-task "save and exit" button to submit the form, save the values into the process instance PVs, then go back to the same task (either chained immediately back, or with chaining specifically broken, depending on how you want it to behave in particular). 

    Thus instead of relying on a "temporary table" you've just stashed your data in the process PVs "early", presumably without a WTDS having been hit yet - to allow the user to reopen the task later and pick up where they left off.

    The Expression Guru
      sunus0001
      sunus0001Author
      March 29, 2022

      HI Mike ,

      Please share with us a sample code snippets so that we will get this in full form. Your help is appreciated! Thanks A lot for suggestion 

      Thanks

      Sunu Sam

      mikes0011
      mikes0011
      Brainy
      March 29, 2022

      Honestly not that much unusual code is required - just a particular configuration.  A basic version of this form might look like the following:

      a!localVariables(
  local!variable1: ri!variable1,
  
  a!formLayout(
    label: "Test Task Input",
    contents: {
      a!textField(
        label: "Variable 1 (local variable)",
        value: local!variable1,
        saveInto: local!variable1
      ),
      
      a!textfield(
        label: "Variable 2 (rule input)",
        value: ri!variable2,
        saveInto: ri!variable2
      )
    },
    buttons: a!buttonLayout(
      primaryButtons: {
        a!buttonWidget(
          label: "Save and Close",
          value: "SaveAndCloseButton",
          icon: "save",
          tooltip: "Data currently entered into the form will be saved and the task will be returned to your task list.",
          submit: true(),
          saveInto: {
            ri!buttonClicked,
            a!save(
              ri!variable1,
              local!variable1
            )
          }
        ),

        a!buttonWidget(
          label: "Submit",
          value: "SubmitButton",
          style: "PRIMARY",
          submit: true(),
          saveInto: {
            ri!buttonClicked,
            a!save(
              ri!variable1,
              local!variable1
            )
          }
        )
      }
    )
  )
)

      Note that in this example I've included an instance where an input is based on, and saves directly back into, a local variable.  Upon submit / save button clicks, the button itself would need to specifically save the value currently held in the local variable back into a Rule Input.  The one extra addition needed here which might not be needed for forms without a "save and close" style button, is that when the rule input is initialized, instead of leaving it null, we instead initialize it to whatever value (if any) is currently in the Rule Input, presuming that such has been passed back from the process.

      Following the task, pretty much immediately, the process flow would pass through an XOR gateway, which would check the value passed out into a PV which in this example could be named "buttonClicked" - and if the value was "SaveAndCloseButton", it would route the process straight back to the form (but with activity chaining intentionally broken, if needed, so that the user's experience is that the task "closes").  That process flow could look something like this:

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