Action flows

Action flows are sets of actions within Nintex Apps used to interact with data, the user interface, connections, and page logic. Flows can be triggered from a variety of areas - buttons, row actions, model actions, component interactions, etc.

Some common action flow examples include:

  • A single button in a popup that both saves model data and closes the popup.
  • A row action that opens a popup, applies specified model conditions, and updates fields—all with one click.
  • A button that toggles a component on or off, or opens and closes a sliding panel.
  • An action flow that creates a document in the cloud, sends an email, and updates a connected record.

Important: Context is critical with actions. The place an action is triggered from determines which record or records it will affect.

Jump to: 

Add and manage action flows

Click the Action flows icon to open a new screen in the Page Designer, replacing the page canvas with the action flow canvas. All action flows in the page are centralized here.

The left-most panel lists the page’s action flows. You can view, create, organize, and search for flows in this panel. When flows are opened, you can drag actions from this panel onto the drop targets in the canvas. The Component bound section within this panel displays flows that are specific to certain components and are not reusable.

The canvas visually displays the action flow. At the top of the canvas, the number of triggers indicates the interactions that start an action flow.

Use the Zoom in and out controls in the top left corner of the canvas to adjust the view. Zoom in to focus on specific actions, or zoom out to see the entire flow. Click the View details button in the top right corner of the canvas to view and edit the name, description, inputs, and triggers of the action flow.

The Settings panel on the right displays configurable settings for the selected element (start event or trigger) in the canvas. When no specific action is selected, the panel shows basic settings for the flow, including the flow’s Name and Description fields, as well as any Inputs and Triggers.

Add an action flow

  1. Next to Action flows, click the + (Plus) Add a flow button.
  2. Enter a Name and Description.
  3. Click Create.
  4. Add inputs, if desired. For more information, see Inputs.
  5. Add triggers, if desired. For more information, see Trigger action flows with interactions.
  6. Add actions. For more information, see Add an action.

Delete an action flow

  1. Next to an action flow, click More options.
  2. Select Delete.

Duplicate an action flow

  1. Next to an action flow, click More options.
  2. Select Duplicate.

Add an action

  1. Click the + (Plus) Add action button within the canvas area. The action selection modal appears, where actions are organized into core actions and connector actions.
  2. Click the desired action or drag the action from a flow in the left-most panel onto the drop targets in the canvas. The newly created action appears in the canvas. For more information, see Actions Reference .

Remove an action

  1. Select the desired action.
  2. Complete one of the following actions:
    • Click the Delete icon.
    • Press Delete or Backspace.

Skip an action

When troubleshooting a series of actions, it’s helpful to isolate individual actions to determine which one is causing problems. You can choose to skip an action to see how eliminating it affects the series, and resume that action later.

To skip an action:

  1. Select the desired action.
  2. Complete one of the following actions:
    • Click Skip.
    • Press S to skip the action.

To reenable a skipped action:

  1. Select the desired action.
  2. Complete one of the following actions:
    • Click Enable.
    • Press S to enable the action.

Keyboard shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts provide alternative ways to perform common tasks while working in action flows. Use the following keyboard shortcuts to navigate and manage actions:

  • Press Enter to edit a focused action.

  • Press Delete or Backspace to remove a focused action.

  • Use the arrow keys to navigate between actions.

  • Press S to skip or enable an action.

  • Press Esc to return to the action when focused on properties.

  • Press Tab or Shift+Tab to navigate to the nearest Add button.

To view all available keyboard shortcuts, click the Keyboard shortcuts button at the bottom left corner of the canvas. A legend appears, showing the shortcuts.

Inputs

Inputs allow each trigger for an action flow to have different values. Each time the action flow is called, the various inputs can be set.

To add inputs to an action flow:

  1. In the Settings panel, click + (Plus) next to Inputs. Or, click Add input.
  2. Enter the input's Name and Type.

To use the value of an input within the action flow—for example, to use a Value-type input within a Model Condition-type input—use the name of your input, namespaced within the $Input merge variable, in merge syntax.

For example: {{$Input.TheInputToUse}}

Note: Ensure that $Input is capitalized.

Whenever the action flow is attached to a trigger, like a component interaction or a model action, the inputs will appear. Inputs can be populated with variables from the model or component triggering the action or with hard-coded values.

Named outputs

You can re-use the output of an action flow in subsequent actions via the $Output merge variable. The format of the output object depends on the action, and the named output is only available for subsequent actions in the flow. Named outputs are commonly seen in Model Data Changes Actions , Model Conditions / Querying Actions , and Nintex WorkflowConnector actions.

Trigger action flows with keyboard shortcuts and events

Triggers for action flows can be set:

  • In the flow through keyboard shortcuts

  • In the flow through events

The number of triggers in an action flow is denoted at the start of the action flow. This includes interactions that trigger actions.

Add a trigger in an action flow

In the Triggers section of the Settings panel, click Add keyboard shortcut or Add event.

Keyboard shortcuts, sometimes called shortcut keys or hotkeys, are predefined combinations of keys that activate a series of actions.

Properties

  • Modifiers (optional): The key or keys to be pressed in combination with a standard key, to execute a specified action or set of actions. Though modifier keys are optional, it is best practice to pair a modifier with a standard key to avoid accidental activation of a sequence. Modifer keys include:
  • Alt
  • Control
  • Command
  • Shift
  • Key: The standard key that is paired with the modifier to start the action sequence. Standard keys include:
    • Letters A-Z
    • Any arrow key
    • Any function key (F1-F12)
    • Backspace/Delete
    • Delete Right
    • End
    • Home
    • Page Down/Up
    • Tab
  • Ignore keyboard shortcut if end user is typing in input element: If checked, the action sequence will not activate if the user's cursor is within an input field, such as a Table or search form. This ensures the action sequence is not triggered accidentally and prevents a keyboard shortcut from potentially overriding a system-level keyboard shortcut combination, like copy/paste or arrow keys.

Events are backend alerts that are published—or "fired"—whenever something has occurred on a page. You can publish your own events in action flows, or use the default page events like “page.rendered” or “network.connected.”

Properties

  • Event name: The name of the event to subscribe to, e.g., "page.rendered" or "order.created." When this event is published, this action sequence will run.
  • Listen for events published from: Select All active pages or Only this page. By default, only events published within this page will invoke this action sequence; however, you can also listen for events published within other pages to facilitate communication between this page and other contexts.
  • Event channel (optional): A channel on which to listen for this event. If specified, this action sequence will only be run when the given event is published on this channel. For example, if the channel is "acme" and the event is "order.created," this action sequence will not be run if someone publishes the "order.created" event without also specifying the "acme" channel.

Edit a trigger in an action flow

In the Triggers section of the Settings panel, click an event or keyboard shortcut to edit it.

Delete a trigger in an action flow

  1. In the Triggers section of the Settings panel, next to the trigger, click More options.

  2. Select Delete.

Trigger action flows with interactions

Interactions trigger action flows. When you add actions to pages and components in the page canvas by selecting an "actionable" element, you can expand the Interactions property to add, edit, and delete the interactions.

Triggers for actions can be set:

  • On the page through end user interactions (clicks and right-clicks).
  • On component interactions.
  • On models using model actions.

Triggers for actions, such as button click, are displayed in the Settings panel on the right of the action flow canvas. Next to the trigger is an icon that, when clicked, navigates to the corresponding element in the Page Designer.

Tip: Setting a custom unique-ID property for a component makes it easier to see which components trigger which actions.

To unbind a trigger from an interaction, click the Delete trashcan icon to remove the action flow from the interaction. For more information, see Delete an action flow.