Image Action Button

The image action button can be configured to perform a Task for the User. Commonly it is used to aid navigation, particularly on mobile where the left pane menu is hidden, providing a quick link to a Child App or to add a Child Record. Other use cases are to trigger a Workflow Action, close the current Record, navigate to an external URL, or to copy the current Record.

Image Action Buttons are Fields that can be added to a Record Template, used in a List Report or used in a Dashboard for a Report or Homepage.

Examples

Configuration

To configure an Image Action Button, you first need to be in the 'Fields' section where you will then be able to click 'Add Field' in the bottom left of the screen. 

From here, either search for 'Image Action Button' in the top-right box or scroll down to the relevant tile, confirming one of these two will consequently present you with the Field configuration options below:

Label: Visible in the App above the button it can help to make clear the function of the Image Action Button. Alternatively if the Button itself clearly indicates its function then you may wish to leave this blank for a cleaner user interface.

Identifier: This should reflect the label. The identifier is a system ID for referencing a Field. This ID must be unique per Field and must contain only letters and numbers starting with a letter. It must also be a minimum of three characters.

Type: The sort of Field that is being configured - With some types this can be edited in future providing the data type is cross-compatible.

Button Size: Choose from four variations to resize the button depending on use case and achieve the optimum user experience.

• Small
• Medium
• Large
• Full - This will display the image in its original dimensions. If the width of the screen space available is smaller than the original image size then the button will scale down to fit the maximum with available.

Button Type

This is were you will configure what the Action Button will perform. Choose from:

• Add Child Record
• Close Record
• Go to Child App
• Got to Parent Record
• Open URL
• Trigger Workflow
• Copy Record
• Copy Record as Template

Add Child Record: When selected choose the 'Child App' that the button will create a new Record for. When the button is clicked it will bring up the Add screen for the Child App specified. Our example here shows adding an Action item to a Risk. The User clicks on the button and it will allow them to add a new Action item linked to the Risk they are working on. When complete clicking the back button at the top left of the screen will allow them to carry on editing the Risk.

Close Record: This option mimics the functionality of the User clicking the back button <- at the top left of the screen. An example of application could be if a User is working through a List Report to update their Projects. They can click on the Project to update the information and when complete click on the close Record button to navigate back to the List Report ready to select the next Project that they need to update.

Go To Child App: Quite often a User will need to navigate to a Child Application to update data. The Go To Child App action mimics the action of a User clicking on the Linked App in the left pane menu. Ensure to select the Child App that you want Users to be navigated to. Like in the Risk and Action example above, a User may want to quickly access from within a Risk Record all Actions associated with it.

Go To Parent Record: The Go To Parent Record is the opposite of 'Go To Child Record' and allows the User to quickly navigate back after navigating to a Child App and then opening a Child Record to view. One example may be when looking at a Company (Parent) Record and then viewing the Contacts for that Company, here it would allow the User to get back to the Company Record saving the extra clicks involved to close the Contact Record and then navigate back to the Company Record.

Open URL: You may want to direct the User to either an internal or external URL from a Record. Simply enter the URL that you want to direct the User to. If this is an external site then the full URL or if it is a link to a page within the Site then use the relative URL for the destination. Say you wanted to take the User to the Project App, using /App/Main/Project (anything after domain.on.softools.net) would mean if there are additional host names then the navigation will still work. Also set the 'Open Image Action Button In New Tab?' as appropriate. If selected, then a new tab will open to the link given, otherwise it will redirect the User to the link in the tab that they currently have open. Below shows an example of directing a User to the softools.net website.

Trigger Workflow: Another action that the button can perform is to trigger a Workflow. Ensure to select the Workflow that you would like to be triggered. Note that the workflow will only run if the Workflow Trigger has also been met. A common use could be to trigger a Workflow, Sending a Report when an Analysis is Complete. This can be re-run again via the button providing the trigger is met.

Copy Record: Frequently in use cases a Record can serve as an exemplary template, or numerous Fields may often need to contain the same data. In these such instances a 'Copy Record' Image Action Button can prove very useful. It performs the same 'Copy' function that can be accessed from within a Record via the ellipses in the top right, yet offers a more streamlined alternative that can be placed on the actual Record itself. 

When clicked within a Record, the above option will be displayed. Allowing you to either go to the new copy or stay on the current Record.

Copy Record As Template: This performs the same function as 'Copy Record', yet the copied Record will exclude the data of any Fields that have 'Exclude This Field From Templated Record Copies' toggled.

 Button Image: The button will appear as the image that is uploaded in this section. This can either be a link to a URL if the image has it's source online or it can be an Asset that has been uploaded to your Site.

Use the 'Upload New Asset' Feature to upload a new Asset to use for the Image Action Button is desired.

Make sure to click the 'Save' button when making any changes in order for them to be added to the next app version. Once you have made all the changes you need to an application you are then ready to publish it to workspace.