Blog: Posts from July, 2012

Actions Export to Spreadsheet, Download, and Report will produce a file when executed on the server. The file name is a concatenation of the data controller and the view.

Let’s create a business rule that will assign custom names to the output files.

First, enable shared business rules and regenerate the project. Start the Project Designer and click Develop on the toolbar to open the project in Visual Studio.

In the Solution Explorer, double-click on ~\App_Code\Rules\SharedBusinessRules.cs(vb) file.

Replace the default code with the following:

C#:

using System;
using MyCompany.Data;
using System.IO;

namespace MyCompany.Rules
{
    public partial class SharedBusinessRules : MyCompany.Data.BusinessRules
    {

        public SharedBusinessRules()
        {
        }

        // 1. "Actions | Export to Spreadsheet" in any controller
        [ControllerAction(".", "FileName", "ExportRowset")]
        public void AssignFileNameToExportSpreadsheet(string fileName)
        {
            UpdateFieldValue("FileName", String.Format("Live {0} Data Link.iqy", 
                ControllerName));
        }

        // 2. "Actions | Download" in 'Suppliers' controller
        [ControllerAction("Suppliers", "FileName", "ExportCsv")]
        public void AssignFileNameToDownloadCsv(string fileName)
        {
            UpdateFieldValue("FileName", String.Format("{0:yyyy-MM-dd} Supplier List.csv", 
                DateTime.Now));
        }

        // 3. "Report |.." in any data controller
        [ControllerAction(".", "FileName", "Report")]
        [ControllerAction(".", "FileName", "ReportAsPdf")]
        [ControllerAction(".", "FileName", "ReportAsExcel")]
        [ControllerAction(".", "FileName", "ReportAsWord")]
        [ControllerAction(".", "FileName", "ReportAsImage")]
        public void FormatReportFileName(string fileName)
        {
            UpdateFieldValue("FileName", String.Format("{0:yyyy-MM-dd} {1}{2}",
                DateTime.Now,
                Arguments.Controller,
                Path.GetExtension(fileName)));
        }
    }
}

Visual Basic:

Imports MyCompany.Data
Imports System
Imports System.IO

Namespace MyCompany.Rules

    Partial Public Class SharedBusinessRules
        Inherits MyCompany.Data.BusinessRules

        Public Sub New()
            MyBase.New()
        End Sub

        ' 1. "Actions | Export to Spreadsheet" in any controller
        <ControllerAction(".", "FileName", "ExportRowset")>
        Public Sub AssignFileNameToExportSpreadsheet(fileName As String)
            UpdateFieldValue("FileName", String.Format("Live {0} Data Link.iqy",
                                                       ControllerName))
        End Sub

        ' 2. "Actions | Download" in 'Suppliers' controller
        <ControllerAction("Suppliers", "FileName", "ExportCsv")>
        Public Sub AssignFileNameToDownloadCsv(fileName As String)
            UpdateFieldValue("FileName", String.Format("{0:yyyy-MM-dd} SupplierList.csv",
                                                       DateTime.Now))
        End Sub

        ' 3. "Report |.." in any data controller
        <ControllerAction(".", "FileName", "Report")>
        <ControllerAction(".", "FileName", "ReportAsPdf")>
        <ControllerAction(".", "FileName", "ReportAsExcel")>
        <ControllerAction(".", "FileName", "ReportAsWord")>
        <ControllerAction(".", "FileName", "ReportAsImage")>
        Public Sub FormatReportFileName(fileName As String)
            UpdateFieldValue("FileName", String.Format("{0:yyyy-MM-dd} {1}{2}",
                                                       DateTime.Now,
                                                       Arguments.Controller,
                                                       Path.GetExtension(fileName)))
        End Sub
    End Class
End Namespace

Save the file.

The implementation handles FileName action with arguments equal to the action command names that require an output file. For example, Export to Spreadsheet action has it’s command set to “ExportRowset”. The application framework will try to obtain a custom filename from the business rules by raising an internal action with command name of “FileName” and argument of “ExportRowset”. If the business rules are updating the filename, then the new name will be assigned to the output file.

Press Ctrl+F5 keyboard shortcut to run the web application. Navigate to the Suppliers page. On the action bar, click Actions | Download.

The name of the file will be the current date followed by “Supplier List”.

Report action file output will be named with the date and controller name.

The Export to Spreadsheet action will name the file “Live Suppliers Data Link”.

Custom modal forms can be used to collect parameters from the user and pass them to business rules for processing.

A custom data controller without a command can define fields, presentation views, and actions. Such controllers may be used as confirmations for actions for the purpose of collecting input parameters.

Let’s consider the steps involved in the creation of a confirmation data controller using a Northwind sample application.

Child views in a master/detail relationship will automatically hide the foreign key field to prevent duplicate display of the field value. This means that the Supplier Company Name field in the list of supplier products controller is hidden.

However, sometimes the user may want to change the foreign key of a child record. This may occur if a product is incorrectly associated with a supplier. One solution is to navigate to the standalone Products page where the supplier lookup is visible. A better alternative would be to create a custom action displaying a modal form that will allow the user to change the foreign key field in the child list of products.

Start the Project Designer. In the Project Explorer, switch to the Controllers tab. On the toolbar, press New Controller icon.

Give this controller the following name:

Press OK to save the controller. In the Project Explorer, right-click on SupplierSelector / Fields node, and select New Field option.

Give this field the following properties:

Press OK to save. Create another field:

Save this field, and create one more.

Save the field. Right-click on SupplierSelector / Business Rules node, and select New Business Rule option.

Give this business rule the following properties:

set @ProductName = @Context_ProductName
set @SupplierCompanyName = @Context_SupplierCompanyName

Press OK to save.

In the Project Explorer, right-click on Products / Actions / ag1 (Grid) node and select New Action option.

Give this action the following properties:

Press OK to save. Right-click on Products / Business Rules node, and select New Business Rule option.

Use the following properties:

--update the product supplier
update Products
set SupplierID = @Parameters_SupplierID
where ProductID = @ProductID
--'forget' the previously selected product
set @ProductID = null
--force the data view to refresh
set @Result_Refresh = 1

Press OK to save.

On the toolbar, press Browse.

Navigate to the Suppliers page, and select a supplier. In the context menu of a product, select Change Supplier.

A custom modal form will open, displaying the current Product and Supplier.

Use the lookup to select a new supplier.

Press OK to confirm, and the supplier of the product will change to the new supplier.