Introduction to Branding, Designer, Tenants | ClaySys AppForms

App Forms Basic Introduction: Detailed Summary

Key Concepts: App Forms, Tenant, Designer, Forms Explorer, Version History, Security, Recycle Bin, Transaction Log, Tenant Settings, Navigation Settings, Backup & Restore, User Management, Event Logs, Task Scheduler, App Forms Branding, Data Management (Data Sources, Session Variables, Application Settings, Global Rules, Global Menu), Manage Tenants, User Profile.

1. App Forms Interface Overview

• Tenant: The video focuses on navigating and understanding the App Forms interface within a specific tenant. The example tenant is named "demo tenant."
• Header: The header bar contains the Closest logo and links like "Home," "Designer," and "Manage Tenant." The appearance of the header (gear icon vs. horizontal links) depends on the applied branding styles.
• Home: Clicking "Home" loads the designated startup form for the tenant. In this case, a blank form is configured as the startup form.
• Designer: Clicking "Designer" navigates to the Forms Explorer view.

2. Forms Explorer

• Tree View: The Forms Explorer features a tree view on the left for navigating folders and forms. An "Expand All" button expands all folders in the tree.
• Content View: The right side displays the contents of the selected folder, showing forms and their check-in/checkout status.
• Add Folder: Allows creating new folders, either at the top level or nested within existing folders, for organizing forms.
• Add Form: Prompts for a form name and creates a new form, opening it in the designer. Example: creating a form named "test123."
• View History: Accesses the built-in version control system for forms.

3. Form Version History

• Versioning: App Forms automatically creates new versions of a form each time it's checked in.
• Form History Window: Displays a list of form versions with check-in dates.
• View: Allows viewing a specific version of the form in the designer, including rules and comments.
• Compare: Enables side-by-side comparison of two form versions, highlighting added/removed controls, rule changes, and details. Example: Comparing versions 3 and 4 of "demo account form" to see the addition of a "subtract variables" button and associated rule.
• Rollback: Reverts the form to a previous version. Example: Rolling back to version 3 of a form after a problematic update in version 4.
• Archive Form Versions: Archives older versions of the form, keeping only the most recent version or a specified number of recent versions. Archived versions can be restored.
• Manage Security: Opens the security manager dialog for setting granular permissions on the app, forms, and controls. A separate video will cover this in detail.

4. Right-Click Context Menu (Forms Explorer)

• Folder Options: Add Folder, Add Form, Rename Folder, Delete Folder, Change Icon (using a built-in icon viewer with a list of icons), Copy, Paste, Security, Upload Form. Example: Changing a folder icon to a specific icon from the built-in list.
• Form Options: Edit Form, View History, Download Form, Upload Form, Delete Form, Copy.

5. Download and Upload Form

• Download Form: Creates a ZIP file containing the form definition.
• Upload Form: Imports a form from a ZIP file. Includes an option to "Import data sources" to import data source configuration settings (SQL Server, web service).
• Process: Right-click on a form, select "Download Form," click "Download" to generate a ZIP file. To upload, right-click in the Forms Explorer, select "Upload Form," choose the ZIP file, and click "Upload."

6. Forms Explorer Menu (Hamburger Menu)

• Forms Explorer: Returns to the main Forms Explorer view.
• Forms Recycle Bin: Lists deleted forms and folders, allowing restoration or purging. Includes a search function to filter by title.
• Transaction Log: Displays requests to external web services, including request/response times, user, and error information. Useful for troubleshooting web service integrations.
• Tenant Settings: Tenant-level settings that can be enabled or disabled. Includes settings for quick menu, security, and beta features. A separate video will cover these in detail.
• Transaction Settings: Customizable settings, including SQL transaction management (restricting the maximum number of records pulled back from a SQL select to 100 by default), web service transaction logs, and exception logging.
• Application Monitor: Options for monitoring application flow using JSON (preferable for speed) or SQL (more detailed, but slower).
• Rules Execution Monitor: Collects logging of rule execution order for debugging rule-related issues. Both Application Monitor and Rules Execution Monitor can impact performance.
• Navigation Settings: Allows selecting the startup form for the site/subsite and enabling top-level or left-side navigation menus.
• Backup and Restore: Enables backing up and restoring forms and tenant settings. Allows granular selection of forms and data forms to include in the backup. Includes options to export global menu navigation settings, security, security groups, workflow, and application settings.
• User Management: Lists users, shows license usage, and allows adding/disabling users.
• Event Logs: Displays errors and warnings across all tenants. Allows filtering by date and downloading logs.
• Task Scheduler: Schedules forms to be loaded at specific times and intervals.

7. App Forms Branding

• Branding Customization: Allows creating and applying custom branding styles to tenants. A dedicated video will cover this in detail.
• Login Page Customization: Customization options for the login page (fonts, colors, CSS).
• Header Customization: Customization options for the header (fonts, features).

8. Data Management

• Data Source Settings: Configures data connections (SQL, web service, RESTful service, Azure table).
• Session Variables: Stores user-specific information for the duration of a session, accessible to all forms within that session.
• Application Settings: Key-value pairs for storing static data accessible to forms within the application.
• Global Rules: Creates reusable rules that can be called from any form within the tenant.
  • Process: Create a global rule with parameters. In a form, use the "Call Global Rule" action, specifying the rule name and parameter values. Example: Creating a global rule "gr_isMinor" that takes an age parameter and displays a message box based on whether the age is less than 18.
• Global Menu: Creates menus that can be loaded within forms, either by default or dynamically using menu open/close functions.

9. Manage Tenants

• Tenant Creation: Allows creating new tenants by providing a tenant name.
• Tenant URLs: Provides direct URLs to the tenant's designer and site.

10. User Profile

• Profile Settings: Allows editing user profile information (initials, name, email, phone, profile picture).
• Logout: Logs out the current user.

11. Synthesis/Conclusion

The video provides a comprehensive introduction to the App Forms interface, covering key areas such as the Forms Explorer, version history, security, tenant settings, data management, and branding. It emphasizes the granular control and customization options available within App Forms, highlighting features like global rules, version control, and security management. The video also points to other videos that will cover specific topics in more detail, such as branding and security. The main takeaway is that App Forms offers a robust platform for building and managing forms-based applications with a high degree of flexibility and control.