The Actions tab on the Cross-Connect’s administration interface is used to select the pre-defined actions that you want to make available for use against the items in the Cross-Connect. When the Cross-Connect is displayed, the actions you select on this tab are listed in a drop-down menu at the top of the Cross-Connect.
This topic includes the following subjects:
• Select Actions for Use in a Cross-Connect
• How Action Definitions are Referenced by a Cross-Connect
• Execute an Action Against Items in a Cross-Connect
Before you choose the actions to enable for a Cross-Connect, please make sure that they are compatible with the schemas of both the parent list and the child list. For example, if you are working with a Cross-Connect that shows customer and product records, you do not want to select an action that updates the status of a task (or any action that references a column that does not exist in the affected lists).
If you enable an incompatible action for the Cross-Connect and a user selects that action, it will always fail. You need to be sure that the columns that are populated or updated exist in both the source list and the destination list. Naming your action definitions clearly goes a long way toward avoiding this potential problem.
1. Access the Actions tab on the Cross-Connect’s administration interface. If the actions you want to make available are not located on the current site, type the desired list URL in the Site URL field and then click Add URL.
• If the actions are located in more than one URL, repeat this step as necessary.
• As you identify URLs, the Available Document Libraries area is automatically updated with the names of all the libraries that have the appropriate structure to store action definitions.
NOTE: The site can be identified as either absolute or relative. For maximum portability, a relative URL should be used. If an absolute URL is identified and the action is later ported to a new site, the URL may not be reachable. For more information, see “How Action Definitions are Referenced by a Cross-Connect,” below.
2. The Available Document Libraries section shows all the document libraries in the current site and in all of the URLs identified above. Highlight the libraries used to store the actions you want to make available and click Load Available Actions. The page is refreshed and all of the action definitions in the selected libraries are added to the Available Actions area at the bottom of the tab. No other types of actions are available for selection.
3. Highlight the actions you want to make available for use and click the >> button to move them to the Selected Actions area.
NOTE: This is where the importance of naming your actions clearly comes into play. It is important that you make sure the actions you select here are compatible with the Cross-Connect.
4. When you are finished, either select another administration interface tab to continue your configuration or click OK to see the updated Cross-Connect display. The actions drop-down is included at the top of the Cross-Connect, and there is a checkbox to the left of each item in the display.
For information on creating and modifying action definitions, see the Actions Wizard.
When you select an action to enable for a Cross-Connect, the Cross-Connect stores a reference to the location of the action definition. If the action definition is located in a library in the same site where the Cross-Connect is located, a reference is stored with just the library name. If the action definition is located in a different site, a reference is stored with the entire path.
If you enable actions for a Cross-Connect and then save the site as a site template, the references to action definitions that are stored in action libraries in the same site are maintained and are portable. Any references that include the entire path (are not in the same site) are not portable.
No activity will happen regarding an action until the user selects the Cross-Connect item(s) they want to work with and the action they want to execute. To do this:
1. Place a check mark next to each item in the Cross-Connect you want to work with.
2. Select the desired action from the drop-down at the top of the Cross-Connect display.
3. Click Go.
• If the action is a delete-type action, a confirmation message is displayed before any items are deleted.
• If the action definition includes any values that are set to “Select at Runtime,” an entry form is displayed. Any required fields are marked with a red asterisk (*). When you are finished entering the necessary information, click Go at the bottom of the entry form.
4. A status area is displayed with the success or failure message that is stated in the action definition. If any items failed, you will also see a bulleted list of links to the items for which the action did not succeed. Each link opens in a separate window. Note that the items you selected for the action are still marked in the Cross-Connect display. Additional SharePoint error messaging will also be displayed if that option was selected in the action definition.
• Actions can fail for a number of reasons. One common reason is that the action definition is incompatible with the parent or child list. One or more of the columns referenced in the definition may not in exist in the source or destination list(s).
• Another reason may be insufficient user access to one of the lists in the Cross-Connect. Users must have a minimum of Contributor access to a destination list in order for an action to succeed in creating, modifying, or deleting items in that list.
5. Select the Close Actions Status Window link in the area where the success or error message is displayed. The status window is closed and the Cross-Connect display is refreshed.
NOTE: Please do not refresh the screen or use your browser’s Back or Forward button until the action has finished executing and you have closed the status area.