This type of action allows the user to quickly change the values in one or more columns of an Active Display or Cross-Connect item. For example, a user could select some of the items in a My Task Active Display and then execute an action that changes the Status of all of the selected items to Completed and the % Complete value to 100.
As of the Summer 2006 release, this type of action also provides an option that allows you to add text to the beginning of a multi-line text field. If this option is not enabled, the text provided in the action definition or at runtime will overwrite the existing contents of the column. Consider using this ability to provide an audit trail. For example, a user may want to add a set of fields for historical purposes to a record, such as a message and the date and time it was updated.
This action type does not support Issues and Discussion lists due to the way these types of lists store items. Prior to the Winter 2006 Update, it also did not support document, picture, or form libraries, or any other libraries with a base type of document library.
NOTE: Several prompts on the Actions Wizard user interface were reworded in the Spring 2007 release for improved clarity and usability. In these cases, the reworded prompt is stated first, followed by a slash and the original prompt (e.g., Create a New Action Definition/Create a New Action).
1. Select the Create a New Action Definition/Create a New Action button at the top of the Actions Wizard.
2. In the Site URL for Document Libraries/Site URL field, type the URL of the action library that will hold the new action definition, or a Global Link, and click Add. If the action library is located in the current site, this field can be left blank.
3. All of the libraries that have a type of Document Library and can therefore be used to store an action definition are displayed in the Document Library for Action Definition/Document Libraries area. Highlight the action library you want to use.
Actions cannot be written to an action library located in a sub-area.
4. Type the name of the new action definition in the Action Name field.
This is the name that will be displayed to users, so make sure the name makes the purpose of the action as clear as possible.
At the same time, keep in mind that the drop-down that displays the action titles will automatically resize to fit the longest title. As a result, CorasWorks recommends that you limit your action names to approximately 30 characters in length.
5. Use the Action Type drop-down to select Modify List Item. When you make this selection, the page is refreshed and the Configure Action Type section of the display is expanded with the appropriate entry fields for that action type.
6. In the Message Displayed for Successful Action field, type the message to be displayed to users when an action is completed successfully.
As of Spring 2007, a default message of Success is placed in this field. The message can be changed if you wish.
The default success and error messages for an instance of the Actions Wizard can be changed via the Localization tab on the administration interface.
7. In the Error Message Displayed for Failed Action field, type the message to be displayed to users when an action fails for any reason.
As of Spring 2007, a default message of Error is placed in this field. The message can be changed if you wish.
8. If you also want to include any SharePoint error details when an action fails, select the Include SharePoint Error Details checkbox. When this option is enabled, SharePoint details will be appended to the error message you define in the step above.
As of Spring 2007, this checkbox is selected by default
9. If you are working with Spring 2007 or a later release and the user will be prompted for additional information when the action is executed, you have three options for the background color of the entry form displayed to the user when the action is executed:
To use the standard gray background for the entry form, leave the Background Color for Entry Form properties blank.
To specify a particular color for the entry form, click the Choose Color link and select the desired color from the Color Picker. You can also enter the hexadecimal value for the color if you wish.
To inherit the background color from the css file, select the Inherit from CSS checkbox. When you select this option, the entry field and the Color Picker to the left are disabled.
10. The Lists drop-down field is automatically populated with all of the lists available on the current site. To reference the schema of a list that is kept in a different site, type the URL for that site, or a Global Link, in the Add Site field.
11. In the Lists field, select the name of the list for which you want to reference the schema. The page is refreshed and the names of all the columns that can be modified by this action are displayed.
NOTE: When this type of action is executed, the changes made to the selected item(s) in an Active Display or Cross-Connect will not be saved to the list you identify here in the action definition. The list you select here is simply used as a reference so the Action Wizard knows which columns to make available to you when you create the definition.
12. If you are working with Spring 2007 or a later release, two buttons are displayed below the Lists drop-down. Choose one of these options:
Use List Specified Above Select this option if the list item should be created in the list in the URL identified above.
Use List Relative to Site Where Action is Run Select this option if the action should be created in the list in whatever site the action is executed from. The action will look for a list with the same name in that site.
o You cannot use this option and identify a Global Link in Step 11 above. The Global Link will override this option.
13. Type the new value you want to apply to each column to be modified by this action. At least one value must be entered.
If you want the column to be populated with the same content every time an item is modified as a result of this action, type that static data in the entry field.
o Several functions are available for use in single and multi-line columns. For a listing and definitions, see the Additional Functions topic.
If you want the user to populate the column when the action is executed, choose the Select at Runtime checkbox.
o If the column must be populated, select the Required Field checkbox.
o If you want the column to be displayed in a different order on the entry form than it is on the Actions Wizard interface, type the desired order in the Entry Order field. If you leave this field blank, the column will be displayed in the same order as it is shown in the Actions Wizard.
If do not want to modify a particular column, leave it blank in the definition.
14. If you are working with the Winter 2006 Update or a later release and the selected list includes date columns, a Date Picker with multiple entry fields and drop-downs is available.
Use the first drop-down to select a static date from a calendar. Navigate to the desired month and year and then click on the date you want to select.
Select the hour and minutes from a pair of drop-downs.
Select one of the CorasWorks date functions from a drop-down, so you do not need to identify a literal date. For a complete listing with definitions, please refer to the Date Functions section of this help topic.
Add or subtract the identified number of days from the existing value in the date column by entering a positive or negative number in the Day(s) entry field. If the date column is not currently populated, the days will be added or subtracted from todays date. If you want to subtract days, simply precede the number by a sign. If you want to add days, a symbol is not necessary.
Choose Select at Runtime to prompt the user the make a selection using any of the above options when the action is executed.
If you attempt to utilize multiple selection options, the Actions Framework will look for a date function first, then a Day(s) entry, and then a calendar date. There is no interaction between these methods, so, for example, it will not process a combination of a date function and a Day(s) value, such as adding five days to the first day of the first quarter.
15. When you are finished defining the new action, select Save. The action is now available for use in an Active Display or Cross-Connect.