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.
Another point to consider is whether the actions you wish to enable for a Cross-Connect reference CorasWorks Workplace Lookup columns. The data referenced by Workplace Lookups comes from an external source, so performance may be impacted. Each time the action is executed from a Cross-Connect, it has to go out and retrieve all of the possible values, which can take time; the data retrieval occurs when the action is executed. This could have an effect on performance, since it relies on another system’s or product’s ability to provide the data. As a result, as you begin to use lookups, you may want to limit the number of actions that reference lookup columns that are available via a Cross-Connect.
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 you are working with Fall 2007 or a later release, you also have the option to identify a Global Link in the Site URL field. (Make sure you place the link name within brackets, e.g., [MySite].)
• 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.
If you want to ensure that the action definitions referenced by a Cross-Connect are always portable, use a Global Link to point to the site where the actions library(ies) is stored. If any changes need to be made to the Global Link, they can be made in a single location and affect all of the Cross-Connects that reference it.
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.
• Go at the bottom of the entry form.
o As of the Fall 2007 release, you can drag the action entry form anywhere in the browser window, resolving any visibility issues if it is blocking something that you need to see.
o Also new with the Fall 2007 release, there is an “X” icon in the top right corner of the action entry form that allows the user to close it without executing the action.
o If a chained action is executed and one of the actions prompts the user for information, the action entry form is displayed and the following action is named at the bottom of the form. If multiple actions prompt the user for information, the form will include all of the prompts for all of those actions.
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. Additional SharePoint error messaging will also be displayed if that option was selected in the action definition.
• If you are working with Fall 2007 or a later release, the page is refreshed when the status area is displayed. The items you selected for the action are no longer marked in the Cross-Connect.
• If you are working with a release prior to Fall 2007, the items you selected for the action are still marked in the Cross-Connect. The page is not refreshed until you close the actions status window. Actions can fail for a number of reasons:
o One common reason is that the action definition is incompatible with the Cross-Connect. One or more of the columns referenced in the definition may not in exist in the source or destination list(s).
o Another reason may be insufficient user access to one or more 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.
o If a user attempts to execute an action and the list identified in the action definition is not available, the following error message will be displayed:
The list [list name or list URL] does not exist.
5. Select the Close Actions Status Window link in the area where the success or error message is displayed. The status window is closed.
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.