Procedure for using the OperatorInputs step


The following provides a basic methodology for using the OperatorInputs step:

  1. In the Operator View Layout tab, add one or more input elements to your display. You must add at least one of the following input elements: a Submit button, or an input element with its Automatic submit property enabled. For more information, refer to Chapter 50: Customizing the operator view.

  2. Configure each input element with an initial value.

  3. Select Automatic submit if you want the new data to be transmitted to the flowchart as soon as the user clicks the radio button or presses Enter for a text box.

  4. In the Flowchart tab, on the Configuration pane, select one or more input elements and add them to the OperatorInputs step's list of inputs. By default, each item added is named inputn+1, where n is the number of items already in the list. This value can be changed to anything, as long as the name is unique within your project. The name of the input element appears in the Configuration pane in the Operator input list.

    Note that input elements are named on the Operator View Layout tab. To rename an input element, go to the Operator View Layout tab, select the input element, and then right-click to select the Rename Element context menu item.

  5. Specify the Type of data.

    When dealing with a text box or radio button, the Type determines whether the associated text string is kept as a string or converted to a number.

  6. In your flowchart, use one or more Condition steps linked to the outputs of the OperatorInputs step to evaluate the user input and change the behavior of your project or validate the input.

    Note that no range checking or input validation is performed on the contents of text boxes. Use condition, logic, and string expressions with the Advanced editor to validate the inputs; for example, use the INRANGE logic function in an expression to verify whether your input is within an acceptable range, or the INDEXOFANY function when Type is numeric to determine whether any non-numeric characters are present in the input string.