Activities

Last modified: April 18, 2024

1 Introduction

Activities define the actions that are executed in a microflow or a nanoflow.

There are different types of activity, and they are grouped together in the Studio Pro Toolbox. All the activities are listed below. Click on each activity for more details.

2 Object Activities

Object activities can be used to create and manipulate objects. The domain model defines the object types (entities) that can be used.

Graphic Name Description
cast object
Cast object In combination with an object type decision allows you to use the specialized members of the object. For more information on the specialized members of an object, see Entities.
change object
Change object Allows you to change the members of an object. This can be done with or without committing, and with or without events.
commit object
Commit object(s) Allows you to commit changes to one or more objects.
create object
Create object Creates an object.
delete object
Delete object(s) Deletes an object.
retrieve
Retrieve Gets one (or more) associated objects of another object. Furthermore, this activity can also get one or more objects directly from a database.
rollback object
Rollback object Rolls uncommitted changes back that were made to an object in the part of the microflow preceding the activity. Furthermore, it deletes objects that have been created but have never been committed.

3 List Activities

List activities can be used to create and manipulate lists of objects.

Graphic Name Description
aggregate list
Aggregate list Allows you to calculate aggregated values such as the maximum, minimum, sum, average, and total amount of objects over a list of objects.
change list
Change list Allows you to change the content of a list variable.
create list
Create list Creates a (empty) list variable.
list operation
List operation Combines or compares two lists with objects of the same entity.

4 Action Call Activities

Action call activities can be used to call another microflow or to call a Java action.

Graphic Name Description
java action call
Call Java action (microflows only) Calls a Java action. Arguments can be passed to the action and the result can be stored in a variable.
javascript action call
Call JavaScript action (nanoflows only) Calls a JavaScript action. Arguments can be passed to the action and the result can be stored in a variable.
microflow call
Microflow call Calls a microflow. Arguments can be passed to the microflow and the result can be stored in a variable.

5 Variable Activities

Variable activities can be used to create or change a variable.

Graphic Name Description
change variable
Change variable Allows you to changes the value of a variable.
create variable
Create variable Allows you to creates a new variable.

6 Client Activities

Client activities can be used to have the web client of your application perform an action, such as showing a different page or downloading a file.

Graphic Name Description
nanoflow call
Call nanoflow (nanoflows only) Calls another nanoflow. Arguments can be passed to the nanoflow and the result can be stored in a variable.
close page
Close page Closes the page that was opened last by the user who called the microflow or nanoflow in which this activity is used.
download file
Download file (microflows only) Can be used to enable the browser to download a specific file. The user who calls the microflow in which this activity is used gets a download pop-up window, or the file is shown directly in the browser.
show home page
Show home page (microflows only) Navigates to the home page for the current user.
show message
Show message Allows you to show a blocking or non-blocking message to the user that calls the microflow or nanoflow in which this activity is used.
show page
Show page Allows you to show a page to the user that calls the microflow or nanoflow in which this activity is used.
synchronize to device
Synchronize to device (microflows only) Can be used to selectively synchronize one or more objects or lists to a device and store them in the offline database.
synchronize
Synchronize (nanoflows only) Synchronizes data.
validation feedback
Validation feedback Allows you to display a red text below a widget that displays an attribute or association.

7 Integration Activities

Integration activities can be used to integrate with other systems, for example by calling a web service.

Graphic Name Description
call external action
Call external action Can be used to call an external action from a consumed OData service. You can configure the parameters and if available, store the result in a variable.
call REST service
Call REST service Can be used to call a REST endpoint. You can use mappings to map results to entities or entities to requests. You can also use string templates and store the result in a string variable.
call web service action
Call web service Can be used to call one of the imported web services. The content of the request can be edited. Furthermore the response of the webservice can be mapped to entities, stored in a variable or be ignored.
import with mapping
Import with mapping Can be used to parse the data in a string variable or data stored in a file document, and store them to entities defined in the domain model of the database. An import mapping is used to map the incoming XML or JSON to entities.
export with mapping
Export with mapping Can be used to export the data stored in domain model entities into an XML or JSON string. It can also be stored in a file document. An export mapping is used to map domain model entities into XML or JSON.
query external database
Query external database Can be used with the External Database Connector to use preconfigured database queries and display retrieved data in your app.
send rest request
Send REST request (beta) Can be used to send a REST request, which is configured in a consumed REST service (beta) document.

8 Logging Activities

Graphic Name Description
log message
Log message Allows you to create messages that appear in the log of your Mendix application.

9 Document Generation Activities

Graphic Name Description
generate document
Generate document (microflows only) Allows you to create a document of a certain type based on a template.

10 Metrics Activities

Graphic Name Description
counter
Counter Allows you to increment a counter by the specified value.
increment-counter
Increment counter Allows you to increment a counter by 1.
gauge
Gauge Allows you to specify the value of a gauge.

11 ML Kit Activities

Graphic Name Description
call ml model
Call ML model (microflows only) Allows you to call an ML model mapping document.

12 Workflow Activities

Workflow activities are used in relation to workflows and their user tasks.

Graphic Name Description
Apply jump-to option Allows the workflow to jump to a selected activity. This activity should be used after the Generate jump-to options activity that generates the list of possible workflow activities the workflow can jump to.
Call workflow Triggers the selected workflow.
Change workflow state Allows you to add Abort, Continue, Pause, Unpause, Restart, and Retry operations to a workflow and control workflow instances.
Complete user task Sets which outcome the user task should follow. For example, this activity can be used to complete a user task using a microflow with custom validations.
Generate jump-to options Allows you to generate a list of workflow activities where the workflow can jump to as its next step. The Apply jump-to option activity should be used after the Generate jump-to options activity to let the workflow continue from the selected activity.
Retrieve workflow activity records Allows you to retrieve a list of System.WorkflowActivityRecord objects for a given workflow instance. Each System.WorkflowActivityRecord represents a snapshot of a workflow activity.
Retrieve workflow context Allows you to retrieve the selected workflow context entity.
Retrieve workflows Allows you to retrieve a list of System.Workflow objects associated with the given workflow context object.
Show user task page Opens a user task page specified in user task properties.
Show workflow admin page Opens a workflow overview page.
Lock workflow Allows you to lock a workflow.
Unlock workflow Allows you to unlock a workflow.
Notify workflow Allows you to notify a workflow that is suspended on the Wait for notification activity.

13 External Object Activities

Graphic Name Description
Delete external object Allows you to delete an external object.
Send external object Allows you to send an external object.