HowTo Guides

Bookmark this page: https://agileappscloud.info/aadev-src/HowTo

For Users

These guides tell you how to get the most out of the platform. You should be familiar with Navigating the User Interface.

Perform Basic Operations

• Login When You Forgot Your Password
• Change Your Password

• Search a View to Find Records
• Filter a View to Restrict the Records it Displays
• Generate Printable PDFs for Views, Records, and Reports

• Use Relay for Social Networking, to Monitor Data, and to Track Record Status

• Create a Database View to Join Data from Related Objects
• Create a Report based on a Database View

Perform Specialized Operations

• Create, Test, and Run an Email Campaign
• Create a Project

Customize Your Interface

• Future:Create a custom Dashboard (Home Page) to see things at a glance.
• Future:Filter a Record View
• Future:Modify a Report
• Future:Customize Your Workspace

Manage Your Data

• Future:Import Data
• Future:Remove Recently Imported Records
• Future:Send an email when a record is created or updated, using a Data Policy

For Application Designers

These guides tell you how to create and customize applications. You should be familiar with one or more of HTML coding, CSS formatting, or JavaScript, and be adept at Navigating the User Interface.

Customize the Application Interface

• Create a Custom Sidebar Using Graphic Images
• Future:Use a Custom Web Page to make a Personalized Widget

• Future:Display the Widget in the Home Page / Dashboard
• Future:Display the Widget in the Sidebar

• Future:Create a Custom Print Button
• Future:Collect Data from an External Web Site using Web Forms
• Future:Create a Site that anyone can access without logging into the platform

Build and Customize Applications

When you create an application, much is done for you. The platform automatically constructs record views, forms for adding and updating data, and basic reports. From there, you can begin to customize the application.

• Future:Use the Application Wizard to Build a Sample Order Processing System
• Create an Object
• Display Customer Data in an Order as a Read-Only Field
• Future:Aggregate values for multiple Related Records displayed a Subform
• Future:Automate a standard business process by creating a Workflow
• Future:Automatically take action when Object data changes (event-Based Data Policy)
• Future:Automatically take action on specified dates (calendar-Based Data Policy)

Build Custom Web Pages

• Use AJAX and REST in a Web Page to GET data
• Use AJAX and REST in a Web Page to POST data

For Platform Developers

These guides tell you how to program the platform APIs to take advantage of advanced platform features. You should be familiar with one or more of Java, JavaScript, AJAX, SQL, or REST.

Set up Your Environment

• Future:Develop using the Eclipse Plug-In
• Future:Use the Debug Log effectively
• Future:Use the Platform's Unit Test Framework
• Future:Debug using Eclipse

• Future:Develop Safely Using Sandboxes (and use them for backups)
• Future:Deploy Your Work Using Packages (and use them for backups)
• Future:Develop in Teams Using a Version Control System

Customize Application Pages

• Future:Create a Simple JSP Page using Java
• Future:Create an HTML Page using JavaScript Functions and the REST API

• Future:Make a JSP Page into a Web Tab
• Future:Make a JSP Page into a Widget
• Future:Use a JSP Page to Create a Custom Action Button

• Create a JSP page and Java Controller
• Future:Create a Component and a Java Controller
• Future:Create an external Site wired to a Java Controller

• Use a SQL Query to List Records in a Custom Page

Future:Use SQL Queries and Java Sets to Get the Inverse of a Complex Query

Notes:

• E.g. All orders last month that do not include product X. (No related OrderItems point to that product.)
• Easier to query for orders that do, set-subtract from all orders using HashSet(HashMap) constructors and the set.removeAll(set) method.
• Similarly: Use Set Intersection to find all orders that include product X and product Y, using the set.retainAll(set) method.

Tackle Advanced Projects

• Handle Incoming Emails Programmatically
• Create a Data Handler to Add Data to a Package
• Write Java Code for Data Policies
• Future:Write Programs using the REST APIs
• Future:Use the HTTPConnection class to access a web service
• Future:Programmatically Add Activities and Notes to records