Actions

Actions are operations that run in response to user interactions. They enable your app to create, update, and delete data, navigate between views, and provide feedback to users.

What are Actions?

Actions are reusable operations that can be:

• Triggered by button clicks
• Executed on row clicks in lists
• Chained together for complex workflows
• Configured with dynamic values using formulas

Action Types

EmberBlocks provides several built-in action types:

Action	Description	Common Use Cases
Create Row	Insert a new record	Adding new items, creating orders
Update Row	Modify an existing record	Editing details, changing status
Delete Row	Remove a record	Deleting items, cleanup
Navigate	Go to another view	Page navigation, detail views
Open URL	Open an external link	External resources, documents
Show Message	Display a notification	Success/error feedback
Run Formula	Execute a formula	Calculations, data validation

Creating Actions

To create a new action:

1. Open your app and go to the Actions tab
2. Click + Create in the sidebar
3. Configure the action settings
4. Save and use in your components

Action Configuration

Create Row

Insert a new record into a table:

Setting	Description
Table	The target table for the new row
Field Values	Values to set for each field

Field Values

For each field, you can specify:

• Static Value - A fixed value like “pending” or “0”
• Formula - A dynamic value like {{$user.id}} or NOW()

Example configuration:

Table: orders
Field Values:
  - customer_id: {{$user.id}}
  - status: "pending"
  - created_at: NOW()
  - total: 0

Update Row

Modify an existing record:

Setting	Description
Table	The table containing the row
Row Reference	Which row to update (usually $row)
Field Values	Fields to update with new values

Example configuration:

Table: orders
Row: {{$row}}
Field Values:
  - status: "completed"
  - completed_at: NOW()
  - completed_by: {{$user.id}}

Delete Row

Remove a record from a table:

Setting	Description
Table	The table containing the row
Row Reference	Which row to delete

Example configuration:

Table: orders
Row: {{$row}}

Navigate

Go to another view in your app:

Setting	Description
Target View	The view to navigate to
Parameters	URL parameters to pass

Example configuration:

Target View: order-details
Parameters:
  - id: {{$row.id}}

The target view can access parameters via $params:

{{$params.id}}

Open URL

Open an external URL in a new tab:

Setting	Description
URL	The URL to open (supports formulas)

Example configuration:

URL: https://maps.google.com/?q={{$row.address}}

Show Message

Display a notification to the user:

Setting	Description
Message	The text to display (supports formulas)
Type	success, error, info, or warning

Example configuration:

Message: "Order #{{$row.id}} has been updated"
Type: success

Run Formula

Execute a formula and optionally store the result:

Setting	Description
Formula	The formula expression to evaluate

Example:

Formula: SUM(FILTER(items, items.order_id = $row.id).price)

Using Actions

With Buttons

The most common way to trigger actions:

1. Add a Button component to your view
2. In the button settings, select Action
3. Choose the action to trigger
4. Configure any action-specific settings

Button Settings for Actions

Setting	Description
Action	Select the action to trigger
Disabled Condition	Formula for when button is disabled
Confirm Dialog	Show confirmation before running
Confirm Message	Custom confirmation message

With List Components

Actions can trigger on row interactions:

Setting	Description
Row Click Action	Action when a row is clicked
Row Double Click	Action on double-click

Confirmation Dialogs

For destructive or important actions, enable confirmation:

1. In the button settings, enable Confirm Dialog
2. Set a custom Confirm Message
3. Users must click “Confirm” before the action runs

Example message:

Are you sure you want to delete "{{$row.name}}"? This cannot be undone.

Action Context

Actions have access to context variables when executed:

Variable	Description	Availability
$row	Current row (in list context)	List row click, row actions
$selectedRows	Selected rows	Bulk action buttons
$user	Current authenticated user	All actions
$app	Current app metadata	All actions
$params	URL parameters	All actions

Bulk Actions

Perform actions on multiple selected rows:

1. Enable row selection in your List component
2. Add a button with an action that uses $selectedRows
3. The action runs for each selected row

Example - Delete Selected:

Table: items
Row: {{$selectedRows}}

The action will delete all selected items.

Action Chaining (Advanced)

Chain multiple actions to run in sequence:

1. Create individual actions for each step
2. Use the Action Chain configuration
3. Define the execution order
4. Optionally add conditions between steps

Example workflow:

1. Validate - Check required fields
2. Create Order - Insert the order record
3. Create Items - Insert order line items
4. Show Message - Display success notification
5. Navigate - Go to order confirmation

Chain Configuration

Setting	Description
Actions	Ordered list of actions to run
Stop on Error	Stop chain if any action fails
Condition	Optional condition before each action

Error Handling

Built-in Error Handling

EmberBlocks provides automatic error handling:

• Failed actions show an error notification
• Database errors display user-friendly messages
• Network issues trigger retry prompts

Custom Error Messages

Configure custom error handling:

Setting	Description
Error Message	Custom message to show on failure
Error Action	Action to run on failure (optional)

Common Patterns

Quick Add

Create a record with minimal input:

Action: Create Row
Table: tasks
Field Values:
  - title: "New Task"
  - status: "draft"
  - created_by: {{$user.id}}
  - created_at: NOW()

Status Update

Change a record’s status:

Action: Update Row
Table: orders
Row: {{$row}}
Field Values:
  - status: "shipped"
  - shipped_at: NOW()

Navigate to Detail

Open a detail view for a row:

Action: Navigate
Target View: customer-details
Parameters:
  - id: {{$row.id}}

Confirm Delete

Delete with confirmation:

Action: Delete Row
Table: items
Row: {{$row}}

Button Settings:
  - Confirm Dialog: enabled
  - Confirm Message: "Delete {{$row.name}}?"

Open External Link

Open a URL based on row data:

Action: Open URL
URL: {{$row.document_url}}

Success Feedback

Show confirmation after save:

Action: Show Message
Message: "Changes saved successfully"
Type: success

Best Practices

Naming Conventions

Use clear, descriptive names:

• “Create Order” instead of “Action 1”
• “Mark as Complete” instead of “Update”
• “Delete Customer” instead of “Remove”

Confirmation Dialogs

Always confirm destructive actions:

• Delete operations
• Bulk updates
• Irreversible changes

Error Messages

Provide helpful error context:

"Unable to save order. Please check all required fields are filled."

Data Validation

Validate before CRUD operations:

• Check required fields aren’t empty
• Verify numeric values are in range
• Confirm relationships exist

User Feedback

Always provide feedback:

• Success messages after saves
• Error messages with helpful context
• Loading states during operations

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Issue	Cause	Solution
Action not triggering	Button not configured	Check action is assigned to button
Wrong row affected	Incorrect row reference	Verify $row context is available
Field value errors	Invalid formula	Check formula syntax and field names
Navigation fails	Invalid view slug	Verify target view exists

Debugging Tips

1. Test actions with simple static values first
2. Check browser console for detailed errors
3. Verify table and field names are correct
4. Ensure required permissions are granted

Security Considerations

Access Control

• Actions respect user role permissions
• Users can only modify data they have access to
• Admin actions should have explicit role checks

Data Validation

• Validate input on both client and server
• Sanitize user-provided values
• Check for SQL injection in dynamic queries

Audit Trail

• Consider logging important operations
• Track who performed destructive actions
• Maintain history for compliance needs

Next Steps

Continue building your EmberBlocks app:

• Components - Add interactive UI elements
• Formulas - Create dynamic action parameters
• Settings - Configure app-wide settings