AX2186
The behavior for creating and opening plan files for on-demand file groups depends on the client environment.
Opening existing plan files
To open existing plan files in the Desktop Client (Excel Client or Windows Client), users use the Open Plan Files dialog as normal.
The Open Plan Files dialog does not apply to the Web Client. To open existing plan files in the Web Client, you must configure an Axiom form to present the appropriate hyperlinks to the user, or the user can open files from the "built-in" list of available forms in the Web Client.
Creating new plan files—Windows Client and Excel Client
If a file group is configured to allow adding plan files on demand, the Open Plan Files dialog now contains a command to create a plan file. The name of this command is defined in the file group settings, so it will vary for each file group. In the example below, the command is named "Add New Request."
To create a plan file, the user clicks on this link. From here there are two different plan file creation paths, depending on whether an Axiom form has been specified as the Add File Form in the file group properties.
Scenario 1: Default behavior
The user will be prompted to specify values for "required" columns in the plan code table. This includes alternate key columns, validated columns, and the file group Template column (if used).
Example dialog to prompt the user for values
NOTE: The Hierarchy Display Name for the column, if defined, is used in this dialog instead of the regular column name.
Once any required values have been specified, Axiom Financial Institutions Suite automatically creates a new record in the plan code table, using the next number in the sequence as well as the column values collected from the user (if applicable). A plan file is then automatically created for this new code, using either the default template assigned to the file group, or the template listed in the template column. The new plan file opens and the user can work with it as normal.
Scenario 2: Using an Axiom form to create the plan file
If an Axiom form has been specified as the Add File Form in the file group properties, then this form is displayed as a "dialog" within the application. This form replaces the built-in dialog as described in the previous scenario, however, when using a form you have more leeway as to which values the user is prompted to select. The form must be configured with a Button component that uses the Add Plan File command.
When the user clicks on the button in the form, Axiom Financial Institutions Suite automatically creates a new record in the plan code table, using the next number in the sequence as well as the column values collected from the Axiom form. A plan file is then automatically created for this new code, using either the default template assigned to the file group, or the template listed in the template column.
The new plan file may or may not open at this point, depending on whether Open plan file after creation is enabled for the Add Plan File command. If opened, the plan file will open either as an Axiom form or as a spreadsheet, depending on whether the template used to create the plan file is forms-enabled or not.
Creating plan files by cloning existing
As an alternative to creating a plan file from a template, users can also choose to clone existing plan files. To do this, the user selects the plan file in the Open Plan Files list, and then clicks Clone selected item. For example, the user may want to create a new capital or strategic project that is very similar to an existing project. In this case they can clone the existing project and then edit the copy, rather than starting from the default template. The starting values for the plan code table are collected as follows for the cloned plan file:
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By default, Axiom prompts the user to select values for any validated columns. The dialog uses the values from the cloned record as default values, but the user can choose to change the values for the new file. If the file group has an assigned Template column, the user will not be prompted to select a template—instead the template is recorded as the template used for the cloned plan file.
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Alternatively, you can specify a Clone File Form to collect the starting values. This form works like the Add File Form, but it should be designed slightly differently so that the form uses the values from the cloned record as default values. Additionally, the form should not prompt the user to select a template (if it does, the input will be ignored). Instead the template is recorded as the template used for the cloned plan file.
NOTE: If you do not want users to be able to clone plan files, this can be disabled on a per file group basis by selecting Disable Clone Existing Plan Files in the file group properties. See Configuring a file group as an on-demand file group.
Additionally, it is possible to customize the process for creating new plan files in the Excel Client or Windows Client. For example, you can place the Add Plan File command in a custom task pane or ribbon tab, in which case the command behaves as if the user had clicked the "add file" command in the Open Plan Files dialog. You can also use Axiom forms outside of the Add File Form context. For example, users can create new plan files from their form-enabled home page or from a stand-alone form dialog (in this case the behavior is the same as when using the Web Client).
Creating new plan files—Web Client
When using the Web Client, you must create an Axiom form that users can use to create new plan files. The setup for this form is the same as the setup for the Add File Form, except in this environment the form will be presented as a web page instead of as a dialog. At minimum, the form must contain a Button component that the user clicks to create the new plan file.
Users can access this designated web page as follows:
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You can add the Process Summary component to an Axiom form (typically the Home file), and enable the option Show new item button. Users can then click the plus icon in the component header to launch the designated Add File Form for the file group.
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You can add a link to the Plan File Directory page to an Axiom form (typically the Home file). Users can click the plus icon on the Plan File Directory page header to launch the designated Add File Form for the file group.
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You can place a direct link to the form used to create plan files on the users' form-enabled home page, or on a similar landing page. (In this case it is not necessary to designate the form as the Add File Form for the file group since you are linking to it directly, however, you may still wish to for other reasons.)
Typically, the plan files created via the Axiom form are also form-enabled and will subsequently open in the Web Client environment. However, it is also possible to have a "hybrid" configuration where an Axiom form is used to create plan files, but the resulting plan files are spreadsheets to be worked on later using the Windows Client or the Excel Client.
