The Block Creator

In this lesson, we'll introduce you to the Block Creator in WorkXpress and teach you the essential skills you'll need to use it effectively when building your application.

The Block Creator, like all WorkXpress Tools, is available for use only when working with a project application and does not appear to a user working on a test or production application.

Application Workspace

Before we begin, let's introduce the application workspace. In WorkXpress, your workspace is your application. What you see is exactly what you get. Your workspace is simply your application with the five fundamental WorkXpress Build Tools enabled. Unless you're customizing an existing application, your application won't be very complex at first and will include only a few Blocks essential to its proper function, but as you work on your project, it will develop into the rich, purposeful application you ultimately want to deploy.

First, let's look at a sample application:

Now, let's look at the same application in workspace mode (we'll explain how to enable to the build tools as soon as we've introduced the Block Creator):

Notice that each Building Block now has an attached Block icon. Clicking on any of those icons will allow you to access the tools and settings you need to build or customize your application. Each icon is color-coded for the Block type it represents: red for Items, green for Relationships, orange for Fields, blue for Layouts, and yellow for Actions.

Prerequisites

• The Data Layer - Items and Relationships
• The Presentation Layer - Layouts and Fields
• The Logic Layer - Actions

What You'll Learn

After completing this lesson, you should be able to answer these questions:

1. What is the Block Creator?
2. Where do I find the Block Creator?
3. What is the function of each of the three tabs in the Block Creator?

Where is it?

In your development application, the Block Creator floats above your application workspace.  Double-clicking the Block Creator's title bar will contract or expand its window. Here's the application workspace from above, but we've expanded the Block Creator. Whether expanded or contracted, the Block Creator is always shown in your workspace. You may move the Block Creator around your workspace by dragging and dropping it to a convenient place.

Toggling the show/hide Tools switch (/) on the right side of the Block Creator's title bar will enable or disable the Build Tools for your application. Disabling the Build Tools allows you to view your application as it will look to a user after it's been deployed to testing or production.

Across the top of the Block Creator's interface you'll find three tabs: Create, Reuse, and Tools:

Let's examine the function of each tab.

Create

You'll use the selections available on the Create tab to make new instances of Blocks as you need them.

 Item Types

Clicking the Item Types bar will expand the interface to display the Add Item Type wizard.

Click Add Item Type to launch the Add New Item type wizard:

In the example above, we've answered the questions asked by the wizard to create an Item Type called Company and have chosen an icon for it. Click Save to create your new Item Type.

 Fields

Clicking the Fields bar will allow you to choose to create any of the wide variety of Fields available for you to use in your application.

Expand any of the displayed Field catagories, choose a Field, and drop it on to your Layout.

 Relation Types

The third bar, Relation Types, is unusual in that you may not create new Relationship Types with the Block Creator. Instead, new Relationship Types may be created with the Query Builder (discussed in WorkXpress 303) or by adding certain Field and Layout Types to your application. Clicking the bar to expand the Relation Types menu will explain this fact:

 Layouts

Next, you'll come to the Layouts bar. Click to expand it and create new Layouts. Just find the Layout Type you want to use and drag it on to your application workspace.

 Actions

Finally, you'll see the Actions bar. As with Relationships, Actions may not be created using the Block Creator. Instead, create Actions with the Action Manager, accessed via the flyout menu for any of the Blocks in your application. Expanding this bar yields that information:

Reuse

The Reuse tab enables you to reuse Fields, Layouts, and Relationships you've already created in your application.

You may select an Item or Relationship Type and choose to reuse any Blocks about them.

To reuse a Block, just drag it from the list into your current Layout.

The wrench icons beside every Block open the Block Editor, which will be discussed in our next lesson.

Tools

Under the Tools tab you'll find several utilities that will simplify some common WorkXpress tasks and provide detailed information about certain Blocks. Selecting the Save Settings check box will preserve any changes you've made to the Block Creator interface.

Conclusion

In this lesson we discovered the Block Creator and explained its use as the primary tool you'll use to create new Blocks in your application. We showed you the Create, Reuse, and Tools tabs and described their purposes. In our next lesson, The Block Editor, we'll learn how to make changes to the settings for individual blocks you've created.