An Action is a code-based operation that runs where that Action is mounted. Actions run when a user clicks the corresponding user prompt in Flatfile.
Overview
Workbook & Sheet-mounted Actions are configured within a Blueprint object, while File-mounted actions are appended to the file during the upload process.
The executable code within an Action is compiled into a Job entity, providing the capability to run asynchronously or immediately.
Sheet-mounted actions can be executed on the entire Sheet, for a filtered view of the Sheet, or selectively for the chosen records.
Workbook-mounted
Once a user has extracted and mapped data into a Workbook, it may be more efficient to run an operation on the entire dataset rather than making atomic transformations at the record- or field-level.
For example:
- Sending a webhook that notifies your API of the data’s readiness
- Populating a Sheet with data from another source
- Adding two different fields together after a user review’s initial validation checks
- Moving valid data from an editable Sheet to a read-only Sheet
Workbook-mounted actions are represented as buttons in the top right of the Workbook.
Usage
If you configure primary: true on an Action, it will be represented as the rightmost button in the Workbook.
If you configure trackChanges: true, it will disable your actions until all commits are complete (usually data hooks).
Complete Workbook Action Example
See the complete pattern for configuring and handling workbook actions, including Blueprint setup and event handling.
Document-mounted
Document-mounted actions are similar to Workbook-mounted actions. They appear in the top right corner of your Document.
Usage
Define Document-mounted Actions using the actions parameter when you create a Document.
If you configure primary: true on an Action, it will be represented as the rightmost button in the Document.
import api from "@flatfile/api";
export default function flatfileEventListener(listener) {
listener.on("file:created", async ({ context: { spaceId, fileId } }) => {
const fileName = (await api.files.get(fileId)).data.name;
const bodyText =
"# Welcome\n" +
"### Say hello to your first customer Space in the new Flatfile!\n" +
"Let's begin by first getting acquainted with what you're seeing in your Space initially.\n" +
"---\n" +
"Your uploaded file, ${fileName}, is located in the Files area.";
const doc = await api.documents.create(spaceId, {
title: "Getting Started",
body: bodyText,
actions: [
{
label: "Submit",
operation: "contacts:submit",
description: "Would you like to submit the contact data?",
tooltip: "Submit the contact data",
mode: "foreground",
primary: true,
confirm: true,
},
],
});
});
}
In your listener, listen for the job’s event and perform your desired operations.
export default function flatfileEventListener(listener) {
listener.on(
"job:ready",
{ job: "document:contacts:submit" },
async (event) => {
const { context, payload } = event;
const { jobId, workbookId } = context;
try {
await api.jobs.ack(jobId, {
info: "Starting submit job...",
progress: 10,
estimatedCompletionAt: new Date("Tue Aug 23 2023 16:19:42 GMT-0700"),
});
// Do your work here
await api.jobs.complete(jobId, {
outcome: {
message: `Submit job was completed succesfully.`,
},
});
} catch (error) {
console.log(`There was an error: ${JSON.stringify(error)}`);
await api.jobs.fail(jobId, {
outcome: {
message: `This job failed.`,
},
});
}
}
);
}
Sheet-mounted
Each Sheet has built-in Actions like download.
Sheet-mounted actions are represented as a dropdown in the toolbar of the Sheet.
Usage
First, configure your action on your Blueprint. Add the action configuration to your sheet definition:
sheets : [
{
name: "Sheet Name",
actions: [
{
operation: 'duplicate',
mode: 'background',
label: 'Duplicate selected names',
description: 'Duplicate names for selected rows',
primary: true,
},
{...}
]
}
]
Next, listen for a job:ready and filter on the domain (sheet) and the operation of where the action was placed. Be sure to complete to job when it’s complete.
listener.on(
"job:ready",
{ job: "sheet:duplicate" },
async ({ context: { jobId } }) => {
try {
await api.jobs.ack(jobId, {
info: "Getting started.",
progress: 10,
estimatedCompletionAt: new Date("Tue Aug 23 2023 16:19:42 GMT-0700"),
});
// Do your work here
await api.jobs.complete(jobId, {
info: "This job is now complete.",
});
} catch (error) {
console.error("Error:", error.stack);
await api.jobs.fail(jobId, {
info: "This job did not work.",
});
}
}
);
Retrieving data
Data from the Sheet can be retrieved either by calling the API with records.get or through data passed in through event.data. Here are some examples demonstrating how you can extract data from a Sheet-mounted action:
From the entire Sheet
This method allows you to access and process data from the complete Sheet, regardless of the current view or selected records.
//inside listener.on()
const { jobId, sheetId } = event.context;
//retrieve all records from sheet
const response = await api.records.get(sheetId);
//print records
console.log(response.data.records);
From a filtered view of the Sheet
By applying filters to the Sheet, you can narrow down the data based on specific criteria. This enables you to retrieve and work with a subset of records that meet the defined filter conditions.
event.data returns a promise resolving to an object with a records property so we extract the records property directly from the event.data object.
If rows are selected, only the corresponding records will be passed through the event for further processing.
//inside listener.on()
const { jobId } = event.context;
const { records } = await event.data;
try {
if (!records || records.length === 0) {
console.log("No rows were selected or in view.");
await api.jobs.fail(jobId, {
outcome: {
message: "No rows were selected or in view, please try again.",
},
});
return;
}
//print records
console.log(records);
await api.jobs.complete(jobId, {
outcome: {
message: "Records were printed to console, check it out.",
},
});
} catch (error) {
console.log(`Error: ${JSON.stringify(error, null, 2)}`);
await api.jobs.fail(jobId, {
outcome: {
message: "This action failed, check logs.",
},
});
}
For chosen records
When rows are selected, event.data will only extract information exclusively for the chosen records, providing focused data retrieval for targeted analysis or operations.
event.data returns a promise resolving to an object with a records property so we extract the records property directly from the event.data object.
This code is the same as the filtered view of the Sheet.
//inside listener.on()
const { jobId } = event.context;
const { records } = await event.data;
try {
if (!records || records.length === 0) {
console.log("No rows were selected or in view.");
await api.jobs.fail(jobId, {
outcome: {
message: "No rows were selected or in view, please try again.",
},
});
return;
}
//print records
console.log(records);
await api.jobs.complete(jobId, {
outcome: {
message: "Records were printed to console, check it out.",
},
});
} catch (error) {
console.log(`Error: ${JSON.stringify(error, null, 2)}`);
await api.jobs.fail(jobId, {
outcome: {
message: "This action failed, check logs.",
},
});
}
File-mounted
Each file has built-in actions like Delete and Download.
File-mounted actions are represented as a dropdown menu for each file in the Files list. You can attach additional actions to a File.
Usage
First, listen for a file:ready event and add one or more actions to the file.
listener.on("file:created", async ({ context: { fileId } }) => {
const file = await api.files.get(fileId);
const actions = file.data?.actions || [];
const newActions = [
...actions,
{
operation: "logFileContents",
label: "Log File Metadata",
description: "This will log the file metadata.",
},
{
operation: "decryptAction",
label: "Decrypt File",
description: "This will create a new decrypted file.",
},
];
await api.files.update(fileId, {
actions: newActions,
});
});
Next, listen for job:ready and filter on the domain (file) and the operation of where the Action was placed. Be sure to complete to job when it’s complete.
//when the button is clicked in the file dropdown
listener.on(
"job:ready",
{ job: "file:logFileContents" },
async ({ context: { fileId, jobId } }) => {
await acknowledgeJob(jobId, "Getting started.", 10);
const file = await api.files.get(fileId);
console.log({ file });
await completeJob(jobId, "Logging file contents is complete.");
}
);
listener.on(
"job:ready",
{ job: "file:decryptAction" },
async ({ context: { spaceId, fileId, jobId, environmentId } }) => {
try {
await acknowledgeJob(jobId, "Getting started.", 10);
const fileResponse = await api.files.get(fileId);
const buffer = await getFileBufferFromApi(fileId);
const { name, ext } = fileResponse.data;
const newFileName = name
? name.split(".")[0] + "[Decrypted]." + ext
: "DecryptedFile.csv";
const formData = new FormData();
formData.append("file", buffer, { filename: newFileName });
formData.append("spaceId", spaceId);
formData.append("environmentId", environmentId);
await uploadDecryptedFile(formData);
await completeJob(jobId, "Decrypting is now complete.");
} catch (e) {
await failJob(jobId, "The decryption job failed.");
}
}
);
async function acknowledgeJob(jobId, info, progress, estimatedCompletionAt) {
await api.jobs.ack(jobId, {
info,
progress,
estimatedCompletionAt,
});
}
async function completeJob(jobId, message) {
await api.jobs.complete(jobId, {
outcome: {
message,
},
});
}
async function failJob(jobId, message) {
await api.jobs.fail(jobId, {
outcome: {
message,
},
});
}
If you configure input fields for your action, a secondary dialog will be presented to the end user, prompting them to provide the necessary information. Once the user has entered the required details, they can proceed with the action.
Usage
First, configure your action to have an inputForm on your Blueprint. These will appear once the action button is clicked.
actions: [
{
operation: "submitActionFg",
mode: "foreground",
label: "Submit data elsewhere",
type: "string",
description: "Submit this data to a webhook.",
primary: true,
inputForm: {
type: "simple",
fields: [
{
key: "priority",
label: "Priority level",
description: "Set the priority level.",
type: "enum",
defaultValue: "80ce8718a21c",
config: {
options: [
{
value: "80ce8718a21c",
label: "High Priority",
description:
"Setting a value to High Priority means it will be prioritized over other values",
},
],
},
constraints: [
{
type: "required",
},
],
},
],
},
},
];
Next, listen for a job:ready and filter on the job you’d like to process. Grab the data entered in the form from the job itself and leverage it as required for your use case.
import api from "@flatfile/api";
export default async function (listener) {
listener.on(
"job:ready",
{ job: "workbook:actionWithInput" },
async (event) => {
const { jobId } = event.context;
try {
await api.jobs.ack(jobId, {
info: "Acknowledging job",
progress: 1,
});
// retrieve input
const { data: job } = await api.jobs.get(jobId);
const input = job.input;
console.log({ input });
// do something with input...
await api.jobs.complete(jobId, {
outcome: {
message: "Action was successful",
},
});
return;
} catch (error) {
console.error(error);
await api.jobs.fail(jobId, {
outcome: {
message: "Action failed",
},
});
return;
}
}
);
}
Actions with Constraints
Usage
Workbook & Sheet-mounted
- Adding a
hasAllValid constraint on an Action will disable a Workbook Action when there are invalid records.
- Adding a
hasData on an Action will disable a Workbook Action when there are no records.
actions: [
{
operation: 'submitActionFg',
mode: 'foreground',
label: 'Submit data elsewhere',
description: 'Submit this data to a webhook.',
primary: true,
constraints: [{ type: 'hasAllValid'},{ type: 'hasData' }]
},
{...}
],
Sheet-Mounted only
Adding a constraint of hasSelection on an Action will disable a Sheet Action when no records in the Sheet are selected.
sheets : [
{
name: "Sheet Name",
actions: [
{
operation: 'duplicate',
mode: 'background',
label: 'Duplicate selected names',
description: 'Duplicate names for selected rows',
constraints: [{ type: 'hasSelection' }],
primary: true,
},
{...}
]
}
]
Actions with Messages
Add custom messages to actions, tailored according to their state:
These messages will be displayed as tooltips when users hover over an action, providing context-specific text that corresponds to the action’s current state. When an error message is present on an action, the action will be disabled.
Usage
Simply add a messages property to your action configuration. This property should be an array of objects, each specifying a message type and its content.
actions: [
{
operation: 'duplicate',
mode: 'background',
label: 'Duplicate selected names',
description: 'Duplicate names for selected rows',
messages: [
{ type: 'error', content: 'This is an error message' },
],
primary: true,
},
{...}
]
