Action definition

Action definitions configure actions in the UI. The action has a name which is the name of the definition content node. The action is identified by this name within a certain scope, such as within a subapp.

Action definitions are used in apps, forms and dialogs. They are configured and used in the same way throughout the UI. Dialogs and forms typically require only save and cancel actions, which are simple configurations.

Action definition properties

Each actions has an action definition class that implements the ActionDefinition interface. Some definition classes allow for additional properties and call further classes to execute logic.

General actions

Example: addContact action definition in Contacts app. A user can execute the action in the action bar or in the action popup. When the action is executed, the detail subapp is launched.

contacts/apps/contacts.yaml

subApps:
  browser:
    subAppClass: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.browser.BrowserSubApp
    class: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.browser.BrowserSubAppDescriptor
    actions:
      addContact:
        appName: contacts
        class: info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.detail.action.CreateItemActionDefinition
        subAppId: detail
        label: New contact  
        nodeType: mgnl:contact
        icon: icon-add-item

Node name	Value
contacts
apps
contacts
subApps
browser
actions
addContact
availability
appName	contacts
class	info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.detail.action.CreateItemActionDefinition
icon	icon-add-item
label	New contact
nodeType	mgnl:contact
subAppId	detail

You can use these properties with all actions.

Properties:

`<action name>`	The name of the action. The name is used in the Action bar definition.
`class`	required Action definition class that reads the configuration properties and can supply additional properties to the action. The class must implement the ActionDefinition interface.
`label`	required Label displayed to users in the action bar or context menu.
`implementationClass`	optional The implementation class executes the action. A default implementation class is typically hard-coded in the definition class. You only need to add this property if you want to override the default implementation, for example to perform some extra validation on a saved value.
`appName`	optional Name of the app to launch when executing this action. This property works together with the `subAppId` property. They tell where the action takes place. For example, the `addContact` action takes place in the `detail` subapp of the `contacts` app. The detail subapp displays a form that allows the user to fill in the contact's details. Set the property value to the app name given in app configuration.
`subappId`	optional Name of the subapp to open when executing the action.
`icon`	optional CSS class that identifies an icon font used on the action. See Icons.
`i18nBasename`	optional Message bundle such as `com.example.apps.messages`. You don't need to set this property if your message bundle is in the `i18n` directory inside the module (best practice). Magnolia will find the bundle automatically. Only set the property if you put the bundle somewhere else.
`dialogName`	optional Dialog to open when the action is executed. A dialog is an alternative to editing items in an editor. Identify the dialog using syntax `<module name>:<dialog name>` , for example `pages:editPage`.This property applies only to actions that open dialogs (`OpenCreateDialogActionDefinition` and `OpenEditDialogActionDefinition`).
`nodeType`	optional Node type the action creates or operates on. This property is needed if the action calls a dialog. The `nodeType` property tells the dialog what node type it should operate on. When the action is executed in a detail app the property is not needed because the `/browser/contentConnector/nodeType/<node type name>/name` property already defines the node type.
`<action definition specific properties>`	required/optional Some action definition classes support additional properties. For example `ConfirmActionDefinition` allows you to set messages and labels and `DownloadBinaryActionDefinition` supports file name and extension properties. See Javadocs for additional properties.
`availability`	optional Defines whether the action is permitted on the selected item. See Action availability.

Command actions

An action can trigger a command. Commands are used to perform more complicated tasks. For example, the activate command publishes content from the author instance to public instances and versions the content. Each command action used in the UI has its own action definition class that extends CommandActionDefinition .

Commands can perform duties within Magnolia or connect to external resources. A command may be a long-running process. Additional properties allow you to control whether command actions are run asynchronously.

Example: activate action definition in Contacts app.

contacts/apps/contacts.yaml

browser:
  actions:
    activate:
      command: activate
      icon: icon-publish
      catalog: versioned
      class: info.magnolia.ui.framework.action.ActivationActionDefinition
      label: Publish

Node name	Value
contacts
subApps
browser
actions
activate
availability
catalog	versioned
class	info.magnolia.ui.framework.action.ActivationActionDefinition
command	activate
icon	icon-publish
label	Publish

You can use these properties for command actions in addition to the general action properties.

Properties:

`<action definition>`
`command`	required The name of the command.
`catalog`	optional, default is `default` Name of the catalog where the command resides. You only need this property if you implement a command that has the same name as an existing command such as `activate`.
`asynchronous`	optional, default is `false` Runs a command asynchronously in the background. This is useful for long-running commands. An asynchronous process doesn't block the UI and the user can continue to work. To run a command asynchronously, set this property to `true`. See also `delay` and `parallel`.
`notifyUser`	optional, default is `true` Defines whether the user should be notified in Pulse when an asynchronous action completes. Use together with the `asynchronous` property.
`timeToWait`	optional, default is `5000` milliseconds Number of milliseconds the UI should remain blocked until the user is notified that an asynchronous action will complete in the background. Use together with the `asynchronous` property.
`delay`	optional, default is `1` second Number of seconds to wait before invoking the command. Use together with the `asynchronous` property.
`parallel`	optional, default is `true` Defines whether starting multiple instances of the same action in parallel is allowed. Use together with the `asynchronous` property. Useful for preventing the user from starting several long-running commands. Default allows parallel actions. When you set the property to `false` the system will display an error when the user attempts to run the same action again while the first action is still running.
`recursive`	optional, default is `false` This property is specific to the Publish action. It defines whether the action can be executed recursively. Set to `true` to allow recursive publication.
`modifiedOnly`	optional, default is `false` This property is specific to the Publish action. It publishes only nodes that are modified or never published. It excludes nodes that are already published. Use this property to make recursive publishing faster as it eliminates already-published nodes.
`parentNodeTypeOnly`	optional, default is `false` This property is specific to the Restore previous item action. Set to `true` to restore all descendants with the same node type as the parent node.

Asynchronous actions

Setting the asynchronous property to true allows you to run a command action asynchronously in the background. Use this feature for long-running actions that would otherwise block the user interface and prevent the user from continuing their work.

When a user launches an asynchronous action, Magnolia starts to execute the action immediately. If the action does not complete in the next five seconds, the system notifies the user that the action will take a while to complete. The execution continues in the background while the user can work on something else. The system informs the user when the action succeeds or fails. In case of failure a message in the Pulse may refer to a log file for more detail.

Publish recursively and Delete action run asynchronously by default. These actions involve versioning of content and can be time consuming.

Action definition classes

You can use these common classes in your action definition. They all implement the ActionDefinition interface.

General actions:

`info.magnolia.ui.form.action. SaveFormActionDefinition`	Saves a form.
`info.magnolia.ui.form.action. CancelFormActionDefinition`	Cancels a form.
`info.magnolia.ui.form.action. CallbackFormActionDefinition`	Executes a callback
`info.magnolia.ui.admincentral.dialog.action. SaveDialogActionDefinition`	Saves a dialog.
`info.magnolia.ui.admincentral.dialog.action. CancelDialogActionDefinition`	Cancels a dialog.
`info.magnolia.ui.admincentral.dialog.action. SaveConfigDialogActionDefinition`	Saves Edit property dialog in the Configuration app.
`info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.detail.action. CreateItemActionDefinition`	Opens detail subapp for creating a new item.
`info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.detail.action. EditItemActionDefinition`	Opens detail subapp for editing an item.
`info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.movedialog.action. OpenMoveDialogActionDefinition`	Opens the standard Move dialog for an item and its children.
`info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.movedialog.action. MoveNodeActionDefinition`	Moves a node.
`info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.browser.action. RestoreVersionActionDefinition`	Restores a previous version.
`info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.browser.action. ShowVersionsActionDefinition`	Opens the standard versions dialog.
`info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.detail.action. RestorePreviousVersionActionDefinition`	Restores a previous version of an item.
`info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.browser.action. SaveItemPropertyActionDefinition`	Saves an item's property via inplace-editing.
`info.magnolia.ui.framework.action. AddFolderActionDefinition`	Adds a folder.
`info.magnolia.ui.framework.action. AddNodeActionDefinition`	Adds a content node.
`info.magnolia.ui.framework.action. AddPropertyActionDefinition`	Adds a property node.
`info.magnolia.ui.framework.action. DeleteItemActionDefinition`	Deletes an item.
`info.magnolia.ui.framework.action. ConfirmationActionDefinition`	Confirms previous action. Used in the confirmation dialog when deleting.
`info.magnolia.module.dependencies.action. DependencyAwareConfirmationActionDefinition`	Adds dependency-awareness to the confirmation dialog when deleting.
`info.magnolia.ui.framework.action. DuplicateNodeActionDefinition`	Duplicates a node.
`info.magnolia.ui.framework.action. OpenCreateDialogActionDefinition`	Opens a dialog for creating an item. Provide the dialog using the `dialogName` property.
`info.magnolia.ui.framework.action. OpenEditDialogActionDefinition`	Opens a dialog for editing an item. Provide the dialog using the `dialogName` property.
`info.magnolia.ui.framework.action. DownloadBinaryActionDefinition`	Downloads a binary node such as an image.
`info.magnolia.ui.framework.action. OpenLocationActionDefinition`	Opens any location AdminCentral. Available properties: `appType`, `appName`, `subAppId` and `parameter`.

Command actions:

`info.magnolia.ui.api.action. CommandActionDefinition`	Delegates the action to a named command. Use the Command action properties.
`info.magnolia.ui.framework.action. ActivationActionDefinition`	Activates an item. By default, performs a non-recursive activation. Used to publish content and deletions.
`info.magnolia.ui.framework.action. DeactivationActionDefinition`	Deactivates an item.
`info.magnolia.ui.framework.action. MarkNodeAsDeletedActionDefinition`	Marks a node as deleted. Uses `markAsDeleted` command
`info.magnolia.ui.framework.action. ExportActionDefinition`	Exports an item and its children to XML.
`info.magnolia.ui.framework.action. ExportYamlActionDefinition`	Exports a YAML file.
`info.magnolia.ui.framework.action. DownloadBinaryActionDefinition`	Downloads a binary node such as an image. Available properties: `binaryNodeName`, `dataProperty`, `fileNameProperty` and `extensionProperty`.
`info.magnolia.ui.framework.action. ZipUploadActionDefinition`	Imports a ZIP file. Uses `importAssetZip` command.
`info.magnolia.ui.admincentral.dialog.action. SaveImportDialogActionDefinition`	Saves Import dialog that imports XMLs. Uses `import` command.
`info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.browser.action. RestoreItemPreviousVersionActionDefinition`	Restores a previous version. Uses `restorePreviousVersion` command . Set `parentNodeType` to `true` to restore descendants with same node type as parent .

Reusing an action

Reuse the existing Magnolia actions in your own app. Many actions are so basic that you can just copy the action definition. Some actions have their own properties. You may need to set them for the action to work.

Example: The DownloadBinaryActionDefinition allows you to download a binary node from the repository to your computer. This action is available in the Assets app by default where the user can download images from the dam workspace. In this example we use the same action in the Contacts app to download a contact photo.

Example: Download binary action definition:

downloadContactPhoto:
  binaryNodeName: photo
  icon: icon-download
  class: info.magnolia.ui.framework.action.DownloadBinaryActionDefinition
  label: Download photo

Node name	Value
downloadContactPhoto
binaryNodeName	photo
class	info.magnolia.ui.framework.action.DownloadBinaryActionDefinition
icon	icon-download
label	Download photo

Properties:

`<action name>`
`binaryNodeName`	optional, default is `binaryNodeName` Subnode that holds the binary property. Export a content item into XML to find the name, see example below.
`dataProperty`	optional, default is `jcr:data` Property that holds the binary data, usually right below the binary node in the exported XML.
`fileNameProperty`	optional, default is `fileName` Property that holds the file name of the binary.
`extensionProperty`	optional, default is `extension` Property that holds the file name extension of the binary.

Contact exported to XML, helps you find the property names:

contacts.vvangogh.xml

<sv:node sv:name="photo">
  <sv:property sv:name="jcr:primaryType" sv:type="Name">
    <sv:value>mgnl:resource</sv:value>
  </sv:property>
  <sv:property sv:name="jcr:uuid" sv:type="String">
    <sv:value>ed5f5ed0-26fc-4c43-8d63-21aca30ca151</sv:value>
  </sv:property>
  <sv:property sv:name="extension" sv:type="String">
    <sv:value>jpg</sv:value>
  </sv:property>
  <sv:property sv:name="fileName" sv:type="String">
    <sv:value>vangogh</sv:value>
  </sv:property>
  <sv:property sv:name="height" sv:type="Long">
    <sv:value>479</sv:value>
  </sv:property>
  <sv:property sv:name="jcr:data" sv:type="Binary">
    <sv:value>/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQEASABIAAD

Action availability

Action availability defines whether the action is permitted on the selected item. For example, the addCategory action below is permitted when:

The selected item is a category, meaning you can create subcategories.
The selected item is a folder.
At the root level of the workspace, meaning you can create a category without selecting an item.
The selected item is not marked for deletion.

You can add multiple availability rule classes. See the example below. The rules parent node contains subnodes, one for each rule. The rules are combined with a logical AND operator. Each rule must have the implementationClass property which points directly to the rule class.

actions:
  addCategory:
    availability:
      nodes: true
      root: true
      nodeTypes:
        category: mgnl:category
        folder: mgnl: folder
      rules:
        - name: isNotDeletedRule
          implementationClass: info.magnolia.ui.api.availability.IsNotDeletedRule
        - name: anotherRule
          implementationClass: com.your.customapp.app.action.availability.AnotherAvailabilityRule

Node name	Value
actions
addCategory
availability
nodeTypes
category	mgnl:category
folder	mgnl:folder
rules
isNotDeletedRule
implementationClass	info.magnolia.ui.api.availability.IsNotDeletedRule
anotherRule
implementationClass	com.your.customapp.app.action.availability.AnotherAvailabilityRule
nodes	true
root	true

Properties:

`<action name>`	required Name of action.
`availability`	optional Node containing the availability configuration
`access`	optional Action is available if the current user has one of the listed roles.
`roles`	required Node containing list of roles.
`<role>`	required Name of the role that is permitted to execute the action. Add one property for each role.
`nodeTypes`	optional Action is available if the selected item is one of the node types listed.
`<node type>`	required A valid node type such as `mgnl:folder`.
`rules`	optional Action is available if the selected item(s) match every availability rule class
`<ruleNodeName>`	required Give the node a name that describes the rule class
`implementationClass`	required Availability rule class name. Class must implement `info.magnolia.ui.api.availability.AvailabilityRule` (usually you can extend `info.magnolia.ui.api.availability.AbstractAvailabilityRule`)
`nodes`	optional, default is `true` Action is available if the selected item is a node.
`root`	optional, default is `false` Action is available at the workspace root level if true.
`properties`	optional, default is `false` Action is available if the selected item is a property.
`multiple`	optional, default is `false` Boolean property that enables and disables multiselection. Available when the action class extends AbstractMultiItemAction
`writePermissionRequired`	optional, default is `false` Set to `true` if the action requires write permission on the currently selected node. The action will be disabled if the user doesn't have write permission.

Action availability is different from action bar section availability. Section availability defines whether the actions configured within a section are displayed in the action bar. If the section is displayed, then action availability is checked for each action in the section.

Action availability definition classes

`info.magnolia.ui.framework.availability. IsDeletedRule`	Returns `true` if the item is node and has `mgnl:deleted` mixin type.
`info.magnolia.ui.framework.availability. IsNotDeletedRule`	Returns `true` if the item is not a node, or if it is a node and does not have `mgnl:deleted` mixin type.
`info.magnolia.ui.framework.availability. HasVersionsRule`	Returns `true` if versioning is enabled for an item and the item has versions.
`info.magnolia.ui.framework.availability. IsNotVersionedRule`	Returns `true` if versioning is not enabled for an item.
`info.magnolia.ui.framework.availability. IsPublishableRule`	Returns `true` if all ancestors of the item are activated.
`info.magnolia.ui.framework.availability. IsPublishedRule`	Returns `true` if a node's `ActivationStatus` is not `ACTIVATION_STATUS_NOT_ACTIVATED`.
`info.magnolia.ui.framework.availability. IsDefinitionRule`	Returns `true` if the item has a `DefinitionProvider`.
`info.magnolia.ui.contentapp.availability. IsNotVersionedDetailLocationRule`	Returns `true` if the current `DetailLocation` is not versioned.

Actions on multiple items

Action availability defines whether an action can be executed on multiple items. Delete, move, publish and unpublish are examples of actions that can be executed on multiple items. Actions that extend AbstractMultiItemAction can handle multiple items. By default, the delete action is available for multiple items in all content apps.

Example: activate action supporting multiple items:

actions:
  activate:
    catalog: versioned
    class: info.magnolia.ui.framework.action.ActivationActionDefinition
    command: activate
    icon: icon-publish
    availability:
      multiple: true

Node name	Value
actions
activate
availability
multiple	true
catalog	versioned
class	info.magnolia.ui.framework.action.ActivationActionDefinition
command	activate
icon	icon-publish

Properties:

availability

multiple

optional, default is false

Defines whether the action is available for multiple items.

To do a more detailed availability check, such as to verify that all the items are on the same level or have the same parent, use action availability rules.

When you program an action that supports multiple items you are responsible for handling the items in the correct order and solving dependencies. For example, when deleting multiple nodes where one node is a child of another, delete the nodes in a correct order to avoid exceptions, or handle such exceptions. An action is also responsible for informing the user about the result, whether it has successfully processed all the items or failed on some of them.

Page tree

Action definition

Action definition properties

General actions

Command actions

Asynchronous actions

Action definition classes

Reusing an action

Action availability

Action availability definition classes

Actions on multiple items