In part 4 we're going to be covering the following topics:

1. Events
   • Navigate to Events
   • Create New Event
   • Out-Of-The-Box Events
2. Lines
   • Navigate to Lines
   • Create Lines for Your App
3. Menu Items
   • Add Menu Items
   • Edit Menu Items
   • Deactivate / Activate Menu Items

Events

Create your own events to get custom logs in your Timeline in any of your Apps. Events can be used to track when new records are created, updated, or deleted, among other many useful ones.

You can even edit Timeline events after they are created.  This is a great way to keep you and everyone on your team up-to-date on everything that happens in a specific record.

User Permissions: Only the team's administrator or App admin can create new Events.

Navigate to Events

Navigate to Settings > Advanced > Events. 

Create New Event

In order to create a new event, click the 'Add Event' button. Then add the following information:

1. Name

Give your event a name.

2. Icon

If you'd like, you can select an icon for your event from those available. 

3. Message Template

This will be the message displayed in the Timeline widget, as the title of the card, once the event occurs. If you want to add the name, Id, or any other information about the record, type {{ and select the desired option from those available.

4. Body Template

This will be the body displayed on the event card. You can customize it. To add the name, Id, or any other information about the record, type {{ and select the desired option from those available.

5. Trigger

There are 3 different triggers available:

After Create - The notification will occur if the conditions are met after a new record on the selected App is created.

After Update - The notification will occur if the conditions are met after a record on the selected App is updated.

On Create or Update - The notification will occur if the conditions are met once a record is created or updated.

6. On Update Fields

Only available when the trigger is either 'After Update' or 'On Create or Update'.

Select the field that needs to be updated in order for the notification to occur.

7. Conditions

You can specify as many conditions as necessary for your notifications. All of these will need to be met in order for the notification to trigger.

Field

Select the fields that will have an impact on the notification.

This usually includes the field selected under 'On update Fields' when you are expecting a specific value.

Operator

Select from the available options. The operators available will depend on the type of selected field.

Value

Select the value required for the condition to be met. 

The options available will vary according to the field type.

Once you have added all the information required for your Event, click the 'Save' button. 

If the conditions for the Event are met, then you will see a new event log under the Timeline widget, as well as in your Right Menu.

Out-Of-The-Box Events

From the moment a new App is created, there are some really useful events already included for them, here is a list of some of the most popular ones per App:

Lines

Lines are a super-sized enhancement to your Apps that will allow you to give them a boost of capabilities. With them, you can create invoices or quotes with ease right inside FreeAgent without using any other system.

User Permissions: Only the Administrator can customize Lines.

Navigate to Lines

Navigate to Settings > Apps.  Select your desired App, then select the 'Lines' tab from the menu options.  You can also use the search function to get there faster, just start typing 'Lines'.

Create Lines for Your App

To create a Line, simply click the 'Add Line' button.

1. Name

Here you will need to add the name of your Line.

2. Singular Version of Name

3. App Icon

You also have the option to select a unique icon for your Line. There are a few options for you to choose from. Quick Tip: think of the Lines as a "child app" of your main app.  

4. Form Mode

Lines can now be edited directly wherever they appear in an App.  When creating or editing a Line you will now see a field named 'Form Mode.'  Click into this field, select 'Inline' and Save.  

Inline mode is best used to quickly add and edit data such as SKUs and other information that can be grouped together, thus showing similar information in the line columns. Remain in default mode if the line-type structures are too different and necessitate the addition of lines via form fields.

Note: When in Inline mode, any fields added to the Line will not show their Field Hint.

As soon as you click the 'Save' button the Line will be created and it will be available right next to Lines in the top menu.

Hover over the '...' icon next to the name of your New Line and click on 'Configuration' to start adding fields to your Line and view the additional components to your line configuration - Form Fields, Form Sections, Card Configuration and Form Rules.

Configuring Your Line

Configuring your Lines is very similar to setting up your applications. You'll notice very similar tabs at the top of your screen. Use these articles on configuring your applications to get an idea of what you can do in each tab:

• Apps

Create Fields for your Line

Configuring your Lines is very similar to how you add Fields to your Apps. Click the 'Add Field' button to get started. To learn how to create fields and what type of fields you have available, we recommend the following tutorial: 
Form Fields

Form Scripts for Lines

Individual Lines can now support custom Form Scripts.  Form scripts within lines will work with the Form Script of the parent App to utilize the Rules dictated in the custom code. 

When creating or editing a Line you will now see a Form Script section, click into the 'Form Script' field and select 'Yes.'  The Script window will then become editable.  Add or edit code lines and then click Save.

Note: For best results, use Line Form Scripts in conjunction with the parent App Form Script.  For more information on setting up Form Scripts click here.

Pro-Tips

Grid View

Lines are now displayed in a list view, making it easier to create and manage your line records.  This feature, paired with Inline Edit Mode and Form Script features can yield amazing results in Apps that are heavily Line dependent such as Quotes.

From a fully customized list, you can add Lines with a single click, configure them to your Form Rules and edit them in real-time without leaving the Lines.

Note: FreeAgent recommends less than 50 Lines per Parent Record to optimize performance within a given App.

Use Reference Join Fields Where Possible

Lines are mostly used to create a dependency relationship between your apps, such as a parent-child relationship. Because of this, it is a good idea to identify those elements that you already have within your Apps and create Reference and Reference Join Fields to get that existing data instead of having to input it manually. 

For example, if you are looking to create an Invoice App, and you need to have the Account Name and Address, instead of creating Text fields to manually input them, you can get this information from the Account App. Just create a Reference field to select the Account and then a Reference Join to auto-populate the address.

Create Field Sections to Keep your Forms Nice and Clean

If you are planning on adding multiple fields to your Line, we recommend that you create Form Sections to organize your fields and data.  To learn more about them, we recommend the following tutorial:
Form Sections

Configure your Card 

You can change the configuration of the cards for your Lines as well. To learn more about Card Configuration, please visit the following tutorial:
Card Configuration

Identify which Elements Should be Part of the App, and Those that Should be Added to the Line

To explain this, let's use an Invoice as an example. There are elements in the invoice that are part of the high-level information (1), meaning the App, while there are others that belong to the table (2) inside the invoice, those correspond to the Line.

Menu Items

Gain full control over the Items that appear on your Menu with this great feature. Here you will be able to add or remove items, whether they are Saved views or links to other sections in FreeAgent CRM.

User Permissions: This feature is available for administrators only.

Navigate to Menu Items

Open the menu and go to Settings > Advanced > Menus. 

Add Menu Items

Click the 'Add New Menu Item' button to get to the creation form.

1. Name

Enter a name for your menu item.

2. Type

There are three main types to choose from. Each has sub-types attached to them.

Menu

Menu Item

Shortcut

Link: you can copy & paste the desired link in the space provided. They work great when you want to add quick access to a specific Dashboard or section of the Settings.

Note: The links added here have to be linked to pages inside FreeAgent CRM. 

View: you will be able to select from your existing Saved Views. This is a great option when you want to share Saved Views with the entire team. 

Dashboard: you will be able to choose from your existing Dashboards. 

Submenu: You can create a submenu containing different items pertaining to the app.

Edit Menu Items

Select the Menu Item and click the 'Edit' button. You will be able to change the menu item completely, and save your changes once you are done.

Deactivate / Activate Menu Items

When you don't want a specific Menu Item to show up in the Menu anymore you can deactivate it by selecting it and then clicking on the 'Deactivate' button.

If you wish to bring it back, first enable the 'show deactivated' checkbox, select the desired menu item, and click the 'Activate' button.

How to Create a Custom App - Part 5