Design Steps
Given below is a broad outline, in steps, of how to create a MobileTogether Design file (MTD file).
Each MTD file represents a project consisting of one or more pages in a simple sequence. When a new MTD file is created, it has one default page that has no page source. You can add page sources (data sources) to the default page, and you can add more pages to the project (see the points below). Create a new MTD file with the File | New command. The file is created in memory and must be saved with the File | Save command to store it on disk. Define Project Properties and specify other project-related settings.
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2.Add data sources for the page (page sources)
Each page is assigned data sources, from which it obtains the data that will be displayed in the page. The data sources of a page are added via the Page Sources Pane as page sources, and each page source is shown there as a tree of nodes. Data from these nodes is used by the controls in the page design, for display, or for processing that leads to some kind of data representation (such as charts or images). Nodes in page source trees are addressed using XPath expressions. Client data input can also be saved back to the page sources if desired. See the section Page Sources for details.
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3.Add controls to the page, and define their properties and event-actions
Page controls are added to a page from the Controls Pane. Each control has a set of properties (defined in the Styles & Properties Pane) and data (from the page source trees) associated with it. A control can also have one or more predefined events. You can specify the action/s to be performed when a control event is triggered. For example, a button control has the event OnButtonClicked, and this event can have an Open URL action associated with it. For more information, see the sections Page Events and Actions. Additionally, pages also have events, and you can specify actions to perform when a page event is triggered. For example, when a page is loaded (a page event), an action can be specified that loads data from a specified XML file into a given page source.
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4.If required, add more pages to the project and design these
Additional pages can be added to the initial page. A new page can be added as a top page or a sub page by clicking the Add Page icon in the Page Pane's toolbar. The sequence of top pages in the Pages Pane determines the sequence of the workflow.
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5.Create a flow between top pages and sub pages
You can further structure the solution's workflow by using sub pages. These are accessed from within top pages with the GoToSubpage action (of control or page events). Other page-related actions provide for more movement between pages.
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6.Optionally, add additional design and user-related functionality to the project
After all the pages have been added and the structure of the workflow has been finalized, you can revise your page designs and workflow. Any additional design components or actions can be inserted in the project now.
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7.Run a simulation of the MobileTogether solution
You can test the design by running a workflow simulation within MobileTogether Designer. The simulation shows (in MobileTogether Designer itself) how the workflow will be executed on the client device. Select Run | Simulate Workflow or press F5 to start the simulation. The Messages Pane provides a detailed and step-by-step report of workflow activity, enabling effective and easy debugging.
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8.Deploy the MTD file to MobileTogether Server
After making final changes and re-testing the file, save it, and then deploy it to MobileTogether Server. The MobileTogether solution is now ready to be accessed by mobile client devices.
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9.Optionally, create the solution as an AppStore App
You can create a MobileTogether custom app that end users can download to mobile devices. We call these apps AppStore Apps. The section AppStore Apps describes how to generate the program code for such apps from your MobileTogether Designer project. Code can be generated for Android, iOS, Windows (touch-enabled devices and PCs), and Windows Phone. After the code has been generated, it can be compiled into the corresponding AppStore App.
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