Are you guilty of downloading the Action Button Toolbox, but not using it?

You could blame it on the dog (I know first hand these furry distractions are no joke). 🐶

Or, follow along and add one or more of these three action buttons today.

Button #1 – Go Home

On any frequently used table add a button to ‘save & go home’.

Normally if a user clicks the home button before saving a record it will display a browser warning.

This simple URL button and setting change will save the record and take the user to the home page.

Home Button Steps:

1. Add a new Formula-URL type field to the desired table
2. Copy the following formula into the formula box:
   

   URLRoot() & "db/" & AppID()

3. Below the formula give the button a label in the "Link text" box
4. Check the box to "Display as a button on forms and reports" and choose a color
5. Verify the Open Target option is set to "In same page"
6. Place this new field on your desired form
7. Open the table's Advanced Settings & scroll down to "Advanced Table Settings"
8. Check the box to "Auto save when directed away from the page."
   Learn more about this setting in the Tips section on page 7 of the Action Button Toolbox.

Optional: Refer to page 4 of the Action Button Toolbox if you'd like the button to navigate to a dashboard other than the home page.

Button #2 – Print Record

Need a handy "Print" button on your form?

This action button pops open a new window with the print dialog box ready for you to choose your print options (such as to a PDF or a printer).

Print Button Steps:

1. Add a new Formula-URL type field on the table you want to print records from
2. Copy the following formula into the formula box:
   

   URLRoot() & "db/" & Dbid() & "?a=printr&rid=" & [Record ID#]

3. Below the formula give the button a label in the "Link text" box
4. Check the box to "Display as a button on forms and reports" and choose a color
5. Select the option to Open Target "In popup"
6. Place this new field on your desired form

Optional: Specify a form ID using "dfid" in the formula to print the record on a form other than the default. Refer to page 6 of the Action Button Toolbox for this formula component.

Button #3 – Open Reference

In an app where there is a Documents or References type table, add a button to ‘open' that table for reference while continuing to working in another table.

Reference Button Steps:

1. Add a new Formula-URL type field on the table where you want to launch your reference from (this is NOT the table where the reference is located)
2. Copy the following formula into the formula box:
   

   URLRoot() & "db/" & [_DBID_DOCUMENT_ALIAS] & "?a=td"

3. Replace the "_DBID_DOCUMENT_ALIAS" above with the alias of your reference table (see page 6 of the Action Button Toolbox for steps to finding the table alias).
4. Below the formula give the button a label in the "Link text" box
5. Check the box to "Display as a button on forms and reports" and choose a color
6. Select the option to Open Target "In new window"
7. Place this new field on your desired form

Optional: Replace the action td with an action to open a specific report or record from the documents table. Refer to the Action Button Toolbox for these formula components.

Need Help Implementing?

If you're having any trouble with these formulas, but sure to review the Action Button Toolbox.

• Page 2 includes more detailed Steps to Create an Action Button
• Page 7 has several Troubleshooting suggestions

Get More Action Buttons!

If you're looking for more inspiration and would like to see what's possible when you expand your knowledge of action buttons and APIs check out these API Action Button videos:

• Prevent Records From Being Deleted with API Action Buttons
• Email Approval with API Action Buttons
• Trigger Notification with API Action Button

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