Action
Entities can have actions in the Business Data Catalog. Actions bridge the gap between Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and a native application user interface by providing a link back to the back-end data source. You can use Business Data Actions to build applications with write-back scenarios, such as a Customer Profile view that allows a user to update profile information directly in SAP. Actions are implemented as links, so you can also use actions to perform simple actions such as send e-mail messages or open a customer's home page.
Actions travel everywhere with an entity. That is, after you define an action for an entity, the action appears everywhere you display that entity—be it in a Business Data Web Part or in a Business Data column.
Example
<!--Action as a simple link-- >
<Actions>
<Action Name="Search product on MSN" Position="1" IsDisplayed="true"
IsOpenedInNewWindow="true"
Url="https://search.msn.com/results.aspx?&q={0}" ImageUrl="">
<ActionParameters>
<ActionParameter Name="Name" Index="0" />
</ActionParameters>
</Action>
</Actions>
<!-- Action as a link for editing -- >
<Action Name="Edit" Url="http://customers/edit.aspx?id={0}" Position="1">
<ActionParameters>
<ActionParameter Name="CustomerID" Index="0" />
</ActionParameters>
</Action>
Schema
| Child | Type | Occurs | Default | Limits / Accepted Values | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Position |
Attribute (bdc:ActionPosition) |
1..1 |
Min.: 1 |
||
IsOpenedInNewWindow |
Attribute (Boolean) |
0..1 |
false |
If true, the action opens in a new browser window. |
|
Url |
Attribute (String) |
1..1 |
Min. length: 1 Max. length: 2080 |
URL to go to when the action is clicked. The URL string is a .NET format string. Each format specifier (for example, {0}) corresponds to an action parameter. |
|
ImageUrl |
Attribute (String) |
0..1 |
Min. length: 0 Max. length: 2080 |
Absolute or relative path to the action's icon image. The icon image should be 16x16. |
|
ActionParameters |
Element |
0..1 |
No max. ActionParameters per Action enforced |
Container element for ActionParameter |
See Also
Tasks
AdventureWorks SQL Server 2000 Sample
How to: Get Started with Using the Runtime Object Model
How to: Get Started with Using the Administration Object Model