Action Formatting and Control Options

Actions are modular elements with a wide selection of standard options and controls. As you open each action, you will see the unique controls for that action. For example, a Link Action will have a field for a destination URL, while a vCard Action will have multiple fields for one to add all of the information standard to a user's contact profile.

However, Actions also have multiple formatting options available to all Actions. For example any Action can be scheduled to appear only during a specified or recurring period, and it may be set to only display users with Android Phones.

This article will cover the formatting and control options standard to all Actions. Below is an overview image that shows where these controls will appear on on the Action Edit display:

(1) One is a menu where you select an Action.

(2) Section 2 is the Action's Name. You can search for an Action by name in the Library, to use descriptive names.

(3) Section 3 is where you add tags to an action.

You can search for Actions in the Library by tag. For example, when you have multiple apps in an account, tag the Actions in each app so you can easliy sort a list of the Actions in a specific app.

Tags are also used in permission control. For example, you can set an "admin" permission role, and deny edit control to regular users of any Action tagged as "admin".

(4) Section 4 is where you control what metadata will be used in the action's preview call-to-action. This is what the user will see to prompt a tap to perform the action - which may be to visit a link, to launch a phone call, to open a subpage, etc.

The preview may be any combination of:

a) a Title

b) a Description

c) an Image

As you will see there are additional ways to control how the medadata is displayed.

(5) Section 5 is the action Preview. As you add or format the metadata, this preview will update automatically to show how the action will look to the user in the app.

(6) Section 6 is for controlling the metadata positioning. When you add an image, you will be able to choose whether that image will be full sized (hero), half size, quarter size, or icon sized. You will also be able to select whether the image will be above, below or to the right or left of any associated text, and how the text is justified.

As you try these different options, the preview will update instantly, so its easy to quickly find the right look, or to change it.

(7) Section 7 is for selectign whether the endpoint will display or not. An endpoint is the link, telephone number, email address, or file type the Action links to. So, if you want the destination URL ot telephone number to display on a link  or call action, then do not select "hide endpoint". 

(8) Section 8 is the desktop arrangement. These options will not affect how your app displays on a mobile device, but they do control how an action displays on a larger screen. 

Binding complementary content and adding a few strategic page breaks can have dramatic effect on making the desktop and tablev view of an app look great.

(9) Section 9 is where you choose what audience will see an action. For eample, if you add an Action with detailed directions on how to install your app on an Apple device, then here is where you wil set those directions to only appear for Apple users and to disappear after the user has installed the app.

(10) Section 10 is for scheduling an Action. Choose the start and end date/time for an action to be visible to users, and whether the schedule is recurring. For example, you can choose an action that calls you cell phone to only appear M-F, between 9am am and 5pm.