Access Active and Archived Messages
In the previous steps, we learned how HELIO displays messages as a dialog and how to introduce a global message indicator in the header of our HMI.
But how can operators view the entire collection of all active and archived messages? And how can they get there from any page page within our HMI as quickly as possible?
We'll get to the bottom of these questions in this next step. And you may already know the answer: HELIO has got a page for that!
- Add the
Message Page
Displaying a list of active and archived messages is actually quite easy in HELIO, since there is a ready-made page for it: the Message Page, which already contains the right tools to browse these messages and is fully connected to the Messaging Storage.
Add this Message Page to your HMI.
Make sure to reset the two triggers we defined in the previous step, then no more messages should be active and your page should look like this:
- Open the Page as an Overlay
Messages are really important, so it's crucial they're super easy to reach. One of the simplest ways to achieve this is to add a cell to your header that allows operators to open the message page from any other page within your HMI. Does that sound good? Then let's make it happen!
Choose the Open Page as Overlay Action
to respond to the On click event and select the page we've created
before. Your project should now be looking something like this:
- Optional: Hide the Message Page from Main Navigation
This is an optional step, as in some cases it may still be useful to to make this page available from the main navigation as well. But in most cases it is not necessary to show the page in the main navigation as it might as it might confuse the users.
Click on the Message Page and locate the Main Navigation property group.
Choose the Hide Page option.
Have Fun With Messages!
All right, everyone, this is it! We've been working towards this moment for a reason. This is when we get to see all the configured elements in action, interacting and simulating messages:
That's it! This is all you need to configure in order to get a full featured messaging with a built-in message archive.