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Introduction menus

Users navigate the application using menus, which are constructed with menu blocks, connected through menu paths. BizzStream menus offer versatile navigation capabilities, allowing you to create sophisticated menus in the BizzStream Aero menu editor. This editor enables the creation of menus using two primary block types:

  • treeview blocks, displaying a list of selectable items.
  • layout blocks, showcasing a configured layout.

Menu blocks are interconnected using path conditions, guiding users through the menu structure.

You can assign multiple menus to a user or group. Multiple menus can be assigned to a user. These menus will then be merged into one single menu. However, please note that only menus with a treeview block as start block can be used. However, menu merging is limited to menus with a treeview block as the start block. If the start block is a layout block, merging is not possible and an error occurs.

Similar to other editors in BizzStream Aero, the menu editor features multiple tabs. The General tab covers menu information and members, while the Menu tab configures the actual menu structure.

Core Components

At the heart of the menu system are two primary types of blocks:

  • Treeview Blocks: These blocks present a hierarchical, tree-like structure, allowing users to browse and select from lists of items. Each item can have child items, enabling the creation of complex, user-centric menu structures.

  • Layout Blocks: These blocks are designed to display specific application layouts, providing dynamic content based on user selections or other contextual data.

More information about these blocks can be found here.

The real power of the menu system lies in its menu path conditions. These conditions, driven by BizzStream expressions, offer precise control over user navigation. Administrators can define rules that determine which menu block opens based on various factors, including:

  • User actions, making buttons to perform a path change. This makes it possible to change to another layout.
  • Selections within a treeview, making treeviews with multiple layouts or treeviews inside.
  • Specific field values, e.g. status.
  • Control states, e.g. SELECTED or CHECKED.

This allows for the creation of complex navigation scenarios while maintaining a seamless and intuitive user experience. For even more granular control, path effect dependencies can be configured to prevent unnecessary re-opening of menu blocks, ensuring a smooth and responsive user experience.

Key Benefits/Usages

  • Customizable Navigation: Create menus that perfectly match your application's structure and user needs.
  • User-Friendly Interface: Provide an intuitive and easy-to-use navigation experience.
  • Dynamic Content Display: Display relevant content based on user interactions and context.
  • Granular Control: Precisely control user navigation with path conditions and effect dependencies.

Example

This section guides you through the process of setting up new menus within the BizzStream Aero application. Menus are your users' primary tool for navigating the application, making their correct setup crucial for a smooth experience.

Step 1: Accessing the Menu Editor

  1. Begin by navigating to the Setup Section.

  2. From the left-hand side navigation, click Menus.

    A new window will appear, displaying a list of all existing menus in your application. If no menus have been created yet, this list will be empty.

    For this example, we will proceed to create a brand new menu.

    Example start

This screenshot shows the Menu screen. This is the starting point and is crucial to setup correctly for all the users.

Step 2: Defining Basic Menu Properties

Upon creating a new menu (or selecting an existing one), you'll be prompted to fill in essential properties:

  • Label (Required): String that will be shown as first item for the menu.
  • Name (Required): Must be a unique string for the menu. Used when referencing to this menu.

You can also control who has access to this menu:

  • Users: Select specific individual users who should have access to this menu.
  • Groups: Assign entire user groups to grant them access to the menu.

Filling in these fields ensures your menu is correctly setup for usage, the correct audience has access and is has a correct unique string as a name.

Step 3: Building the Menu Structure with Blocks and Paths

After setting up the basic menu properties, you can proceed to build its actual structure using menu blocks and paths.

Create menu

It's critical to understand that every menu requires a start block, which serves as the initial entry point for users when they access that menu.

  • In the example above, we're creating a Treeview block as the start block. This is the most common and recommended choice for a menu's initial block because it supports the merging of multiple menus, providing a seamless navigation experience for users. To learn more about the different types of menu blocks (Treeview and Layout) and when to use each, please refer to the Menu Blocks documentation.

Once these steps are completed, your basic menu is set up and will be visible when users navigate to the main application screen.