I’m building a flow for warehouse pack line operators that includes a user step with a datagrid for packages. In some warehouses, data for a package can be provided by scales or dimensional scanners. In our current environment, these devices are connected via USB and are accessed directly by a custom application. As we’re evaluating cloud-based options for automation, I’m curious how we can best integrate using these types of devices in an environment like novacura flow. I have a variety of options for making the device data available at either local or public internet REST endpoints, but I don’t see a way to add a button in the UI for pulling data from a REST endpoint. Maybe it needs to be an exit point from the user step that hits an endpoint to grab the data, adds a new row to the data source for the datagrid, then loops back to show the updated datagrid? Any thoughts or experience-based input here?
Hi,
If the scales etc can talk bluetooth LE there is an option to have them trigger the user step.
But if you want out on the internet and connector to services via REST it is as you describe, you need to exit the user step and go back in with the updated data.
So can you point me to some docs on how this BLE trigger option works and how to implement it?
Here’s the section on the Event step and BLE in the Flow help: Event | Flow Classic Help | Flow Help (novacuraflow.com)
Hi,
as mentioned above you can use an event step. If you set it with trigger type timer it can periodically make REST calls that would refresh the data grid (trigers can also be BLE or scans events)
If you use a data arrow and hook up the user step which is showing the datagrid with the machine step that is fetching data you will also get (in the NG client) a refresh button to refresh on demand.
However refreshing the datagrid would remove any of the changes entered in it.
If you want to periodicaly save changes, Flow 6.15 has an autoforward function, you can mark a button as default and then turn on the autoforward and have that default route go to saving data.
Hope this helps!
B R
Ivan