Analytic Apps and Interface Design
Analytic Apps wrap a workflow behind an interface. The Interface Designer configures questions (Text Box, Drop Down, List Box, Check Box, Radio Button, File Browse, Date), and Action tools connect each question to a tool property (e.g., update a Filter value, a Select field, or a file path). Questions have a name, label, and default; the Question tab in the Interface Designer sets layout and the Test View previews the app.
Key concepts: chained apps (one app runs another via the Run Command or a chained app setting), output modes (File, Email, None), and app validation (required questions). The Action tool types include Update Value, Update Field, Update Raw XML, and Update Input/Output Data Source. A common trap is connecting a Drop Down to a Filter but forgetting the Action tool, so the selection has no effect. Another is using a List Box without allowing multiple selections when the workflow expects one value.
Rule of thumb: every interface question must be linked through an Action tool to a specific tool property; an unlinked question does nothing.
Worked example: a Drop Down lists regions. Add an Action tool of type Update Value targeting the Filter tool's expression, mapping the selected region to the filter constant. Without the Action, the filter stays hard-coded.