Studio Apps

Overview

Studio Apps allow you to package related Studio customizations (models, fields, menus, actions, selections, charts, dashboards) into a single application unit. This provides lifecycle management with install/uninstall capabilities, and export/import for deploying customizations across environments.

Studio Apps are managed from App > Configuration > Apps.

The Apps menu entry is only visible when enableStudioApp is enabled in the Studio configuration. This is enabled by default.

App Views

Studio Apps can be displayed in two views:

Cards View

Studio Apps cards view

The cards view provides a visual overview of all Studio Apps with:

  • App image/logo

  • Name and code

  • Description excerpt

  • Active/inactive status badge

  • Delete button (only visible when the app is not installed)

The cards view also provides an Import button in the toolbar for importing apps from ZIP files.

Grid View

The grid view displays apps in a tabular format with columns for name, code, and active status. It also provides Import and Export toolbar buttons.

Creating a Studio App

Studio App form

Basic Information

Field Required Description

Image (1)

No

App logo/icon displayed in the cards view and app list (Image widget, M2O:MetaFile).

Code (2)

Yes

Unique technical identifier for the app. Used in import/export operations.

Name (3)

Yes

Display name of the app. Supports translation.

Dependencies (4)

No

Other Apps that must be installed before this one (TagSelect, M2M:App).

Modules (5)

No

Associated application modules.

Sequence (6)

No

Display order in the apps list.

Show in app view (7)

No

When checked, the app appears in the main application management view (default: false).

Description (8)

No

Detailed description of the app (HTML editor).

Component Tabs

The form includes tabbed panels (dashlets) showing all Studio components grouped under this app:

Studio App component tabs
Tab Contents

Models

Custom models (MetaJsonModel) associated with this app

Fields

Custom fields (MetaJsonField) associated with this app

Menus

Studio menus (StudioMenu) associated with this app

Actions

Studio actions (StudioAction) associated with this app

Meta Actions

Generated meta actions (MetaAction) associated with this app

Charts

Studio charts (StudioChart) associated with this app

Dashboards

Studio dashboards (StudioDashboard) associated with this app

BPM

BPM processes associated with this app

DMN

DMN decision tables associated with this app

BAML

BAML models associated with this app

WS Connector

Web service connectors associated with this app

WS Request

Web service requests associated with this app

WS Authentication

Web service authenticators associated with this app

These tabs provide a comprehensive view of everything packaged within the app.

Install and Uninstall

Install

The Install button appears in the form sidebar when:

  • The app record has been saved (has an ID)

  • The app is not currently installed (generatedApp.active is false)

Installing an app:

  1. Generates the required App record

  2. Activates all associated menus, views, and actions

  3. Makes the app’s customizations available to users

Uninstall

The Uninstall button appears when:

  • The app record has been saved (has an ID)

  • The app is currently installed (generatedApp.active is true)

Uninstalling an app deactivates all its associated components. Users will no longer have access to the custom models, menus, and actions defined by the app.

App Management Visibility

Two sidebar buttons control whether the app is surfaced in the central Apps Management view:

  • Add to App Management — Shown when the app is not yet listed there (isInAppView is false). It flags the app so it appears as a card in Apps Management.

  • Remove from App Management — Shown when the app is already listed (isInAppView is true). It removes the card from Apps Management without deleting the Studio App itself.

Export and Import

Export

The Export button is available in the form toolbar. Clicking it opens an export dialog:

Export dialog

  • Export data (1): When checked, the export includes not only the app definition (models, fields, menus, etc.) but also the actual data records created through the custom models.

The export generates a ZIP file containing all the app’s components.

Use the Export data option when transferring a fully configured app with sample or reference data to another environment. Leave it unchecked to export only the structure (models, views, actions) without data.

Import

The Import button is available in the grid/cards toolbar. Clicking it opens an import dialog:

  • Data file (1): Upload the ZIP file to import (MetaFile binary-link widget).

The import process:

  1. Reads the ZIP file contents

  2. Creates or updates the Studio App and all its components

  3. Registers the generated views, menus, and actions

Importing an app with the same code as an existing app will update the existing app’s components. Review the import contents carefully before proceeding.

Update from Data File

The Update app action lets you refresh an existing Studio App from an exported data file without recreating it. It opens an Update app dialog:

Field Description

Data file

The exported ZIP file to apply to this app (MetaFile binary-link, required).

Detach absent elements

When checked, elements that exist in the database but are absent from the imported file are detached from the application — they are unlinked from the app, not deleted. When unchecked, existing elements are kept even if they are missing from the file.

After running, the update returns a log file if any issue occurred; otherwise it reports a successful import. The update is handled by StudioAppController.updateApp(), which delegates to StudioAppService.updateApp(dataFileMap, studioApp, detachAbsent).

Technical Details

Studio Apps are stored in the StudioApp entity:

Field Type Description

name

String (required)

Display name (translatable)

code

String (required, unique)

Technical identifier

description

Large String

HTML description

modules

String

Associated module names

sequence

Integer

Display order

isInAppView

Boolean (default: false)

Show in main app view

dependsOnSet

M2M: App

Required dependencies

image

M2O: MetaFile

App logo

generatedApp

M2O: App

The generated base App record (contains active status)

Key backend services:

  • StudioAppController.installApp() — Installs the app and activates components

  • StudioAppController.uninstallApp() — Uninstalls the app and deactivates components

  • StudioAppController.deleteApp() — Deletes the app (only when not installed)

  • StudioAppController.exportApp() — Exports the app to ZIP

  • StudioAppController.importApp() — Imports an app from ZIP

  • StudioAppController.updateApp() — Updates an existing app from a data file, with optional detach of absent elements

App Entity Auto-Generation

When a Studio App is saved, the system automatically generates a corresponding App entity (stored in the generatedApp field). This generation is triggered by the repository save hook.

The generated App has the following characteristics:

  • isCustom = true

  • typeSelect = "custom"

  • Image, description, dependencies, sequence, modules, and isInAppView are copied from the Studio App

This means every Studio App has a dual existence: the design-time StudioApp record and the runtime App record. The App record is what the Apps Management interface uses.