App Builder is a no-code module in OrangeHRM that lets your administrators build custom applications for your organisation's own HR processes, without writing any code. When a standard module doesn't quite fit the way your team works, App Builder lets you design the screens, approvals, and documents you need yourself. This article explains what App Builder is, the building blocks every application is made of, and who is able to build applications.

The five building blocks

Every application you build is made up of five simple parts:

• Forms - the screens where people enter and view information.

• Workflows - the step-by-step path a record follows, including approvals.

• Permissions  - who can view, edit, or act on a record at each step.

• Notifications  - automatic emails triggered as a record moves along.

• Document Templates -  documents generated automatically from a record's data.

Key terms

These are the terms you will see throughout App Builder:

• Application - a collection of forms, workflows, permissions and settings that support one business process.
• Form -  a screen where users enter and store information.
• Widget / Field - an individual item on a form, such as a text box, dropdown, or date picker.
• Workflow -  the stages a record passes through, and the actions that move it between them.
• Step / State  - a stage in the workflow, for example Saved, Submitted, or Approved.
• Action -  an operation a user performs to move a record forward, for example Approve or Reject.
• Action Owner - the user or role allowed to perform a given action at a given step.
• Record - a single entry created from a form.
• Record Owner - the employee a record is about.

Who can build applications

Access to App Builder is controlled by permissions. The following users can create and manage applications:

• System Administrators and Global Administrators - full access by default.
• Custom Administrators - provided the relevant App Builder data group permissions have been granted to their user role ..

Employees don't have permission to configure applications. They interact with published apps according to the permissions assigned to them within each app.

Note: To let a Custom Administrator build apps, see the article Granting App Builder Access to Custom Administrators.