Auto Actions - On Profile Edit, Copy CB FIeld to a Different CB Field

Can I use this to update the Formatted Name?

Will this trigger work when a moderator updates a profile or does it have to be the user to update their own profile?

Yes if you use both the frontend and backend trigger (see the dropdown next to the Triggers input).

And can I have spaces or dashes in between fields? for some sort of separation?

Yes, you can add whatever strings you want to it. Example as follows.

[cb_field1]-[cb_field2]-[cb_field3]

Can I use this to update the Formatted Name?

No, that field isn't stored anywhere. It's called a calculated field, which means its value is calculated from PHP and doesn't exist in the database. You'd need to alter the Name, First Name, Middle Name, or Last Name fields.

Seems to work great. Except for this:

It seems that when I alter the name fields, the updating of the FormatName doesnt take effect right away, and I have to resave.

I'm guessing this is because the FormatName is calculated on the spot (upon saving the profile), and the name field alteration occurs after the save.

Is there a different trigger that I can use to alter the name fields and THEN save, so that the FormatName takes effect on the first save?

Is there an Index somewhere that explains what each trigger is exactly?

Can I use the "onBeforeUserUpdate"?

Seems to work great. Except for this:

It seems that when I alter the name fields, the updating of the FormatName doesnt take effect right away, and I have to resave.

I'm guessing this is because the FormatName is calculated on the spot (upon saving the profile), and the name field alteration occurs after the save.

Is there a different trigger that I can use to alter the name fields and THEN save, so that the FormatName takes effect on the first save?

It shouldn't take a double save or anything of the sort. My guess is you aren't altering the correct name fields based off the display mode you're using. If you've the display set to First and Last then you need to alter those fields. You may need to use a Query action to alter the Name in _users though.

Is there an Index somewhere that explains what each trigger is exactly?

No, not yet. There's just the below reference tutorial with a list of triggers and their variables. We try to name the triggers to be self explanatory.

www.joomlapolis.com/support/tutorials/120-api-usage/18358-using-cb-triggers

Can I use the "onBeforeUserUpdate"?

No, you should be using the after profile update triggers.