About the Rule-from-File wizard (Rule harvesting)

• If you have an Excel spreadsheet file (XLS file type) that supports an automated decision similar to those provided by a decision table or map value, you can upload the spreadsheet.
• If you have a Visio diagram (VSD file) that uses closed shapes and arrows to present a business process, you can upload the diagram and use it to start a flow rule.
• If you have an XML file that corresponds to the BPEL 1.1 specification or to Pegasystems' published XML Schema (Publicflow.xml) for flows to represent a process, you can upload the file to create a corresponding draft flow rule.
• For decision trees, a text file (TXT file type) containing a tree in a formal syntax can be the basis of the decision tree rule. See below.
• If you have an XML file produced in Proforma's ProVision CIF 1.0 format, you can upload the file to create a corresponding draft flow rule.

Initially, the Availability field of a harvested rule is set to No/Blocked and so cannot be tested. To force validation and make the rule available for testing, click the Availability toolbar button () and change the Availability to Yes.

Resuming the wizard

This wizard creates a work object with the prefix pxAT-. To find open wizard work objects, select the menu option File > Open > Wizards in Progress > All Wizards.

1. Set the appropriate work pool, by selecting File > Open > Work Pool > name.
2. Select Application > Import > Rule from File.... .
3. Complete the forms in the screen flow. For guidance, see Help — Rule-from-File wizard.

To harvest a decision tree rule from a text file, prepare a file in the following format:

• Create a file with the TXT file type.
• Use zero or more tab characters to indent the text, reflecting the levels of the tree.
• Include the keywords EVALUATE, IF, CALL, RETURN, THEN, CONTINUE, OTHERWISE, and RETURN in uppercase. These have the same meaning as the corresponding elements in the rule.
• Your file may include expressions and property references, in the exact case.

The formal syntax in approximate Backus-Naur form is:

[EVALUATE] <propertyname>
IF [NOT] <expression> THEN [CONTINUE | EVALUATE <expression> |
   %CALL <treename> | CALL DECISIONTREE <treename > !RETURN <expression>
OTHERWISE [RETURN] <expression>

where % indicates a horizontal tab character. Line endings are significant. Extra spaces are ignored. For example:

EVALUATE .BallorStrike
     %IF ((.Height > 4) && .NoSwing && .BatterNotStruck)) THEN CONTINUE
     %      %IF (Height > 3) THEN RETURN "Ball"
     %      %IF (Height < 1) THEN RETURN "Ball"
OTHERWISE RETURN "Strike"

where % indicates a horizontal tab character. Another example:

EVALUATE Label
IF General Task THEN EVALUATE Urgency
   %IF > 20 THEN RETURN true
   %OTHERWISE RETURN false
IF NOT General Task THEN CONTINUE
   %If Label = Medical THEN RETURN true
   %OTHERWISE RETURN false
IF somethingelse THEN call somedecision
OTHERWISE RETURN other

When imported with this wizard, the system
creates a decision tree similar
to the image shown at right.

Process Commander's internal XML representation of a flow rule conforms closely to the XML schema stored in the standard text file rule Harvest.Publicflow.xml. You can use the Rule-from-File wizard to import an XML file conforming to this schema and create a draft flow rule. To work with this schema:

1. Open the Harvest.Publicflow.xml text file rule
2. Export the text to a local drive.
3. Change the file type to "xsd" from "xml".
4. Validate your XML file against the XSD.
5. Start the Rule-from-File wizard.

XML files that conform to this schema are syntactically correct, and the resulting flow rule can be edited in Visio.

On the Attach File wizard step, select Public Flow as the Format value.

When harvesting an XML file in BPEL 1.1 format, the wizard makes the following conversions:

To create a map value rule (Rule-Obj-MapValue rule type) from an Excel worksheet,

1. Create an Excel worksheet that contains the values to become the Matrix tab as constants. Leave cell A1 blank. In cells A2, A3, ..., enter text that is to become the column headers. In cells B1, C1, ..., enter text that is to become the row headers. Enter constants in a final row (with the first column blank) for the Default row, and similarly enter a rightmost Default column. (If the condition value is simply a number, then format the column cells as text, not numbers, and type "=" or" ==" before the number. For example, =1000.
2. Complete all steps of the Rule-from-File wizard. After you upload the XLS file, it becomes a custom field value on the History tab of the rule.
3. After the Rule-from-File wizard completes, further processing is required. Click the pencil icon () to open the map value rule.
4. Click  Edit In Excel. If prompted, adjust macro security to Medium or lower to enable Excel macros.
5. When initial macro execution ends, click Convert in the upper left corner. Close Excel. Click  Yes when prompted to save the changed Excel file, to apply the changes to the Map Value rule form.
6. Update the Input tab of the Map Value form as necessary. Optionally, select the Row Property and Column Property properties.
7. Update the History tab and other tabs as desired. Save the form.