Back Forward How to enter property references in expressions

A property reference identifies a property (or a part of an aggregate property) that is a source or destination for a value:

This topic explains the syntax used in such references, sometimes called dot notation. You can use this syntax in many methods and rules, including:

Clipboard page and property references

When you set or retrieve a value of a property, you can only set or retrieve it to or from a clipboard page. Most pages have an associated class and a name. The standard dot notation to reference a property is:

pagename.propertyname

This notation works for both source and target.

In most situations, you can use the keywords local, param, parent, primary, and top in place of an explicit page name. The keywords are not case-sensitive: Param.Width, PARAM.Width and param.Width all refer to the same parameter.

Note You cannot use the keywords parent and top in a Data Transform form.

NoteReferences to properties must match the exact case of the Property Name field in the property definition — the Rule-Obj-Property instance.

To work with:

Use this format

A property on a named, top-level page.

myPageName.myProperty

A property on the primary page of an activity or a data transform, or on the in-context page for children actions in a data transform.

.myProperty

or

Primary.myProperty

A parameter on the parameter page of an activity, data transform, or flow. (Technically, a parameter is not a property; no Rule-Obj-Property exists for it.)

Param.myParameter

A variable defined as a local variable on the Parameter tab of an activity form. (Technically, a local variable is not a property).

Local.myParameter

A property on an embedded page.

myPage.myEmbeddedPage.myProperty

The first element of a property of mode Value List.

myPage.myEmbeddedPage.myValueList(1)

The second element of a property of mode Value List on an embedded page.

myPage.myEmbeddedPage.myValueList(2)

The first element of a Value List on the primary page of an activity or a data transform, or on the in-context page for children actions in a data transform.

.myValueList(1)

The element of a Value Group associated with the value MA on an embedded page.

myPage.myEmbeddedPage.myValueGroup(MA)

The first element of a
Page List on myPage.

myPage.myPageList(1)

A property on the enclosing page of the current context, which is an embedded page. You can use this keyword twice to designate the grandparent page and so on.

The parent keyword is valid only in Declare Expression rules, Declare Index rules, decision trees, map values, and decision tables, and within Java code. (In a Java step of an activity, the keyword parent refers to the parent page of the current step page, not of the primary page.)

You can't use the parent keyword and the <current> keyword in one property reference.

parent.theproperty

parent.parent.parent.Loan(4).aproperty

A property on the top-level page of the current context that is an embedded page, for a rule that includes a Pages & Classes tab. (When you use the top keyword in the rule form, on the form's Pages & Classes tab, add a row with Top in the Page Name field and a class in the Class Name field.)

Note You cannot use the top keyword in a data transform.

top.theproperty

top.myPageList(<current>).Rating
A property on a page accessed through a linked property. Linked property references are useful in harnesses, sections, and flow actions. .linkedpropertyname.propertyreference
Definition embedded page, linked property, primary page
Related topics Aggregate properties in expressions
How to complete a Pages & Classes tab
 Understanding page names and reserved pages

Related topicsAbout expressions