Designer Studio basics

Area

To learn more

The header bar appears at the top and identifies the currently selected application, supports search, enables you to start processes, create new rules and applications, and provides quick access to other information and tools. See:

• Using the header and developer toolbar
• Using Search
• Using the Application menu
• Using the Operator menu

Click to access landing pages. See About Landing Pages

The work area in the center of Designer Studio displays rule forms, instances lists, wizards, landing pages, Home display, or other tools and forms. You can have multiple items open in the work area. The tab bar appears at the top of the work area. Labels on the tabs identify the contents. Click a tab to display it. The active tab is highlighed. Click x on the tab to close it.

If there are many open tabs, click the Currently Open icon to display a list of available tabs and select the one you want. Select Close All to close all the open tabs (except the Home tab).

You can remove the tabs in the work area by clearing the Include Tabs checkbox in the Designer Studio Navigation area on the operator Preferences pop-up dialog.

The developer toolbar appears at the bottom and offers advanced developer tools and menus. It also contains a link to the Pega Discovery Network and system information. See Designer Studio — Using the header and developer toolbar.

The Explorer area is displayed at the left of the Designer Studio. Click an Explorer icon to display it.

• Recent: Display and access up to 20 recently opened rule or data instance records, wizard items, instance lists, landing pages, and cases. See Using the Recent Explorer.
• Cases: Presents the case types belonging to your current application organized in a tree structure indicating parent and sub-case type relationships. You use this Explorer to open, for each case type, its Case Designer landing page, which is where you configure a case type's processes and specifications. See Using the Cases Explorer.
• Data: Presents data object types and the data pages that are associated with them. You can filter the display by application or applies-to class. See About the Data Explorer.
• App: Display the Application Explorer, which contain records belonging to RuleSet versions that belong to your current and built-on applications, organized by class, rule or data category, rule type, and rule instance. See Using the Application Explorer.
• Records: Presents all rules and data instance records in your system, organized by category and type. See About the Records Explorer.
• Private: Shows your checked-out records. See About the Private Explorer.
• Favorites : Lists your personal and access group favorites. See About the Favorites Explorer.

Explorer menu

The heading of each Explorer displays a down-arrow icon . Click it to display a menu of actions you can take in the Explorer. Below is an example of the Recent Explorer menu

All Explorer menus allow you to create rule or data records by clicking +Create. Select a rule type or data class from a list of rule or data type class categories.

The Home display appears by default when you open Designer Studio and contains the following:

• Guardrail Warnings — Charts showing warnings created in the last seven days by you and other operators with access to the current application.
• PDN News — Contains a Pega Discovery Network (PDN) RSS feed that allows you to directly open new articles of special interest to the developer community. You can also access the PDN by searching for articles, or clicking a link to access the PDN Forums. If required, this RSS feed may be disabled using a dynamic system setting.
• Pega Task — Displays a near real-time list of tasks that you and other operators with access to the current application are working on.
• View PMF worklist in new window link — Click to display My Project Worklist, which presents open user stories, tasks, bugs, and issues currently assigned to you in the Project Management Framework (PMF). This link appears only if your application is enabled for PMF connectivity.

See Working with the Home Display.

You can open the Home display by clicking .

When you create an application in Application Express, the Application Overview landing page appears in the Home display.