Field

Description

The field's short description. When the process runs, this name appears as the field label on the user form.

• Use auto-complete () to select an existing property, including standard properties in Pega RuleSet versions.
• The system removes the spaces to create a property name key value.
  Do not enter a short description that produces a property name defined in a standard Pega ruleset.
  

Displays a list of field types, which is organized into two sections: Single value and Complex Types. Be careful when selecting a type; it cannot be changed after you have created the property. If the type is not supported by the Form Configuration dialog, the field appears as a label. If the field already exists and is a supported type, the field appears as a read only value.

Single Value

This table lists the available single value fields, and the properties types and controls the fields are mapped to.

Defining drop-down fields

When you add and create a drop-down field, the Table Type value on the property's General tab defaults to None; the list contains no values. To create a drop-down field that references a Prompt List table with values, click at the end of the row. This opens the Dropdown Choices pop-up dialog. Enter values in the fields.

When you are finished, click OK to close the dialog. The system creates the property and sets the Table Type to Prompt List and populates the Standard Value and Prompt Value fields with your entries. The drop-down field appears on the section.

You can use the Dropdown Choices dialog to update the values in an existing local list or prompt list, or to create a prompt list and values as follows:

• None (no table type) — When you add choices , the table becomes a prompt list and updates the values with your changes.
• Local List—Keeps the local list and updates the values.
• Prompt List— Keeps the prompt list and updates the values.
• Field Value, Class Key Value, Remote List — The icon is not available; you cannot update the table values in the dialog.

Defining search fields

When you add a search field, an autocomplete control appears on the form enabling users to search for and select a specific record from a list returned by a data page. The field references a data page to populate the search list.

To create a search field:

• Type a name in the field name field.
• Select Search in the field type field.
• Click the gear icon at the end of the row to define the source of the autocomplete values. The Search pop-up dialog opens. Enter values in these fields.
  
  Data source — Required . Select the data page that you want to use as the source. If the data page has parameters, they display beneath the field. Specify the value that you want to pass to the data page. See Data Page form - Completing the Parameters tab.
  
  Key field — Required. Select the property that contains the value you want to set when the user selects one of the results.
  
  Additional Search Fields — Optional. Select additional properties you want to include in the search. These values are not saved when a user selects a row; they are available to assist the user in searching for and selecting the correct row.

When you are finished, click OK to close the dialog. The system creates a text property configured with an autocomplete control. The autocomplete appears on the section.

Complex Types

Select either of the following:

Object

Select Object to indicate the field is a page. A page is a set of fields that the system stores together as a data structure of name-value pairs. For example, you would create an Applicant page to have a job applicant input values into fields such as First Name, Last Name, Street, City, and so on, and the system would store the name-value pairs as a single data structure (the Applicant page).

List of objects

Select List of objects to specify that the field is an ordered set of pages (instead of a single page). Use a page list when you want to have multiples of the same input data structure used in this process step. For example, you would create an Employer page list when you want the user form to collect an applicant's work history with previous employers. For each employer (first, second, etc), the system presents this set of entry fields to the applicant:

• Employer Name
• Address
• Begin Date
• End Date

When the process runs, the user form displays multiple sets of those fields to collect the values for each field for each past employer, and the system stores the applicant's input values as ordered pages (one per employer) in the Employer page list.

About the object and page list data type

When you select either of the complex types, the system displays in the third field (replaces the mode field) the short description of the data type that will be created for the page or page list. The system creates the default pattern for the data type by replacing the portion of the case type class after Work- with Data-. For example, MyOrg-MyApp-Work-Case would become MyOrg-MyApp-Data-Name, where MyApp is the name of the application specified when the application was created using Application Express and Name is the name you entered in the field name field. See Property form — Completing the General tab for Page modes for a description of the class of a page or page list.

You can change the default by clicking to display the Data Type pop-up dialog. Use AutoComplete to select the class of an existing page or page list.

After you have created the property and click , the Data Type appears a read-only label. The system also generates all new single-value properties you may have added on the Form Configuration dialog.

This icon is inactive for existing complex types; the type and data type cannot be changed.

Data sourcing for auto-population

If there are data pages of the appropriate kind defined, the Automatically source data at runtime check box appears on the Data Type pop-up. Select the box to allow data sourcing for auto-population. In the Select the source field, select a data page defined in this class. Note the following:

• If you are adding a page, only single page data pages appear.
• If you are adding a page list, only list data pages appear.
• If the data page has parameters, they appear below the Select the source field. Use the SmartPrompt if you want to define a parameter property.

The next time you open the Data Type pop-up, a View Sourcing link appears. Click the link to open the record.

Adding fields to Object or Object List

When you select a Complex Type, a field array opens beneath the property's row. If you are creating a new Object or Object List, a row containing the three fields for defining single value properties appears. Complete the array as described previously.

If you have selected an existing data type, its fields appear in the array. You can update them as required.

Select a display mode for the field. The mode defines how the end user can interact with the field at runtime. The available modes depend upon the field type.

• Optional – The default. Editable by the user; the user does not have to enter a value.
• Required – Editable by the user, and the user must enter a value.
• Read Only – Read only (not editable).
• Calculated(read only) – Calculated based on a Declare Expression.
  
  Click to open the Calculations dialog to define the expression. When you open the dialog, the system saves all properties.
  
  Use the SmartPrompt to select a property or enter a simple calculation. When you click OK, the system automatically creates a Declare Expression record. By default, the system uses the field name value for the record's name Key value and short description. The record for that property is configured so that the property specified in the first field equals the value entered in this field. See About Declare Expression rules. To enter complex expressions, click the Open link to open an unsaved Declare Expression form. When you have completed the form, save the record.
  
  The next time you open the dialog, the name of the Declare Expression appears in the field. Click the Open link to open the record.
  
  If you enter a complex or invalid expression, an error message appears when you click OK. You can either modify the expression in the field, or click the Open link to open and work in an unsaved Declare Expression form.