linked property

A linked property is a Single Value text property that has values that are expected to match the key of an instance of a concrete class. In certain user interface and other rule configurations, linked properties can improve performance and eliminate the need to create a special-purpose activity.

You can reference properties of a linked object, retrieved by a linked property, in a rule form or expression using the syntax .LinkedPropertyName.ObjectPropertyReference.

When the value of the linked property is not blank, at run time a page corresponding to the referenced object, retrieved by its key, is automatically added to a requestor's clipboard. The values on that page are read-only. Such pages are never refreshed; they remain on your clipboard until your requestor session performs a Commit operation (which need not be related to the processing that caused the pages to exist).

The link relationship is defined on the General tab of the Property form.

Where used

You can use linked property references as read-only sources of a value in certain places in many rule types. Consult the help topics for details:

  • Activities (and in specific methods)
  • Access when
  • Circumstance template rules
  • various Connect rules
  • Constraints rules
  • Correspondence
  • Data transforms (Set action)
  • Declarative rules (most)
  • Decision tables and decision trees
  • Flow actions
  • Harnesses
  • Map values
  • Report definitions
  • Sections
  • Service-level agreements
  • various Service rules
  • Validate rules

Example

For a configuration example, see PDN article How to use linked properties to display data from related objects. As another example, if a work object contains a property Sponsor with values that exactly correspond to an Operator ID, it could be made a linked property. Thereafter, references to properties of an operator ID in the form .Sponsor.pyLastName are available in sections, activities, and most other rule types. At runtime, the property value automatically retrieves the object of the target class whenever a reference to properties in the target class are needed. These retrieved pages are retained in a cache, improving performance, and are visible on the clipboard. Linked property operations can be recorded by the Tracer tool.

Standard linked properties

Your system includes more than 30 working examples of linked properties, including Work-.pyUpdateOperator and Assign-.pxAssignedOrgDiv. Consult the Atlas for a partial list.

Chaining

The property identified in a linked property reference may itself be a linked property. For example, in a work item, the pxUpdateOperator property identifies the operator who last updated the item. In the Data-Admin-Operator-ID class, the pyAccessGroup is also a linked property. This linked property reference, if entered in a Work- context, shows the description of an access group:

.pyUpdateOperator.pyAccessGroup.pyLabel

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