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Using the Application Explorer

Quickly access rules in your application stack with the Application Explorer. Results are organized by work pool, case type, category, and rule type in a tree format. This explorer is most useful in development settings where a majority of rules have an Applies To key part that matches a case type.

Starting the Application Explorer

The Application Explorer is available to all developer roles. Use the Application menu to ensure that the explorer results are populated by the expected application and work pool.

To configure the explorer:

Load the Application Explorer in the Explorer panel by clicking the App Explorer icon.
Use the application scoping control to further refine results.

Only rules from the applications you select appear in the Explorer panel. All selections persist after log out, after you click Apply.
Use the top-level menu to customize the appearance of results.

Understanding top level menu options

The following options are available in the Application Explorer top-level menu, denoted by the icon:

Menu item	Description
Refresh App Explorer	Refreshes all classes in the Application Explorer and restores the tree to a fully collapsed state. Updated results include recently created, renamed, and deleted rules.
Create	Gives you full access to the create forms for all record types, organized by category. Deprecated rule types are excluded from this menu option.
Explorer Inheritance	Allows you to control which inheritance model is used to order and display the classes in the tree. Options include: Show all, Pattern only (selected by default), and Directed only.
Explorer Display	Controls whether the Application Explorer displays rules by name or by label. Options include: Display by name and Display by label.

Filtering results

Enter a class name in the autocomplete field to set the root of the tree. The specified class name filters child results to display only rules that apply to the specified class.

Classes that inherit from the specified class name appear as individual child nodes. The Explorer Inheritance options can be used to limit which classes are displayed.

You do not need to know the fully qualified class name. Start typing one or more characters to see a list of matching results.
Matching results are displayed in two categories: All Results and Best Bets. To see only classes in your Best Bets, clear the autocomplete field and push the down arrow key.
To load all top-level classes in an application, type "@baseclass".
To revert results to your current work pool, clear the autocomplete.
Review the application scoping control selections to further refine results.

Interacting with the explorer tree

The Application Explorer is organized in a tree format that you can expand or collapse at any level. If there are no matching results for a specific rule category or type, that node is omitted from the tree. Clicking each node type yields different results in the Designer Studio.

Use the table below to understand the node type hierarchy.

Icon	Node type	Click to see...
	Class	A list of instances for this class or work pool.
	Rule category	No available click option. Expand to list relevant rule types.
	Rule type	A list of instances for this rule type in all application layers. Expand to see the same list filtered by choices you made in the application scoping control.
	Rule instance	The form for this rule. The version is determined by rule resolution. Click and drag the icon next to a rule instance to insert property and section rules directly into supporting UI forms. For example, you can drag a property into the layout of a section.
	Rule instance with circumstances	The base version of a circumstanced rule. Expand to see all circumstance versions for this rule. The circumstance values appear in lieu of the rule name.
	Property rule instance of mode Page or Page List	The form for this rule. The version is determined by rule resolution. Expand to see embedded properties.
N/A	"Show all results..."	A list of instances for this rule type in all application layers. This option appears when the number of results exceed performance thresholds. For more information, see Initial Dynamic System Setting data instances.

Right-click actions

One or more of the following right-click actions is available on each node level, based on relevancy:

Menu item	Description
Create	Opens the create form for the specified rule type. This option is disabled for deprecated rule types.
Create properties	Opens the Data Designer where you can create and edit properties in the Composition Grid on the Definition tab of the selected data type.
Define expression	Creates a declare expression rule with the selected target property.
Definition	Opens the class rule form.
Inheritance	Gives you a visual representation of the class inheritance path from the selected class down to @baseclass. Click any row in the table to open the class rule form. Click outside the overlay to dismiss it.
Refactor	Gives you access to refactoring tools. Options include: Rename class — This wizard allows you to rename: a class, its pattern inherited classes, or its associated rules. Move rules— This tool helps you relocate rules to a different class or ruleset.
Refresh [class name]	Refreshes the specified class only without disturbing the results or expand/collapse state of other tree nodes. Updated results include recently created, renamed, and deleted rules.
Refresh all	This option is equivalent to the Refresh App Explorer option in the top-level explorer menu.
View	Opens a list of rule instances that applies to the parent class node in the tree. This list excludes deprecated rules in Pega- rulesets.

Pinning classes

Use the Pinned Classes section to display a custom list of classes without having to explicitly switch context in the Application Explorer. Pin any class in your application stack by hovering on the class name and clicking the pin icon. Alternatively, use the Edit button to pin multiple classes at once.

Application Explorer exceptions

A few additional factors affect how Application Explorer results are populated:

Rules located in Component and Shared rulesets are included. These rulesets are specified on your application form.
Rules located in Production rulesets are excluded. These rulesets are specified on your application and access group forms.
Deprecated classes and rules in Pega- rulesets are excluded.
Your operator's organization and division forms have an option to specify application access using "an explicit list of rulesets". Rules in these rulesets are excluded.
Rules across all ruleset versions and status in your application stack are included. You might not be able to open all results due to:
- The rule status is set to "Blocked."
- The rule resides in a ruleset version that is higher than the version you can access.
- The rule resides in a major ruleset version that is lower than the current major version.

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