Rules Management - Tips and Tricks

This topic includes the following tips and tricks for creating Business Rules:

Removing Rules Management
Two Rules changing the Same Field
Displaying the Caret Extender (^)
Selecting from a Value List
Selecting from a Value List in the Set the Value of a Field Template
Deleting/Editing a Field
Modifying a Rule Type
Completing Placeholders
Using the Concatenate Function
Using Conditional Expressions
Using Expression Builder
Converting Date Formats
Naming Rules

Removing Rules Management

To remove the Rules Management application, navigate to windows explorer and enter the following path into the address bar: C:\Users\user name (John Doe: Jdoe)\AppData\Local\Apps\2.0. Delete the folders within this location.

The next time Rules Management is launched, it must be installed.

Two Rules changing the Same Field

If two rules are configured to change the same field and are being run at the same point in processing, an infinite loop occurs. To avoid this, put all rule logic to set the field into one rule.

Displaying the Caret Extender (^)

After selecting a [value], press the right arrow on your keyboard to highlight the selection and display the caret extender (^). Select the enter key to display the list of value options.

Selecting from a Value List

To define a value for a field, select from a list of lookup values. After a field is selected, click the … to display a list of available fields to add to the expression. Enter has a value of or does not have a value of within the top of the drop-down list:

A placeholder for [list value] appears. Click [list value] to select the appropriate lookup value from the Value list that displays:

Selecting from a Value List in the Set the Value of a Field Template

When setting the value of a lookup field using the set the value of a field action template, enter value within the top of the list drop-down and select value from list to select a value from the field’s lookup list.

Deleting/Editing a Field

To undo or add to a selection, right click on the selected item and choose an edit option from the list that displays:

When deleting a field, expression, etc., all additional criteria after the deleted item is also removed.

Modifying a Rule Type

To modify the rule type selected, click the "If" at the top of the rule being authored.

Changing the type of rule determines whether or not the existing criteria is retained or deleted. For example:

If the current rule type is "If…Then" and the new rule type is "If…Then…Else," the "Else" is added to the bottom without losing your changes within the "If…Then" portion of the rule.
If the current rule type is "If…Then…Else" and the new rule type is "If…Then," the "Else" portion of the rule is deleted while the "If…Then" portion is retained.

Completing Placeholders

When using templates, all placeholders MUST be completed or a compile error is returned when saving the rule or decision table.

Using the Concatenate Function

When using the display a message or add a message to a panel templates, it is possible to combine fields, text, and line breaks by using the concatenate function. This function concatenates all of the values passed to it into a single string that is displayed in the message. Use the following example to understand how to use the concatenate function within the add a message to a panel template:

After the add message to a panel template is selected, and a message type is defined, click [message] to configure the message for this action. Type concatenate within the top of the drop-down list to select concatenate from the available Text Functions.

Once concatenate is selected, a [values] placeholder appears. Click [values] to define the value(s) to be concatenated.

Once the concatenated value has been defined, an additional [values] placeholder appears:

Continue adding values to the expression until the message for the panel is complete.

The concatenated message appears in the workspace as follows:

Use the following tips to help with configuring a message using the concatenate function:

Include a space before the first letter of the text in order to separate the text from the concatenated value. Without a space added, the concatenated values and text are combined.

Without a space before "has," the message appears as follows:

To insert a line break, include <BR> within the expression:

Using Conditional Expressions

When building If/Then type rules in Business Language that require the placement of parenthesis, it is recommended to use one of the following Conditional Expressions:

Conditional Expressions can be nested and should be used instead of parenthesis to handle precedence. They can also be used in conjunction with logical operators (and/or).

Using Expression Builder

When using the action template set the value of a field, use Expression Builder to add complex values to the expression. Use the following example to assist with accessing and using Expression Builder.

After the set the value of a field template has been selected and a field has been defined, click [value] and enter design expression within the top of the drop-down list. Select design expression under Expression Designers.

An [expression] link appears. Click [expression] and select expression value from the drop-down list to open the Expression Builder.

Select the fields and functions needed to build the expression within the Expression Builder window. Click OK. The expression value then populates as part of the action.

Expression Builder can also be used to populate a NULL value for a field using the steps below:

After the set the value of a field template has been selected and a field has been defined, click [value] and type design expression within the top of the drop-down list. Select design expression under Expression Designers.

An [expression] link appears. Click [expression] and select expression value from the drop-down list to open the Expression Builder. Enter Null within the Expression Builder window and click OK.

The Null value then populates within the expression.

Converting Date Formats

Through Business Language Editor, a date can be converted to string format by using the format function. Select a format option such as Long date or Short date or enter a custom date/time format.

Naming Rules

When creating a rule, do not configure a rule name that is identical to the name of a field being used within the rule. Rules under the same entity must also be named differently in order to save the Rule Application. If this field is the same for more than one rule under the same entity, an error message is received when trying to save the Rule Application.

spacer_81291c7b-8529-4286-926f-30e2a7134af4