Back Forward Identifying parts of rule and data forms

Forms for rule and data instance records contain important information, controls, and visual cues.

Understanding the top right area

The area displays a toolbar that contains a row of buttons that enable you to perform tasks such as saving, deleting, creating, and checking out records.

For a description, see Using the rule and data form toolbar.

Understanding the top left area

The top left portion of each form includes the form name, a mode icon, and the key parts of the specific record.

Form name

Displayed in the upper-left corner, the form name provides an easier-to-say name associated with the rule type or data class.

See Rules by form name and Data classes by form name for the complete lists. Form names are similar to common names in most cases.

Form mode

Indicates whether this form contains a locked (read-only) instance.

  • The Edit label appears if this rule is unlocked or was checked out using the Check out button.
  • The Private Edit label appears if the rule was checked out using the Private edit button.
  • There is no label if the record is locked and the form is read-only: you cannot change this instance. It may belong to a RuleSet version you cannot access, a class you cannot update, or in a locked RuleSet version; or you may need to check out a rule before you can update it. The Check out(or Private edit) and Save As buttons appear on the toolbar.

See Using the rule and data form toolbar.

Key parts

You cannot alter the value of record key parts directly on the form. You determine key parts in the Create, Save As or Specialization forms. See:

Short Description

Contains two fields.

Short Description —— Required. Aids other developers in identifying the purpose and source of this instance. To edit the name, click it and modify the text in the pop-up dialog. Click OK to save your edits.

NoteFor flows, flow actions, application rules, and certain class rule instances, the text you enter here may be visible to users of your application. See Creating good Short Descriptions.

Description — Optional. Provides detailed information about this rule or data record.

RuleSet and version

Identifies the RuleSet and version that apply to this record. Records in RuleSet names beginning with the five characters Pega- are reserved and locked. Click the link to open the RuleSet.

  • If this record is in a branched RuleSet, the base RuleSet and branch name appear in this area. See Branches and Branch RuleSets. Click the name to open the branch RuleSet.

  • If this is a data instance or application rule, the associated RuleSet and Edit link appear in this area. If there is no RuleSet specified, the field displays No Associated RuleSet. Click Edit to change or add a RuleSet.

Availability

Displays this record's availability. To change the setting, click the label to open the pop-up dialog. Make your selection in the Availability drop-down menu and click OK. See available rule and How to change rule availability.

Status

Appears if the record has a status setting. To change the setting, click the label. In the pop-up dialog. Make your selection in the Status drop-down menu and click OK.

In general, leave the Status field blank except in special situations. Select:

  • API — To associate this rule with one of PRPC's interfaces. Select an interface. (Traditionally, this designation indicates an intent not to change the functionality of the rule in future releases.)
  • Template — To mark this rule as a template, to appear in the Template field. Useful for harness and flows. (See step 4 above)
  • Extension — To mark this rule as an extension point of a framework, to be overridden in each implementation of the framework. Extensions are specified by framework developers for rules that are intended to be overwritten or copied down to the implementation class. Select > Applications > Inventory > Extension Points to view rules with this status.

NoteThe value you select for this property (Rule-.pyMethodStatus) does not affect validation, execution, record resolution, or migration of the record.

Circumstanced

The Circumstanced label appears if the record is circumstanced by property, date, or date range. To see the circumstance values, click the label.

For a description of the settings, see Completing the Specialization form.

This label is also displayed on the base version of the record. When you click the label, the This is a base version pop-up message appears.

Understanding the errors-and-warnings section

When you save a form and the system detects one or more error or warning conditions, a section similar to the following appears:

Working with form tabs

Click any tab to bring it to the front. (Some users can access only the left tab of certain forms.)

History tab

Every form has a History tab. It can contain a text description of the record, and shows who created and updated it and when. In some cases, you can roll back a record to an earlier version. Here you can also specify custom fields for the current record. See:

Pages and Classes tab

Many forms contain a Pages & Classes tab. See How to complete a Pages & Classes tab.

Other tabs

Other tabs vary by form. Consult the help topics for information on specific tabs and fields.

Definitions check out, rule resolution, sibling, time-qualified rule
Related topics Using the rule and data form toolbar
About rulesets

UpDesigner Studio basics