Back Forward 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 matching a case type.

 

Starting the Application Explorer

The Application Explorer is available to all developer roles. Configure it as follows:

  1. Optionally, switch to a different application.
  2. Optionally, switch to a different work pool.
  3. Load the Application Explorer in the explorer area by clicking the icon.
  4. Use the application scoping control to further refine results. Only rules from the applications you select appear in the explorer area. All selections persist after log out, once you click Apply.

 

Understanding top level menu options

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

Menu item

Description

+Create

Full access to the create forms all record types, organized by category. Deprecated rule types are excluded from this menu option.

Explorer Inheritance

Control which inheritance model is used to order and display classes in the tree. Choose between pattern or directed.

Refresh App Explorer

Refresh all classes in the Application Explorer and restore the tree to a fully collapsed state. Updated results include recently created, renamed, and deleted rules (by you or other developers).

 

Filtering results

Enter a class name in the autocomplete field to set the root node of the tree structure. In addition, the class name you specify here filters child node results to display only rules that apply to that class. Any class in the inheritance path of the specified class name appears as an individual child node.

Tips:

 

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 on each node type yields different results in the Designer Studio work area. 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; version is determined by rule resolution.

Additionally, click and drag the node type icon to insert property and section rules directly into supporting UI forms. Example: 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 (values appear in lieu of name).

Property rule instance of mode Page or Page List

The form for this rule; 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. See dynamic system settings.

 

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

Open the create form for the specified rule type. This option is disabled for deprecated rule types.

Create properties

Launch the Create Properties wizard in the context of the current class.

Define expression Create a declare expression rule with the selected target property.
Definition Open the class rule form.
Inheritance Review a visual representation of the class inheritance path from the selected class (top) all the way down to @baseclass (bottom). Click any row in the table to open the class rule form. Click outside the overlay to dismiss it.
Refactor

Select the Rename class wizard to rename a class, its pattern inherited classes, and (optionally) associated rules.

Select the Move rulestool to relocate rules to a different class or ruleset.

Refresh [class name] Refresh only the specified class without disturbing the results or expand/collapse state of other tree nodes. Updated results include recently created, renamed, and deleted rules (by you or other developers).
Refresh all Equivalent to Refresh App Explorer option in the top level menu.
View Open 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:

 

Definitions application, applicable rules, category, current application, personal ruleset, rule type, work pool name, work type
Related topics Common names for rules
Common names for data instances
Class hierarchy and inheritance— Concepts and terms
Application and Record Explorer tools — Workspace results