A data source is a placeholder that points to the source of data. A data source can either be a data page or a clipboard page.

Data sources hide technical details from users about how data is fetched from various sources. After a data source is defined, the Pega 7 Platform fetches data and presents it to users.

A data source is used for many purposes, such as:

• Searching portals and displaying search results
• Configuring portal search functions for external data sources
• Creating Interaction Driver tasks and suggestions
• Providing data references within dialog scripts

To configure a data source:

1. In Designer Studio, click Records explorer > Data > Customer Service Datasource.
2. Select any instance and save the instance into your ruleset.
3. On the Detail tab, select Data Page or Clipboard Page from the Source list.
4. Enter values for the data page or clipboard page. For information about setting these values, see Customer service data sources in Pega Customer Service Implementation guide.

To test a newly configured data source, create a data source, map it to a class, and then update the interaction driver.