Defining the input parameters of a rule
Control the type of information that users can pass to a rule by defining input parameters. By referencing these input parameters in your rule logic, you can use run-time data to make decisions.
For example, you can define income, debt, and expense information as input parameters to a rule in a life insurance application. At run time, the rule calculates a debt-to-income ratio to determine which policy plan meets the customer's lifestyle.
- In the navigation pane of Dev Studio, click Records.
- Open the form for a rule that supports parameters.
- Click the Parameters tab.
- Define an input parameter that your rule supports:
- Click the Add item icon.
- In the Name field, enter a unique identifier.
- In the Description field, enter text that describes how your rule logic processes the input parameter.
- In the Data Type list, select a format for the input parameter.
- Optional: To require a non-null value for the input parameter, in the
Required? list, select Yes.
- Optional: To set the initial value of the input parameter, enter a value in the Default Value field that corresponds to the format that you select in the Data Type list.
- If the input parameter has the Data Type field set to
Page Name, on the Pages & Classes tab,
add a corresponding page name and class.For more information, see Defining the pages and classes of a rule.
- On other tabs of the rule form, update your rule logic to reference the input parameter
by using the following notation:
param.[input parameter name] - To add another input parameter, click Add item, and then repeat steps 4 through 6.
- Click Save.
Prompting users for parameter values
You can prompt users for values when they run a rule that has input parameters. By displaying a list of options instead of a blank text box, you can help users provide information quickly and accurately.
In the header of the rule form, click Actions > View references to display a list of rules that call your rule.
Inspect the list to ensure that your rule runs in response to an action that a user performs, such as a flow action, because parameter prompting does not occur when a rule runs programmatically.
Click the Parameters tab.
In the SmartPrompt type field, enter the first key part, which is typically the class, of the input parameter.
For example, you can enter Rule-Message to display a list of messages that are available in the run-time class path.
-
To refine the options in the list, enter the second key part of the input parameter in the
Validate as
field.
For example, you can enter pyCaption when the SmartPrompt type field is set to Rule-Obj-FieldValue to display only field values with a field name that contains "pyCaption".
You can also reference a property in this field.
Click Save.
You can test your changes by running your rule.
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