Rule forms

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

Form header

All records display a header at the top of the form. There are four main components.

  • Actions – Actions allow you to perform record management actions and access more advanced features, such as Trace Open rule and Run rule.
  • Details –Details display key parts of a record or edit important attributes, such as circumstance, availability, status, short description or associated rule set.
  • Warnings – Warnings display by severity and do not prevent a record from being saved. An indication of the warning type and how it can be resolved is provided in this area.
  • Errors – Errors display when a failure occurs during validation. A description of the issue and the invalid value or configuration is provided. You must resolve all errors before you can successfully save the record.

Form actions

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

Form details

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

Data instances display a subset of details available to rules, with the addition of Associated RuleSet.

Mode Indicates whether this form contains a locked (read-only) instance.
  • The Edit label appears if this rule was locked or checked out using the Check out or Check out to branch buttons.
  • The Private Edit label appears if the rule was checked out using the Private edit button. This label also appears for all data instance forms.
  • A form has no label when its record is read-only. Examples include: rules in a locked ruleset version; rules checked out by another operator, rules in a class you cannot update, and rules in an unlocked ruleset that are not checked out by you. The Check out (or Private edit ) and Save As buttons appear on the toolbar.
The mode automatically updates as the form changes states; you cannot edit it directly in the form header.
Type A common name associated with a rule or data instance based on object class. For example, rules of class Rule-Obj-Flow have type flow. Data instances of class Data-Admin-Operator-ID have type Operator ID. See Rules by form name.
Short Description Contains the required Short Description field. It aids other developers in identifying the purpose and source of this instance. To edit the name, click it, modify the text in the pop-up dialog, and click OK.
Note: For 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.
Availability Displays this record's availability. To change the setting, see Changing rule status and availability.
Status Appears if the record has a status setting. To change the setting, , see Changing rule status and availability.
Circumstance Definition A circumstanced rule is a variant or specialized version of a base rule. 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.
Key parts Key parts are portions of a record’s pzInskey, such as pyClassName (applies to class) and pyRuleName (name of record), that are displayed in the header. You cannot alter the value of record key parts directly on the form. You define key parts in the Create, Save As, or Specialization forms. See: Which properties form the key part, and in which order, for objects of a specific class are determined in the class rule:
  • For a data instance, the key part fields uniquely identify the instance within the class. For example, the Data-Admin-OrgDivision class has two key parts, labeled Organization Name and Division Name on the Division form. Only one instance of this class with Acme.org as the first key part and Marketing as the second key part can exist in your system.
  • For a rule instance, the key part fields uniquely identify the instance within a ruleset, version, circumstance, and other qualifiers. For example, the Property form has two key parts labeled Applies To and Record Identifier . Your system might contain multiple properties with Assign- as the Applies To key part and Payload as the Name key part, in different rulesets or versions.
Ruleset and version Identifies the ruleset and version that apply to this record. Records in rule set 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 rule set, the base rule set and branch name appear in this area. Click the name to open the branch rule set.
  • If this is a data instance or application rule, the associated ruleset and Edit link appear in this area. If there is no rule set specified, the field displays No Associated RuleSet. Click Edit to change or add a rule set.
Note: If the rule is checked out to your personal ruleset, the rule set name does not appear here. The Check In and Discard buttons appear on the toolbar.

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.

Pages and Classe tab

Many forms contain a Pages & Classes tab. See Completing a Pages & Classes tab.

Other tabs

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