Viewing automations

You can view an automation rule to understand its inputs, outputs, and implementation.

1. From the Records Explorer in Dev Studio, click Technical > Activity.
2. Locate the automation that you want to view and click in its row. Automations have the activity type AUTOMATION.
3. Optional: Click the Definition tab to view the following information:
   • Overview – provides a description of the automation and how to use it.
   • Inputs – For each input to the automation, displays its name, ID, description, data type, page class, and whether it is required.

     Inputs are validated, that is, the automation does not run if you skip a required parameter or pass in a value that is the incorrect type, for example, if you pass a string to an integer type parameter. If the inputs are not valid, an "Invalid Inputs" error occurs.

     Page type inputs and step page type inputs expect a page reference, that is, a string used to find the page on the clipboard. If you do not pass in a page reference or if there is no page at that reference, an error is returned. If a page is found, its object class must match the input page class or inherit from it; otherwise, an invalid input error is returned.

     Additionally, step page type inputs:

     • Are always required; they cannot be optional.
     • The input type is step page.
     • The implementation is called with this page input as its primary page instead of being passed to the implementation as a parameter. Calling it this way means that you can use normal rule resolution in your implementation.
   • Outputs – For each output from the automation, displays its name, ID, description, data type, and page class.

     You do not have to use all the outputs. To use an output, you must provide a property reference that can hold that type of output, for example, a string property for a string output. Like inputs, outputs are also validated.

   • Errors – Page type outputs expect a property of type string. A page reference is stored in that property so that you can return to the page later. The page disappears at the next interaction boundary, so if you want to use it outside of the rule from which you called the automation, you must make a copy. Displays a list of error codes and descriptions.

     Errors that occur when the automation runs are returned in the Automation Errors output. If an error occurs that is not in the automation rule, it is converted to a run-time error before being returned.

     All automation errors require a category. Categories are created using a message. For more information, see Creating a message.

4. Optional: Click the Implementation tab to view the following information:
   • Implementation rule – Displays the implementation rule and type.
   • Parameters mapping – Displays the mapping between the inputs and outputs.