Adding a Data Field for a composite application
When you build a Pega composite application with Internet Application Composer, you embed the application on an external Web page as a gadget in a <DIV > element. A Data Field is an invisible field that makes the value of a scalar, single-value property from the composite application available to the external page.
For example, say you want to display the operator's organization in a heading at the top of the external Web page. In such a case you add a Data Field for .pyOrganization to the harness or one of the sections or flow actions.
The external page hosting a composite application can access only those properties that are represented by a Data Field control somewhere in the harness displayed by the <DIV>. The values of these properties are read-only.
1. Drag and drop the Data Field control
Click the down-arrow at the right end of the Advanced control group and select the Data Field control. Drag the control to the cell or header that is to contain the property value. When the pointer changes shape to indicate that a single cell is selected, release the mouse button to drop the control.
If you drop the control into a cell that already has contents, it replaces the current contents of the cell.
2. Complete the Cell properties panel — Top fields
Click the View properties icon to display the Cell Properties panel.
General tab
| Field | Description |
 | (Appears only when this field is in a section included within the current open rule.) Click to open the section that immediately contains the field. |
| Property | Select or type a property reference that identifies a single text value. |
| Label | Select the check box to use the default label for the property; or clear it and, in the field that appears, select or create a label. |
| Label format | Select a format from the available options. |
| Default value |
Optional. Enter a constant value for the property value, a property reference,
or an expression, to be used only when the user form or flow action form appears in
read-write mode rather than read-only mode.
Click the gear icon to start the Expression Builder. Choose a default value that speeds data entry. When the system renders a harness or section in read-only mode (for example because the read-write mode requires a privilege that the current user does not hold), the default value does not appear, because data entry is not permitted. |
| Visibility |
Select to determine when the property value is to appear.
Always
is the default. (If this setting is not applicable, the
cell contents are blank.)
Do not make an input field invisible if your application expects user input on the field. When a user submits an HTML form, an input field that is not visible is not included in the HTTP details. |
| Disable |
Select one of the available options:
|
| Required |
Select the
Required
check box to make this a required
field.
This option is available only for fields in cells on flow actions and sections. Select to require that when the form appears at run time in read-write mode, users cannot successfully submit the form if the field is blank. Selecting Required marks the label for this field with an orange asterisk when the flow action form appears in read-write mode. (The asterisk also appears if the Label control's Value For field is not blank and the Label control's Required box is checked.) For sections, checking this box enables client-side format validation when this section is part of a harness form that has the Enable Client Side Validation box selected on the HTML tab. At run time, users who leave this field blank and submit the form are notified immediately that the field is required; the form is not transmitted to the server. |
Presentation tab
| Field | Description |
| Edit Options |
Select an edit mode for this control. The edit mode of the control, specified
here, takes precedence over section and harness settings.
|
| Advanced Presentation Options |
Actions tab
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