Manage data fields
You can add, change, or delete
fields in the list of exposed data fields in your roster, queue, or event log
definition. Exposing a field makes it available for use in a search filter or
when defining an index. Adding a data field to the list of exposed fields does
not create the field—the workflow author does that. In the same way, removing
a field from the list of exposed fields does not delete the field—it simply
makes the field unavailable for the uses listed above.
CAUTION Exposing
workflow fields adds to the system overhead, both in space and performance.
Additional performance impact can occur in the following cases:
- Event logs: Exposing workflow fields affects the transmission of information
to the Process Analyzer
Engine,
as well as the size of the Process Analyzer
database and performance of the Process Analyzer
software.
- Workflow rosters: Exposing workflow fields that change frequently can degrade
performance. In addition, all fields that you expose display by default to
the user. If an exposed field does not exist for a particular work item, a
default value displays.
To add or change exposed data fields
- If the Properties dialog box is not already displayed, select the icon
of the queue, roster, or event log you want to modify and click Properties
on the toolbar.
- Select the Data Fields tab.
- To add an exposed field, enter the information in the first empty row.
To change an exposed field,
select the information you want to change and enter the new value.
- Enter a name in the Field Name box. The field name must meet
the system naming
requirements. To take advantage of exposed data fields, the name of the data field that you
create in Process Configuration Console
and the name of the corresponding field in a workflow definition must match exactly.
TIP To
copy existing data fields from other rosters, queues, and event logs, click Exposed
Fields on the data fields toolbar. The Exposed
Data Fields dialog box that appears allows you to copy the Field Name,
Field Type, and Length of one
or more exposed data fields. See Select
field names for more information.
- Select a Field Type from the list. See Data
types for more information about data types. You cannot expose fields that have an array data
type. To take advantage of exposed data fields, the type of the data field that you create in Process Configuration Console
must exactly match the type of the field in the workflow definition. The numeric data types are
the exception to this rule—you can mix integer and float data types.
Time has two types:
For more information, see About dates beyond January 2038.
- If the Field Type is String, enter a Length.
Valid lengths depend on your database software. See Workflow
database field size limitations for more information.
The field length specifies the number of bytes of the field
that can be used in a search filter or as part of an index. Any characters that exceed the length
you set here are ignored for these purposes. However, the system continues to store the entire
value of the field in the work item's unexposed fields.
NOTES
- Use the shortest length possible that still provides enough information to meet your needs—the
longer the field, the more it adds to the system overhead, both in space and performance. In addition,
indexes created using the data fields must not exceed the maximum
index size.
- For some Western European languages, one character occupies one byte. For many other languages, one character occupies two or more bytes, so it is important to consider the character set that will be used and specify the field length accordingly.
- You cannot change the length of an existing event log data field.
CAUTION After an exposed field is used in workflow definitions, if you change the data type of that field
for a queue, roster, or event log, the data type will not change in currently running work items
or in any workflow definitions where this exposed field is used. In this case, the data from running
work items will not match the type expected in the queue, roster, or event logs where this data
field is defined, so the data will not be exposed. You might want to update the data field types
in existing workflow definitions in order to use the exposed fields in subsequent workflows.
- Click OK when done.
- Click Commit Changes on the toolbar to apply this change to your isolated region. See Commit changes for additional information.
NOTE Following
the committal, in the runtime environment (for example, in the Workplace Tasks page) the changes
will be reflected only in work items that:
- Were created after the committal, or
- (If the changes were on a queue) entered the queue after the committal.
To delete exposed data fields
Note that you cannot delete a field that is currently in use in an index. You must first delete the field from the index.
- If the Properties dialog box is not already displayed, select the icon
of the queue, roster, or event log you want to modify and click Properties
on the toolbar.
- Select the Data Fields tab.
- Select the row of the data field you want to delete. You can select multiple
items to delete.
- Click Delete.
- Click Yes or Yes
to All to confirm.
- Click OK when done.
- Click Commit Changes on the toolbar to apply this change to your isolated region. See Commit changes for additional information.
NOTE Following
the committal, in the runtime environment (for example, in the Workplace
Tasks page) the changes will be reflected only in work items that:
- Were created after the committal, or
- (If the changes were on a queue) entered the queue after the committal.