Table of Contents

Search

  1. Preface
  2. Process Central
  3. Guides Overview
  4. Process Designer Tutorial
  5. For Administrators

Central and ActiveVOS Screenflow

Central and ActiveVOS Screenflow

Types of Data and Field Properties

Types of Data and Field Properties

You can specify Field Properties, derived from API data types and options, in the Informatica Process Designer. Field Properties may be either of the following:
  • General data type properties. For example, specified on the
    Fields
    tab of the Process Properties.
  • A field that you can tailor for the context. For example, a pick list on a Screen step.
The following base options are available for many data types in the Field Properties:
  • Default Value
    or
    Initial Value
    : The value for an item when it is initially displayed.
  • Field
    : The name of the field from which the
    Field Properties
    dialog is invoked.
  • Hover text
    : Text that a user sees when they place their cursor over the field.
  • Required
    : If checked, a value for this field must exist.
  • Show List
    : Values to display are determined at runtime based on what is configured here.
The following table explains built in data types:
Depending on where you access the Field Properties, the available data type options may vary.
Data Type
Description
Any
Use the Any data type if you want to declare fields that are process objects without setting the Reference To option. This means that the data type is an object, but you do not need to specify which object it is. If you use the Any object, you cannot drill further into the object.
Some services return large amounts of data, but you may need only a small percentage of it. Use the Any data type to model all the data returned in to just a few fields.
For example, when you use a REST proxy, it passes a received payload as input and then responds to this payload. The REST proxy would do some processing on the request or response, and it would not have to understand the whole message.
A second example would be supporting heterogeneous lists. While simple REST APIs tend not to include heterogeneous lists, SOAP-based APIs do. For example, a SOAP API might have a "query" operation that returns data that depends on the query itself. Here, the static type of the output for the "query" operation would be an objectlist of the any type.
A third example is calling a service that returns records that match a query. Each record can have a unique set of fields, so those could not be known at design time. At runtime, each field would just be turned into a child element of the record element, using a tagname that corresponds to the field name. The converted JSON returned as output might be:
{ "record": [ {"ROWID_OBJECT": "2001", "CREATOR": "admin", ...}, {"ROWID_OBJECT": "2002", "CREATOR": "admin", ...}, ... ] }
Attachment, Attachments
Use Attachment and Attachments to a process to pass through an attachment and extract data like file size and file name using functions on the response.
The default Maximum File Size is 5,242,880 bytes and the default Maximum Number of Files is 10. You can change these field properties.
If you run a
process
on the cloud server, do not use an attachment whose size is more than the default 5,242,880 bytes. The cloud server cannot process attachments that are greater than 5,242,880 bytes.
Checkbox
A checkbox allows the user to make a true/false decision. This decision can alternatively be displayed as Yes/No or No/Yes For example, you could use a checkbox to indicate if an address is a work phone number or a home phone number.
As an alternative, a checkbox can be displayed as yes/no values.
  • Show as
    : a picklist that has the following items: Yes/No and No/Yes. Your choice sets the labels that the user will see.
Currency
A currency field contains a monetary value. In addition to numbers and perhaps a decimal point, you can also use commas where they are needed. Commas are always optional.
  • Length/Decimal places
    : Specify how many numbers can be entered (the left box). Use the right box to enter the maximum number of digits to the right of the decimal point. If you enter 0, there are no digits to the right of the decimal point.
  • Hide currency symbol
    : When checked, a currency symbol does not display.
Date
The output date is in UTC, and output date and time are in ISO 8601 format. For example, if you enter an input date of 2016-03-29, and use the currentTime XQuery function to get date and time values, you see the following output:
  • Date: 2016-03-29Z
  • dateTime: 2016-03-29T06:00:48.525Z
  • Time: 06:00:48.525Z
The following are sample valid date values:
  • 2001-10-26
  • 2001-10-26+02:00
  • 2001-10-26Z
  • 2001-10-26+00:00
  • -2001-10-26
  • -2000-04-01
If you do not pass a time zone, Informatica Process designers assumes the time to be in UTC.
If you need to format the way in which the date appears, see
Formatting Dates, Times, and Numbers
.
Date Time
When selecting a Date Time field in a
process
, the user can select the time from a list.
  • Default Value
    : Either enter a specific date, a field, or an interval, as shown in the figure.
  • 30 Minute Increments
    : If checked, a time picklist displays lists hours and half hours. If it isn't checked, the user can type in any time value (for example, 10:37).
The output time is in UTC, and output date and time are in ISO 8601 format. For example, if you enter an input date of 2016-03-29, and use the currentTime XQuery function to get date and time values, you see the following output:
  • Date: 2016-03-29Z
  • dateTime: 2016-03-29T06:00:48.525Z
  • Time: 06:00:48.525Z
The following are sample valid dateTime values:
  • 2001-10-26T21:32:52
  • 2001-10-26T21:32:52+02:00
  • 2001-10-26T19:32:52Z
  • 2001-10-26T19:32:52+00:00
  • -2001-10-26T21:32:52
  • 2001-10-26T21:32:52.12679
If you do not pass a time zone, Informatica Process designers assumes the time to be in UTC.
If you need to format the way in which the date and time appears, see
Formatting Dates, Times, and Numbers
.
Email
The content of this field is an email address.
  • Display # chars
    : The number of characters that are displayed within the
    process
    for this address.
  • Max # chars
    : The largest number of characters that can be entered for this address.
Formatted Text
The format is a representation of the kind of character a user can type within the text being entered.
  • Format
    : A pattern for text that the user types. You can use the following characters when defining a format:
    • a
      : A lowercase letter; that is a through z.
    • 9
      : A number.
    • *
      : Any letter, number, or symbol
Note
: the "-" is not listed. If you can type this character, it is displayed when the user sees the step.
Image
A field that will contain an image. This is most often used when an automated action retrieves an image.
  • Show preview
    : Displays a preview of the image.
  • Max width
    : The maximum width of the area in which the image is displayed.
  • Max height
    : The maximum height of the area in which the image is displayed.
  • Display # chars
    : The number of characters that are displayed within the
    process
    for this address.
Integer
A positive or negative whole number.
Use the
Digits
field to enter the maximum amount of numbers the user can type.
Numeric values display using the format of the user's locale.
If you need to format the way in which the number appears, see
Formatting Dates, Times, and Numbers
.
Multi-Select Picklist
A picklist field from which the user can select one or more rows. To select multiple items, the user clicks each one while pressing the CTRL key.
  • Height (rows)
    : The number of rows, each containing one list item that displays in the
    process
    .
  • Comma Separated List
    : The list of items within the list. Separate each item in the list with a comma. Each item specified is available in the list at runtime.
Usage Notes
  • If you declare the data type of an input field as a Multi-Select Picklist or a Picklist and you do not enter values for the settings, you must use a semi-colon ";" as a separator instead of a comma. Be sure to use a semi-colon for an Equals condition and a comma for a Contains condition.
  • If the available values are not specified in the Properties for a Multi-Select Picklist or a Picklist and you receive a list of values from a search service, you must:
    1. Specify the search service; and
    2. Populate the list from a Screen step or Input options in other steps. Note that the list of available values exists only in the current step. To use the same list in other steps, specify the search service again.
  • You can also assign values to an undefined Multi-Select Picklist or Picklist in the Assignment step. In that case, use Formula as the Source and the value(s) of the Picklist or Multi-Select Picklist as the Content. When you enter a formula, be sure to enclose the values in quotes, for example:
    "value"
    for a Picklist and
    "value1;value2"
    for a Multi-Select Picklist.
Number
A positive or negative decimal number.
Use the
Length/Decimal places
field to specify how many numbers can be entered (the left box). Use the right box to enter the maximum number of digits to the right of the decimal point. If you enter 0, there are no digits to the right of the decimal point.
Numeric values display using the format of the user's locale.
If you need to format the way in which the number appears, see
Formatting Dates, Times, and Numbers
.
Object ID
The object ID is the ID of the object instance. For example, it identifies one of your leads. (This value is assigned to the object by your application.)
The unique parts of this dialog are discussed after this table. . Fields that are used here and in Field Properties dialogs are discussed at the
top
of this topic.
Object List
An object list is a set of object IDs. An object ID is the ID of an object instance. For example, it identifies one of your leads.
  • Reference To
    : The type of object that can be contained in the list. You must enter the object type's official name, not its label. If the list can contain more than one object types, you can enter a comma-separated list of object types. However, you should avoid doing this as there are query and table capabilities that can't be provided for fields unless they only have one
    Reference To
    type.
  • Display Fields
    : The columns (they must be manually entered) from the data associated with the object ID.
  • Height (rows
    ): The number of rows, each containing one list item, that displays in the
    process
    .
  • Width
    (%): The percent of the area in the used to display information.
A read-only object list has a limit of 100 rows, even if the query associated with uses a LIMIT clause, asking for more rows to be returned.
Other fields are discussed at the
top
of this topic.
Percent
A number expressed as a per cent.
  • Precision
    : The maximum number of digits in the number.
  • Scale
    : The maximum number of digits to the right of the decimal point. If you enter 0, there are no digits to the right of the decimal point.
Numeric values display using the format of the user's locale.
Here are some examples--each of these examples shows a number greater than 100%:
  • Precision 5, scale 2: 123.45 or 123.4 or 123. or 123
  • Precision 5, scale 0: 12345 or 12 or 12,345
If you need to format the way in which the percent appears, see
Formatting Dates, Times, and Numbers
.
Phone
A field into which you can type a phone number.
  • Format
    : Enter the character that represents a number, which is 9 and any other display characters. For example, 99-999 will display as "_ _ - _ _ _" in the
    process
    .
Picklist
A picklist field from which the user can select one row.
  • Comma Separated List
    : The list of items within the list. Separate each item in the list with a comma. Within the
    process
    , each item displays in its own row.
Usage Notes
  • If you want to display text to the user and assign a different value to the field, separate the label from the value with an equals ("=") sign. For example, if you type
    Red, White, Blue
    as the values, the user sees these three strings and the selected string is assigned to the field. However, if you enter
    Red=1, White=2, Blue=3
    , the user sees the same three strings but the number value for the selected item is assigned to the field.
  • See also the Usage Notes for Multi-Select Picklists for information on receiving a list of values from a search service.
Rich Text Area
A field that will contain HTML commands as well as text. Enter this text using the HTML editor.
  • Height (rows)
    : The number of rows within the area the
    process
    displays into which the user can type text.
  • Width (%)
    : The width of the text area relative to the
    process
    width.
You cannot enter JavaScript into a Rich Text Area.
Text
A control that changes the size and number of characters that the user can type text.
  • Max # chars
    : The maximum number of characters that can be typed when entering text.
  • Display # chars
    : The number of characters that are displayed within the
    process
    . As the
    process
    size is limited, use this field to show how much of what the user types is displayed.
Text Area
A control into which the user can enter text. This can display as one or more rows.
  • Width (%)
    : The width of the text area relative to the
    process
    width.
  • Height (rows)
    : The number of rows within the area the
    process
    displays into which the user can type text.
Time
Select the Time field to select time from a picklist.
The field properties dialogs that are displayed are:
The output time is in UTC, and output data and time are in ISO 8601 format. For example, if you enter an input date of 2016-03-29, and use the currentTime XQuery function to get date and time values, you see the following output:
  • Date: 2016-03-29Z
  • dateTime: 2016-03-29T06:00:48.525Z
  • Time: 06:00:48.525Z
The following are sample valid Time values:
  • 21:32:52
  • 21:32:52+02:00
  • 19:32:52Z
  • 19:32:52+00:00
  • 21:32:52.12679
If you do not pass a time zone, Informatica Process designers assumes the time to be in UTC.
If you check
30 Minute Increments
, you see a time picklist that displays hours and half hours. If it is not checked, you can enter any time value. For example, you can enter 10:37.
If you want to format the way in which the time appears, see
Formatting Dates, Times, and Numbers
.
URL
A field that will contain a URL.
  • For Read-only Display
    : Your choices are
    Link
    ,
    Button
    , or
    IFrame
    .
  • For Read-only Label
    : Text that identifies the contents of the field.
  • Height
    : The height of the area in which the URL is displayed.
  • Width
    : The width of the area in which the URL is displayed.
  • Display # chars
    : The number of characters that are displayed within the
    process
    . As the
    process
    size is limited, use this field to show how much of what the user types is displayed.
A URL can be an input, output or temporary
process
field or even a field from. The field's data is assumed to be a valid URL.
To create a button in a screen step:
  1. Create a field by using the
    Fields
    tab in the
    process
    properties.
  2. Use an Assignment step to assign it data to the URL being linked to. This data, which will be a content, can contain references to other fields such as ID fields by using
    {!FieldName}
    syntax. Process Designer automatically inserts the data using the button to the right of the text entry area. This is very useful when linking to other pages or other data dependent hyperlinks.
  3. On any screen following the Assignment step, place the field within a step by selecting the file from the Read-Only fields picklist.
  4. Select the field's ... button to specify its properties. Change
    For Read-only Display
    to
    Button
    and enter the text you would like to appear in the button in the
    For Read-only Label
    .
XML
You can use XML data type with only with an Informatica Process Designer process.
To use the XML data type in a process, you can do either of the following:
  • You can use the XML data type in the assignment step of a process.
  • You can use the XML data type with JMS or AMQP. Here, the payload can be XML data and you can design a process that sends or message or receives a message.
    If you use XML data with JMS or AMQP, wrap the payload within a root element.
To map simple XML data elements to other fields, use formula and XQuery functions.
For example, consider the following XML:
<o:order xmlns:o="urn:purchasing:system"> <o:number>123</o:number> <o:amount>9213.32</o:amount> </o:order>
You can use this XQuery function to search for the order number:
$input.myInboundOrder/*:number/text()
When you query XML data with namespaces, you must use the asterisk (*) character.

Object ID

The object ID is the ID of the object instance. For example, it identifies one of your leads. (This value is assigned to the object by your application.)
  • Reference To
    : The type of object that the field refers to. You must enter the object's official name, not its label. If the object can refer to more than one type, you can enter a comma-separated list of object types. However, you should avoid doing this as there are query and table capabilities that can't be provided for fields unless they only have one
    Reference To
    type.
    A polymorphic relationship is a relationship where the referenced objects can be one of several different object types. If the object ID can refer to more than one object, check the Polymorphic field. A picklist is now available for choosing these objects. For example, while the Account object was selected, objects that could also be referenced are "Accepted Event Relation", "Account Contact", and so on. In this list
  • Display Fields
    : The columns (they must be manually entered) from the data associated with the object ID.
When you are using this field in other steps, the information displayed differs. Here's a
Process
Designer example. When inserting the field, you have two choices.
If you insert the first (PolymorphicID), and click on the "..." in inserted field, the
Field Properties
dialog that displays shows all of the items selected in the Properties dialog:
However, when you select the item from within the Polymorphic section of the Insert Field for Update picklist, what you see are the individual items that were named. You will need to click again to get to the item that you actually want.

Object ID Notes and Comments

When an Object ID is placed in a canvas as a read-only field or put into a column in a table, it displays as a link to the object. If you want to show the Object ID as a number, insert it into a text field as "
{!Id}
". However, when an ID field is included in a result from a
Lookup
dialog, the ID's value displays.
When an object ID is displayed in a column or picklist, Process Designer displays with a meaningful name. For example,
b6f0f0b2-9f38-4771-8365-58eb4f7b7d41
might display as "Acme". However, when an object ID field is included in the results from a Lookup Dialog, it displays using the value of the ID; for example, it might display as
b6f0f0b2-9f38-4771-8365-58eb4f7b7d41
.
If you use a content field to enter an object ID and are using a sandbox, you will need to adjust the ID when you move the
process
to your production environment. Rather than using a content, you could use a query to load the object ID by name for the object.

0 COMMENTS

We’d like to hear from you!