Function dictionary for Business Rules and Form Rules

Applies to version: 2021.1.x and above; author: Michał Kastelik

Read this article to learn what functions are available when creating your business and form rules and how you can use them. The description includes 15 brand-new functions introduced in WEBCON BPS 2021.

In this example, the new functions will be used in business rules. However, you can use the same functions in your form rules. What is more, some functions can be used only in form rules; they are presented at the end of this article.

Creating new business rules in Designer Studio

In the selected process, to start creating a new business rule, expand the Configuration branch and right-click on the object.

The rule editor window consists of the following elements:

1.  Returned value  type – allows you to specify what kind of data will be returned as the result of executing the rule:

• Text value,
•  Decimal (Floating-point value),
• Boolean (True/False),
• Date,
• BPS users list.

2.  Rule testing section – To test if the rule works, use the following buttons (they are at the bottom of the editor on the left):

• Instance ID
• Load ID,
• Test
• Show

3. Dictionary for browsing available elements – on the right side of the editor window, there are tabs for building rules by using the built-in functions and other available options. These are your building blocks that you can drag over into the work area to construct your rule.

As you are building your business rules, you can drag-and-drop the elements from the dictionary to construct the graphical representation of the rule. It will be displayed in the work area, on the left. You can also type directly in the work area, and the editor will suggest elements from the dictionary. You can use the arrow keys and the TAB button to navigate around the work area – essentially allowing you to build rules without using the mouse!

The dictionary is contextual – i.e. in some areas, there will be more available elements than in others. As long as you can see them, you can use all built-in features, functions, values, objects, and parameters to build rules in WEBCON BPS. Now, let us go through each tab to see what you can use for building your rules.

Operations tab

The Operations tab gives you the following elements for building your rules: 

1. Arithmetic operations – add (+), subtract (-), multiply (*), divide (/).  

2. Logic operations – used to expand function conditions with elements and (AND), or (OR), no (NOT). 

3. Comparisons  - the following operations are available:

• =         equal, is identical,
• <>         not equal,
• >         greater than
•  >=         greater than or equal to,
• <         lesser than
• <=     lesser than or equal to 
•  EMPTY – empty (no value). 

Functions tab

This section contains functions that can be used to create a new business rule. To organize them, functions are grouped by what they do.

Conditional choice This directory contains the IF THEN function to create a logical condition. Additionally, there are elements such as: 

• PATH – for selecting a path from a given process,
• POSITIVE – for determining the condition as fulfilled (YES, TRUE, 1),
• NEGATIVE – for specifying the condition as unfulfilled (NO, FALSE, 0)

Item list (only in WEBCON BPS 2021)
These functions were introduced in the 2021 version. They are available only for business rules created for individual processes.

• ITEM LIST COUNT - this function returns the number of rows of the item list form field,
• HAS ANY ROWS - function returns TRUE if the list contains an element; otherwise, it will return FALSE.
• SELECT VALUES - this function allows you to return values from the item list. After selecting the function in the editor, specify the column from which the values are to be selected.

AI rules
The functions related to the AI analysis mechanism allow the following actions:

• AI ANALYSIS RULE COUNT FOR INSTANCE - this function counts how many AI rules are applied to the workflow instance,
• AI ANALYSIS BROKEN RULE COUNT FOR INSTANCE - this function counts how many AI rules have been broken in a workflow instance, 
• AI ANALYSIS SCORE FOR INSTANCE - this function returns the AI analysis elements for a workflow instance.

Users

• CURRENT USER IS ONE OF - the function checks if the current user is in a specific group of people; if so, TRUE is returned, otherwise FALSE. 

• USER IS ONE OF - the function checks whether the given user, list of users, or group is included in the given list or group of users. 

• USERS - the function allows you to download a list of users as a collection of ID # Name values separated by semicolons (;)

Number

• ROUND - a function for rounding numerical values, allows you to indicate the precision of rounding. 

ROUND [1.25] [1] -> returns [1.3]
ROUND [1.25] [0] -> returns [1]
ROUND [11.25] [-1] -> returns [10]

Text:
You can use the following functions that operate on text values:

• TO UPPER - converts a text value to capital letters, e.g., contract -> CONTRACT.
• TO LOWER - converts a text value to lowercase, e.g., CONTRACT -> contract.
• TEXT LEN - the function returns an integer value that represents the number of characters in the string (text).
• SUBSTRING - the function allows you to extract a text fragment based on the index of the starting character and the number of characters to be downloaded. The first character in the text has an index = 1.

• STRING REPLACE - this function allows you to replace a phrase in a given text with another phrase. In the example below, "WEBCON BPS 2021" will be returned.

• INDEX OF - returns the position of the first occurrence of the specified string in the provided text. This function searches the text starting from the indicated position. The first character of the text has the value = 1. The example below returns the value = 8.

• CONCAT - the function is used to combine several texts into one text string. The example below returns the text value 123.

• TRIM - this function removes whitespace at the beginning and end of the selected text.
• LIKE - the function enables checking whether the selected text contains a given text pattern. If so, TRUE is returned. 
• CONTAINS - this function checks if a given text fragment is present in the selected text; if it is, it returns TRUE. This function is not case sensitive.
• STARTS WITH - the function checks if the given text begins with the specified fragment; it is not case sensitive. 
• SPLIT - this function allows you to divide the text into parts separated by a character of your choice (e.g., a semicolon). You can also use any string of characters as the separator.  The result of this function is a collection of elements separated by semicolons ';'. The example below returns as a result: WEBCON;BPS;2021.

If you want to see how to configure the CONCAT, SPLIT, and INDEX OF text functions, please refer to this article.

Date and time:

• NOW - the function returns the current date and time,
• TODAY - the function returns the current date
• DATE DIFF - the function calculates the difference between two dates. You can choose to calculate the difference in seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, or years. After specifying the values, it returns the date difference as a numeric value.

• DATE ADD - this function adds a specific number of seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, or years to the date you select. After selecting it, select the element that determines the time from the list and indicate the numerical value to be added in the next field.
• DATE PART - the function returns an integer specifying the second, minute, hour, day, month, or year of the given date.

Element collections:

• GET IDs - this function allows you to download a collection containing only the ID from a collection in the ID#Name format.  The downloaded elements are separated by a semicolon. GET IDs ['144 # Shock Absorber; 14 # Cooler; 4 # Gearbox] will return [144; 14; 4]
• GET NAMEs - this function allows you to download a collection containing only the names from a collection in the ID#Name format.  The downloaded elements are separated by a semicolon. GET IDs ['144 # Shock Absorber; 14 # Cooler; 4 # Gearbox] will return [Shock Absorber; Cooler; Gearbox]
• IS IN - the function checks if a given element is included in the collection of elements, returns TRUE or FALSE depending on this check's result. Elements are compared as strings, case insensitive. The comparison takes into account white space at the beginning, end, and inside the string.  The function allows you to define multiple collections that will be used in the search.

• COLLECTION - a function for combining multiple collections of items. It returns a new collection containing all combined elements.

Conversions
These are the functions used for changing value type and the display format of a data type field:

• DECIMAL TO TEXT - allows you to change the value from decimal to text value,
• TEXT TO DECIMAL - allows you to change a text value to a decimal value,
• TEXT TO DATE - changes the text value to the date format,
• FORMAT DATE - allows you to format the date value according to specific requirements.

Attachments
Attachment functions:

• ATTACHMENTS COUNT - Returns an integer specifying the number of attachments in an instance,
• CONTENT AS BASE64 - Returns an attachment in BASE64 format,
• CONTENT TYPE - returns the type of attachment that is saved in the workflow,
• FILE NAME - the function returns the name of the attachment file.

You can also use the following as your rules:

• Global business rules,
• Process business rules,
• Integrations such as:
• SQL COMMAND,
• DATA SOURCE VALUE,
• SDK EXECUTION.

Values tab

The values tab allows you to use the value stored in a workflow form field as a variable in a business rule. To use it in your rule, find the right form field in the “Values” tab, then drag and drop it to the right place in your function.

The example below shows the SET function definition in which the Start date form field was used as a parameter.

Objects tab

Parameters tab

List of all functions available in business rules in WEBCON BPS 2020 and WEBCON BPS 2021

The WEBCON BPS 2021 version introduced 15 new functions available in the business rules editor. The changes are listed in the table below. New functions are marked with green color.

 Also, the functions from the following collections have been complemented: Text, element collections, and attachments. 

Form rules

Form rules have additional functions related to the behavior of the WEBCON BPS form. As with the business rule functions, they have been divided into groups that make them easier to find.

   To create a new form rule, select the "Form rules" node in the Configuration branch, then right-click and select "New rule."

When creating form rules, you can use the same functions as for business rules plus the functions for modifying the form's appearance and behavior.

Behavior

In this directory, you can define the display and hiding options of individual form elements.

• SET - this function allows setting the selected form field's value; to do so, drag and drop the form field and assign it a new value.

The example below sets the Start date form field to TODAY.

Using the SET function, you can also clear the value of a given form field. To do this, assign a value to the selected form field, e.g., EMPTY.

• SET FOCUS - the function that sets the Focus to the selected element.
• HIDE / SHOW - this function allows you to hide or display a specific form field or group of form fields. The example below displays the Basic information form field group.

• HIDE COMMENT / SHOW COMMENT - Hides or shows the comments section on the form.
• HIDE OCR TRAIN BUTTONS / SHOW OCR TRAIN BUTTONS - hides or displays the buttons used to teach the OCR mechanism,
•  HIDE PATH / SHOW PATH - hides or displays a given path on the form; the configuration allows you to indicate the path to be hidden or displayed.

• HIDE MENU BUTTON / SHOW MENU BUTTON - hides or shows the selected button on the form menu. This applies to user-created buttons (not system buttons, e.g., Save).
• MOVE TO NEXT STEP - this function allows you to go to the selected step of the form.

• INVOKE MENU ACTION - this function allows you to run the selected form menu button created by the user. 
• DISABLE / ENABLE - Locks or unlocks the selected form element. In DISABLE mode, the element cannot be edited.

• ALERT - this function allows you to display a window with a message, e.g., informing the user that they need fill in an additional field. You have to specify what message should be displayed.
• CONFIRM - this function works like ALERT, but the user can confirm with the “OK” option or press “Cancel.”

• EXPAND / COLLAPSE - expands or collapses a form field group.
• SELECT TAB - this function allows you to select a specific tab on the form.

Appearance 

This section includes functions that allow you to change the appearance of form elements:

Functions related to the appearance of the form field control  (CONTROL):

• SET CONTROL FONT COLOR - allows you to specify the font color of the control. As a value, enter the color code; e.g., the values entered below will change the Title control color to red.

• SET CONTROL BACKGROUND - allows you to define the background (frame) of the selected control. 

• SET CONTROL FONT DECORATION - allows you to define font decoration style: bold, italic, etc.
• SET CONTROL FONT SIZE - defines the font size; after selecting the form field, specify the font size with a number.

• SET CONTROL FONT FAMILY - specifies the font family.
• SET CONTROL STYLE - allows you to define the style of the control.

Identical functions are defined when the appearance of the form field label is changed:

• SET LABEL FONT COLOR,
• SET LABEL BACKGROUND, 
• SET LABEL FONT DECORATION, 
• SET LABEL FONT SIZE,
• SET LABEL FONT FAMILY, 
• SET LABEL STYLE.

The list of other functions that can be used in form rules is the same as for the business rules:

• Conditional choice
• Item list
• Number
• Text 
• Date and time 
• Item Collections
• Conversions

Attachments

• ATTACHMENTS COUNT - the function returns the number of attachments in a given workflow instance.
• ATTACHMENTS EXISTS - the function checks if there are any attachments in a workflow instance, and then returns TRUE or FALSE

Summary

Designers of WEBCON BPS applications have access to numerous built-in functions that allow them to modify the appearance and behavior of document workflows. The list of available functions is expanded continuously, an example of which is WEBCON BPS 2021 that has introduced 15 new functions. 

Most of these functions are the same for business rules and form rules. However, there are dedicated functions for form rules that let you modify form’s behavior and appearance. 

You can also create custom rules by using the SQL COMMAND function or by creating a Plugin business rule.