Defining parameters

Learn how to define parameters and where.

Parameters are defined in the Parameters table. Click on Parameters in the overview to open the Parameters table.

You need to specify the parameter type and where the data stored in the parameter is taken from. You can also initialize a parameter with a specific value, if necessary.

Parameters either store a single value, such as the contents of a specific field, or they can be used to store an entire record.

There are two types of parameters: Field or Record. Field parameters store data from a field. Record parameters store an entire record.

The following columns are included in the table:

Source

You can determine the source of the parameter: External sources (i.e. from outside the workflow) or Internal sources (i.e. from within the workflow). External sources also include system data, such as the current date or time.

Name

Enter a name used to identify the parameter within the workflow. Whenever you can select a parameter, Aurea CRM provides a list of the available parameters for you to choose from.

Type

You need to determine the type of parameter.

If the parameter is a record, choose the info area that the record comes from. Enter the first letter of the info area's name to quickly navigate in the list.

Field parameters can be numeric (integers, positive integers and floating point numbers) or contain strings, Boolean values, dates and times.

Note: A field parameter with the type set to Time and Max set to '1' always stores the current time.

Mandatory

This column is used for external parameters. If you enable the Mandatory option, the workflow can only be started if a suitable record is found.

For example, if you define a person as a mandatory parameter, you can access the workflow from the Company + Person info area, provided a person is stored for the current company. You can also start the workflow from all child info areas, irrespective of whether they are company or person-related. If an external parameter is defined as mandatory, you cannot start the workflow from independent info areas.

Content

You can initialize a field parameter with the contents of this field.

Variable

Use this column to define variable parameters, such as the current rep or date, as well as variables defined in the Configurationinfo area for fields in the Station,Rep and RepAddnal Info info areas, see General Settings in the Configuration topic in the Core Administrator Guide.

The "Variables" entry provides access to variables defined in the Variables info area in the Rights module. For more information, see Variables in the Core Administrator Guide. To initialize a parameter with one of these variables:

  1. Select "Data Field" in the Parameters column.
  2. Select "Extern" in the Source column.
  3. Select "Variables" in the Variable column.
  4. Double-click in the Content column to select the desired variable from a list.

Alternatively, you can enter the variable's station and record number("ID = <station no.>, <record no.>") or the record ID ("ID = <record ID>") in the Content field.

Sort

You can determine the sort criteria used to sort parameters on the stack. When performing recursive operations on data, use the sort order to determine the order in which data is processed and output. As you cannot sort lists in workflows, use the parameter sort order to output data in a specific order.

You can either sort record parameters by ascending or descending order according to their value.

Max.

Use the Max. column to limit the maximum number of parameters that are stored. If this value is exceeded whilst executing the workflow, the first values (according to the sort order) are retained.

If you do not enter a value, no limit is set (i.e. you can use as many parameters as your system allows).