Managing Configurable Actions
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Contents Introduction

Configurable Action Types: Introduction Configurable Actions are automatic operations that CATSWeb performs in real time when events occur. Configurable Actions can perform custom validations, modify or augment data submitted by the user, implement dynamic forms, extend automatic E-mail notifications, etc. They are configured as part of an Event Hook by doing the following:
  • Choose Configurable Action as the Event Hook Type.
  • Click the reload button to expose the Action Name list.
  • Choose an action in the Action Name list.
  • Click the reload button to expose the Action Parameters section that includes a variety of action-specific configuration settings
Each of the standard configurable actions are described in detail below.

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Add or Delete Tags This Configurable Action during the post-process phase and allows Tags to be automatically added or deleted from the record. The settings are:
  • Add or Delete Tag - Choose Add or Delete to define the overall action that will be performed.
  • Public or Private - Choose Private or Public to specify the type of tag(s) to be processed.
  • Ignore Permissions - Check this box if you want the configurable action to ignore the current user's Tag-related permissions when it runs. For example, if the configurable action adds a public tag, and the current user does not have permission to add public tags, the tag will not get added unless this box is checked.
  • Ignore Functional Restrictions - Similar to Ignore Permissions, checking this box allows the configurable action to succeed even if the current user has Tag-related functional restrictions in place.
  • Tags - Enter a comma-delimited list of Tags to be added or deleted. The tags may be specified with tokens and field value replacements, as described in more detail below.
  • Confirmation Message Title - If you wish to display an optional confirmation message to the user, enter a title for it here.
  • Confirmation Message - If you wish to display an optional confirmation message to the user, enter the message here. Note that there may only be a single confirmation message, no matter how many Configurable Actions or Event Hooks operate during the event.
Calculate Field Value
This Configurable Action runs during the pre-process phase and allows a field's value to be dynamically calculated and set per an expression. The expression can be the name of another field in the form, a token, or an arithmetic expression combining two fields or tokens. Arithmetic operators (+, -, x, /) must be enclosed in braces (ex: "Field1{/} Field2"). Field expressions that calculate time spans may use the "{Today}" token to represent the current date, or date tokens such as "{Today + 30d}" to represent offset dates. The default units for time span calculations are days, but hours, weeks, months, etc. may be specified. Here are some examples of expressions:
    Example Result
    5 {x} StandardSingle001 Returns the value of StandardSingle001 multiplied by 5.
    {Today} {-} DateClosedGoal Returns the number of days between the current date and the goal date (the date in the DateClosedGoal field). The value will be positive if the item is overdue, negative if the goal date is in the future.
    DateClosedGoal {-} {Today} [Weeks] Same as the last example, but returns the number of weeks instead of days, and reverses the sign (overdue is negative). The available time span units are: [Seconds], [Minutes], [Days], [Weekdays], [Weeks], [Months], [Quarters] and [Years].
    DateClosedGoal {+} 5 Returns the date that is 5 days after the date in the DateClosedGoal field.
    DateClosedGoal {+} 5 [WEEKS] Returns the date that is 5 weeks after the date in the DateClosedGoal field. The available time span units are: [Seconds], [Minutes], [Days], [Weekdays], [Weeks], [Months], [Quarters] and [Years].
    StandardDate001 {+} StandardLongInteger002 [WEEKDAYS] Returns the date that is a variable number of weekdays (Monday to Friday, based upon the StandardLongInteger002 field) after the date in the StandardDate001 field. The available time span units are: [Seconds], [Minutes], [Days], [Weekdays], [Weeks], [Months], [Quarters] and [Years].
    StandardDouble001 {x} StandardLongInteger002 Multiplies StandardDouble001 by StandardLongInteger002 and returns the result.
    StandardSingle001 Returns the value of StandardSingle001
    {Today + 3m} Returns the date that is 3 months in the future.
Note that only one operator may be used in the expression. If you need to implement a more complex expression, use many event hooks to perform the calculation one step at a time. For example, this calculation:

Double1 = (4 + StandardSingle001) / 16

can be implemented in two sequential event hooks with these expressions:
    Target Field Name Expression
    Double1 4 {+} StandardSingle001
    Double1 Double1 {/} 16
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Disable Standard E-mail Notifications This Configurable Action runs during the pre-process phase and causes CATSWeb to not send any standard E-mail notification messages that it would normally send during the event (ex: assignment notification messages). It need not be used if a Send E-mail Configurable Action is in place and has its Disable Standard Message box checked. Back to Top

Modify Form Field Properties This Configurable Action runs during the pre-process phase and allows any number of form field properties to be dynamically modified at runtime. Typical applications include:
  • Decision trees, in which the form provides only relevant fields and selections based on data entered earlier in the data entry process.
  • Dynamic graphical elements within forms (e.g., display a picture of the product that an issue regards, or embed a street map for an external audit record).
  • Context-sensitive, dynamic instructions and usage tips.
Using this Configurable Action via its point-and-click configuration forms is functionally equivalent to coding DLLs or Web Services that modify field properties per the techniques described in AssurX's Implementing Dynamic Forms technical note. To use this Configurable Action, you must first select "{Modify Form Field Properties}" in the Action Name list and save the Event Hook record. When you open the record again in edit mode, an Add New Form Field Property Change link will be present above the main body of the Event Hook form. Click the link to open the Form Field Property Change form. You may then use the following settings to define the field property change:
  • Field Name - Enter the name of the field to be changed. This value corresponds to the Table Field value in field definition listings.
  • Property - Select a descriptive property name from the list. Each of the descriptive names corresponds to a CWEB_SUFFIX constant in the CATSWeb API. Property descriptions and a cross-reference to the API constants are here, and AssurX's Implementing Dynamic Forms technical note may also be consulted for additional information.
  • New Value - Specify the desired new value for the property. True/False properties such as Editable, Visible, etc. can use any of these values to represent True: "Yes", "True", "1", "-1" and can use any of these values to represent False: "No", "False", "0". Other properties may expect HTML color codes (ex: Field Cell Color), AssurX fill specifications (ex: Fill Specification) or plain text (ex: Caption).
  • Execution Order - You may specify the order in which the property change is made among other property changes for the same Event Hook. If the same property is changed multiple times (and isn't an indexed property that allows many values to be added), the last change is the one that persists.
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Redirect to Data Linked URL This Configurable Action runs during the post-process phase and causes CATSWeb to redirect to the URL specified in the selected URL Data Link, instead of displaying a standard confirmation message to the user. URL parameter replacements may be defined in the data link. When redirecting during add or edit of a child record, use tilded value replacements to access values from the parent record. Back to Top
Redirect to Explicit URL This Configurable Action runs during the post-process phase and causes CATSWeb to redirect to the URL specified directly in the Event Hook record, instead of displaying a standard confirmation message to the user. URL parameter replacements may also be defined directly in the Event Hook.When redirecting during add or edit of a child record, use tilded value replacements to access values from the parent record.
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Send E-mail This Configurable Action runs during the post-process phase and allows fully configurable E-mail messages to be sent in response to any CATSWeb event. Recipients can be entered in the To, Cc and Bcc fields with multiple recipients separated by commas.

  • The LookupNameTo, LookupIDTo, LookupAddressTo and LookupSupervisorOf expressions may also be used to send the message to users identified in fields in the record.
    • The UDUserCreated and UDUserEdited fields should not be used in Send E-mail Configurable Action lookups since CATSWeb maintains these values automatically and strips them from the set of data that post-process Configurable Actions operate on.
    • NOTE: A field that includes names with commas (for example: last name, first name) should also not be used. Since these lookup expressions use a comma separated list of names, a name with a comma inside it will be parsed incorrectly.


The subject and body of the message may each use literal text along with the following replacement techniques that allow the message to be dynamic:

  • Text tokens and date tokens such as "{My Name}", "{My Department}" and "{Today + 4d}" may be used.
  • Values from fields in the current record can be included by specifying the field name between tilde characters such as "~EnteredBy~", "~PartNumber~" or "~StandardDate004~".
  • The special "~Record URL~" replacement may be used to include a link in the E-mail message that points back to the record (ex: "Click this link for more info: ~Record URL~").
  • The special "~RecordID~" replacement may be used instead of the record-type-specific record ID field name replacements such as "~ActionID~" or "~SubtaskID~".
  • The UDUserCreated and UDUserEdited fields should not be used since CATSWeb maintains these values automatically and strips them from the set of data that post-process Configurable Actions operate on.
These recipient expressions and replacement techniques may even be used when the current record is a child record such as a Note, Signature or File Attachment. For example, if an E-mail message is configured to be sent when a Note Edit meets conditions specified in the Event Hook, "~Note~" can be used to include the Note's text in the message and "~ShortText001~" can be used to include the value of that field from the parent Issue, Action or Subtask record.

Note: The data submitted during special events (see "Special Events" in the Overview of Events) does not typically include the primary record data. As a result, the field name replacements and lookup expressions (LookupNameTo, LookupIDTo, LookupAddressTo and LookupSupervisorOf) are not available during these events.

E-mail messages require at least one To recipeint to be sent successfully. If there are no To recipients after processing the lookups and replacements (if any) for the To address, CATSWeb will process the Configurable Action as follows:
  • 1) "Promote" the Cc recipients to To recipients.
  • 2) If there are still no To recipients, abort the Send E-mail process.
This Configurable Action also allows a custom confirmation message to be specified. And, the Diable Standard Message setting may be used to disable standard E-mail notifications. Note that there may only be a single confirmation message, no matter how many Configurable Actions or Event Hooks operate during the event.
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Show Confirmation Message This Configurable Action runs during the post-process phase and allows a custom confirmation message (and message title) to be specified. The confirmation message will replace the standard message that CATSWeb would otherwise display. The confirmation message and its title may use value and token replacements as described here for the Send E-mail Configurable Action. Note that there may only be a single confirmation message, no matter how many Configurable Actions or Event Hooks operate during the event.
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Show Validation Error This Configurable Action runs during the pre-process phase and causes the validation error message that you specify to be returned to the user. It is typically used in conjunction with Event Hook Conditions to implement custom business rules. The validation error message may use value and token replacements as described here for the Send E-mail Configurable Action.
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Trigger Measurement
This Configurable Action is only available if the Measurements feature has been installed. It runs during the post-process phase and causes CATSWeb Messaging Server to perform the specified Measurement at its next opportunity. The Measurement is performed asynchronously, rather than synchronously. This means that the user who has triggered the Measurement by adding, editing or deleting a record does not have to wait until the Measurement is actually performed. It also means that there is no guarantee that the Measurement will be performed in real time, before the user receives their confirmation message from the add, edit or delete operation. Back to Top