PromptSets (PRPT)

PromptSet objects are interactive entry value systems that you can define for end users to enter values at object runtime. You can add one or more PromptSet objects to an executable object on its Prompt Set page under Variables & Prompts. When prompt set are added to executable objects, the prompts pass values as prompt variables to the executable object's Process Pages or to allowable fields on other pages.

Object Definition

Object class: Passive object
Object type/Short name: PRPT

Purpose/Background

PromptSet objects allow you to define a series of one or more prompts. You can add one or more PromptSets objects to an executable object on its Prompt Set page under Variables & Prompts. When PromptSets are added to executable objects, the prompts pass values as prompt variables to the executable object's Process Pages. When you define prompts, you assign them a Variable object as their data reference. The data reference along with the rest of the prompt settings specifies the prompt's allowable values.

To best determine the prompts you will create for your Automation Engine PromptSets, you should start by thinking about the values you would like to pass to the executable object's Process Pages or to allowable fields on other pages and where they come from. These may include:

Static options from a finite list such as the names of the printers in your building
The number of records in a database table
Values in a database that may continually change, such as account balances
A list of items in a database, such as customer names
A list of items which are not in a database, such as values in a daily run book
An XML key and XPath or XQuery expression
Passwords shown as * characters
Dates and/or times
Numbers
Open-ended user defined parameters

Next, think of how you want the prompts to look in the Automic Web Interface. When defining your PromptSet objects, you will define prompts based on user interface elements such as comboboxes, radio buttons, and Date/Time fields.

Modifications at Runtime

You can only modify PromptSet values at runtime for workflow and schedule tasks that have not yet been generated. Object properties cannot be modified at runtime.

Restart Behavior

When restarting an object, the PromptSet dialog displays the values that have been entered during the last activation process (reference RunID = nnnnnnn). If you specify a particular reference ID in the restart dialog, the values of this object execution are used. If you specify RunID = 0, the predefined default values in your PromptSet or task are used.

PromptSet variables can be changed with AE Script. If the script generation ends normally, these modifications also apply for restarts. They even apply if the task aborts afterward, regardless of whether the task has been restarted via the Process Monitoring perspective, the statistics or using AE Script (RESTART_UC_OBJECT).

For example, if Value 1 is entered in a job's PromptSet dialog and sent. In the script, this value is changed to 15. Subsequently, the job aborts due to an OS error. When it is restarted, the prompt displays the value 15.

PromptSet value modifications that are made during a restart are logged in the activation report.

No PromptSet dialog is displayed when workflow or schedule tasks are restarted. For new task starts with modified PromptSet values, modify the properties in the corresponding workflow or schedule. The same is true if the restart is made using AE Script (RESTART_UC_OBJECT). In this case, you can override the values with the script element :PUT_READ_BUFFER, :PUT_PROMPT_BUFFER.