Inserting Variables/VARA Objects in Objects and Scripts

As a developer and object designer, you can use variables and VARA objects to populate input fields and combo boxes, and to write your scripts.

Populating Object Attributes with Variables

Whenever it is possible to populate an input field with a variable or VARA object, the variables icon is displayed. In combo boxes, the Select Variable option is available. Click the icon or select the option to open the Insert Variables dialog.

Note: If you open an object in read-only mode, the variables icon is not visible because modifying the object is not possible.

  1. On the Insert Variable dialog, select a category from the drop-down list. The following options are available:

    • System Properties *

      Values that refer to the Automation Engine system and that are the same throughout the system.

      This list does not contain all variables for system properties. For a complete list, see List of System Properties.

    • Object Properties *

      Values that are retrieved from the object, for example:

      • Object script values, which return codes of script elements. For example, &$RUNID# for the Run number (RunID) of the task.
      • Object attributes. For example, &$AGENT# for the name of the Agent on which the task should be processed.

    • Automation Variables **

      Predefined VARA objects that return system properties. This category is not available when you open the variable picker dialog from the Form view on Process pages.

    • Variable Objects **

      VARA objects defined in the current Client.

    * System Properties and Object Properties variables start with &$ and end with #. The string in between is constant except for the format of date and time values.

    ** For both Automation Variables and Variable Objects, to reference a particular value of the predefined VARA object in an object field, use the following format:

    { Variable object [, Key [, Column number ]] }

    For example, {UC_CLIENT_SETTINGS, AUTO_FORECAST_DAYS, 1}, where:

    • UC_CLIENT_SETTINGS is the VARA object.
    • AUTO_FORECAST_DAYS is a key name.
    • 1 is a column number.

    If neither the key nor the column is defined, the system uses the value of the first entry or the result column/first Value column. You cannot select the key and column for a Variable object with the variable picker dialog. You must add and edit the variable manually to add them.

  2. Optionally, start typing the name of the variable or VARA object Search field. The list below is filtered using you input here. The search is not case-sensitive.

  3. Select an entry from the list. A short description is displayed at the bottom of the dialog.

    If the variable you select has date or time format, select a Format.

    If the variable you select is a STATIC VARA object, optionally enter the key name and column number for the cell that you want to select.

  4. Click Select.

Using Variables in Scripts

The Automation Engine scripting language provides various language elements that allow you to use variables and VARA object in your scripts.

For more information, see:

See also: