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Setting Up Public Portal Module

Introduction

After installing the Public Portal, you need to set it up before using it with Case Management Studio. This guide walks you through the required setup steps in the order you should complete them and optional configurations, including:

Before performing these incorporation steps, ensure that your system meets the required prerequisites

System Prerequisites

This section details the prerequisites your system must meet to run the Public Portal module.

  • Appian platform running version 25.2 or greater.
  • A supported version of MariaDB as a business data source.
    • Note: Instructions below are for MariaDB databases. For use with other databases, the SQL script must be modified to fit syntax requirements.
  • A supported web browser.
  • Imported Case Management Studio Base application version 2.0 or higher, which includes the following application containers:
    • CMGT Case Management Studio Base (CMGT)
    • CMGT Control Panel Generated Objects (CMGT)
  • CMGT Portal Module (CMGT) application container imported and installed in the target environment.

Step 1: Set up the Portal Intake Form in the Control Panel

This is a required step to surface the portal intake form on the Control Panel, and call the form in the correct portal interface object.

  1. In Appian Designer, go to the CMGT Case Management Studio Base application.
  2. Search for and open the CMGT_ControlPanel control panel object.
    1. Go to Standard Configurations and scroll down to the Interfaces section.
    2. Click Add Interface to add a new business user configurable interface, and enter the following values for each field:
      • Intent: Create
      • Display Name: Portal Intake Form
      • Web Address Identifier: portal-intake-form
      • Description: (optional)
    3. Click Submit.
    4. Go to Cases within the Hierarchy and locate the Forms and Interfaces section.
      1. In the Portal Intake form, select the CMGT_Portal_Case_IntakeForm interface.
        • Note: The same way an Intake Form is created in the Control Panel workspace for each category and type, a Portal Intake Form will need to be created in the Control Panel workspace for each category and type.
      2. Click SAVE.
  3. Search for and open the CMGT_Portal_Case_CreateCase_FormDisplayWrapper interface.

    1. In the steps parameter of the wizard layout, call the Control Panel reference to the portal intake form after the existing wizard step, as shown:.

      cms_PublicPortalSetup_PortalIntakeFormReference

    2. Click SAVE.

Step 2: Collect the Portal Case Contacts

This is a required step to capture case contact information.

  1. In Appian Designer, go to the CMGT Case Management Studio Base application.
  2. Search for and open the CMGT_Case record type.
  3. In the Data Model section, click Add Relationship.
    1. Select the CMGT_Portal_CaseContact record type.
    2. Enter a Relationship Name such as portalCaseContact.
    3. Select One to Many for the Relationship Type.
    4. Select caseId for the common record fields.

    5. In the Write and Delete Related Records section, select Write or delete CMGT_Portal_CaseContacts when modifying Cases.

      cm_portalCaseContact_record_relationship

  4. Search for and open the CMGT_Case_SetMetaData expression rule.

    1. Add the following map statement below the last map in the childRelationships array:

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      a!map(
   field: recordType!CMGT_Case.relationships.portalCaseContact,
   value: rule!CMGT_Portal_CaseContact_SetMetaData(
      portalCaseContacts: fv!item[recordType!CMGT_Case.relationships.portalCaseContact],
      initiator: ri!initiator
   )
)

      Note:  When using the provided code snippet, remember to update the portalCaseContact record relationship's reference UUID. The UUID in the code snippet will differ from the one you created in the previous step, so you must replace it with your new portalCaseContact relationship's UUID.

  5. Search for and open the CMGT_Portal_Case_IntakeForm.

    1. In the contents of the a!wizardStep, below the Case description input, call the interface CMGT_Portal_CreateCase_Sub_ContactsSection as follows:

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      rule!CMGT_Portal_CreateCase_Sub_ContactsSection(
       brandingMap: local!brandingMap,
       caseContact: ri!case['recordType!{d81cdd0e-c54d-4b8e-beec-b7ae37fefe7f}CMGT_Case.relationships.{2ecd0ec6-d2c2-44ed-8b03-83ee5654cfe4}portalCaseContact']
     ),
  6. Search for and open the CMGT_Case_CaseSummary interface.

    1. In the a!studio_displayStyle() contents, after the Control Panel summary page reference, call the CMGT_Portal_CaseSummary_PortalFields interface as shown:

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      rule!CMGT_Portal_CaseSummary_PortalFields(
caseContact: ri!case[recordType!CMGT_Case.relationships.portalCaseContact],
brandingMap: ri!brandingMap
),

      Note:  When using the provided code snippet, remember to update the portalCaseContact record relationship's reference UUID. The UUID in the code snippet will differ from the one you created in the previous step, so you must replace it with your new portalCaseContact relationship's UUID.

  7. Search for and open the CMGT_EventHistory_Case_FormatDetails expression rule.

    1. Add another condition to the match() statement that formats the audits related to the case contact by copying the code snippet and pasting as shown.

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      whenTrue: fv!value = cons!CMGT_PORTAL_REFID_EVENT_TYPE_UPDATE_CASE_CONTACT,
then: joinarray(
rule!CMGT_UTIL_RejectBlank(
array: {
if(
rule!CMGT_UTIL_IsBlank(
local!details.firstName
),
null,
'translation!{3901b96b-7990-4002-b073-5b601b7d9be9}CMGT_Portal_Translations.{91fffdbd-a177-4f4f-b0e0-769b9475604b}First Name: {value}'(
'translation!{3901b96b-7990-4002-b073-5b601b7d9be9}CMGT_Portal_Translations.{91fffdbd-a177-4f4f-b0e0-769b9475604b}First Name: {value}.translationvariables.{e6f9ee42-d08f-46cd-90ce-29e1ce3a8e07}value': local!details.firstName
)
),
if(
rule!CMGT_UTIL_IsBlank(
local!details.lastName
),
null,
'translation!{3901b96b-7990-4002-b073-5b601b7d9be9}CMGT_Portal_Translations.{33ebde45-da93-4bff-813c-aafee5c65dd6}Last Name: {value}'(
'translation!{3901b96b-7990-4002-b073-5b601b7d9be9}CMGT_Portal_Translations.{33ebde45-da93-4bff-813c-aafee5c65dd6}Last Name: {value}.translationvariables.{d44e0b68-4130-4944-a35b-19ac9d247a9d}value': local!details.lastName
)
),
if(
rule!CMGT_UTIL_IsBlank(
local!details.email
),
null,
'translation!{3901b96b-7990-4002-b073-5b601b7d9be9}CMGT_Portal_Translations.{8a2f3918-6edc-4aef-b7eb-eb84fd4d95ac}Email: {value}'(
'translation!{3901b96b-7990-4002-b073-5b601b7d9be9}CMGT_Portal_Translations.{8a2f3918-6edc-4aef-b7eb-eb84fd4d95ac}Email: {value}.translationvariables.{325eca9c-740e-49e3-9a9f-6541520f32f8}value': local!details.email
)
)
}
),
char(
10
)
),

      cms_CMGT_EventHistory_Case_FormatDetails

    2. Click SAVE.

Step 3: Update the portal case contact

Follow the steps in this section to allow case workers to update the portal case contact.

  1. In Appian Designer, go to the CMGT Case Management Studio Base application.
  2. Search for and open the CMGT_Case record type.
    1. Navigate to the Actions tab on the record type.
      1. Click CONFIGURE ACTION MANUALLY under the Related Actions section.
        1. In the Create New Related Action dialog, select Use Expression for the Display Name field.
        2. In the expression editor, use the translation string for Update Contact from the CMGT_Portal_Translations translation set.
        3. Complete the remaining fields in the Create New Action dialog, as follows:
          • Key: updateContact
          • Icon: pencil-square-o
          • Dialog Height: Short
          • Dialog Width: Medium
          • Process Model: CMGT_Portal_Case_UpdateContact

          • Context: Copy and paste the following code snippet:

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            {
caseContacts: rule!CMGT_QR_GetPortalCaseContact(
  caseId: rv!identifier,
)
}
      2. Click OK.
    2. On the record type, navigate to the Views and Actions Security tab.
      1. Click the Actions tab.
      2. Locate the Update Contact action and click the edit icon.
      3. For Who can see this action?, select All users who can see the record.
      4. For When can they see this action?, select Only when….

        1. Enter source = CMGT_TXT_SOURCE_PORTAL as shown:

          cms_portal_update_contact_security_config

    3. Click OK and SAVE to save the record type.
  3. Search for and open the CMGT_Case_CaseSummary interface.

    1. Following the Update Case action in the record action field, add the Update Contact action as shown.

      cms_PublicPortalSetup_UpdatePortalContactSailIncorporation

    2. Click SAVE.

Step 4: Remove Google reCAPTCHA

By default, the portal ships with Google reCAPTCHA enabled. Appian considers reCAPTCHA services essential for unauthenticated Appian Portals usage. See Google reCAPTCHA to learn more about Google reCAPTCHA.

If you wish to remove Google reCAPTCHA, complete the following steps:

  1. In Appian Designer, go to the CMGT Portal Module application.
  2. Search for and open CMGT_Portal portal object.
    1. In the Service Access section, remove the connected system in the Google reCAPTCHA field.
    2. Click SAVE.
      • Note: A design guidance warning about missing Google reCAPTCHA configuration will appear.

If this is a permanent removal of reCAPTCHA, navigate to the interfaces specified in the design guidance warning that calls a!verifyRecaptcha(). Follow the inline comments in each interface to remove the a!verifyRecaptcha() call.

  • Note: This is not a necessary step but will clean up design guidance warnings and make the code cleaner.

Step 5: Manage files uploaded to Portal

Note:  If uploaded documents are expected to contain sensitive information (e.g., PII, financial, medical, etc.), we recommend Appian HIPAA Cloud to ensure potential sensitive user data is protected.

Appian recommends that customers restrict the Portal-exposed file upload fields to a set of permitted file extensions. This is configurable via the admin console.

Portals natively have a file size restriction per document upload.

Step 6: Set up the service account and publish the Portal

This is a required step.

  1. Log in to the target environment.
  2. Navigate to the Admin Console.
  3. Navigate to Web API Authentication:
    1. Create a service account.
    2. Create an API Key for this service account.

    3. Copy the API key for later use.

      pp_create_web_api_sa

  4. In Appian Designer, go to the CMGT Case Management Studio Base application.
  5. Search for and open the CMGT Service Accounts group.
    • Add the service account to the group.
  6. In Appian Designer, go to the CMGT Portal Module application.
  7. Search for and open CMGT Portal Connected System.
    1. Update the Base URL to your environment's Web API URL. The URL should end in /webapi/.
    2. Add the API key you created in Step 3.
  8. Search for CMGT Google ReCAPTCHA connected system.
    • Note: Appian considers reCAPTCHA services essential for unauthenticated Appian Portals usage.
    1. To use Google reCAPTCHA, update the Google reCAPTCHA Project ID, Site Key, and API Key with your Google reCAPTCHA credentials. If you decide not to use Google reCAPTCHA, skip this step and see Removing Google reCAPTCHA.
  9. Search for and open CMGT_Portal:
    1. Add your service account to the Service Account field.
    2. Note the Portal UUID.
  10. Search for and update CMGT_PORTAL_TXT_URL_UUID with Portal UUID.
  11. Toggle the Published field on and save changes.
    • Note: Ignore any design guidance warnings due to shared interface objects. These warnings will not impact the portal publishing or functionality.
  12. Verify the Public Portal is working as expected.

Perform optional configurations

In addition to the required setup steps, you can perform these optional configurations to meet your specific use case and workflow needs, including:

Step 1: Send case creation emails

This is an optional step. Complete the following steps to send case creation emails to the contact provided in the portal case submission:

  1. In Appian Designer, go to the CMGT Case Management Studio Base application.
  2. Search for and open the CMGT_Email_CaseCreationEmails expression rule.

    1. Add the following to the existing array of email creation rules.

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      rule!CMGT_Portal_Email_EmailSettingMap_CreateCase(
case:ri!case
)

    2. Click SAVE.

  3. Search for and open the CMGT_Portal_Email_EmailSettingMap_CreateCase expression rule.

    1. Locate the recipientEmailAddress parameter in the map() function on line 4 and copy and paste the following:

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      toemailaddress(
rule!CMGT_QR_GetPortalCaseContact(
caseId: ri!case[recordType!CMGT_Case.fields.caseId],
fields: recordType!CMGT_Portal_CaseContact.fields.email
)[recordType!CMGT_Portal_CaseContact.fields.email]
),

    2. Click SAVE.

  4. Verify the portal case contact receives a case confirmation email.

Step 2: Translate the application

This is an optional step. Refer to Exporting translation strings for translation for information on translating the Public Portal module to other languages.

Step 3: Rename the Portal service account

This is an optional step that allows the portal service account to reflect a user-friendly name on the front end.

  1. In Appian Designer, go to the Objects tab.
  2. Search for the CMGT_TXT_AUTOMATED_SYSTEM constant.
    1. Update the constant to match the text you want displayed for the service account in the front end.

Step 4: Monitor your Portal

Portals are publicly accessible to users on the open internet. Appian recommends actively monitoring your Portal to prevent cyber attacks, like a flood of fake submissions. See Appian Portals for more details and recommendations on using Appian Portals.

Next step

Now that you have set up the Public Portal module, unauthenticated users will be able to create cases in your case management system from a public facing URL.

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