Low-Code Configurations for Case Management Studio

Overview

Within Case Management Studio, you can easily create and configure most functionality for your case management apps without leaving the Control Panel or using any code. Some configurations and certain activities, however, can only be done in Designer.

This page is intended for low-code developers and provides an overview of the configurations and activities to do in Designer for case management apps.

Case Management Studio objects

When you create a new case category, case type, or form in the Control Panel, we automatically generate the underlying objects for them in Designer. Basic configurations and functionality for these objects can be done through the Control Panel, but you can also make changes to the objects in Designer to make more complex configurations and robust case management apps.

Objects generated by the Control Panel

When you create a... in the Control Panel	We create a... in Designer
Case category	Record type for the case category and relationship to the Case record type that comes out-of-the-box with Case Management Studio. Control panel hierarchy item for the case category.
Case type	Record type for the case type and relationship to the case category record type and the Case record type that comes out-of-the-box with Case Management Studio. Control panel hierarchy item for the case type.
Choice list data field	Record type and relationship to the relevant record type.
Intake or edit form	Interface for each form.
Summary page	Interface for your Case summary view.

In addition to these objects, we also generate database scripts to go with all generated record types for case categories and case types.

Configuring generated objects

In Designer, you can make additional configurations and edits to the objects generated by the Control Panel, just like you can configure any Appian objects.

To learn about configuring the record types used for your case types, case categories, and choice list data fields, see our records content or check out the tutorial for record types with a database as a source. Note that the choice list options can be edited directly in the Control Panel, without needing to be configured in Designer.

To learn about configuring the interfaces used for your intake and edit forms, see our interface content or check out the interface tutorial.

Common low-code configurations of generated interfaces

There are some configurations to forms and interfaces that you can only make to the interfaces in Designer.

Some configurations allow you to make use-case specific functionality that are meant to address unique organizational needs, such as adding additional interfaces as pages in the intake and edit form wizards.

Some just allow you to make changes that are not available in the Control Panel, such as change existing field and interface configurations.

Add additional form pages

Some organizations may have specific guidelines or use-cases that require them to include additional interfaces in the wizards for the intake and edit forms.

For example, your organization may be required to show an interface with a standardized disclaimer or set of instructions to a user before they fill out a specific form, or maybe you need to include a confirmation interface at the end of a form.

Whatever content you need to include, these interfaces can be added both before and after the intake or edit forms created in the Control Panel. When you call these additional interfaces into the interfaces that format the form, they appear as pages in the wizard complete with page names included in the milestone bar.

To add additional pages to a wizard and milestone bar for a form:

1. Open the wrapper interface. For Case Management Studio, this interface is called CMGT_Case_CreateCase_FormDisplayWrapper. This interface is responsible for determining when and whether to show the additional interfaces or the generated interfaces.
2. In the expression for the wrapper interface, call the additional interfaces before or after the a!studio_wizardLayout() function.
3. Open the wizard display interface for your case type. This interface is responsible for constructing the form wizard.
4. In the steps parameter of the the a!studio_wizardLayout() function, add two wizard steps using the a!wizardStep() function.
5. Enter the page name for each additional interface as the values for the relevant parameters above.

Learn more about the wizard layout.

Changing field types for related data fields

When a business user adds a data field for related record types to a category or type in the Control Panel, they select the component for the data field to use in forms and interfaces. Once they've selected the component for the data field, it cannot be changed in the Control Panel and must be edited in Designer.

To change the component for the data field:

1. In Designer, find and open the generated interface for the data field.
2. Change the component for the data field. You can select, for example, a dropdown, record picker, or radio button.
3. Make sure to update any necessary references and values to connect the component to the data field.
4. SAVE CHANGES.

Common low-code configurations of generated record types

The Control Panel generates record types and record fields in order to build out the case management interfaces and workflows. There are some configurations to the record types and record fields that low-code developers might want to make that can only be done in Designer.

Using record fields from generated record types as data fields

Low-code developers can add record fields to the record types generated by the Control Panel, but these record fields won't automatically appear as data fields in the Control Panel unless the record field includes a reusable record field interface.

This is because the Control Panel requires that all record fields used as data fields use the reusable record field interfaces. By default, all record fields that were created as data fields in the Control Panel will automatically be available in the Control Panel when configuring interfaces and in the relevant Data tabs.

To configure record fields not generated through the Control Panel as data fields:

1. In Designer, find and open the generated record type that contains the record fields you want to use.
2. In the Data Model page of the record type, click .
3. In the User Interfaces section of the Edit Record Field dialog, select an existing interface to use or click to create a new interface.
4. When creating a new interface, fill out the interface properties and click CREATE.
5. Configure the new interface and SAVE.
6. Make sure to SAVE changes to your record type as you go.

Your record fields should now appear in the Data tab for the relevant case category or type. To ensure that you can use the record field when configuring interfaces and forms in the Control Panel, make sure that you add the correct type of reusable record field interface for the interface type in the Control Panel workspace.

The intent of the interface types in the control panel object and the corresponding reusable record field interface type that each requires is as follows:

Reusable record field interface type	Intent of the interface type
Input	Create
Input	Edit
Read only	Display

Using record fields from other record types as data fields

In addition to adding new record fields to the record types generated through the Control Panel to use as data fields, you can also use record fields from record types that weren't generated through the Control Panel.

To get these to appear in the Data tabs and in forms and interfaces, you need to make configurations in the record types and in the control panel object.

To use record fields in the Control Panel workspace and object:

1. In Designer, find and open the record type of the record fields you want to use.
2. In the Data Model tab, create a new record field of type text. This will be used as the UUID.
3. To make this new record field unique, edit the record field in your database to make it unique.
4. In the record type, go the to Sync History tab and click START FULL SYNC.
5. Once the record type is synced create a record type relationship between the base record type for the Control Panel and use the new unique record field as the foreign key field for the relationship. In Case Management Studio, the base record type for the Control Panel is the CMGT Case record type.
6. In the control panel object, go to the case category or type page.
7. In the case category or type you want to use the record fields, click Edit.
8. For the Record Type field, select the record type containing the record fields you want to use.
9. Make sure to save your changes.

Configuring out-of-the-box objects

Many objects, such as interfaces, process models, translation sets, record types, and expression rules come out-of-the-box with Case Management Studio. These can be configured and customized as needed.

Configuring the out-of-the-box translation set

Case Management Studio comes with a translation set and automatically uses translation strings for all end user text to give you a head-start on translating your app into new locales.

Editing pre-set filters and queries

There are two expression rules that come out-of-the-box with Case Management Studio that act as filters when querying automation rules for active cases. This saves you time setting up a commonly used filter and improves query performance.

The two out-of-the-box expression rules are:

• CMGT_Task_AutomationRuleGlobalLogicalExpression
• CMGT_QR_GetTask

The CMGT_Task_AutomationRuleGlobalLogicalExpression expression rule contains logic that uses the relationship between the task and case record types in order to only return automation rules on active cases. The Task_Automation expression rule is called by the CMGT_QR_GetTask expression rule as a query logical expression, and acts like a filter for the GetTask expression rule.

The CMGT_QR_GetTask expression rule is a generic rule that returns a number of tasks based off of the inputs that are passed into the rule. When used with the CMGT_Task_AutomationRuleGlobalLogicalExpression expression rule, the CMGT_QR_GetTask expression rule has a default filter applied to it. The default filter is set up to return the automation rule if the associated case's status is not closed. This logic is based off of whether the TASK_INTENTION_CODE value in the CMGT_Task record type is TRIGGER.

Both the CMGT_Task_AutomationRuleGlobalLogicalExpression and CMGT_QR_GetTask expression rules are applied in addition to any filters or other logical expressions configured for your Case Management app. You can edit these expression rules at any time.

To edit the expression rules:

1. In Designer, find and open the CMGT_Task_AutomationRuleGlobalLogicalExpression expression rule.
2. Edit the expression and logic for the query to fit your use case.
3. Make sure to test and save your changes.

Functions that are specific to the Control Panel workspace and control panel object

When you create a form or interface in the Control Panel, we automatically generate an interface for it in Designer. You can edit the generated interfaces for your forms practically the same way you would for any other interface. The only difference is that there are special functions used in Control Panel generated interfaces. These functions can only be used by the Control Panel workspace or to reference the control panel object.

Function	Description	Parameters
a!studio_displayStyle()	Transforms Rich Text Display fields and Section Layouts into Side-by-Side Layouts to achieve consistent label styling.	contents, labelColor
a!controlPanelRecords()	Function that either creates a map or returns the data for an individual record in the base record type for a control panel. Learn more about a!controlPanelRecords().	controlPanel, record
a!controlPanelRecordHierarchyMetadata()	Returns relevant information for the specified category or type and its parent(s). This includes record fields and other information associated with the category or type, such as the display name, icon, and color. Learn more about a!controlPanelRecordHierarchyMetadata().	controlPanel, recordUuid

Deploying case management studio objects and apps

Like other Appian objects and apps, objects generated by the Control Panel can be deployed to target environments through your existing deployment pipeline. We automatically package up all of the Control Panel generated objects, so that they are all in one place and ready to deploy when you are.

This package is called Control Panel Generated Objects and contains the latest modified objects and corresponding database scripts. The package is named based on when it was created. If a package exceeds 50 attached database scripts, another package will be created and any newly modified objects or associated scripts will be placed there instead of the previous package.

For more information on deploying Case Management Studio apps, see Deployment Guidance for Case Management Studio.

Case management security

Case Management Studio apps use a combination of groups and object security to assign permission levels to users, which can only be configured in Designer. For more information, see Security in Case Management Studio.

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