Fields

This feature is only available in the current version of Author Studio released in the fall of 2023. If you have not updated to the newest version of the product, see our Archived Author Studio Documentation here.

Fields have the same function in Author Studio as they do in irAuthor, but if you are used to authoring in irAuthor, the creation process is slightly different in Author Studio. If you are unfamiliar with the idea of Fields and their purpose, read the article, Working with Fields.

Adding a field

1. Select the rule application that has the Entity you would like to add a field to and navigate to the Entities page. 
   
   
   
2. Click on the Entity you would like to add a new field to. 
   
   
   
3. Once inside the Entity, you will see the option to add a new field in the upper right corner of the workspace. Click on New Field. 
   
   
   
4. Edits to the Entity and all of the Fields can be made in this workspace. You can edit the name, display name, and write a description for the Entity, and edit or set the information in the Fields.
   
   

Editing Fields

All of the Fields' properties are editable in the workspace of the Entity. Clicking on the property will make it editable. The Functionality of fields is the same in Author Studio as it is in irAuthor, but the creation process is simplified. 

1. Name
Specifies the name of the field. For fields that are based on an external source, this value may not be modified.

2. Display Name
Specifies the name that will be used in the business language editor when referring to this field.

3. Data Type
Specifies the data type of the field. The available options are:

4. Default Value 

Toggle

This is where you can specify if the field has a default value.

Value

If you have set the default value toggle to ON, you can add a default value that specifies the default value of the field.

The default value may be specified for either value-type fields (text, integer, …) or entity fields.

For Entity Fields, the Default Value checked specifies that the field should be instantiated/assigned when the containing entity is first instantiated. The XML state of the entity may be optionally specified to set its initial state when instantiated.

For fields of type date and datetime, default values must be prefixed and suffixed by a # character. e.g., #2/4/2004#, #2004-02-04#. Optionally time zone suffix can be specified such as #2004-02-04T01:03:00 -06:00# or #2004-02-04T07:03:00Z#

5. Temporary

A temporary field is not needed outside of the rule engine and is only used by the rule logic during execution. Fields marked Temporary will not be saved with the Entity State. In schema bound rule applications, checking this box indicates the element is not part of the bound model, and will not be removed after reloading any bound models.

6. Description
Here you can write a description of the Entity. This is helpful for other users in your organization and can serve as a way to create a helpful reminder for yourself. 

Autosave

This page has an autosave function, but if you see this symbol, the changes are not saved yet. If you would like to leave this page, click Save changes. 

All changes have been automatically saved when this symbol is showing

Differences between Fields in irAuthor and Author Studio

If you are used to working in irAuthor, these are the things you should consider when creating and editing fields in Author Studio. 

• Everything is a field. Instead of adding an Entity collection or a Complex collection, you will add a field and select Data Type: Entity collection or Complex collection. In Author Studio all the field drop-downs and collection drop-downs are combined into one drop-down, the Data Type drop-down.
• There is no Calculations option in Author Studio
• You cannot add, view, or edit Constraints in Author Studio

Deleting a field

1. Hover over the row of the Field you would like to delete, and a trashcan icon will appear.
   
   
   
2. Click on the trashcan icon .
   
   
3. You will be prompted to confirm the deletion. Click on Delete.