Creating a rule

To create and manage rules, use the Rule tab on the AP:Administration form. See Working with the AP-Administration form. 

When you open the Rule tab, a table field appears listing all existing rules. You can sort this list on any column, including rule name, process name, rule type, order, status, and process instance ID. If you installed the sample applications, all the sample application rules appear on this list. 

Below the list of rules, a diagram illustrates the stages of an approval process and contains links that filter the list for each rule type. For example, to see a list of all existing Get Next Approver rules, click the Next Approver link on the diagram. 
To see only the rules for a specific process, select the process from the menu in the Show for Process field.

The buttons on the Rule tab take the following actions:

• View—Opens the AP:Rule Definition form for the selected rule in Modify mode. You must select a rule from the list to use this option to view and modify existing rules.
• Search—Opens a blank AP:Rule Definition form in Search mode. Use this option if you want to search for a rule using a field that does not appear in the rules list.
• Create—Opens the AP:Rule Definition form in New mode. Use this option to create a new rule.
• Delete—Deletes the selected rule. You must select a rule from the list to use this option.
• Refresh—Refreshes the current list of rules. Use this option to refresh the list, for example, after adding a new rule.
• Show all—Refreshes the list of rules with all existing rules. Use this option to refresh the list after narrowing it to show only one type of rule.

To create a new rule

1. Open the AP:Administration form.
2. On the Rule tab, click Create.
   The  AP:Rule Definition form opens in New mode.
   
   To create a rule, you must first create the process that the rule will support. See Defining-an-approval-process.
   The AP:Rule Definition form consists of three tabbed views (depending on the type of rule):
   • Basic—The fields on this tab store identification and execution information about the rule, as well as a Run If qualification statement, if any.
   • Set Fields—For rules that include a Set Fields action, the fields on this tab specify the action to be executed by the rule when a transaction passes the qualification statement. See Defining-actions-for-a-rule.
   • Administrative Information—The fields on this tab contain change history and help text (if any) for the rule. Use the help text field to describe the purpose of the rule, or any other information helpful to process administrators.
3. In the Rule Name field, enter a name for the rule.
   Rule names must be unique and can be as long as 30 characters. For ease of administration, use a rule name that reflects the application or process, the rule type, the rule function, or some combination.
4. In the For Process field, select the process name that this rule will support from the list.
   The processes that appear on this menu are those you have defined in the Process tab. When you select the process name, AR System automatically populates the Process Instance ID field.
5. In the Rule Type field, select the appropriate rule type from the list. For example, if you are creating a Get Next Approver rule, select Get Next Approver.
   When you select a rule type, the Rule Definition form changes to display the fields appropriate for the rule type. Fields that apply to the rule type have a white field box. Fields that do not apply are gray.
6. In the Order field, enter an execution order number. The default value is "0."
   This number determines the rule sequence when two or more of the same rule type exist for a specific process.

7. In the Status field, select either Active or Inactive. The default value is Active.
   Inactive rules do not run when the process runs. While you are developing a set of rules for a process, it might be helpful to use the Inactive status. When you are ready to test your rules, change the Status field to Active.

   If you save a rule with the Status field empty, the rule is saved as Active.

8. In the Assignee Group Permissions field, the Public group appears by default. If you use this field for multi-tenancy support, create workflow to populate this field with the correct assignee group name. You do not need to change this setting when creating the rule.
   The Approval Server supports multi-tenancy for use by application service providers. The Assignee Group Permissions field is field 112, and appears on all the Approval Server forms. The field 112 value from records created in the AP:Details form is used automatically in all the other Approval Server forms, for example, AP:Signature, AP:More Information, and so on.
9. If the rule requires a qualifying condition to control execution, enter the condition in the Qualification area of the Basic tab. This field is labeled "Rule" or "Run If," depending on the rule type. Process Done rules use a radio button field to set the execution condition.
   You can type the condition statement or you can build it by using the qualification bar and list. When the qualification is met, the rule actions execute. You can use currency, date, and time fields in Run If and Rule qualification statements.
   For more information, see the Setting-up-users-access-and-preferences. For information about the If Multiple Results, If Multiple Approvers, and Next Approver Rule Is fields, see Defining-Get-Next-Approver-rules and Defining-Parameterized-Get-Next-Approver-rules
10. Click Save.