PeopleSoft Enterprise Campus Community 9.0 Fundamentals PeopleBook

Using the Population Selection Process

This chapter provides an overview of the Population Selection group box and discusses how to:

Use the Population Selection process.
Run the Population Update process.

Understanding the Population Selection Group Box

A standard group box appears on run control pages for processes that use the Population Selection process to select the IDs to process. The Population Selection process may be required for some processes (for example, the Mass Assign Service Indicators process) but optional for others (for example, the 3C Engine process). The Population Selection Context Definition for a process controls whether the Population Selection process is available and if is required or optional.

If your institution defines a context definition that makes the Population Selection process available, the run control page for that process includes a standardized Population Selection group box. If the Population Selection process is available but optional, the run control page includes a check box that users can either select or clear to enable or disable the use of the Population Selection process. Depending on the page design, the check box, if it appears, might or might not be within the standard group box.

For the Mass Assign Service Indicators process, which is used in this section as an example of a process configured to use population selection, the group box appears at the top of the run control page. Because population selection is mandatory, the check box does not appear.

This section discusses the fields, links, and buttons that behave the same in the standard population selection group box wherever it appears on run control pages throughout PeopleSoft Enterprise Campus Solutions. The values and parameters that you enter are specific to the application process. Consult the appropriate PeopleSoft PeopleBook for information about using population selection for a specific application process.

This table lists the application processes that, as of the date of this publication, are configured to use the Population Selection utility.

Application Process	Reference
Audience Criteria	See Setting Up Audience Criteria.
Advisement Report	See Producing Academic Advisement Transcript Reports.
Application Delete by Batch	See Selecting a Group of Applications to Delete.
Prospect Delete by Batch	See Selecting a Group of Prospect Records to Delete.
3C Engine	See Running the 3C Engine Process.
Mass User Security Replacement	See Replacing User Security for Multiple Individuals.
Population Update	See Running the Population Update Process.
Process Student Groups	See Running the Student Group Process.
Service Indicator Person Mass Assign and Service Indicator Organization Mass Assign	See Mass Assigning Service Indicators.
Service Indicator Person Mass Release and Service Indicator Organization Mass Release	See Mass Releasing Service Indicators.
Aid Year Activate	See Activating an Aid Year for a Student.
Mass Packaging Select	See Performing Mass Packaging Using Application Data.
Select Students for Need Summary Validation	See Selecting Students for Need Summary Validation.
Select Students for Repackaging	See Selecting Students for Repackaging.
Process Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)	See Running the SAP Batch Process.
SF External Award Feed	See Receiving Student Financials Payments as External Awards.
Mass Contract Select	See Processing Mass Contract Assignments.
Process Transcripts and Batch Transcript Request	See Processing Batch Transcripts (Application Engine).

Using the Population Selection Process

This section lists the pages used for implementing the population selection process and provides an example.

Pages Used for the Population Selection Process

Note. You access the pages listed here from the standard Population Selection group box, wherever it exists in the database. You will use other pages depending on the values and parameters that you enter for a specific process. Those pages are documented where the specific run control page for that business process is documented.

Page Name	Definition Name	Navigation	Usage
Equation Editor	EQUATION_EDITOR	Click the Create Equation or Edit Equationlink in the Population Selection group box on a run control page when the selection tool is Equation Engine. The Create Equation and Edit Equation links only appear if the user has appropriate security for creating or editing equations and the selection tool is Equation Engine.	Create a new equation or edit the selected equation to use for a process.
Equation Parameters	SCC_EQTN_POP_PARM	Click the Edit Prompts link in the Population Selection group box on a run control page when the selection tool is Equation Engine. The Edit Prompts link appears only if the equation is set to use prompts.	View or enter prompts for an equation. See Working with Equation Engine.
Query Manager	QRY_SELECT	Click the Launch Query Manager link in the Population Selection group box on a run control page when the tool is PS Query. Reporting Tools, Query Manager	If you have security access to Query Manager, create a new query or edit the selected query to use for a process.
Preview Selection Results	SCCPS_RESULTS	Click the Preview Selection Results link in the Population Selection group box on a run control page. The PreviewSelection Results link appears only if preview functionality is enabled on the Selection Tool page for the tool selected.	Preview the results that will be returned by the tool.
Population Selection File Mapping	SCCFP_PS_FILE	Set Up SACR, System Administration, Utilities, File Parser, Population Selection File Map Click the Create File Mapping link or Edit File Mapping link in the Population Selection group box on a run control page when the tool is external file.	Create or edit a mapping for an external file for use by the Population Selection process.

Example: Using Population Selection

Access the run control page for the specific process, for example, the Mass Assign service indicators process (Campus Community, Service Indicators, Person, Mass Assign).

Population Selection

Selection Tool

Select the tool to use to identify the population for the process.

Only tools set to Active on the Selection Tool setup page and the applicable selection tools defined in the context definition for the process are available in this drop-down list box.

The PeopleSoft system delivers the following tools with a default status of Active: Equation Engine, External File, and PS Query. If your institution creates other tools, sets them to active status, and lists them in the context definition for a specific process, then they also will be available in this drop-down list box.

Fields and links appear on the subpage based on the tool that you select.

Equation Engine Tool

This section describes the fields and links that appear when you select the Equation Engine tool in the Population Selection group box on a page.

See Working with Equation Engine.

When you select the Equation Engine tool, if you have the appropriate security for creating equations a Create Equation link appears next to the Equation Name field. If you must create an equation, you can click this link to launch Equation Editor in a separate window, where you can create the equation, save it, and then enter the equation name in the Equation Name field without exiting the page that contains the Population Selection group box.

If you have the appropriate security to create and edit equations, when you enter an equation name the Create Equation link will change to the Edit Equation link. You can click the Edit Equation link to open the Equation Editor page for that equation and edit it.

Note. If you save the page with an equation name entered in the Population Selection group box and you subsequently edit and save that equation in Equation Editor, then you do not have to save the page that contains the group box again to benefit from changes to the equation.

Selection Tool	Displays the type of tool that you selected. In this example, Equation Engine was selected.
Equation Name	Select the equation to use. Only equations valid for the specific process are available. Limiting the prompt list to valid equations ensures that users select IDs with the appropriate data needed for running the process. Valid equations include the application prompt name that is set on the Equation To Context Mapping page. See Working with Equation Engine. The PeopleSoft system delivers predefined equations for specific processes. A list of equations delivered as of the date of this publication is provided as an appendix to this PeopleBook. See Population Selection Process Queries and Equations.
Create Equation	This link appears only if you have security access to create new equations and if no equation name is entered. Click this link to launch Equation Editor in a new window, where you can create a new equation. Warning! Never modify and save a delivered equation using the original equation name. The PeopleSoft system delivers predefined equations upon which specific processes depend. If you want to create a different version of a delivered equation, save it using a different name and then modify it. See Working with Equation Engine.
Edit Prompts	This link appears after you enter the equation name and only if the equation that you selected is set to use prompts. Click this link to access the Equation Parameters page, where you can view or enter prompts for the equation. See Working with Equation Engine.
Edit Equation	This link appears only if you have appropriate security for editing existing equations. Click this link to launch Equation Editor in a new window, where you can view and edit the specified equation.
Preview Selection Results	This link appears only if the Enable Preview Results check box is selected on the Selection Tool page for the Equation Engine. Click this link to preview results based on the parameters that you selected before you run the process.

PS Query Tool

This section describes the fields and links that appear when you select the PS Query tool in the Population Selection group box on a page.

Selection Tool

Displays the type of tool you selected. In this example, the PS Query tool was selected.

Query Name

Select the query to use.

Only queries valid for the specific process are available. Limiting the prompt list to valid queries ensures that users select IDs with the appropriate data needed for running the process. Valid queries use a data source recordlisted in the context definition.

The PeopleSoft system delivers predefined equations for specific processes. A list of equations delivered as of the date of this publication is provided as an appendix in this PeopleBook.

See Population Selection Process Queries and Equations.

Edit Prompts

This link appears after you enter the query name and only if the query that you selected is set to use prompts.

Click this link to access the Query Prompts page, where you can view or enter prompts for the specified query.

See Creating Valid PeopleSoft Queries and Application Classes.

Launch Query Manager

This link appears only if you have the appropriate security for accessing the Query Manager component.

Click this link to launch Query Manager in a separate window, where you can create or update a query without exiting the Population Selection subpage.

Warning! Never modify and save a delivered query using the original query name. The PeopleSoft system delivers predefined queries upon which specific processes depend. If you want to create a different version of a delivered query, save it using a different name and then modify it.

See Enterprise PeopleTools PeopleBook: PeopleSoft Query.

Preview Selection Results

This link appears only if the Enable Preview Results check box is selected on the Selection Tool page for the PS Query tool.

Click this link to preview results based on the parameters that you selected before you run the process.

External File Tool

This section describes the fields and links that appear when you select the External File tool in the Population Selection group box on a page.

Depending on how your institution sets up the external file tool for population selection, you will be required to upload a file as an attachment or you will be required to provide a path to a file. If you upload a file as an attachment, your system will be set up to locate the attachment where the application server and Process Scheduler can access it. If you provide a path, you must be sure to provide a path that the server and Process Scheduler can access.

The example used in this section requires an uploaded file to attach.

Selection Tool	Displays the type of tool selected. In this example, External File was selected.
Upload File	This button appears only after you select the External File tool. Click to browse to an existing file to upload. The file can be stored anywhere; however, it must be either a delimited file or a flat (fixed length) file that is compatible with PeopleSoft File Parser. Note. Proprietary file formats such as Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, and Lotus Software's Lotus 1-2-3 are not supported by File Parser. An Excel spreadsheet, for example, would need to be saved as a comma separated value (.csv) file format. When you upload a file, the system places the file in a path accessible to the applications server and Process Scheduler, and attaches the file to the process. See Using the File Parser Process.
Attached File	Displays the name of the uploaded and attached file.
Delete File and View File	These buttons appear only after you upload a file. Click View File to view the uploaded file and verify that its contents are mapped correctly for parsing. Click Delete File to delete the uploaded file from the attachment path.
Create File Mapping	Click to access the Population Selection File Mapping page, where you can map the uploaded file for use with the Population Selection process.
Edit File Mapping	This link appears only after you upload a file and create or select the file mapping. Click to access the Population Selection File Mapping page, where you can view or edit the mapping created for the uploaded file.
Preview Selection Results	This link appears only if the Enable Preview Resultscheck box is selected on the Selection Tool page for the External File tool. Click this link to preview results based on the parameters that you selected before you run the process. Warning! When using an external file selection tool, always preview the results to verify that the contents of your file are mapped correctly for parsing. If you don't verify the mapping, you could have misplaced columns—for example, the column labelled Institution could contain values for the names of the IDs.

External File Mapping

This section shows a completed Population Selection File Map page.

See Mapping the File Parser Process for Population Selection.

Running the Population Update Process

This section provides an overview of the Population Update process and discusses how to set parameters for running the process.

Understanding the Population Update Process

Population Update is a process that uses the Population Selection utility to update values in selected fields. Your institution or department must choose the records and fields to make available for update and set user security to identify which users can update the records. The user selects the records and fields to update on the Population Selection Update run control page.

Each record that can be updated by the process has a query to use for population selection. This query is joined with other records to determine the population that you want to update when you use the PS Query selection tool.

See Securing and Setting Up the Population Update Process.

See Using the Population Selection Process.

The application records that, as of the date of this publication, are configured to use the Population Update process, are:

Admission Application Recruit Cat (ADM_APPL_RCR_CA)
Packaging Status Summary (STDNT_AID_ATRBT)
Relations with Institution (PERS_INST_REL)
Student Equation Variables (STDNT_EQUTN_VAR)
Student FA Term (STDNT_FA_TERM)
Student Packaging Variables (STDNT_PKG_VAR)
Tuition Calculation (STDNT_CAR_TERM)
Student Career (STDNT_CAREER)

Page Used to Run the Population Update Process

Page Name	Definition Name	Navigation	Usage
Population Selection Update	SCC_RUNCTL_POP_UPD	Set Up SACR, Administration, Utilities, Population Update. Population Selection Update	Set parameters for running the Population Update process.

Selecting the Update Parameters

Access the Population Selection Update page (Set Up SACR, Administration, Utilities, Population Update. Population Selection Update).

Select Record/Field for Update

Record (Table) Name

Enter the name of the record to update.

Only the records to which you have security access and that your institution or department has made available for updating are available values.

Institution and Aid Year

When you enter the record name, the system displays the key fields for that record so that you can specify the exact rows to update in the table.

For example, for Financial Aid records, the Institution and Aid Year fields appear.

Error Reporting Selection

You can choose to have the process display error messages only or all of the messages that it encounters during the update, or you can choose not to display any of the messages. Displaying at least the error messages gives you an opportunity to decide whether to investigate and resolve the problems.

Population Selection

Fields and links in this group box behave as in the standard Population Selection group box throughout Campus Solutions.

See Understanding the Population Selection Group Box.

Selection Tool	Enter the selection tool that your institution uses to select the population to update: PS Query, Equation Engine, or External File.
Query Name, Equation Name, or File Name	Enter the name of the query, equation, or file that you use to select the population that you want to update.

Select Fields to Update

When you enter the Record (Table) Name, the fields that are available for update are available for selection.

Field Name and Field Value

Enter each field that you want to update and enter the value to use.

When you run the Population Update process, the system finds the record and updates the field values with the values that you specify for the records you have identified using the Population Selection utility.

Selection Tool	Displays the type of tool you selected. In this example, the PS Query tool was selected.
Query Name	Select the query to use. Only queries valid for the specific process are available. Limiting the prompt list to valid queries ensures that users select IDs with the appropriate data needed for running the process. Valid queries use a data source recordlisted in the context definition. The PeopleSoft system delivers predefined equations for specific processes. A list of equations delivered as of the date of this publication is provided as an appendix in this PeopleBook. See Population Selection Process Queries and Equations.
Edit Prompts	This link appears after you enter the query name and only if the query that you selected is set to use prompts. Click this link to access the Query Prompts page, where you can view or enter prompts for the specified query. See Creating Valid PeopleSoft Queries and Application Classes.
Launch Query Manager	This link appears only if you have the appropriate security for accessing the Query Manager component. Click this link to launch Query Manager in a separate window, where you can create or update a query without exiting the Population Selection subpage. Warning! Never modify and save a delivered query using the original query name. The PeopleSoft system delivers predefined queries upon which specific processes depend. If you want to create a different version of a delivered query, save it using a different name and then modify it. See Enterprise PeopleTools PeopleBook: PeopleSoft Query.
Preview Selection Results	This link appears only if the Enable Preview Results check box is selected on the Selection Tool page for the PS Query tool. Click this link to preview results based on the parameters that you selected before you run the process.