This chapter covers the following topics:
The Structure area of the Workbench displays the hierarchical structure of the Model you opened for editing in a table. You use this area of the Workbench to create and modify Model structure. To modify the type of information displayed for Model structure nodes, modify the default View, or create a new one. For details, see Views.
For information and tips on designing Models for maximum runtime performance, refer to the following documentation:
Oracle Configurator Modeling Guide
Oracle Configurator Performance Guide
Note: When creating new Model structure, enter node names that are unique, meaningful to the Oracle Configurator end user and, if possible, descriptive of their intended purpose.
For general information about Components, see Components.
To create a Component:
In the same row as a Model or Component node, click the icon in the Create column.
Select Create basic nodes, and then select Component from the Node Type list.
You can also create Components by selecting Create Item-based Nodes. For details, see Building Model Structure Using Items and Item Types.
Click Continue.
Enter a Name and optionally a Description of the Component.
All node names must be unique within the same parent node. For example, if two Components have the same parent, then they cannot have the same name.
Enter values or define settings for the following as required:
Click Apply, or Apply and Create Another.
For general information about Features, including a description of each type of Feature, see Features.
To create a Feature:
In the same row as a Model or Component node, click the icon in the Create column.
Select Basic Nodes, and then select Option Feature, Integer Feature, Decimal Feature, Boolean Feature, or Text Feature from the Node Type list.
You can also create Features by selecting Create Item-based Nodes. For details, see Building Model Structure Using Items and Item Types.
Click Continue.
Enter a Name and optionally a Description of the Feature.
All node names must be unique within the same parent node. For example, if two Features have the same parent, then they cannot have the same name.
Enter values or modify the default settings in the Definition section as required.
For details about each setting, see Definition.
If you are creating a Text Feature and want to require the end user to enter text at runtime, select the Required check box.
At runtime, an image appears next to the Feature to indicate that it is required. For details, see Status Indicator Images.
Enter values or define settings for the following settings as required:
Click Apply, or Apply and Create Another.
For general information about Options, see Options.
To create an Option:
In the same row as a Feature node, click the icon in the Create column.
Select Basic Nodes, and accept the default Node Type of Option.
You can also create Options by selecting Create Item-based Nodes. For details, see Building Model Structure Using Items and Item Types.
Click Continue.
Enter a Name and optionally a Description of the Option.
All node names must be unique within the same parent node. For example, all Options within the same Feature must have unique names.
Click Finish.
Enter values or define settings for the following as required:
Click Apply, or Apply and Create Another.
For general information about Totals and Resources, see Totals and Resources.
To create a Total or Resource:
In the same row as a Model or Component node, click the icon in the Create column.
Select Basic Nodes, then select a Node Type of either Total or Resource.
You can also create Totals and Resources by selecting Create Item-based Nodes. For details, see Building Model Structure Using Items and Item Types.
Enter a Name and optionally a Description of the node.
All node names must be unique within the same parent node. For example, if two Resources have the same parent, then they cannot have the same name.
Enter values or define settings for the following as required:
Violation Message (Resources only)
Click Apply, or Apply and Create Another.
Use the procedure described in this section to build Model structure using data in the CZ schema’s Item Master. For background information, see Introduction to the CZ Schema. By default, Model structure nodes that you create using this procedure have the same name, description, Properties, and so on as the Items you use to create them.
You can also build Model structure using data in the CZ schema’s Item Master by defining a Populator. Populators are described in Introduction to Populators.
Items that you create from Item Master data can be added to a configuration in a runtime Oracle Configurator. However, Oracle Configurator does not return these items to the host application for ordering. This is true even if the items were created using imported BOM items.
To create a structure from Items or Item Types in the Item Master:
Open a Model for editing in the Structure area of the Workbench.
In the same row as a Model, Component, or Feature node, click the icon in the Create column.
Select Create item-based nodes, and then select the type of node you want to create from the list.
Click Continue.
Select the Item(s) or Item Type(s) to use as the source of the nodes you are creating, and then click Finish.
The new node appears as a child of the Model, Component, or Feature you selected in step 2.
When you create nodes in Configurator Developer, they appear in the order in which they were created. For example, when you create a Feature Option, it appears below the Feature’s existing Options. Imported BOM nodes appear in the order in which the BOM Model was defined in Oracle Bills of Material. The structure of an imported BOM Model cannot be modified in Configurator Developer, with one exception: you can modify the order in which BOM Model References appear in the structure. In other words, if a BOM Model has more than one Reference to other BOM Models, you can change the order in which the References appear in the Model structure.
When viewing a Model’s structure in the Structure area of the Workbench, an icon appears in the Reorder Children column for each non-BOM node that has children. This includes Models, Components, and Option Features.
To reorder a node’s children:
Open a Model for editing in the Structure area of the Workbench.
In the same row as the parent node, click the icon in the Reorder Children column.
If the selected node has no children, Configurator Developer displays an error.
Select a node in the Children Order list, and then use the arrow icons to change its position.
Repeat this step until the nodes in the list reflect how you want them to appear in the Model structure.
Click Apply.
For general information about Populators, see Introduction to Populators.
Perform the following to add a Populator to a node or edit an existing Populator:
Open a Model for editing.
Open the root node (if it is not an imported Model), a Component, or a Feature for editing.
In the node’s details page, select the type of Item Master data you want the Populator to use when creating new Model structure from the Source list.
All types of Item Master data are available in this list, regardless of the type of node you want the Populator to create. Select one of the following:
Items
Item Types
Properties
Property Values
Select the type of structure to create from the Destination list, then click Go.
In the Define Populator page, enter a unique Name for the Populator.
In the Definition section, specify the Item Master data you want the Populator to use.
For details about the available choices and selection criteria, see The Define Populator Details Page.
The fields in this page are case-sensitive, so using the list of values to make a selection is recommend ed. If you do not enter the name of the item or Property exactly as it appears in the Item Master, Configurator Developer displays an error when you click Update to review the nodes that the Populator will create, or click Apply to save the Populator.
Click Update to view the effects of running the Populator before actually creating the new structure.
The results appear in the Preview Results section.
If the results are not what you intended, modify the Populator’s definition.
When you are satisfied with the Populator’s definition, click Apply to return to node’s details page.
Click Apply.
This saves the Populator’s definition on the selected node and executes the Populator (that is, it creates the new Model structure).
If you do not want to save the Populator and do not want to create any new Model structure, click Cancel.
The settings in the Define Populator page are determined by the type of Item Master data you select in the Source list in the node’s details page. The field prompt in the Define Populator page changes based on the value of the Source. For example, when you choose Item Types, Items, or Properties, the Where source value prompt appears as Where Item Type, Where Item is of type, or Where Property belongs to Item Type, respectively. Enter criteria in the field next to the Where <source value> field by either typing text into the field or by clicking the flashlight icon (to select from a list of values).
You can create all nodes available in the Item Master under the selected node by entering the wildcard character (%). If you do this and are not satisfied with the results, you can remove the new structure by deleting the Populator after it runs. For details, see Deleting a Populator.
If you select Property Values from the Source list, you must specify criteria differently. In this case, the Define Populator page displays two fields: Where Item Type is and And Property is. Click the flashlight icon to select an Item Type and Property.
Defining a Populator lists the available Item Master data types, the defining criteria for the Populator, and how you enter criteria based on the selected data type.
| Type of Item Master Data | Available Criteria | How you Specify Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| Item Types | begins with ends with contains matches |
Type text into the field. Item Types are selected based on the criteria you enter. |
| Items | is of Type | Click the flashlight icon next to the field, then select from the list of Item Types. |
| begins with endswith contains matches |
Type text into the field. Item Types are selected depending on whether the Item Type name begins with, ends with, contains, or matches the text you enter. |
|
| Properties | Property belongs to Item Type | Click the flashlight icon next to the field, then select from the list of Item Types. |
| begins with endswith contains matches |
Type text into the field. Item Types are selected depending on whether the Item Type name begins with, ends with, contains, or matches the text you enter. |
|
| Property Value | Where Item Type is | Click the flashlight icon next to the field, then select from the list of Item Types. |
| And Property is | Click the flashlight icon next to the field, then select from a list of the selected Item Type’s Properties. |
Repopulating updates a Model with data that has changed in the Item Master.
This procedure automatically runs all Populators defined within the Model that is open for editing.
For general information about Populators, see Introduction to Populators.
To repopulate a Model:
Open the Model for editing.
In the General area of the Workbench, click Repopulate.
Deleting a Populator deletes all Model structure that was created using the Populator. To recreate any deleted Model structure, you must re-create the Populator, and then run it.
For general information about Populators, see Introduction to Populators.
To delete a Populator:
Open a Model, Component, or Feature for editing in the Structure area of the Workbench.
The Populator table lists each Populator defined for the selected node.
In the same row as the Populator you want to delete, click the icon in the Delete column.
Click Yes to acknowledge the confirmation message.
For general information about Properties, see Introduction to Properties.
To add a Property to a node:
Open the Model for editing in the Structure area of the Workbench.
In the same row as the node you want to modify, click the icon in the Edit column.
In the node’s details page, click Manage Properties.
Select the Property you want to add, then click Add to Selected List.
In the Selected List table, optionally modify the Property’s value (see Note below).
Note: If you modify the Property’s value when adding it to a node, the change does not propagate to other nodes that share the Property. If you want the change to affect all nodes that share the same Property, refer to the procedure in Modifying Properties.
Click Apply.
For general information about User Properties, see User Properties.
The following procedure does not delete a Property from the CZ schema. Deleting Properties is described in Deleting Objects.
To remove a Property’s association with a Model node:
Open the node for editing.
In the node’s details page, select the Property, and then click Remove.
Click Apply.
Note: You cannot remove a Property from a BOM node if the association was defined in Oracle Bills of Material (in other words, the Property and BOM node were imported into the CZ schema together). You can remove a Property from a BOM node only if the Property was assigned to the node in Configurator Developer.
For restrictions that apply to modifying a node’s User Properties and other useful information, see User Properties on Structure Nodes and Items.
To modify a Property assigned to a specific node:
Open the Model for editing in the Structure area of the Workbench.
In the same row as the node you want to modify, click the icon in the Edit column.
In the node’s details page, modify the Property’s Value, then click Apply.
A node’s details page displays detailed information about the node, such as its name, description, associated rules, effectivity, and so on. The following sections describe the node details page and indicate whether the information applies to only specific types of nodes, or all node types.
You can control which details appear in the Structure area of the Workbench by creating or modifying a View. For details, see Views.
Related Topics
This field displays the name of the selected node and is available for all nodes. When building Model structure in Configurator Developer, enter a name that will help you and others easily identify the node. The names of imported BOM nodes are often part numbers (for example, B100086-01) and as such do not provide much information about the item that is useful to an Oracle Configurator end user. Like all other details of imported BOM items, BOM node names cannot be modified in Configurator Developer.
The CZ schema’s internal ID for each Model node is unique, which means you can enter the same name for multiple nodes in the same Model. However, node names must be unique within the same parent. For example, you cannot create two Features that have the same name under the same Component. However, two Features in a Model can have the same name as long as they are not children of the same node in the Model structure. Note that Oracle Bills of Material does not enforce this restriction. For example, two Option Classes that are children of the same BOM Model can have the same name (this can occur when, for example, one of the items is created as a result of an Engineering Change Order (ECO) and then is added to the BOM Model). In this case, an Oracle Bills of Material user can ensure that only one of the items is available for selection during a configuration session by specifying a unique effective date range for each. For details, see Introduction to Effectivity.
If you create a node using a Populator, then the name is set automatically to the name of the corresponding Item in the Item Master. For more information, see Introduction to Populators.
Importing a BOM Model creates Items and Item Types in the Item Master. A profile option determines the default name of each Item Type. For more information, see the Oracle Configurator Installation Guide.
When you create Items in the Item Master manually, Oracle Configurator Developer assigns a default name based on the node’s internal ID in the CZ schema. You can enter a more descriptive name to identify Items more easily.
A node’s name and internal ID are included when you generate a Model Report. For details about generating a Model Report, see Introduction to the General Area of the Workbench.
Use settings in the Preferences page to control whether Configurator Developer displays nodes using their names or descriptions. For details, see Preferences.
Note: Enter names that are unique, meaningful to the Oracle Configurator end user and, if possible, descriptive of the node’s intended purpose. Names like Response 1 and Response 2 can easily cause confusion among Model developers as well as Oracle Configurator end users.
Use this field to enter a description of any node that you create in Configurator Developer. Descriptions of imported BOM items are entered in Oracle Inventory, and are therefore read-only in Configurator Developer.
Deselect the Include in Generated UI check box if you do not want Configurator Developer to generate a UI element for the selected node or any of its children. (In other words, you do not want the node to appear in a generated User Interface.)
You can override this setting when generating a new UI by selecting Show entire Model. Generating a new UI is described in Creating a New User Interface.
Some nodes might not appear at runtime because of their effective dates, or other display conditions that you define. For details about displaying nodes based on variable criteria, see Defining a Condition for Runtime Display and Behavior.
For general information about effectivity, see Introduction to Effectivity .
Select the Transient check box to mark a node as transient. The meaning of marking a node as transient depends on the type of the node:
If the node is a BOM Standard Item, it is a transient item. See Transient Items.
If the node is a Feature, it is a transient attribute. See Transient Attributes.
This setting is relevant only for Models that allow reconfiguration of installed configuration instances. For more information about transient items and attributes, and about reconfiguring installed instances, see the Oracle Telecommunications Service Ordering Process Guide.
A transient item is a BOM Standard Item used to model a non-recurring service or fee, such as an initial installation fee. Transient items are omitted from the configuration session when a trackable instance of a service is reconfigured.
Transient items:
Must be BOM nodes
Must be non-trackable
Cannot have children (since the children would also be dropped when an instance is reconfigured)
Therefore only BOM Standard Items (which cannot have children) can be transient items.
Transient attributes are conceptually similar to transient items. After a service is fulfilled, attributes that are transient are not restored during the reconfiguration of the service.
A transient attribute is a Feature used to model a non-recurring attribute of a Model node. The value of the Feature is what is regarded as transient. Values of transient attributes (that is, values of Features flagged as Transient) are omitted from the configuration session when a trackable instance of a service is reconfigured.
Attribute values are assigned by implementing the IB Attribute Configurator Extension. See the Oracle Telecommunications Service Ordering Process Guide for details.
Transient attributes:
Must be Features (Integer, Decimal, Boolean, Text or Option Feature)
Cannot be Options of an Option Feature
Cannot be Resources or Totals
Use the settings in this section to enter basic information about a node. The settings and information that appear here depend on the node’s type, and whether it is an imported BOM node.
For BOM nodes, the information in the Definition section is read-only; this is because these settings are defined in either Oracle Inventory or Oracle Bills of Material. The BOM Item Type indicates whether the selected item is a BOM Model, BOM Option Class, or a BOM Standard Item. For details about the Minimum Quantity, Maximum Quantity, and Default Quantity values, see Imported BOM Rules.
In the details page for a BOM item, the Definition section indicates whether:
Optional children are mutually exclusive (see Imported BOM Rules)
The item is required when its parent is selected (see Imported BOM Rules)
Decimal quantities are allowed (see Decimal Quantities and BOM Items)
The item is trackable. This setting is relevant only for Models that allow reconfiguration of installed instances.
For more information, refer to the Oracle Telecommunications Service Ordering Process Guide.
If the selected node is an Integer Feature, Decimal Feature, or Option Feature, refer to the following sections for information about the Minimum Selections, Maximum Selections, and Enable Option Quantities settings:
For details about the Initial Value setting, see Initial Values.
If the selected node is a Connector, the Connection Required box indicates whether an end user must connect the selected node and its target at runtime to create a valid configuration.
For more information, see Introduction to Connectivity.
If the selected node is a configurable component (in other words, a Component or a Model Reference node), use the Instantiability settings to define how many instances of the node may exist, or be created, at runtime. Select from the following:
Required Single Instance: Select this setting to allow one and only one instance of the selected component in the configuration. In other words, one instance of the component is available when the configuration session begins, and the end user cannot create any additional instances.
Optional Single Instance: Select this setting if you do not want any instances of the selected component to be available when the configuration session begins, but want end users to be able to add one instance of the component.
Multiple or Variable Instances: Select this setting to specify how many instances of the component exist when the configuration session begins, and how many instances the end user can add.
To make a selection mandatory, set the Initial Minimum to 1 or more. To make a selection optional, set the Initial Minimum to 0 (zero). For example, if a component’s Initial Minimum is 1 and its Initial Maximum is 10, at least 1 instance of the component must exist in the configuration, but the end user can create up to 9 additional instances.
Note: If you modify the Initial Minimum or Initial Maximum values, refresh the User Interface to be sure that the new setting is used at runtime.
If your Model has one or more Numeric Rules that dynamically changes how many of this component’s instances are allowed based on end user selections, you must select Multiple or Variable Instances for the rule to function. For details about this type of rule, see Contributing to the Maximum Number of Component Instances.
For more information about instantiating components at runtime, and the effect that changing these values has on a saved configuration, see Introduction to Instantiation.
This section lists any User Properties that are associated with the selected node. User Properties are described in User Properties.
For details about the tasks you can perform when editing a Model node, see:
This section lists any Populators associated with the selected node and enables you to edit or delete an existing Populator, or define a new Populator.
For more information, see Introduction to Populators.
This read-only section lists any rules in which the selected node is a participant. You may want to view this information before modifying or deleting a node because such changes can affect how a rule performs or cause it to become invalid.
If a UI has been generated for the Model, this read-only section lists information about how the selected node appears in the UI. This information includes the UI element name, its type, and the UI Page in which the selected element appears (the Enclosing Page).
For more information, see:
Use this section to define a violation message that appears at runtime when a Resource is over-consumed. The default message is "The resource resource name is over-consumed."
For more information, see:
For details about defining a violation message for a rule, see Violation Message.
Use this field to enter any additional information about the selected node, such as its purpose or when it was created. This field accepts a maximum of 2000 characters.
These settings control whether a Model node appears in a runtime UI or when unit testing a configuration model in the Model Debugger. By default, nodes that you create in Configurator Developer are set to Always Effective. You cannot modify the effectivity settings for imported BOM nodes.
For general information about effectivity, seeIntroduction to Effectivity.
The following procedures assume you have a Model open for editing and are working in the Structure area of the Workbench.
To specify a range of dates for a non-BOM node:
Open the node for editing.
In the Effectivity section of the node’s details page, select Choose Explicit Dates from the Action list, and then click Go.
Select No Start Date or No End Date, or specify a From and To date and time.
You can specify a very wide range of dates when entering a start and end date, but this range is limited. For more information, see the Oracle Configurator Implementation Guide.
Click Apply.
To assign an Effectivity Set to a non-BOM node:
Open the node for editing.
In the Effectivity section of the node’s details page, select Choose Effectivity Set from the Action list, then click Go.
The Select Effectivity Set page lists all Effectivity Sets in the CZ schema.
Select an Effectivity Set, and then click Apply.
To assign a Usage to a node:
Open the node for editing.
In the Effectivity section of the node’s details page, click Select Usage Exceptions.
Select the Usage(s) for which the node is not effective, and then click Apply.
In the node’s details page, click Apply.
For more information about Usages, seeIntroduction to Effectivity.
The Actions list in the Structure area of the Workbench includes Copy, Move, Delete and Rename.
You can copy and move nodes in the Structure area of the Workbench with the following limitations:
Option nodes can be copied or moved only to a Feature node.
Feature nodes can be copied or moved only to a Component node.
Component nodes can be copied or moved only to another Component or Model node.
Total and Resource nodes can be copied or moved only to a Component node.
When you move a node that has one or more Populators defined, the Populator remains with the node after the move. However, when you copy a node that has one or more Populators, the Populators are not retained.
The procedures for performing the Copy, Move, Delete and Rename actions are the same for Model structure nodes and objects in the Main area of the Repository. For details, see:
When you copy nodes or rules, you must specify a destination for the copied objects. When you copy a Component node, an additional setting is available. This setting is called Copy Rules Associated with Components. When you select this setting:
Configurator Developer copies only the rules whose participants are entirely contained within the substructure of the Component you are copying, and places the copy of each rule in the corresponding rule Folder.
If any of the nodes in a rule are not within the structure of the Component you are copying, then that rule is not copied.
You may want to select this setting if, for example, you want to constrain the copied structure the same way as the source structure, but do not want to recreate all of the rules from scratch.
For general information about References, see Introduction to Model References.
To create a Reference:
Open a Model for editing in the Structure area of the Workbench.
Click the icon in the Create column next to a Model or Component.
After you create the Reference, this node is the Reference’s parent in the Model structure.
Select Create Model Reference, then click Continue.
Select a Model from the list, then click Finish.
The list includes all Models that appear in the Main area of the Repository, including the Model you are modifying.
Open a Model for editing in the Structure area of the Workbench.
In the same row as the Reference you want to modify, click the icon in the Edit column.
If you do not want the Reference to appear at runtime, deselect Include in Generated UI.
Optionally modify the Reference’s Instantiability settings.
For details, see Instances.
Optionally modify the Reference’s Effectivity.
For details, see Modifying Effectivity.
Click Apply.
For general information about Connectors, see Connectors.
To create a Connector:
Open a Model for editing in the Structure area of the Workbench.
Click the icon in the Create column next to a Model or Component.
Select Create Model Connector, then click Continue.
Select a target Model from the list, then click Finish.
The list includes all Models that appear in the Main area of the Repository, including the Model you are modifying.
Verify that the Model that is the target of the Connector will exist at runtime.
If a Connector’s target is not part of the Model you are editing, perform one of the following:
Create a Reference to the Connector’s target Model
Create a Reference from the Connector’s target Model to the Model you are currently editing (to do this, you must first open the target Model for editing)
Reference both the Connector’s parent Model and the Connector’s target Model from the same (parent) Model
Creating Model References is described in Creating a Model Reference.
Note: If the target Model does not exist in your Model’s structure, the target Model cannot be instantiated at runtime. Therefore, no targets will be available when an end user clicks the Choose Connection button at runtime. For more information about Connectors and target Models, see Connectors and Target Models.
To change a Connector’s target, you must delete the Connector, recreate it, and then choose a different target Model.
To modify a Connector:
In the same row as the Connector you want to modify, click the icon in the Edit column.
If you do not want the Connector to appear at runtime, deselect Include in Generated UI.
If connecting this Connector at runtime is not required to create a valid configuration, deselect the Connection Required box.
Optionally modify the Connector’s Effectivity.
For details about Effectivity, see Effectivity.
Click Apply.