Editing a Business Rule

You can edit the structure of a business rule by adding to, removing, or changing its components (including formulas, scripts, conditions, ranges, and loops). You can also edit the properties of the business rule's components and the properties of the business rule itself.

You can edit these properties of a business rule:

You can also edit the range of dimensions and members, and the variables, you include in the business rule.

  To edit a business rule:

  1. In the System View, expand the Financial Management, Planning, or Essbase application type, the application, the calculation type, plan type, or database, and Rules. Do one of these tasks:

    • Right–click the rule you want to edit, and select Open.

    • Select the rule you want to edit, and select File, Open.

  2. To edit the rule, in the Rule Designer, add new components, and copy and delete existing components, from the rule's flow chart.

    Tip:

    As you edit components in a business rule, you may want to increase or decrease the size of the component icons and the amount of detail that is displayed in the flow chart. To do this, you can use the zoom bar to zoom in and out within the flow chart. When the flow chart is displayed in small or very small sizes, the component captions do not display, but you can place your mouse pointer over any icon to read its caption. Regardless of the size of the components in the flow chart, you can select a component to view its properties on the Properties tab.

  3. On Properties, edit properties of the rule. (The number and contents of the tabs change as you move amongst the rule's components in the flow chart. To edit the properties of, and other information for, a component, select the component in the flow chart to display its information in the tabs. See Using Components to Design Business Rules and Templates (Financial Management, Planning, and Essbase Block Storage Application Users Only).)

    • Optional: Edit the name by entering a new one of up to 50 characters. (The name defaults from the New Rule dialog.)

    • Optional: Edit the description by changing or entering a new one of up to 255 characters.

    • Optional: Edit the caption for the rule. The caption displays below the rule's icon in the flow chart.

    • Optional: Enter comments for the rule. For example, you may want to add comments that describe what the rule does in detail.

    • Financial Management users only:

      • Select Enable Logging so, if the rule has log text, it is included in the log file when the rule is launched. You can enable logging for rules, rulesets, and components. However, you specify what log text to include, if any, with a business rule's formula statements.

        Note:

        If logging is not enabled for a ruleset, but is enabled for a rule and component that belong to the ruleset, no log file is created because the log setting for the ruleset overrides the settings for the rule and component.

      • Select Enable Timer so the time taken to process the rule is recorded in the log file when the rule is launched. You can enable the timer for rules, rulesets, and components. The process time is included in the log file for every object whose timer is enabled. For example, if you have a ruleset whose timer is enabled and the ruleset contains three rules whose timers are enabled, the time taken to process the ruleset, and each rule in the ruleset, is recorded.

      • Select Disabled to temporarily disable the business rule while the script is generated.

      • Select Is Function so the rule is used as a function that can include execution variables that you specify as parameters on the Parameters tab.

        Note:

        Any business rules with Is Function selected are displayed as functions in the Function Selector.

  4. Financial Management users only: On Parameters, you can view the execution variables that are used in the business rule and select any execution variables you want to use as parameters. Complete these steps:

    Note:

    When you first open a new business rule, this tab is empty. If you add components to the business rule, and any of those components use execution variables, the execution variables are displayed on this tab.

    1. Select Is Parameter to use the execution variable as a parameter. If the execution variable has a ruleset scope (that is, it is passed from one business rule to another business rule within the same ruleset) Is Parameter is selected by default. If the variable has a rule scope (that is, it may be used only in the business rule for which it is created and is not passed to another business rule) Is Parameter is not selected.

      Note:

      If a business rule contains at least one execution variable for which Is Parameter is selected, when you include this business rule in another or the same business rule, you can specify values for its execution variables on the Parameters tab. See Using Parameters as a Business Rule (Financial Management Users Only).

    2. In Passing Method, select By Reference or By Value. (By Reference is the default.)

  5. Planning and Essbase users only: On Global Range, you can edit the values (that is, members, variables, and functions) that define the range of values to be calculated when the rule is launched.

    1. Select values for a dimension by clicking its row in the Select Value column.

    2. When the Actions icon is displayed, click it, and select one of these:

  6. Planning and Essbase users only: On Variables, you can create variables for the rule. (See Working with Variables.)

  7. Financial Management, Planning, and Essbase block storage application users only: On Script, you can view the rule in its non-graphical format.

    Note:

    You cannot make changes on this tab. If you want to make changes to the script, select Edit, Script. See Editing a Business Rule in Script Mode (Financial Management, Planning, and Essbase Block Storage Application Users Only).

  8. Financial Management, Planning, and Essbase block storage application users only: To search for a text string on Script:

    • Click the Find icon to find a text string within the script.

      1. Enter the text for which you want to search within the script.

      2. Select Match case if you want the case of the text you are searching for to match the case of the text you enter in the dialog.

      3. Select Match whole word if you want the text you are searching for to match the whole word (versus a part of the word) you enter in the dialog.

      4. Click Find.

    • Click the Find and Replace icon to find and replace a text string within the script.

      1. Enter the text for which you want to search within the script.

      2. Enter the text with which you want to replace the text you find.

      3. Select Match case if you want the case of the text you are searching for to match the case of the text you enter in the dialog.

      4. Select Match whole word if you want the text you are searching for to match the whole word (versus a part of the word) you enter in the dialog.

      5. Click Replace to find and replace one instance of the text at a time.

      6. Click Replace All to find and replace all instances of the text simultaneously.

  9. On Usages, you can view which rules and rulesets use the rule, if any. This is the information you can view about the rules and rulesets (Financial Management and Planning users only) that use the rule:

    Note:

    You cannot edit any of the information on this tab.

    • The names of the business rules and business rulesets (Financial Management and Planning users only) that are using the business rule

    • The calculation, plan type, or database of the business rules and business rulesets (Financial Management and Planning users only) that are using the business rule

    • The application name of the business rules and business rulesets (Financial Management and Planning users only) that are using the business rule

    • Whether the business rules and business rulesets (Financial Management and Planning users only) that are using the business rule are deployed

    • Whether the business rules and business rulesets (Financial Management and Planning users only) that are using the business rule are validated

    • A description of the business rules and business rulesets (Financial Management and Planning users only) that are using the business rule

  10. Select File, Save.