Working with Definitions

You can create or modify many types of definitions in PeopleSoft Application Designer. This table lists development definitions:

Use the definition workspace to access or create definitions.

To open a definition:

1. Select File > Open or click the corresponding toolbar button.

   The Open Definition dialog box appears.

2. Select the type of definition that you want to open from the Definition drop-down list box.

3. Provide selection criteria.

   Enter a definition name or description (or the beginning characters of either). Other selection criteria options might be available, depending on the definition type.

4. Click Open, or press ENTER, to display definitions matching the selection criteria that you entered.

   To clear the current selection criteria and start over, click New Search. To change how the system displays the search list, perform one of these actions:

   • Click the List button to see only the names of the definitions.

   • Click the Details button to see the names and descriptions of the definitions. This is the default.

5. Select a definition to open.

6. Double-click the definition that you want to open in the definition workspace, or highlight the definition and click Open.

   You can also use the shift-click selection technique to select more than one definition to open in a single action, or you can right-click to view a pop-up menu, where you can open, print, rename, or delete the selected definition.

   Note: The print menu is disabled when you right-click any of the following definitions: activity, approval rule set, business process, component interface, component, and project.

   Note: When the definition is open and able to be modified, "Ready" appears in the lower left-hand corner of the workspace.

In the project workspace, you can view a definition that is referenced by the active definition.

To view a definition, select View > View Definition. You can also right-click the definition you want to view and select View Definition from the pop-up menu.

Properties are associated with each definition type. To view or edit definition properties, select File > Definition Properties. You can also click the toolbar button, press Alt+Enter, or right-click the definition and select Properties from the pop-up menu.

The Definition Properties dialog box almost always includes a General tab that provides a place to display and enter descriptions and comments about the definition. An optional Owner ID drop-down list box designates the owner of an individual definition. This ID helps identify which application team last made a change to a definition. Set the default owner ID for new definitions in the Options dialog box on the Owner ID tab.

Image: Example of a Property sheet

This example illustrates the fields and controls on the Example of a Property sheet. You can find definitions for the fields and controls later on this page.

With PeopleSoft Application Designer, every definition that you can open (menus, pages, components, records, fields, and so on) has an associated property sheet. Definition properties that are specific to the definition type are grouped together in these definition property sheets. For example:

• Record type and record use properties are found in the Definition Properties sheet for records.

• Translate values are found in the Definition Properties sheet for fields.

• Menu groups and menu labels are found in the Definition Properties sheet for menus.

• Search record, actions, and internet settings are found in the Definition Properties sheet for components.

When building or adapting an application, try to use existing definitions as much as possible; when that is not possible, create new definitions.

To create a new definition:

1. Select File > New or click the corresponding toolbar button.

2. Select the definition type.

   The new definition appears in the definition workspace.

To retain your changes, you must save the definition. You must name new definitions before you can save them.

To save a definition:

1. Click the Save button on the toolbar or select either File > Save or File > Save As to save a definition.

   The Save and Save As commands save a single definition. Use the File, Save All command or the Save All toolbar button to save all open definitions at once.

2. If you are saving a page or component, specify the language or market.

   For a page definition, the Language drop-down list box appears; for a component, the Market drop-down list box appears.

To close a definition, either select File > Close or click the Close Window icon on the title bar of the window of the active definition. You can also select Window > Close All to close all open definitions.

You can rename existing definitions in a database at any time.

Image: Rename Definition dialog box

This example illustrates the fields and controls on the Rename Definition dialog box. You can find definitions for the fields and controls later on this page.

To rename a definition in the database:

1. Select File > Rename.

   The Rename Definition dialog box looks like the Open Definition dialog box, and you select definitions in the same way.

2. Specify the definition type and any selection criteria that are useful in locating the definition that you want to rename.

   The Rename Definition dialog box does not have a Select button. So, after entering either a partial name or description of the definition, press Enter to retrieve a list of definitions matching your selection criteria.

3. Select the definition that you want to rename.

4. Click the Rename button in the dialog box and double-click the selected definition, or right-click to select Rename from the pop-up menu.

   The selected definition name in the Rename Definition dialog box is in edit mode.

5. Change the selected definition name and press Enter.

   When you press Enter, PeopleSoft Application Designer prompts you first, to close any open definitions before you can save the new name, and then to confirm the rename before you can save a change.

6. Click OK to complete the renaming of the selected definition.

Deleting a definition is different from removing a definition from a project. When you remove a definition from a project, the reference to the definition is removed from the project, but the definition still exists in the database and, thus, may be part of another project. Deleting a definition, however, permanently removes the definition from the database. Any projects or other definitions that contain the deleted definition are affected.

Before deleting a definition you should find all references to that definition by running the Find Definition References process. For example, a field definition that you want to delete may be referenced by both record and page definitions.

Image: Delete Definition dialog box

This example illustrates the fields and controls on the Delete Definition dialog box. You can find definitions for the fields and controls later on this page.

To delete a definition from the database:

1. Select File > Delete.

   The Delete Definition dialog box looks like the Open Definition dialog box, and you select definitions in exactly the same way.

2. Specify the definition type and any selection criteria that are useful in locating the definition that you want to delete.

   After entering either a partial name or description of the definition, press Enter to retrieve a list of definitions matching your selection criteria.

3. Select the definition that you want to delete.

   To select multiple definitions, hold down either Shift or Ctrl while clicking the appropriate definitions.

4. Click the Delete button and confirm that you want to delete the selected definition.

Before making significant changes, such as deleting a definition or modifying a definition, you must see what other parts of the application might be affected by the change. The Find Definition References feature enables you to assess the impact of a potential change to a definition, by performing a comprehensive search of the database pinpointing all definitions in which the definition in focus is located.

Using the Find Definition References Feature

Image: Finding definition references

This example illustrates the fields and controls on the Finding definition references.

To find definition references:

1. Open the definition in the definition workspace.

2. Select Edit > Find Definition References > or right-click the definition and select Find Definition References from the pop-up menu.

   After you select this item, a search of the database takes place, and the results appear on the Find Definition References tab of the output window.

3. For Records, fields, record fields, and field labels, select any filtering options from the Find Definitions References dialog box.

   See the following sections for information on filtering search results for these definition types.

4. Select any definition that appears in the output window by double-clicking it.

   The selected definition opens in the definition workspace.

5. After you find a definition, select the definition reference and right-click to view the pop-up menu.

   Note: Double-clicking an entry in the Find Definition References output window opens the appropriate mode of PeopleSoft Application Designer. If you double-click a related record that was found, the record opens and the field for which you were looking is highlighted.

Using the Find Definition References Feature for Fields

Image: Find Definition References for Fields

This example illustrates the Find Definition References dialog for fields displaying the options to select for narrowing the scope of the search.

When you select Find Definition References for a field definition, the Find Definition References dialog box displays a set of options for filtering the definition types searched. For example, if you select to search only in Records (all types listed) and Page only references in record and page definition types will appear in the output window, enabling you to find the applicable references quicker.

For fields, you can select to search for references in these definition types:

• Records

  • Record

  • Query View

  • RecField Set Control Field

  • Record Set Control Field

• Page

• Project

• PeopleCode

• Component Interface

• Analytic Type

• Analytic Model

• Message

• Channel

• File Layout

• Test

Using the Find Definition References Feature for Records

Image: Find Definition References for Records

This example illustrates the Find Definition References dialog for records displaying the options to select for narrowing the scope of the search.

When you select Find Definition References for a record definition, the Find Definition References dialog box displays a set of options for filtering the definition types searched. For example, if you select to search only in Records (all types listed) and Pages (all types listed) only references in record and page definition types will appear in the output window, enabling you to find the applicable references quicker.

For records, you can select to search for references in these definition types:

• Records

  • Edit Table

  • Default Record

  • Parent Record

  • Related Language Record

  • Query Security Record

  • Audit Record

  • Sub record

  • Query View

  • Record Groups

• Pages

  • Panel

  • Tree Control Panel

  • Search Record in Panel Group

  • Add Search Record in Panel Group

  • Tree

• Search Record in Menu

• Component Interfaces

• Project

• Virtual Approver

• Application Engine

  • State records

  • Temp records

• Problem Type Definition

• Business Process Designer

• PeopleCode

• Messaging

• File Layouts

• Analytic Model

• Test Framework

Using the Find Definition References Feature for Record Fields

Image: Find Definition References for Record Fields

This example illustrates the Find Definition References dialog for record fields displaying the options to select for narrowing the scope of the search.

For record fields, you can filter your search by:

• Record Field (default)

• Panel Field (page field)

• Tree Control on Panel (page)

• Query View

• Tree

• Business Process Designer

• Analytic Type

• Analytic Model

• File Layouts

• PeopleCode

Using the Find Definition References Feature for Field Labels

Image: Find Definition References Feature for Field Labels

This example illustrates the Find Definition References dialog for field labels displaying the options to select for narrowing the scope of the search.

For field labels, you can filter your search by:

• Record

• Panel (page definitions)

PeopleSoft Application Designer makes use of multiple document interface (MDI). Consequently, each window in the definition workspace of PeopleSoft Application Designer represents a view of a definition, and you can have multiple windows open at the same time. These definition windows must stay inside the borders of the definition workspace, but you can maximize, minimize, cascade, or tile them in that space.

You can have different types of definition windows open at the same time, such as menu, field, record, and page windows. As a result, you can work with different definitions simultaneously, which simplifies the process of designing a group of related definitions.

Active Windows

Although you can have multiple windows open at the same time, only one window can be active at any moment. Make a window active by selecting it in the definition workspace. The active window always appears on top with the title bar in active window title color.

In addition to clicking a window to make it active, you can also use the Window menu shown in the following example. This menu displays the windows that are currently open by displaying a check mark next to the active one. Change the window that is currently active by selecting it from the menu.

Image: Example of the Window menu

This example illustrates the fields and controls on the Example of the Window menu. You can find definitions for the fields and controls later on this page.

Other commands from the Window menu include Cascade, Tile, Arrange Icons, and Close All windows.

PeopleSoft Application Designer makes ample use of drag-and-drop mouse techniques. For example, you can drag a field from a record definition and drop it onto a page definition. You can then drag the page onto a component and drag the component onto a menu. Using the drag-and-drop technique is faster and simpler than using menu commands to manipulate definitions.

To drag and drop a definition:

1. Open the definition in either the project workspace or the definition workspace from which you want to drag.

   For example, to drag a field from an existing record definition to a new page definition, first open the record containing the field. You can open it in the definition workspace or expand the record in the project workspace so that the fields appear. With the appropriate field displayed, you can drag and drop it into another definition.

2. Open the definition to which you want to drag.

3. Drag the definition from one definition to the other.

The PeopleSoft Application Designer toolbar and menus change based on the type of definition that is active. For example, when a page definition is active, the toolbar displays buttons that represent the definitions that you can add to a page. This technique is also known as morphing.

The change is so subtle that you can easily miss it. The change is easy to miss because the menu bar names are consistent among definition types. However, if you look at the menu items and toolbars closely, you see a distinct difference. For example, if a page window is active, then the menus and toolbars change to include actions and options applicable to a page definition, as in the Show Grid option on the View menu and the introduction of the Layout menu. In addition, page-specific toolbars appear.

In the same respect, if a record window is active, the menus and toolbars morph to include actions and options applicable to a record definition. For example, different options (such as View, Field Display, and so on) are available in the View menu . Different toolbar buttons for record definition actions also appear.

Pop-up menus are context-sensitive menus that appear at the current location of the mouse pointer whenever you click the alternate mouse button (typically, the right mouse button). They provide efficient access to numerous PeopleSoft Application Designer commands. Because pop-up menus appear at the current location of the pointer, they eliminate the need to move the pointer up to the menu bar or to a toolbar. A pop-up menu contains only the commands that apply to the selected definition or the current context. This example shows the component definition pop-up menu:

Image: Example of the Component definition pop-up menu

This example illustrates the fields and controls on the Example of the Component definition pop-up menu. You can find definitions for the fields and controls later on this page.

PeopleSoft Application Designer is highly configurable, enabling you to tailor the tool to your needs or preferences.

Splitter Bars

A splitter bar is a thin vertical or horizontal bar that separates windows inside a parent window. Using the splitter bar enables you to resize two windows at the same time. Splitter bars are used between the project workspace, definition workspace, and output window. This example shows splitter bars:

Image: Example of Splitter bars used to resize a workspace

This example illustrates the fields and controls on the Example of Splitter bars used to resize a workspace. You can find definitions for the fields and controls later on this page.

Drag the splitter bar to change the size of the project workspace, definition workspace, or output window.

When working with PeopleSoft Application Designer, you often generate scripts, logs, reports, and so on. When specifying the full path for a file reference in PeopleSoft Application Designer, you are limited to 100 characters. This limit applies to all file references, which include build scripts, build logs, compare reports, and so on. For example, a reference to a build log, such as c:\temp\...\psbuild.log, cannot exceed 100 characters.