Create a Rule Template

You can create a rule template, or a rule within a project/shell template. By default, rule templates remain inactive; the Validate, Activate and Deactivate buttons on the toolbar are disabled. Rules within project/shell templates can be validated and activated.

You can create a rule manually or by copying an existing rule. If you create a rule within a project/shell template, the rule can be "pushed" to existing projects/shells.

To create a rule template:

  1. Go to the Company Workspace tab and switch to Admin mode.
  2. In the left Navigator, do one of the following:
    • Select Company Workspace and then select Rules.
    • Select Templates and then select Rules.
    • Select Templates, select Shells, select the applicable shell, open the applicable template, and then select Rules.

      Note: At the Template level with Shells, you can only create rules for CBS shells, not generic shells.

  3. From the toolbar, click New.
  4. In the Create a New Rule dialog box, select the Control Source and Rule Level, and then click OK.

    Note: For details on choosing the source and level, see About Control Sources and Levels.

  5. In the Edit Rule dialog box, use the information in the first table below to complete the fields on the General tab.
  6. Click the Rule tab and complete the fields using the information in the second table below.

    In project/shell templates, if you chose "Per selected CBS Summary Codes" or "Per selected CBS Codes" as the rule Level, the CBS Codes tab appears in the Edit Rule window. For guidance in selecting codes, see Select CBS Codes or Summary Codes.

  7. Click OK to save and close the Edit Rule dialog box.

General Tab

In this field:

Do this:

Name

Enter a name for the rule.

Note: Avoid using special characters, such as < or >, in the name of the rule. If you use special characters, the name is truncated in or excluded from the error description when validation is run. For example, if the rule name is <rule 1>, this information is omitted from the Description field in the Errors and Warnings window when validation is run and an error is identified.

Description

Enter a description of the rule.

Control Source

The system displays the control source you chose in this field.

Rule Level

The system displays the rule level you chose in this field.

Status

The system displays the current status of the rule.

Users/Groups who can override

(Optional; appears only at the project/shell templates level.)

This option is available only for the following rule levels:

  • Per selected summary CBS codes
  • Per selected CBS codes

Click Select, and select the users or groups that are allowed to override this rule at runtime.

If you select this option, the specified users/groups should be able to override a rule failure condition during a workflow. The system will display the name(s) of the overriding user(s) and any comments in the Audit Log.

Note: If you use this option, users/groups can override this rule, even if the data is not valid. Also, the users/groups specified in this option are added to the project/shell if they do not exist there.

Notify Users/Groups when overridden

(Optional; appears only at the project/shell templates level.) Click Select, and select the users or groups that should be notified if this rule is overridden.

Rule Tab

In this field:

Do this:

Limit Expression

This defines the Upper Limit that the rule validates against and is static. For example, for cost rules, this might be the Assigned Budget, or it can include the sum of several budget-related data sources on the cost sheet.

Click Formula. In the Formula Creation dialog box, the Data Source list includes all available cost sheet data sources for cost-related rules or funding sheets data sources for fund-related rules. This is the value on the left of the Condition. Pending positive values are not considered.

Note: The system identifies the non-terminal documents as pending.

Include positive pendings in calculation

Deselected by default.

When this option is selected by the user, the system considers positive values from non-terminal records in the Limit Expression formula calculation.

When this option is deselected by the user, the system ignores positive values from non-terminal records in the Limit Expression formula calculation.

Condition

The option "greater than or equal to" is the only selection available. Rules always check that the "Upper Limit" (Limit Expression) is greater than or equal to the amount calculated by the Data Expression.

Data Expression

This is what is being validated. For example:

Purchase Order (Pending) + Purchase Order (Approved) + Change Commit (Pending) + Change Commit (Approved)

Click Formula. In the Formula Creation dialog box, the Data Source list includes all available cost sheet data sources for cost-related rules or funding sheets data sources for fund-related rules. This is the value on the right of the Condition. Pending negative values are not considered.

Include negative pendings in calculation

Deselected by default.

When this option is selected by the user, the system considers negative values from non-terminal records in the Data Expression formula calculation.

When this option is deselected by the user, the system ignores negative values from non-terminal records in the Data Expression formula calculation.

Show this message when condition is not met

This field is required. Enter a message to display to users if the rule condition is not met.


Last Published Wednesday, July 2, 2025