Setting Up the Auto-Creation

When you auto-create records or line items from an upper or detail form, you can specify multiple creation criteria in uDesigner:

For an auto-created record:

For an auto-created line item:

To set up the auto-creation:

  1. Open the form from which you want to generate a new record or line item.
  2. In the navigator, click Auto-creation Processes.
    • Click Upper to auto-create a record record-to-record.
    • Click Detail to auto-create a record from the line item list (line-item-list-to-record).
    • Click Detail to auto-create a line item to add to an existing form.

    The right pane lists the creator elements that were placed on the upper or detail form. The log also shows:

    • The name of the business process that will be created, or the name of the business process to which a line item will be added
    • What the auto-creation process creates: a record or a line item
  3. Double-click the name of the creator element you want to configure. An Auto-Creation window opens. This window differs, depending on whether you are auto-creating a record or a line item.
  4. Use the information in the table below to fill in the fields in this window.
  5. Click OK.
  6. Repeat steps 3, 4, and 5 for any remaining creators on the form.

In this field:

Do this:

Trigger Element

Shows the name of the creator element you selected in Step 3.

Record Owner Element

(Optional) Choose the user or group who should receive this task.

If you leave this field blank, the administrator can specify a default owner when he/she sets up the auto-creation. The list will get populated with all the user pickers existing in the form.

Note: If the user's status is not active, if a group name contains no active members, or if the user does not exist in the group, the auto-creation will fail.

Location Element

Select the location where the new record should reside, such as at company level, or in another project/shell.

If you leave this field empty, Unifier will spawn the new record in the same location as the source record.

Duration Element

Select the duration (in days) of the workflow for the new record. Use this to override the workflow duration specified in workflow set up

If you leave this field blank, the new record will use the duration that is specified in the workflow set up. The field gets populated with all the integer amount fields existing in the form.

(This field is not applicable if you are creating a non-workflow record.)

Due Date Element

Select a date picker data element that will be used to populate the Record Due Date in the auto-created destination workflow BP.

If a date picker is not selected before auto creation, the created record will use the Duration Element instead only if the Due Date Element and BP Creator have been selected in the same form.

Depending on the entries made in the uDesigner forms, Auto-creation Setup, Unifier Admin, and the source record in user mode, the Record Due Date in the auto-created destination BP will be populated as follows:

  • If the Record Due Date Element or Duration Element is not specified in the auto-creation setup, and the Duration field is not setup in the Admin mode or selected in the user mode, then the due date has to be manually entered after the destination BP workflow record is auto-created.
  • If the Record Due Date Element or Duration Element is not specified in the auto-creation setup, however, Duration is defined in the Admin mode, but the source record in the user mode does not have any duration selected, then the due date will be calculated and displayed based on the duration days.
  • If the Due Date Element is specified in the auto-creation setup, the Duration is defined in the Admin mode, and the source record has a date element, then the auto-created BP will display the source record's Due Date Element.
  • If the Due Date Element is specified in the auto-creation setup, then regardless of the Duration specified in the Admin mode in the Autocreation tab, the Date Element specified in the source record will be calculated and displayed as the due date based on the specified duration.
  • If the Duration Element is specified in the auto-creation setup, but Duration is not defined in the Admin mode, and the source record does not have the Duration Element populated, then the due date will be calculated and displayed using the destination record's Duration Element.
  • If the Due Date Element in the source record is a formula (including today), and there is a time gap between when the draft record is created and sent out to the next step in the workflow, then the auto created record will use the due date time when the draft record was created instead of the time the record was submitted.

Creation Method

Shows whether the auto-creation is being made record-to-record (using the upper form) or line-item-to-record (using the detail form)

Auto-create Records

Select the destination record this record should populate.

Display Element

(appears for both business process and line item auto-creation)

Select the field you want to appear as the link from the source record to the new record being auto-created. The list displays all the fields on the source record. The field you specify here will appear on the source record as a hyperlink to the new record.

If the auto-creation creates a line item on an existing form, the field you specify here will appear on the creating record, showing the name of the line item that was created.

Show reference value as hyperlink

Select the check box to display the field name as a hyperlink. Users can use this hyperlink to open the new records that have been generated from this form. For example, if a payment request record was auto-created from a lease record, the name of the payment request record will appear as a hyperlink on the lease form and allow users to open the auto-created record.

Auto-populate from Line Item to upper form

Select this check box if you want to include line items on the upper form of the new record.

If you check this box, data elements on the upper form of the new record will be populated with line item data from the source record, but only if the data elements—the one on the line item of the source record as well as the one on the new record—match.

Specify Source and Destination tabs

Use this part of the form to map line items to data elements on the new record for auto-population.

Note: Data will not be copied into any tabs that are hidden.

Record-to-record auto-creation: If you map a tab on the source record to a tab on the new record, all the line items from the tab on the source will be copied into the tab on the destination (new) record.

Line-item-to record auto-creation: With this method, a user can selectively choose which line items should generate new records.

Source tab name lists the tabs on the source record. Destination tab name is a drop-down list of the tab names on the destination record. This is where you can map the contents of a source tab to a different tab on the destination record.

Note: Line items will not be copied if either the source tab name or destination tab name that displays in the Auto-creation Processes - Upper or Detail setup is incorrect. If you update a source or destination tab name of a BP from the Item Logs navigation menu, ensure that you verify the tab name mapping for autocreation.

If you are using record-to-record creation, the new record will show the tabs and line items you mapped here.

If you are using line-item-to-record creation, one record for every mapped line item on the source record will be created. So, if source tab A has 10 mapped line items and source tab B has 7 mapped line items, 17 records will be created.

Target Record Element

(line-item creation)

Select the field (usually, a BP picker) on the form that identifies the record where the line item should be created. This field is part of establishing the link between the line item on the existing record and the record that created it.

Note: If a shell picker and the BP picker you specify here are linked, then if the user resets the shell picker value, the BP picker will also be reset, as will the BP Line Item Creator. Unifier will re-populate any fields that were auto-populated from the BP picker, and will also recalculate any formulas on these fields.

Line Item Reference

(line-item creation)

Select the line item picker that references the created line item. This field links the line item on the existing record to the record that created it for auto-population and reverse auto-population purposes.

Destination Tab

(line-item creation)

Select the tab on which the record containing the line item to create resides.

Source Record Element

(line-item creation)

Select the BP Picker, BP Creator, or BP Data Picker that will be populated with a reference to the record that created the line item.


Last Published Monday, June 3, 2024