Valid Values

BPM object attributes can be configured with a set of predefined valid values. When you do this, the attribute will be presented to the user as a drop-down list, rather than a field. Thus, the user will only be able to select from the choices provided.

There are three possible Valid Values settings for a BPM object attribute:

Valid Values Setting	Description	Presented As
All	Any value within the bounds of the data type is accepted. This is the default setting.	Text field
Static List	One of a list of values is accepted. The list is fixed at design time.	Drop-down list
Dynamic Method	One of a list of values is accepted. The list is dynamically built by a method in run-time.	Drop-down list

The dynamic method is more flexible. For example, you can pull the information from a database. The static list is easy to configure without writing any code.

Value Descriptions

You will often want end-users to choose among a set of values they can easily recognize, while in the background you need an identifier to return to your system. A typical situation is with a database, where you might want to obtain a record ID that has no meaning to the user. In other cases, you may need an expense account number or an abreviated code of some kind, such as a country code, while you want the user to be able to choose from a more descriptive list, such as actual country names.

This can be easily done either with the static list or dynamic method options by choosing to use value descriptions.

Setting a Static Valid Values List
A static valid values list is set at design time. You can use a static valid values list when you know that the list is unlikely to change very often, and when it will contain relatively few options.
Defining a Valid Values Method
When a list of valid values will change frequently, you will usually choose to load it dynamically. To do so, you must write a PBL method which will return the list or choose an existing method or array attribute.

Parent topic: Defining an Attribute