Working with shared or included files

A shared element or shared section is any PCF element that has the following characteristics:

• The PCF element is not a top-level element, meaning it is not a Page, Popup, or Wizard, for example.
• The PCF element exists in its own file.

Guidewire calls this element a shared section because it is possible to share the element (or file) between multiple top-level elements. PolicyCenter automatically propagates any changes that you make to the shared section to all other PCF elements that include the shared section.

You cannot select elements within the included file and the included elements do not display a highlight or a tooltip as you move the cursor over it. For all intents and purposes, included elements are flat content of the element in the current file that includes them.

However, Guidewire Studio™ for PolicyCenter displays a PCF element that includes the contents of another file or element with a blue overlay. This overlay is cumulative. Studio displays included elements that are several levels deep in a darker shade of blue. If you double-click an area with a blue overlay, Studio opens the included file in a new editor view.

Right-clicking anywhere on the canvas and toggling Show included sections or toggling Show included sections from the Page Config menu disables the representation of the included files. Studio displays the text of the reference expression instead.