Typekey fields
A typekey field is an entity field that PolicyCenter associates with a specific typelist in the user interface. The typelist determines the values that are possible for that field. Thus, the specified typelist limits the available field values to those defined in the typelist. (Or, if you filter the typelist, the field displays a subset of the typelist values.)
For a PolicyCenter field to use a typelist to set values requires the following:
- The typelist must exist. If it does not exist, then you must create it using Guidewire Studio.
- The typelist must exist as
a
<typekey>element on the entity that you use to populate the field. If the<typekey>element does not exist, then you must extend the entity and manually add the typekey. - The PCF file that defines the screen that contains your typelist field must reference the entity that you use to populate the field.
This topic includes the following:
Example: Typekey field
The following example illustrates how to use
the Priority typelist
to set the priority of an activity that you create in PolicyCenter.
This example requires the following steps:
Step 1: Define the typelist in Studio
It is possible to set a
priority on an activity, a value that indicates the priority of this
activity with respect to other activities. In the base configuration,
the Priority typelist
includes the following typecodes:
- High
- Low
- Normal
- Urgent
You define both the Priority
typelist and its typecodes (its valid values) through Guidewire Studio,
through the Typelist editor. For information
on using the Typelist editor, see Working with typelists in Studio.
After completing this step, complete Step 2: Add typekeys to the entity definition file.
Step 2: Add typekeys to the entity definition file
Before beginning this step, complete Step 1: Define the typelist in Studio.
For an entity to be able to access and use a typelist, you need to define a
<typekey> element on that entity. Use the
<typekey> element to specify the typelist in the entity
metadata.
For example, in the base configuration,
Guidewire declares a number of <typekey>
elements on the Activity
entity (Activity.eti),
including the Priority
typekey:
<entity entity="Activity" ... >
...
<typekey default="task"
desc="The class of the activity."
name="ActivityClass"
nullok="false"
typelist="ActivityClass"/>
<typekey desc="Priority of the activity with respect to other activities."
name="Priority"
nullok="false"
typelist="Priority"/>
<typekey default="open"
desc="Status of the activity."
exportable="false"
name="Status"
nullok="false"
typelist="ActivityStatus"/>
<typekey default="general"
desc="Type of the activity."
name="Type"
nullok="false"
typelist="ActivityType"/>
<typekey desc="Validation level that this object passed (if any) before it was stored."
exportable="false"
name="ValidationLevel"
typelist="ValidationLevel"/>
...
</entity>Notice that the <typekey>
element uses the following syntax:
<typekey desc="DescriptionString" name="FieldName" typelist="Typelist" />After completing this step, complete Step 3: Reference the typelist in the PCF file.
See also
- For information on the
<typekey>element, see <typekey>. - For information on how to create data model entities, see The PolicyCenter data model.
- For information on how to modify existing data model entities, see Modifying the base data model.
Step 3: Reference the typelist in the PCF file
Before beginning this task, complete Step 2: Add typekeys to the entity definition file.
Within Guidewire PolicyCenter, you can create a new activity. As you do so, you set a number of fields, including the priority for that activity. In order for PolicyCenter to render a Priority field on the screen, it must exist in the PCF file that PolicyCenter uses to render the screen.
Thus, as the following image illustrates, the PolicyCenter NewActivityDV PCF file contains a Priority field with a value of Activity.Priority:
After completing this step, complete Step 4: Update the data model.
See also
- For information on working with the PCF editor, see Using the PCF editor.
- For information on working with PCF files in general, see Introduction to page configuration.
Step 4: Update the data model
Before beginning this task, complete Step 3: Reference the typelist in the PCF file.
Guidewire recommends that you regenerate the PolicyCenter Data Dictionary before proceeding. If you have made any mistakes in the previous steps, regenerating the Data Dictionary helps to identify those mistakes.
In any case, you need to stop and restart the application server before you can view your changes in the PolicyCenter interface. Restarting the application server forces PolicyCenter to upgrade the data model in the application database.