The Use Entity Name? column

The last column in the variable table is Use Entity Name? If the column check box is set, then it has a value of true. If the check box is not set, then it has a value of false.

  • A value of true is meaningful only if the value of Entity Path is an entity type. A value of true instructs the Entity Name utility to calculate the Entity Name for that entity, instead of loading the entity into memory. The variable for that subentity is of type String and you can use the variable in the Gosu code that constructs the current Entity Name.
    Note: If the value of Entity Path is an entity, then you must set the value of Use Entity Type? to true. Otherwise, a variable entry that ends in an entity value uploads that entire entity, which defeats the purpose of using Entity Names.
  • A value of false indicates that PolicyCenter does not use the Entity Path value as an entity display name.
  • An empty column is the same as a value of false. This is the default.

Set the Use Entity Name? value to true if you want to include the entire Entity Name for a particular subentity. For example, suppose that you are editing the Exposure entity name and that you create a variable called claimant with an Entity Path of Exposure.ClaimantDenorm. Suppose also that you set the value of Use Entity Name to true. In this case, the entity name for the Claimant, as defined by the Contact entity name definition, would be included in a String variable called claimant. PolicyCenter would then use this value in constructing the entity name for the Exposure entity.

Note: If you set the Use Entity Name? field to true and then attempt to use a virtual field as an Entity Path value, Studio resource verification generates an error.

Evaluating null values

If the value of Use Entity Name? is true, then PolicyCenter always evaluates the entity name definition, even if the foreign key is null. By convention, in this case, the entity name definition usually returns the empty string "". In other words, the entity name string can never be null even if the foreign key is null. You can use the HasContent enhancement property on String to test whether the display name string is empty.

Thus, as you write entity name definitions, Guidewire recommends that you return the empty string if all the variables in your entity name definition are null or empty. Guidewire uses the empty string (instead of returning null) to prevent Null Pointer Exceptions. For example, suppose that you construct an entity name such as "X-Y-Z", in which you add a hyphen between variables X, Y, and Z from the database. In this case, be sure you return the empty string "" if X, Y, and Z are all null or empty and not " - - ".