A “call guide” is a workflow action that initiates another predefined guide within a system like BMC Remedy AR System. These guides, often active link guides or filter guides, are designed to automate processes and interact with users. This article will delve into what a call guide is, how it works, and its use cases, focusing on providing a clear understanding of this powerful feature.
Call Guides are used in:
- Active links
- Filters
The Call Guide action starts a filter guide or an active link guide that isn’t an initial starting point. Think of it as a subroutine call in programming. You might have a guide that runs a series of active links to gather data from the user, or a guide that walks through the rows of a table field when a user clicks a button on a form. To trigger this guide, you create an active link that includes a Call Guide action.
Active links and filters executed in the context of guides are triggered by the guide itself, not by their “Execute On” conditions. When a guide executes an active link or filter, those “Execute On” conditions are bypassed. The Call Guide action triggers the first (or a specified) active link or filter within the called guide and then proceeds through each subsequent active link or filter in that guide.
Key Uses of Call Guides
One common application of the Call Guide action is to “loop” through the rows of a table field, often referred to as a “table walk”. This allows for automated processing of data within a table.
How to Define a Call Guide Action
Here’s how to define a Call Guide action within BMC Remedy AR System:
-
Right-click the “If Action” or “Else Action” panel header.
-
Choose Add Action > Call Guide.
-
From the “Data Source” list, select either “SERVER” or “SAMPLE DATA”:
-
Data Source is SERVER: Select the Server (for active links) where the guide resides and then select the “Guide Name” to call.
- The “Server Name” list displays servers you are currently logged into.
- To select the “Guide Name,” click the ellipsis and choose from the list of available guides. For active links, the “Available Active Link Guides” list contains all active link guides on the selected server. For filters, the “Available Filters List” displays all filters on the current server. For active link guides, a new window will open if the guide being called isn’t connected to the form where the active link is running.
-
Data Source is SAMPLE DATA: Define variables to determine the server and guide name during runtime:
- For active links, input an expression in the “Runtime Server Value” field to determine the server name at runtime.
- In the “Runtime Guide Value” field, input an expression to determine the guide name at runtime. For instance, enter the keyword variable $SERVER$ in “Runtime Server Value” and the field variable $GuideName$ in “Runtime Guide Value”. You can use the typing assistant or the Field/Keyword Selector dialog box.
-
-
In the “Table Loop” field, select the appropriate option:
- If the Call Guide action isn’t part of a table loop, select “None”.
- If the Call Guide action will iterate through table rows, choose “All Rows” or “Selected Rows Only” (for active links). The “Selected Rows Only” option can significantly boost performance for table loop guides because the loop only operates on selected rows, rather than every row in the table. For active link guides, the “All Visible Rows” option is available which is the same as “All Rows” if the table is not content clipped. Visible rows do not include any deleted rows which are in the visible row range.
-
Save the active link or filter.
Important Considerations
- Recursive Calls: While BMC Remedy AR System forbids a Call Guide action from calling itself directly, it does permit recursive call guides (e.g., CallGuide1 calls CallGuide2, which then calls CallGuide1). Be cautious when creating such scenarios, as they can potentially lead to infinite loops. If this occurs, the mid-tier will generate a Sun JavaScript error.
Benefits of Using Call Guides
- Modularity: Call Guides promote modular workflow design. You can create reusable guide components that can be called from multiple locations.
- Efficiency: By reusing existing guides, you reduce development time and improve maintainability.
- Maintainability: Changes to a called guide automatically propagate to all locations where it is used.
- Improved Performance: Using options like “Selected Rows Only” in table loops optimizes performance by processing only necessary data.
Call Guides: Streamlining Workflows
In summary, “What Is A Call Guide?” It’s a powerful tool for orchestrating complex workflows within systems like BMC Remedy AR System. By understanding how to define and use Call Guide actions effectively, developers can build more efficient, maintainable, and scalable applications. These guides promote modular workflow design, reduce development time, and streamline processes for a more efficient system.
