Assignment rules automatically set or suggest values for one or more parameters. A rule is triggered when specific parameters are set to defined values. By enforcing an assignment rule, the values set by the rule cannot be changed as long as the triggering condition remains active.
Definition of trigger and actions
An assignment rule consists of a trigger and one or more actions.
The trigger is defined by first selecting the parameters to include, and then selecting the specific values for each parameter that will trigger the rule. For multi-choice parameters, individual multi-choice values are selected to trigger the rule, rather than the parameter as a whole. An assignment rule is triggered when all triggering parameters match their defined values.
See Disallowed combination rules for details on how triggering values are defined for different types of parameters.
For lookup parameters, you can define non-triggering values instead of triggering ones by selecting the "Check non-triggering values" option. Consequently, any unselected values act as triggers, and any newly added values will trigger by default.
Actions are defined on the Assignment parameters tab, where parameters and/or multi-choice values are set to specific values.
Clearing out values of parameters
An assignment rule can also clear parameter values (setting them to null). This is done by selecting the parameter on the tab Assignment parameters but without giving it a value. For Boolean parameters and multi choice values indeterminate is the null value, i.e. neither true nor false.
Behavior settings
Assignment rules include settings to control their behavior:
Setting name |
Description |
|---|---|
Show confirm box |
Displays a confirmation box to the user. Parameter values are only updated if the user confirms the changes. |
Show information box |
Displays an information box explaining the changes that will be made. |
Enforce assigned values |
Locks the parameter values set by the rule so they cannot be changed by the user as long as the triggering condition remains active. This setting cannot be combined with Show confirm box. |
Restore previous values |
Restores parameters to their previous values if the triggering condition ends. This only applies if the rule is triggered and untriggered within the same editing session. |
Read also about site effectivity for rules.
Enforced assignment rules can disallow triggering values
If one or more values that a rule attempts to enforce cannot be set due to conflicts with other rules, the assignment rule will not trigger. The system resolves this by disabling the triggering values if the assignment rule is one value away from being triggered. Read more about conflict resolution between rules.
