View and manage expression rules

The View and manage expression rules page displays the expression rules currently defined in the Platform. What you can see and do in this page is determined by your privileges. If you cannot see or take actions that you think you should be able to access, contact your Platform administrator. The lists of models and assets to which you can apply expression rules depend on the asset groups assigned to your user group.

By default, the table displays all expression rules defined in the Platform to which you have access. If your Platform has many expression rules and you want to search for one or more specific rules, refresh the list of rules from the Platform, or search for a certain type of rules, click the arrow next to Filter at the top of the page ( $image\icon_filterexprules_right_arrow.gif$ ). To refresh the list from the Platform, click Clear. To search for rules, specify search criteria. Note that the text fields accept wildcard characters (* and ?) For details about using this search area, refer to the topic, Searching for Expression Rules.

By default the table displays the list of rules in alphabetical order, by name (Rule column). This table provides multiple column sorting capability. To learn how to use it, refer to the topic, Sorting by Multiple Columns.

You can control the number of table rows shown on each page of the table and navigate the table in different ways. For more information, refer to the topic, Navigating Tables for Expression Rules, State Machines, and Rule Timers.

The table of expression rules on this page displays the following information for each rule:

o Rule -- the name assigned to the rule when it was created. To the left of the name of each rule is an icon ( $image\icon_display_expression_rules_details.gif$ ) that you can click to display the details for the rule.

Notes: The Platform has a default expression rule, called " System Placeholder Rule." Do NOT edit or delete this rule.
When viewing expression rules in a Platform with Delegated Administration enabled, the names of rules may have prefixes; for details, refer to Names of Objects in DA Units.

o Description -- text concerning the purpose of the rule and describing what action it will take. This information is provided by the user who creates (or edits) the rule.

o Type -- the type of expression rule, which determines the variables and functions available for the If, Then, and Else components of the rule. The Type specifies the kind of trigger message that will cause the Axeda Platform to evaluate the expression rule. For more information about messages that can trigger expression rules, refer to Triggers for expression rules.

o Applies To -- the models and/or assets to which the expression rule has been applied. If no assets or models are shown, then the rule applies to all assets, and this column displays the text, "[AppliesToAll]". If a rule has been applied to models and/or assets, then the following icons may also appear in this field:

$image\icon_expressionrules_individualassetsincluded.gif$ -- Individual Assets Included. This icon tells you that individual assets have been selected to be included when this rule runs (and the condition applies to these assets).

$image\icon_expressionrules_individualassetsexcluded.gif$ -- Individual Assets Excluded. This icon tells you that individual assets have been selected to be excluded when this rule runs (even if the condition applies to these assets).

$image\icon_expressionrules_editassociations.gif$ -- Apply Rule to Models and Assets. This icon appears for all expression rules. To apply the rule to models and assets or to change the current settings, select this icon. The Apply this rule to models and assets dialog box appears on top of this page.

o Enabled -- indication of whether the rule is enabled (true) or disabled (false). When enabled, the rule will be evaluated for the selected models and included assets, and based on the results of the evaluation, its actions can be run. When disabled, the rule cannot run for any asset.

§ A rule may be disabled if the Platform detects that the rule is recursive or that its execution was in violation of the Platform execution policy.

§ If a rule is disabled, the icon ( $image\recursion.gif$ ) appears in the Enabled column. To find out more about the problem, mouse over the icon, and read the information provided in the tool tip. Then click the icon to navigate to the Configure the expression rule page so that you can edit the expression rule so that it performs properly (that is, not recursive, doesn't execute too often or for too long, and so on).

§ $image\icon_checkbox_without_checkmark.gif$ -- the selection column contains a check box for each rule, which allows you to select one or more rules and then enable, disable, or delete the selected rules by clicking the appropriate button - Enable, Disable, or Delete. To enable, disable, or remove ALL rules on this page, select the check box in the column heading, and then click the appropriate button. When prompted, select Yes to confirm the action or No to cancel it.

From this page, you can:

o View additional information for an expression rule

o If you have the appropriate privileges, edit an expression rule inline or through the Configure the expression rule page

o Apply an expression rule to models and assets

o Create an expression rule (click the New button below the table)

o Enable or disable an expression rule

o Remove expression rules from the Platform