Populate case details automatically

You can configure your application to populate the attributes of individual cases with values automatically, instead of requiring users to enter values manually. For example, you might want to copy the values from a customer's Delivery address attribute into the Billing address attribute, or record the details of the employee who opened an expense claim in an attribute on the related Expense claim case.

Populating case details automatically reduces the need for manual data entry, helping to avoid mistakes and making your application more efficient and effective.

There are two main methods you can use to populate case details automatically:

• Add mappings to activities: Mappings allow you to populate case attributes or form fields at a particular point in the activity lifecycle. You can use mappings both to populate fields with default values that users can edit as part of the activity, and to create or update case details without user input.
  Mappings are useful when you want to record the value of another attribute (or metadata field) as it is at the time an activity is performed, such as the case ID of the employee who opened an expense claim. Unlike computed attributes, an attribute populated by a mapping is not updated if the source value changes (unless the activity is performed again).
• Add computed attributes to a casetype: With computed attributes, the attribute value for each case is derived automatically based on other data from your application. Computed attributes can either be calculated each time you view or use the attribute value, or cached and refreshed each time you perform an activity on the case containing the attribute.
  Computed attributes are useful for values that need to be updated frequently based on other data in your application, such as the number of orders placed by a customer to date.

Mappings vs computed attributes

Both mappings and computed attributes allow you to fetch and manipulate values from other cases in your application. For example, you can use them to combine values from multiple sources (such as concatenating First name and Last name attribute values into a Name attribute), calculate an offset from a date, or perform operations on numerical data.

The key differences between mappings, cached computed attributes, and real-time computed attributes concern how and when the attribute value is updated and the performance implications associated with this.

As you cannot change an attribute to a computed attribute (or change a computed attribute back to a normal attribute) after you have created it, it is important to consider in advance whether a mapping or computed attribute is the best option for a particular use case.

Use cases for mappings

Common uses for mappings include:

• Recording the ID of a related case when you create a new case. For example, you can use a mapping to record the case ID of the Employee case associated with a particular User case when you invite an employee to log in as a user of your application. For more information, see Add cases.
• Capturing values from a related case as they are at the time an activity is performed. For example, when creating a new Order case, you might want to populate the Delivery address field with the current Address value from the related Customer case. If the customer subsequently changes their address, you would not want to update the Delivery address on previously shipped orders (but you might want to provide an option to update the address on orders that have not yet been shipped).
• Populating activity forms with values in order to perform the activity without user input. For example, you might want to create a Send email case automatically to remind users of overdue tasks. By adding mappings, you can populate the fields on the Start send email form automatically using a combination of values from the related case and static text. For more information, see Chain activities together.
• Populating activity forms with default values that users can edit as part of the activity. For example, in an Edit patient details activity, you might want to populate the form with the values currently stored on the Patient case so that users can decide what needs to be updated. For more information, see Edit case details.
• Adding values to the current user session so you can customize your application's behavior. For example, when displaying available services, you might want to filter the items that are displayed based on the date selected by the user in a form. Rather than adding the date to the User case, you can use a mapping to record it temporarily in the current user session. You can then use the date to apply a condition to the widget or dataset that changes the cases that are displayed. (Use an inline template with the user.User-session.custom template function to access a value stored in the user session.)

For more information about using mappings in specific contexts, see Add cases, Edit case details, Close cases, and Chain activities together.

Use cases for computed attributes

Common uses for computed attributes include:

• Retrieving values from a related case in order to display them in a casetype view. For example, on a view of an Expense claim case, you might want to display the name and current department of the employee who made the claim. (In this example, you may have added the case ID of the Employee case to an attribute on the Expense claim case via a mapping. You can then use that attribute to link to other attributes on the Employee case for the computed attributes.)
• Performing mathematical operations on attribute values so you can display the result. For example, you might want to calculate an employee's remaining vacation allowance by deducting the total number of booked vacation days (for example, as a sum of values in a filtered dataset) from the value in a Vacation allowance attribute, so that you can display this number on a dashboard.
• Calculating the difference between the current date or time and the value in an attribute. For example, you might use a computed attribute to calculate a person's age so that you can use the value to drive conditional logic in a form or activity.

In each of these use cases, you could use a real-time computed attribute or a cached computed attribute. If a cached attribute depends on one or more values from a different case, you will need to create a Recalculate case activity to recalculate the attribute value when the source data changes. You can either configure rules to trigger this activity automatically, or make it an optional activity that users can perform manually as required.

For more information about configuring computed attributes, see Computed attributes.

Summary

The differences between computed attributes and mappings can be summarized as follows:

	Real-time computed attribute	Cached computed attribute	Mapping
Update frequency	The value is calculated each time it is displayed (for example, in a view) or used (for example, in conditional logic on a form or activity or in a dataset).	The value is stored but is recalculated whenever an activity is performed on the case.	The value is stored at the relevant stage of the activity and is not updated unless the activity is performed again (or the attribute is edited via another activity).
Performance	Reading the value in order to display or use it can be slow.	Reading the stored value is faster than reading a real-time computed attribute. Updating the stored value can be slow.	Reading the value is fast. Writing the value as part of the activity can be slow.
Configuration complexity	Low - once you have added the attribute to the casetype, no further configuration is required.	Moderate - Recalculate case activities may be required if the computed value depends on values from other cases.	If the value will not change, then configuring a mapping is simple. If the value needs to be updated when the source value changes, then you need to configure additional activities that are triggered automatically.

Tip:

If you are not sure whether to use a mapping or a computed attribute in a particular situation, please contact your Grexx Coach to discuss the options.