Overview

User-defined Universal Controller variables are available for use in triggers, tasks, and Workflows.

You can define variables to be either:

Available to a single trigger, task, or workflow; that is, Local.
Available to all triggers, tasks, and workflows; that is, Global.

You define Local variables (variables specific to a single trigger, task, or workflow) on the Variables tab in the Details of that trigger, task, or workflow. These variables are stored in the ops_local_variable table.

You define Global variables either by:

Selecting Other > Variables from the Automation Center navigation pane.
Using the Set Variable action for a task or workflow.

Global variables are stored in the ops_variable table.

Variable Naming Conventions

Variable names must begin with a letter.
Allowable characters are alphanumerics (upper or lower case), and underscore (_).
White spaces are not permitted
Variable names are not case-sensitive.

Warning

Do not define Controller variables with the prefix ops_. That prefix is reserved for built-in variables.

Resolving User-Defined Variables

When the Controller creates a task instance from a task, it also resolves all variables specified in its free text fields. Because you can define variables at four different levels (trigger, task, workflow, and global), the Controller follows a prescribed formula to determine which variable takes precedence if duplicate variables have been defined. The general order of precedence, each of which may or may not exist in any given situation, is as follows:

Task trigger (highest precedence)
Task
Workflow trigger
Workflow
Global (lowest precedence)

Note

You also can use the Set Variable Action of any task or workflow to define a variable. The Set Variable action explicitly states what scope you are setting the variable at, and under what circumstances.

The following scenarios provide more detailed information about how Controller variables are resolved.

For Tasks Launched by a Trigger

If the trigger defines the variable in the variables tab, that value is used to resolve the variable.
If the trigger does not define the variable, the value from the variable tab in the task Details is used.
If neither the trigger nor the task define the variable, the variable definition in the global variables table is used.
If the global variables table does not define the variable, the variable remains unresolved.

For Tasks Launched by a Workflow

If the task defines the variable in the variables tab, that value is used to resolve the variable.
If the task does not define the variable, and the workflow was launched by a trigger, the value defined in the trigger is used.
If the workflow's trigger does not define the variable or the workflow was not launched by a trigger, the value defined in the workflow is used.
If the workflow does not define the variable, and there is a parent workflow, the value defined in the parent workflow's trigger is used.
If the parent workflow's trigger does not define the variable or if there is no trigger, the value defined in the parent workflow is used.
If the parent workflow does not define the variable, the Controller checks up a level for the trigger on the next parent workflow.
If that trigger does not define the variable, it checks for variables associated with the workflow. (This continues until the top level workflow is reached.)
If the top-level workflow does not define the variable, the variable definition in the global variables table is used.
If the global variables table does not define the variable, the variable remains unresolved.

For Tasks Launched Manually

If the task defines the variable in the variables tab, that value is used to resolve the variable.
If the task does not define the variable, the variable definition in the global variables table is used.
If the global variables table does not define the variable, the variable remains unresolved.

Format for Using Variables

When you enter a variable into a text field, precede the variable with the dollar sign ( $ ) and enclose the variable in curly braces ( { } ). You can enter a series of variables or nested variables.

Examples:

${variable_name}
${v1}${v2}
${${inner_variable}}

Creating a Variable

You can create variables that are:

Available on a Global level; that is, available for all triggers, tasks, and Workflows.
Available only for a specific trigger, task, or Workflow.

Creating a Global Variable

To create a Global variable that is available for all triggers, tasks, and Workflows:

Step 1	From the Automation Center navigation pane, select Other > Variables. The Variables list displays a list of all Global variables. (You also can define a Global variable by using the Set Variable action for a task or workflow.) To the right of the list, Variable Details for a new Global variable displays.
Step 2	Enter / select Details for a new Variable, using the field descriptions below as a guide. Required fields display an asterisk ( * ) after the field name. Default values for fields, if available, display automatically. To display more of the Details fields on the screen, you can either: Use the scroll bar. Temporarily hide the list above the Details. Click the button above the list to display a pop-up version of the Details.
Step 3	Click a button to save the record in the Controller database.

Note

To open an existing record on the list, either:

Click a record in the list to display its record Details below the list. (To clear record Details below the list, click the New button that displays above and below the Details.)
Clicking the Details icon next to a record name in the list, or right-click a record in the list and then click Open in the Action menu that displays, to display a pop-up version of the record Details.
Right-click a record in the a list, or open a record and right-click in the record Details, and then click Open In Tab in the Action menu that displays, to display the record Details under a new tab on the record list page (see Record Details as Tabs).

Global Variable Details

The following Variable Details is for an existing Global Variable.

See the field descriptions below for a description of all fields that display in the Global Variable Details.

For information on how to access additional details - such as Metadata and complete database Details - for Variables (or any type of record), see Records.

Global Variable Details Field Descriptions

The following table describes the fields and buttons in the Variables Details.

Field Name	Description
Details	This section contains assorted detailed information about the variable.
Name	Name of the variable. Up to 128 alphanumerics. The name must begin with an alphabetic character and can consist of: alphas (a-z, A-Z), numerics 0-9, _ (underscore). White spaces are not permitted; names are not case-sensitive. Important Do not define variables with the prefix ops_. The ops_ prefix is reserved for built-in variables.
Version	System-supplied. The version number of the current record, which is incremented by the Controller every time a user updates a record. Click the Versions tab to view previous versions. For details, see Record Versioning.
Description	Optional. Description of this variable.
Member of Business Services	User-defined; Allows you to select one or more Business Services that this record belongs to. (You also can Check All or Uncheck All Business Services for this record.) You can select up to 62 Business Services for any record type, and enter a maximum of 2048 characters for each Business Service. If the Business Service Visibility Restricted Universal Controller system property is set to true, depending on your assigned (or inherited) Permissions or Roles, Business Services available for selection may be restricted.
Value	Value of the variable up to a maximum of 25000 characters.
Self-Service Options	This section contains assorted information about the variable for tasks, workflows, and triggers only - not for Global Variables.
Value Options	Value options that will presented when editing values from the Trigger Now... and Launch Task with Variables... command dialogs. Only non-empty values are allowed; duplicate values are not allowed. (Maximum = 25000 characters.)
Allow Empty Option	Indication of whether or not an empty value is a valid value option. If true, an empty option will be added to the drop-down when editing values from the Trigger Now… and Launch Task with Variables… command dialogs.
Allow Unlisted Option	Indication of whether or not an unlisted value is a valid value option. If true, the drop-down input box should allow users to enter a value that is not present in the set of value options when editing values from the Trigger Now… and Launch Task with Variables… command dialogs.
Metadata	This section contains Metadata information about this record.
UUID	Universally Unique Identifier of this record.
Updated By	Name of the user that last updated this record.
Updated	Date and time that this record was last updated.
Created By	Name of the user that created this record.
Created	Date and time that this record was created.
Buttons	This section identifies the buttons displayed above and below the Global Variable Details that let you perform various actions.
Save	Saves a new variable record in the Controller database.
Save & New	Saves a new record in the Controller database and redisplays empty Details so that you can create another new record.
Save & View	Saves a new record in the Controller database and continues to display that record.
New	Displays empty (except for default values) Details for creating a new record.
Update button	Saves updates to the record.
Delete button	Deletes the current record.
Refresh	Refreshes any dynamic data displayed in the Details.
Close	For pop-up view only; closes the pop-up view of this task.

Creating a Variable Specific to a Trigger, Task, or Workflow

To create a variable that is specific to a single trigger, task, or Workflow:

Step 1	From the Automation Center navigation pane, select Trigger > <trigger type> or Tasks > <task type>. The records list for that trigger or task type displays.
Step 2	Open a task on the list and click the Variables tab to display a list of any currently defined variables specific to that record.
Step 3	Click the button to display Variables Details for a new variable.
Step 4	Using the field descriptions provided for Global Variable Details as a guide, complete the fields as needed.
Step 5	Click the button, or right-click in the Details and click Save, to save the record.
Step 6	If appropriate, repeat these steps for any additional variables you want to add.

Automatically Incrementing a Variable

For example: To increment ${counter}, use a Set Variable action to set ${counter} with a value of ${_trim(${__add("${counter}", "1")})}.

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