Appending questions into Request Description

[Rachel Crisp]

I am trying to append the answers from a Capture form into the Description field.

This first 10 answers come across fine but the last 5 just say 'Undefined'.

See attached for my code.

Can anyone see where I am going wrong?

Thanks

 

ApendQuestions.docx

[Lyonel]

@Rachel Crisp, your code looks fine according to the Wiki https://wiki.hornbill.com/index.php/Request_Variables but if I remember correctly from my Switch on, I think there is a hard limit to 10 answers... Which would match with what you are experiencing. Although would need to be confirmed by @Hornbill Support Team

[Hornbill Staff DR]

Hi Rachel,

 I can confirm Lyonel is correct. The get Request Questions BPM node only retrieves the first 10 questions (on any given Pro Cap form) for us to use in the BPM.

Dan

[Steven Boardman]

Hi @Rachel Crisp 

Just to add to @DanielRi comments, this is correct that you can only add the first 10 questions from any custom form used in Pro Cap. it is also possible if appropriate, to split your questions across more than one custom form in Pro Cap, and then add more than 10 questions (answers) to the description field of a request. 

You can achieve this by as i say moving the questions 10+ from the single custom form and add them to a second custom form in your progressive capture (if this is workable for gathering your request info).

With this done, in your supporting business process firstly use the Get Request Info - Request Questions option, and specific the first custom form ID - then as you have add the variables for the 10 questions on the first custom form.  After this use the same Get Request Info - Request Questions option, but specify the id of the second custom form.  Again reference the question variables 1-10 into the description field, but ensure the Append Text is set to Yes - this will ensure the answers to the questions on the second custom form are appended to the existing answers already added to the description field from the first custom form.

Giving you more than 10 answers, albeit from across multiple custom forms.

I hope this gives you something to consider if you need to add more than 10 answers to the description field.

Alternative approaches include mapping custom questions into their own fields in the details section of the request form, and this is covered here on the wiki in the progressive capture section https://wiki.hornbill.com/index.php/Progressive_Capture_Designer - Mapping Questions from Customised forms.

Steve

 

[Rachel Crisp]

Thanks everyone, much appreciated!

[samwoo]

On 3/29/2017 at 10:41 PM, Steven Boardman said:

Hi @Rachel Crisp 

Just to add to @DanielRi comments, this is correct that you can only add the first 10 questions from any custom form used in Pro Cap. it is also possible if appropriate, to split your questions across more than one custom form in Pro Cap, and then add more than 10 questions (answers) to the description field of a request. 

You can achieve this by as i say moving the questions 10+ from the single custom form and add them to a second custom form in your progressive capture (if this is workable for gathering your request info).

With this done, in your supporting business process firstly use the Get Request Info - Request Questions option, and specific the first custom form ID - then as you have add the variables for the 10 questions on the first custom form.  After this use the same Get Request Info - Request Questions option, but specify the id of the second custom form.  Again reference the question variables 1-10 into the description field, but ensure the Append Text is set to Yes - this will ensure the answers to the questions on the second custom form are appended to the existing answers already added to the description field from the first custom form.

Giving you more than 10 answers, albeit from across multiple custom forms.

I hope this gives you something to consider if you need to add more than 10 answers to the description field.

Alternative approaches include mapping custom questions into their own fields in the details section of the request form, and this is covered here on the wiki in the progressive capture section https://wiki.hornbill.com/index.php/Progressive_Capture_Designer - Mapping Questions from Customised forms.

Steve

 

Hi @Steven Boardman,

I have a BPM set up similar to your description (get request questions) -> (update request details). When I go to edit the Description (multi-line) of the (update request details) node, pressing CTRL + click doesn't bring up the variable list for me to populate from the (get request question) node. Is there something i'm doing wrong?

Thanks,

Samuel

[Steve Giller]

I've seen this in a couple of places - one is where the Get Request Details (Questions) is not immediately prior to the Node you're using them in, which is annoying! I'm sure there's a logic to what causes the BP to "forget" the variables but I haven't figured it out yet.

The other is where certain nodes (I forget which ones) that you would expect to have the CTRL+Click function simply don't have it.
The workaround for this is to use a node that does have it, build the text with inserted variables in that, then copy it into the "real" node.

[samwoo]

24 minutes ago, DeadMeatGF said:

I've seen this in a couple of places - one is where the Get Request Details (Questions) is not immediately prior to the Node you're using them in, which is annoying! I'm sure there's a logic to what causes the BP to "forget" the variables but I haven't figured it out yet.

The other is where certain nodes (I forget which ones) that you would expect to have the CTRL+Click function simply don't have it.
The workaround for this is to use a node that does have it, build the text with inserted variables in that, then copy it into the "real" node.

Thanks @DeadMeatGF, this may a slight defect of some sort? Someone from Hornbill might know?

[Steve Giller]

The first situation is probably as designed - the BPM needs to be sure it's got the correct data so certain actions will need clear the variable set, but the second looks like a defect to me.

[Steven Boardman]

@samwoo

The Variable picker currently is not supported in the new style multi-line text boxes used in some of the business process nodes, that's not to say you can't add variables manually. We will be releasing support for that shortly, so watch out for the updates in the admin tool.  As @DeadMeatGF has suggested you can either use a node which uses the original style fields and then cut and paste, or the wiki page contains the values as well so you can copy the format etc and build these up manually until the new multi-line text box support for the variable picker is there.

Sneak preview

In regards to the use of the Get information node, you can use these at the beginning of the process and this should be available for the variable picker further through the stages nodes.  The logic behind allowing you to use it again and again is perhaps more aligned to the Get Request details option, where you might want to ensure that the following human task, to one of these nodes, which uses the 'Owner for Task' variable, is checking who the current owner of the request is, not who the owner of the request was at the point of the original Get information node was called at the beginning of the process.   Obviously for custom questions this is static so not going to change, but for request, customer, org type variables you might want to get this / check this before invoking a task etc rather than relying on it still being the same as it was when the request was logged - hopefully that makes sense

Steve