Working in Boxed Expression Editors

Boxed expressions are nested structures similar to tables which are used for formal definitions for decision logic.

Purpose

You can use table editors to view and edit logics for decisions and business logics for boxed expressions in table form.

A table is write protected or opened for editing, depending on the Open Documents Read-Only option.

Labeling and Types of Fields

Linked elements are shown in similar hues in boxed expressions so you can identify them easily.

Context menus and results are shown in gray
Function definitions and their parameters are shown in khaki
Relation column headers are shown in light green
Input and output parameters of decision tables are shown in blue or red

Selections are highlighted as you would expect.

Drag-and-drop

Changing Direction of Context Entries

Move context entry to the desired target position.

Only the block which contains the variable name is moved. The mouse pointer is shown as a double arrow. A blue horizontal line shows possible target positions as you are moving the block.

Moving Context Entry Expressions

Move the context entry expression into another context entry.

The mouse pointer is shown as a crossed arrow if the expression can be dragged and dropped in that position. Empty expressions are shown in blue if they show possible targets when being moved.

How to Use the Keyboard in the Boxed Expression Editor

Function	Shortcut Key
Move selection and input focus in boxed expressions forwards or backwards	Tab Shift+Tab
Create a literal expression	Ctrl+L
Create an extra row for list structures (context, call, decision tables, lists, relations)	Ctrl+plus (number or numeric pad)
Change selected element: open change dialog for literal expressions open dialog for assigning business logic for function calls open dialog for defining formal parameter for function definitions	F2
open dialog for selecting element for typing	Ctrl+T
Delete selected element	Ctrl+Del or Shift+Del
Open intelliSense list	Ctrl+space bar
Undo entry in FEEL expressions	Ctrl+Z
Restore input in FEEL expressions	Ctrl+Y
Adopt input in variable and parameter names	Enter
Cancel input in variable and parameter names	Esc

IntelliSense Support

The IntelliSense list shows local elements from the boxed expression and information or knowledge requirements for linked elements that can be used in FEEL expressions.

Context Variables
Function Definition Parameters
About information requirement of linked inputs and decisions
About knowledge requirement for linked business logics
Column multivalue for rows in decision tables

Subelements are listed after a point. Structure groups and entries are listed for inputs with a structure definition as variable type.

Using large decision tables

If the number of cells in a decision table exceeds a threshold of 500, then the cell content is displayed as static text. The inline editor is not used. That means:

No text entry directly in the cell
No syntax highlighting
No jumping to elements using hyperlinks

Cell content can be modified using the context menu command in the Modify dialog. You can open this by double-clicking on a cell.

If the number of cells in a decision table exceeds a threshold of 1200, then the rules are outputted per page. The pages can be jumped between in the top left-hand corner of the decision table. Or you can use [Ctrl]+[Page Up] and [Ctrl]+[Page Down] to switch between the pages. A rule or cell must be selected for this.

Entries can be moved using drag-and-drop. You can use the Move rule... context menu command for selected rules when moving across pages.