Controlling your Rules

The behaviour of a Rule is dependent on the variables that are used within it. These variables can be adjusted using Parameters and Data Grids. More details on Parameters and Data Grids can be found here and here.

Functional Controls

The ellipses to the right of your Rule allow you to access further functional control:

Open

Opens your Rule in Rule Designer. this can also be achieved by double clicking on the row in the Rules screen.

Copy your Rule

Allows you to Copy your Rule from the Target in which it currently sits to another Target.
The Status of the Rule is copied with it. Therefore, copying a Running Rule will result in a Running Rule being created in another Target.
If the Rule already exists within the Target you are copying into it will overwrite the existing Rule with no further user confirmation. If you have a Rule with a Waiting status and copy in the same Rule with a Running status the Rule will be recreated Running. This should be considered when moving Rules into Production.
When a Rule is copied the "Last Modified Date" in the New or Updated Rule will show the date and time it was copied.

The copied Rule version will start at one for a new Rule in the Target. Each subsequent copy into a Rule will increment the version by one.
Please read the Global Parameters section for more information on how these can be utilized when copying Rules.

Copy To is also available directly in the ribbon bar of Rule Designer.

Download

Allows you to Download the underlying KTR file for the Rule for archiving and triage purposes. This is replicated in the Ribbon bar of Rule Designer.

Reporting

Operational Reporting provides information on the use of your Rule. Select a Time period , Minutes, Hours or Days to review the information against:

Invokes: shows the number of invokes over the time period selected.
Average Response Time: shows in milliseconds how fast the Rule responded during this timeframe.
Timeouts: shows the number of invokes that timed out. This could be due to the Rule being incorrectly built or poor data being passed through.

Operational Reporting can help compare performance before and after a Rule was changed or at busy periods. For example, have the number of Timeouts or the Average Response Times increased post upgrade. Operational reporting allows you to download the data where it can be reviewed in excel.

Refresh will refresh the screen.

Statistics

Shows the steps in the Rule and the number of times each step was used. The Reset button in this screen will reset the Invokes count in the Rules screen, the Reporting screen and this Statistics screen.

Delete

Removes the Rule. Any systems using the Rule will no longer get a response so caution should be used to ensure a Rule is not live before deletion.

Parameters and Data Grids

If a Rule is a machine storing information or providing answers, then Parameters and Data Grids are the controls to the machine.
Parameters feed information directly into the Rule and allow the user to change the responses or control what response are created.
You may have a Rule providing a free delivery code on your website for customers who spend a certain amount. A Parameter surfaces the code threshold amount in the Rule Designer screen so it can be easily adjusted. Lowering the Parameter from $50 to $30 will change the Rule to provide free delivery at the $30 threshold, thus boosting sales over the short term.
You could build a Rule that flashes up a welcome message to a guest on their hotel room TV. The welcome phrase to be used could be added to a Parameter. It could be easily changed during holiday periods to be more festive.
Data Grids are a type of parameter that consists of a set of columns and rows. This is useful for creating Rules that reference a range of values, for example a set of offers that change over time, or product codes and associated metadata.
Example of a Data Grid:

The columns in the Data Grid are configured in the underlying Template and cannot be changed. With the correct permissions you can change the existing values and add new rows.

Parameters can be further controlled using Global Parameters. More on the configuration of Global Parameters can be found here.

Any Parameter linked to a Global Parameter will have an indicative icon next to the Parameter value in the Data Grid.