User Guide > Objects > Working with Objects > Variable Selection Dialog

Variable Picker

You can use this selection dialog to select predefined variablesFixed variables that can be used in the attributes or the script of executable objects. The values refer to the object or the system. and insert them in the text fields of attributes or the scripts of executable objects.

To open this dialog, click the variables... button which is available in the toolbar of open objects. Doing so requires the cursor to be positioned either in a text field in which values can be inserted or in AE Script. Otherwise, this button is grayed out.

Note that this dialog does not listShows entities in a grid view all predefined variables. A complete list of variables for system and objectAutomation Engine controlled activities and processes are structured in the form of objects. See also: Task values is available here.

In the attribute field or scriptA particular Automation Engine object type., the variables are always inserted where the text cursor is positioned.

You can also open the Variable picker by entering { or &$ in a text field and pressing the ENTER key. Another option is to use the shortcut CTRL + L in the script editor.

Field/Element Description
Filter

Search filter for the selection of entries

Specify a filter and start the search by pressing the ENTER key or the button on the right side. All variables are searched if no particular category has been selected. The search is case-insensitive.

For a wildcard search use the * character.
Regardless of any wildcards, the system always searches for the search term's occurrence within entries (search scheme: *<term>*). The use of an individual wildcard character before or after the search text results in a list of terms which either end or start with the remaining text.

For example:
Searching the category "Object"

Filters Results
*Date* Date of script generation
Logical Date
Last Usage (date)
Date Date of script generation
Logical Date
Last Usage (date)
Date* Date of script generation
Last Usage (date)
*Date Logical Date
Date*object Date of last object usage
*Date*object* Date of last object usage

Only the first 5000 matches are displayed.

Category

Selection of value origins

The following options are available:

The categories "variables" and "Variables" are not available if the dialog has been opened in the script editor.

Variables

Selection of a variableIt stores or retrieves values dynamically at runtime. An individual Automation Engine object type.

The technical name of the predefined variable is shown in the "Variable name" field after a selection has been made. Only values are displayed that are allowed for the object type from which the dialog has been called.

In the categories "AE system" and "Object", these entries represent a short form of the relevant value. The language in which the userIn the Automation Engine, a user is an instance of a User object, and generally the user is a specific person who works with Automic products. The User object is assigned a user ID and then a set of access rights to various parts of the Automation Engine system and product suite. These access rights come in the form of Automation Engine authorizations and privileges, Decision user roles and EventBase rights and ARA web application object rights. You can manage all these centrally in the ECC user management functions. See also, Unified user management. logged on to the UserInterfaceThis is the Automation Engine's graphical user interface. [Formerly called the "Rich Client", "RichGUI" and "Dialog Client."] (German, English or French) is used. If the categories "Variable" or "variable" have been selected, the list displays the names of the Variable objects.

Formats

Formats for time or date values.
Only relevant for entries of the categories "AE system" and "Object".

After a format has been selected, the variable name is displayed accordingly. Example: &$DATE_yymmdd#

Important note: Some date and time formats include special characters which must not be used for variable names. The '_' character is always used as a separator in the variable name (instead of usual separators). At the end, another '_' plus an additional letter which identifies the original separator are appended to this format.

  • p = point
  • s = slash
  • d = dash

Example:

Dialog entry Date format Placeholder Value
&$DATE_format# DD/MM/YYYY &$DATE_DD_MM_YYYY_s# 23/04/2010
&$DATE_format# DD.MM.YYYY &$DATE_DD_MM_YYYY_p# 23.04.2010
&$DATE_format# DD-MM-YYYY &$DATE_DD_MM_YYYY_d# 23-04-2010

A list of all supported formats is included in the list of variables referring to system and object values.


Variable name

Name of the variable (including format if available) as it should be used in the attribute field or AE Script.

Predefined variables for system and object values always start with &$ and end with #. This character separation is required to distinguish them from script and object variablesPlaceholder for values that are stored in an object's "Variables & Prompts" tab/section..
Example: &$DATE#

The object name enclosed in curly brackets { } serves as a variable for values of VARA objects. This syntax is automatically used when a Variable object has been selected and inserted using this dialog.
Example: {VARA.SYSVAL}

The document Using Variable Objects includes a list of all attributes in which predefined variables can be used.

Description

Description of the selected entry. This field is read only and cannot be edited.

A description of system and object values is provided in the list of predefined variables. The title of Variable objects is displayed.

See also:

About Predefined Variables
List of Predefined Variables for System and Object Values
Using Predefined Variables

 


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