I fear this may come across as either unnecessary or "nitpicky" since nobody else seems to have brought it up (yet), but I find myself occasionally wondering, "What are the contents of this rule's built-in and/or custom variables?"
Currently, to find out, I must click -- somewhat non-obviously -- on the Actions definition page to reveal a table showing the rule's Private Boolean as TRUE or FALSE, along with the latest value(s) of any custom variable(s). But even here I cannot probe the values of built-in variables like, %value or %text, all of which are essentially hidden from view.
I realize it could be argued that all of these to treated as snapshots, or that they are intended to be set, evaluated and used only within the context of active rules. I would argue that editing, troubleshooting and just plain curiosity are sufficiently strong reasons to want access to all aspects of a given Rule.
Thoughts? Am I missing something obvious where this information is already presented (e.g. Rule > Settings > locVars array & private string?)?
These are dynamic values but the rule pages are not. So if they were displayed, you'd have no way of knowing if those were the actual values or not. So, not useful if you can't tell.
1 Like
I say useful either way, because it reveals the inner structure and intent of the Rule itself, which isn't always so obvious when revisited months hence.
Something to consider. If nothing else, at least the placement of the Variables table (rather than, or in addition to, under "Actions").
Assuming that the Local variables you care about are used in actions or triggers, and Display Current Values is on (it is by default), then you can see the values where they are used in the rule.
Each in black, right after the variable (I notice it's missing on the last action). This is any variable, Hub or Local.
It used to be, before this release, that Local Variables was on the main page of the rule. But, where you use them is in the Actions. So that meant you'd have to be Done with the Actions page to either create a new one, or edit it, then go back into the Actions again. I found that got pretty annoying after using it that way for months. Makes more sense to me to have them where you're going to use them.
3 Likes
Love it! Hoping that doesn't leave a sour taste in your mouth as the Creator of RM. But it's certainly something I will treasure forever. Thanks!
Not at all. If it's helpful, that's good.
1 Like
Any clues as to next release's arrival? Eager to kick tires on all things pending.
Just wanted to express my gratitude for this awesome feature enhancement! Being able to immediately see the results of RM actions like PING in the %text% variable is truly time-saving in terms of ironing out kinks in my workflow.
Thanks again!
