Automatic updates using Format Control subroutines

You can use posting to update Service Manager tables from any other part of Service Manager. For example, new contact information from a request can post directly to related fields in the contacts file without any user interaction. If you are opening a request for a new contact, posting creates a new Contact record and populates the common fields defined in the Link record. Posting from Request Management can occur when new requests are opened.

In this example, ocmq.open.newemployee.quote.g is our Source Format (accessing the ocmq file) and contacts is our Target form (accessing the contacts file). Both files contain such contact information as contact name, company, first name, last name, and department. The relationship between the two files is based on a single common field—the employee.id field in this example (Employee Number). When Posting initiates from a request, the system attempts to find a Contact record in which the value of the user.id field matches the value of the employee.id field in the request. If a match is found, the system updates the Contact record. If no match is found (as in the case of a request from a new person), the system creates a new Contact record based on the values in the request.

Posting should NOT be performed on the probsummary table when set up using a subroutine in Format Control as this causes the system to clear the variable, $file.

Use the procedures in the following help server topics to create automatic updates using Format Control subroutines:

1. Identify the field input values for posting
2. Create the link record for posting
3. Create the Format Control record for automatic posting
4. Open a request for posting