Make a Field Conditionally Required

This article provides instructions for making a field conditionally required.

In the steps that follow, the example code is used to ensure the Assignee is the only only able to close a ticket. Other examples are displayed at the bottom of this article.

Step 1. Create the script

A script is created as an .spl file and placed in the site/mods/majic directory. When the Service Desk service starts, the contents of the majic directory are processed and cached. You can use any naming scheme you like for your .spl file, but it is recommended that the file be preceded with a 'z' for easy identification as a custom file (eg zMyCompany.spl, zcr_scripts.spl, zMyScripts.spl).

CODE

cr::zmyscript(...) {
string zmsg;
//Enter your if statement
if(is_null(string1)) {
//Enter your alert message that appears when the if statement is fulfilled
zmsg=format("string1 is required in order to close this ticket");
set_error(1);
set_return_data(zmsg);
return;
}
}

Note: The example script works for Requests, Incidents, and Problems. Change the 'cr' in the first line of the script to 'chg' for Change Orders or 'iss' for Issues.

Step 2. Create the trigger

This step is to create the trigger that will initiate the script. The methods used to implement the trigger vary based on the Service Desk release.

For r11.x releases triggers are created via the Schema Designer utility. Simply add the following code as a Site-Defined Trigger to the desired table.

CODE

PRE_VALIDATE zmyscript() 113 FILTER(active == 0);

Note: This code will work for all ticket types.

For older releases triggers are made by creating a .mod file and placing it in the site/mods/majic directory. Name the .mod anything you like, but it is recommended that it be preceded with a 'z'.

CODE

MODIFY cr PRE_VALIDATE zmyscript() 113 FILTER(active == 0);

Note: This code works for Requests, Incidents, and Problems. Change the 'cr' to 'chg' for Change Orders or 'iss' for Issues.

Step 3. Publish the Schema changes

The methods used to publish schema changes vary based on the Service Desk release.

For r11.x releases, follow these steps:

1. Save your Schema changes
2. Stop the Service Desk service
3. Run pdm_publish from a command line
4. Start the Service Desk service

For older release recycle the Service Desk service.

Tips

String statements together using && Example (is_null(anyfield1) && is_null(anyfield2))

For not null add an ! Example (!is_null(anyfield))