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Workflow Homonym

In this section we configure the homonym detection that checks if a resource already exists in the system, preventing duplicates.

Process​

  1. Create a homonym entity link, either with a default filter or customized filters
  2. Create a display table to display the homonym result (optional)
  3. Define the part of the workflow form where homonyms must be checked

A Homonym Entity Link defines a new homonym detection to be performed in a workflow form. It can be defined in different ways.

With a default filter​

<HomonymEntityLink FormEntityType="Directory_UserRecord" Identifier="Directory_UserRecord_Homonym" />

When no filter is defined for the homonym entity link, the detection for homonyms is performed according to the homonym control form. See section below.

With customized filters​

Homonym Entity Link filters allow to define customized filters for a homonym detection.

Simple filter​

<HomonymEntityLink FormEntityType="Directory_UserRecord" Identifier="Directory_UserRecord_Homonym">    <Filter
        Property1="LastName"
        Property2="FirstName"
    /></HomonymEntityLink>

Here, since the default operator is Equal, the detection for homonyms is performed by comparing the values of the LastName and FirstName properties with an exact spelling.

NB: This example matches the default filter that would be computed based on the homonym control example in the section below.

Filters on several entities​

A homonym entity link can contain filters on the properties from several distinct entity types.

The following example searches for homonyms among usual workers (from Directory_UserRecord) but also the guests (from Directory_Guest):


<HomonymEntityLink FormEntityType="Directory_UserRecord" Identifier="Directory_UserRecord">  <Filter
      Property1="LastName"
      Property2="FirstName"
  />
  <Filter
      Property1="LastName" ComparisonProperty1="Directory_Guest:LastName"
      Property2="FirstName" ComparisonProperty2="Directory_Guest:FirstName"
   />
</HomonymEntityLink>

In this case, a display table is required for the additional entity.

Flexible filter​

A filter can be defined to compare the values in an approximate way.

  • A flexible operator must be used, such as FlexibleEqual, FlexibleStartWith, etc.
  • A flexible expression must be defined on the comparison property.

  1. When the input detection value is retrieved directly from the property value

    <HomonymEntityLink FormEntityType="Directory_UserRecord" Identifier="Directory_UserRecord_Homonym">    <Filter
            Property1="LastName" ComparisonProperty1="PhoneticLastName" Operator1="FlexibleEqual"
            Property2="FirstName" ComparisonProperty2="PhoneticFirstName" Operator2="FlexibleEqual"
        /></HomonymEntityLink>

Here, Property1 is set, so the detection for homonyms is performed by comparing the LastName value, entered by the user in the workflow form, with the phonetic value of existing resources stored as the PhoneticLastName property in the database.

Before performing the comparison, the flexible expression of the comparison property is applied to the input value.

  1. When the input detection value is deducted

    <HomonymEntityLink FormEntityType="Directory_UserRecord" Identifier="Directory_UserRecord_Homonym">    <Filter
            ComparisonProperty1="PhoneticFirstLastName" Operator1="FlexibleEqual"
        />    <Filter
            ComparisonProperty1="PhoneticFirstLastName" Operator1="FlexibleEqual" Expression1="C#:record:(record.LastName + ' ' + record.FirstName).Appproximate()"
        /></HomonymEntityLink>

Here:

  • In the first filter, Property1 and Expression1 are not set, so the detection value is computed by applying the expression defined for ComparisonProperty1 from the input values, eg. (record.FirstName + ' ' + record.LastName).Appproximate().
  • In the second filter, Expression1 is set, so the detection value is computed by applying the Expression1 from the input values. This filter allows checking the homonyms on the reversed full name (to manage the case where the user reverses the first and last name for example).

The detection for homonyms is performed by comparing the detection values computed based on each filter with the values stored in the database and retrieves all resources that match any of the filters.

Filter on a language property​

If a filter is set on a language property, the detection for homonyms is performed on the property associated to the main language.

<HomonymEntityLink FormEntityType="Directory_Organization" Identifier="Directory_Organization_Homonym">    <Filter Property1="Name" /></HomonymEntityLink>

Here, the Name property is a neutral property associated with two localized properties Name_en and Name_fr.

If English is the main language, the detection for homonyms is performed on the Name_en value.

Create a Display Table (optional)​

A Display Table is used to define how a list of the same entity type should be displayed.

By default, the homonyms are displayed using the default display table of the related entity type.

To display homonyms in a different way than the default, a specific display table must be created where the HomonymEntityLink attribute is the identifier of the homonym entity link created above.

<DisplayTable Identifier="Directory_UserRecord_Homonym" EntityType="Directory_UserRecord" DisplayTableDesignElement="table" HomonymEntityLink="Directory_UserRecord">
    <Column DefaultSortPriority="1" DisplayBinding="LastName" IsDisplayInSummaryView="true" IsResizable="true" ColumnSize="1" />    <Column DisplayBinding="FirstName" IsDisplayInSummaryView="true" IsResizable="true" ColumnSize="1" />    <Column DisplayBinding="Login" IsDisplayInSummaryView="true" IsResizable="true" IsSortable="true" CanBeFiltered="true" ColumnSize="2" />    <Column DisplayBinding="Mail" IsDisplayInSummaryView="true" IsResizable="true" IsSortable="true" CanBeFiltered="true" ColumnSize="2" />    <Column DisplayBinding="BirthDate" IsDisplayInSummaryView="true" IsResizable="true" IsSortable="true" CanBeFiltered="true" ColumnSize="4" /></DisplayTable>

Define the Homonym Control in the Workflow Form​

The Form where the homonyms are to be checked must contain a layout fieldset control where:

  • the HomonymEntityLink attribute is the identifier of the homonym entity link created above.
  • the properties to check (defined in the homonym filters) are represented in the control bindings.
  • the bindings are all represented in the homonym filters.

When the homonym entity link has no filter set and therefore the filter is calculated automatically, the homonym control form must only contain up to 5 controls where Binding attribute is defined. Indeed, a filter can only be defined on up to 5 properties, see filter definition in Homonym Entity Link .

<Form Identifier="Workflow_Directory_User_AdvancedStartInternal_Base" EntityType="Directory_UserRecord">    <Control DisplayName_L1="Personal Data" DisplayName_L2="Informations personnelles" OutputType="LayoutFieldset" HomonymEntityLink="Directory_UserRecord">
        <Control DisplayName_L1="Full Name" DisplayName_L2="Nom complet" OutputType="LayoutRowset">            <Control Binding="LastName" IsRequired="true" />            <Control Binding="FirstName" IsRequired="true" />        </Control>    </Control></Form>

If a filter is declared with a ComparisonProperty attribute (and so without a Property), then the properties used in the Expression (whether defined in the filter or elsewhere in the configuration) to compute the ComparisonProperty must also be represented in the control bindings.

In the example below, the properties used in the Expression1 attribute that must be represented in the control bindings are LastName and FirstName.

<HomonymEntityLink FormEntityType="Directory_UserRecord" Identifier="Directory_UserRecord_Homonym">    <Filter
        ComparisonProperty1="PhoneticFirstLastName" Operator1="FlexibleEqual" Expression1="C#:record:(record.LastName + ' ' + record.FirstName).Appproximate()"
    /></HomonymEntityLink>