Design-time limitations in express mode
The following limitations apply when you develop applications in express mode. At design time, some features are disabled or have limited options when you configure them in Designer Studio and then switch to express mode. While the use of these features does not restrict the run-time behavior of your application, you cannot change the configuration of the feature unless you switch from express mode to Designer Studio.
| Feature | Behavior in express mode | Recommended action |
|---|---|---|
| Complex flows, which contain an alternate path. | The option to add steps to the process is not available in the life cycle of a case type. | Use the Configure process option to add or update shapes in the canvas view for the process. Switch to Designer Studio to update the Flow form when you need to configure advanced options. |
| Advanced goal or deadline options, including escalation actions, for a case type or stage. | The goal and deadline settings are not available in the settings for a case type. | Update the Service Level Agreement form in Designer Studio. |
| Skins that are not associated with one of the three standard themes in Pega Express. | No theme is selected when users view the Theme tab in the Settings dialog box. | Update the Skin form or change the skin identified on the Application form in Designer Studio. |
| Conditional processes in a stage that rely on a when rule instead of an expression. | The settings for the condition are not available in the life cycle of a case type. | Update the when rule or select a different when rule in Designer Studio. |
| Manual updates to a form that are outside of the settings for a case type. For example, adding a custom control to a section. | The form is not available when configuring the case type. | Update the relevant Section form in Designer Studio. |
| Flow actions, other than the five standard user actions, that are assigned to a case type or stage. | The flow actions are displayed as read-only values. | Continue to add standard user actions or remove a flow action. |
| Concurrent updates to a case type in Designer Studio and express mode. | A warning message is displayed to users indicating that the latest changes were not saved. | Close and reopen the case type to continue working on it. |
| Delegated items. | All delegated items are displayed in the Configuration tab, but you can edit only data types. | Modify delegated items other than data types in the Configuration tab in the Case Manager portal. |
| Instantiation options for child cases. | The options for instantiating a child case type are not available in the settings for a case type. | Access the settings from Designer Studio. |
| Assignments with routing logic that is defined in a custom decision tree. | The options to configure business logic are not available in the life cycle of a case type. | Switch to Designer Studio and open the assignment in the Flow form to access the decision tree. |
| Steps in a process that wait for an interval of time or use a specific class scope. | The Wait step in the process is displayed but the options to configure the step are not available. | Add a Wait step to your process that relies on the case status instead of a time interval, or switch to Designer Studio to configure the flow diagram that contains the Wait shape. |
| Steps in a process that create any type of case other than a child of the current case. | The Create case step in the process is displayed but the options to configure the step are not available. | Add a Create case step to your process that creates child cases only, or switch to Designer Studio to configure the flow diagram that contains the Create case shape. |
| Custom data transforms that map fields from a parent case to a child case. | The option to transform information in a Create case step is not available. | Switch to Designer Studio to update the data transform. |