Table cells

The cells in the rows that form the rules in a decision table contain the values that complete the conditions and actions. The columns define the conditions and actions, which determine what you can enter in the cells.

Editing a cell

To edit a cell in a decision table, type your changes directly in the cell. You can use common keyboard commands such as C®trl+C for copy.

Replacing Boolean values with check boxes

You can replace the Boolean values with check boxes, which can be selected or cleared to indicate actions. In Details, select Use check boxes for Boolean values.

Cell menu

To open the cell menu, right-click the cell that you want to edit. The cell menu provides the following commands, which vary between the condition and action cells.

Table 1. Table of cell editing commands

Command	Description
Cut	Copies and deletes the contents of the cell. The contents can then be pasted to another cell.
Copy	Copies the contents of a cell.
Paste	Pastes the copied contents of one cell to another cell.
Insert copied cells	Inserts copied cells and their values.
Insert row	Inserts a row above or below the row of the selected cell.
Clear	Deletes the contents of the cell.
Change operator	Inserts an operator to define the range of values. Condition columns only.
Split/Group	Split or group cells that contain similar values.
Disable/Enable	Disables or enables an action cell. A rule ignores the action of a disabled cell. Action columns only.
Set to otherwise	Sets the value of the cell to Otherwise. Condition columns only.
Edit custom value	Displays the contents of the cell in a rule editor. The rule editor includes a completion menu for building rule statements, and error checking that highlights errors in red and lists them at the bottom of the editing area. Use it to copy values from Excel if the column definition is using the expression.

Operators

When you edit a cell, the console can provide a list of operators based on the contents of the cell. To open the list of operators, right-click the cell and select Change operator. Operators are provided for numbers, strings, dates, and domains.

Table 2. Number operators

Operator	Description
=	The input data equals the number in the cell.
≠	The input data does not equal the number in the cell.
in	The input data is in the numbers in the cell.
!in	The input data is not in the numbers in the cell.
<	The input data is less than the number in the cell.
≤	The input data is less than or equal to the number in the cell.
>	The input data is more than the number in the cell.
≥	The input data is more than or equal to the number in the cell.
[..]	The input data is between the two numbers, or it is equal to one of the numbers.
]..]	The input data is more than the first number and less than or equal to the second number.
[..[	The input data is more than or equal to the first number and less than the second number.
]..[	The input data is more than the first number and less than the second number.

Table 3. String operators

Operator	Description
=	The input data is the same as the string in the cell.
≠	The input data is not the same as the string in the cell.
in	The input data is in the strings in the cell.
!in	The input data is not in the strings in the cell.
is empty	The input data is an empty string.
is not empty	The input data is not an empty string.
contains	The input data contains the string in the cell.
!contains	The input data does not contain the string in the cell.
starts with	The input data starts with the string in the cell.
!starts with	The input data does not start with the string in the cell.
ends with	The input data ends with the string in the cell.
!ends with	The input data does not end with the string in the cell.

Table 4. Date operators

Operator	Description
=	The input data is the same as the date in the cell.
≠	The input data is not the same as the date in the cell.
in	The input data is in the dates in the cell.
!in	The input data is not in the dates in the cell.
<	The input data is before the date in the cell.
≤	The input data is before or the same as the date in the cell.
>	The input data is after the date in the cell.
≥	The input data is after or the same as the date in the cell.
[..]	The input data is between the two dates, or it is same as one of the dates.
]..]	The input data is after the first date and before or the same as the second date.
[..[	The input data is after or the same as the first date, and before the second date.
]..[	The input data is after the first date and before the second date.

Table 5. Domain operators

Operator	Description
=	The input data is the same as the domain value in the cell.
≠	The input data is not the same as the domain value in the cell.
in	The input data is in the domain values in the cell.
!in	The input data is not in the domain values in the cell.