Business objects, attributes, and variables that are renamed

With time, applications change and business objects, their attributes, and variables might be renamed. However, many parts of a business process might reference or have a dependency on a business object, an attribute, or a variable. Renaming, therefore, can produce unexpected results. To rename a business object, an attribute or a variable and see the impact that renaming causes, use the rename function.

Procedures for renaming business objects, their attributes, and variables are contained in the following sections.

Renaming business objects and attributes

To find business objects, select Data from the navigation. To rename a business object, follow these steps:

Right-click the business object that you want to rename. Select Rename from the menu.
In the window that opens, change the business object name in the New name field. By default, when you click OK, you see the references to that business object in the subsequent Refactor window. However, you have the option of clearing Update references. In that case, none of the references to the business object are updated.
In the Refactor window, the pane shows the business processes and services that reference the business object. Select the business processes and services that you want updated and click OK. If there are no references, the pane is blank; however, continue to click OK to rename the business object. If you want to analyze the list later, you can copy the names of the business processes and services to a clipboard by clicking Copy To Clipboard.
Afterward, check all the artifacts that you expected to be updated, particularly in JavaScript sections. The refactor function updates all fully qualified references that are instantiated with the keyword new for the old business object and old business object lists; for example, new tw.object.OldBusinessObject or new tw.object.listOf.OldBusinessObject.

Business objects are themselves composed of other variables, which are called attributes. You can rename attributes of a business object and the rename function shows you the business processes and services that are affected. To rename an attribute, follow these steps:

Click Data and double-click the business object in the menu that contains an attribute that you want to rename.
Select the attribute in the Parameters list that you want to rename. When you change the name in the Name field, a message says that to refactor the value press Alt + Shift + R. Pressing this combination starts the Rename window. Change the attribute name in the New Name field. By default, when you click OK, you see the references to the attribute in the subsequent Refactor window. However, you have the option of clearing Update references. In that case, none of the references to the attribute are updated.
In the Refactor window, the pane shows the business processes and services that reference the business object. Select the business processes and services that you want updated and click OK. If there are no references, the pane is blank; however, continue to click OK to rename the attribute. You can copy the names of the business processes and services to a clipboard if you want to analyze the list later by clicking Copy To Clipboard.
Afterward, check all artifacts that you expected to be updated, particularly in JavaScript sections.
The refactor function updates attributes on objects in the following situations:
- The object is assigned to a fully qualified business object that is instantiated with the keyword new or to any ancestral attribute of the object. An example of an ancestral attribute that would be refactored is GreatGrandparentBusObj.GrandparentBusObj.ParentBusObj.busobj.name.
- The object is assigned to a local variable that does not have an ANY type or to any ancestral attribute of the object.
In the first example, name would be updated. In the next two examples, id would be updated.
```
var businessobject = new tw.object.BusinessObject();
businessobject.name = "John";
```
```
tw.local.customerInfo.id = 1234;
```
```
var customer = tw.local.customerInfo;
customer.id = 5678;
```

If you refactor a business object and one of its references is being edited by another user, the reference is not selected to be refactored. A message specifies the user who is editing the reference.

When you start the refactor window, the business object that is being refactored is locked, as are any references that are selected to be refactored. When the refactor operation is finished, the business object and the references are unlocked.

Limitations

JavaScript code in coaches is not updated.
To be listed as selectable for refactoring, the business processes or services must reference the business object with the variables or variable fields that are found in the Variables tab.
Attention: You cannot refactor the system-generated private shared business object that is automatically created for a case type definition. This business object tracks the case type definition and its variables so it automatically reflects any changes that you make to them. If you rename the case type definition, the private shared business object is also renamed. For example, if you rename the case type definition from My Case to My First Case, the name of the private shared business object is automatically renamed from My_Case_Folder to My_First_Case_Folder.
Property names are not updated when the square bracket notation is used; for example, in the following code, firstname, would not be updated: customer['firstname'] = "John".
Refactoring does not update the binding when the business object parameter name is changed.

Renaming a variable

Variables are found within a business process or a service. In other words, renaming a variable does not affect another business process or service. Renaming a variable can affect a reference to it within the same business process or service.

To rename a variable, follow these steps:

Click the Variables tab and select the variable that you want to rename.
When you change the name in the Name field, a message says that to refactor the value press Alt + Shift + R. Pressing this combination starts the Rename window. Change the variable name in the New Name field. By default, when you click OK, all references to the variable are updated. However, you have the option of clearing Update references. In that case, none of the references to the variable are updated. Unlike renaming a business object or attribute, you do not see a subsequent panel where you select references or are shown no references.