UI Builder Encoded Query for Update Record

[Velma]

Building the encoded templateFields string for the Global Update Record in a client script (api.data.update_request_record.execute). I'm doing fine with short strings and sysIds. I need to know how I can encode multiline strings (textarea content) and dates--those are erroring. It works fine when I don't add those, but that does not get me to where I need to get. Are there function samples or documentation (or someone's video) for how to encode/prep them somewhere?  Or can you tell me, please.

[Velma · Accepted solution]

Processing a textarea for api.data.update (or create, I'll presume). This preserves the line breaks to the data long String field. The backslash and caret were the only special characters I could find that need escaping, YMMV--I tested everything obvious but not the extended character sets. This works well as far as getting to the database. I am annoyed about having to spend a lot of time figuring out how to make a Save work when the functionality should be built into it, but so it goes. To be able to use my text in the email text for a flow without again losing the carriage returns, there is another step. I can apparently only put one code block in a post, so that will be a following reply.

    function fixTextAreaForWrite(inputText) {
        let workingText = inputText;

        // Backslash MUST BE FIRST
        workingText = workingText.replace(/\\/g, "\\\\");
        // Carriage returns
        workingText = workingText.replace(/(\r\n|\r|\n)/g, "\\n");
        // Cannot make caret work, just remove
        workingText = workingText.replace(/\^/g, "");

        return workingText;
    }

[Daniel Daughert]

This works to escape the ^ in the string 

workingText = workingText.replace(/\^/g, "\\^");

[gwalton]

I also processed a textarea with api.data.update (and create) data resource execute for my "comment" field. I used the data resource in Script mode to encode the textarea value with the encodeURIComponent( ) function. Below is example script code for my "Update" data resource execute event:

function evaluateEvent({api, event}) {

    let sysID = api.state.your_selected_record.sys_id;

    let field = "comment="+ encodeURIComponent(api.state.comment_from_textarea);

    return {

        table: "{Your DB Table}",

        recordId: sysID,

        templateFields: field,

        useSetDisplayValue: false

    };

}

Next, create an "Insert" & "Update" Business Rule for your table to decode the field's input before it's saved to your DB table with the decodeURIComponent( ) function. Make sure your Business Rule "When to Run" tab configuration is similar to:

"When"... (before)

"Filter Condition"... (Your DB field) -> (changes)

"Insert"... (checked)

"Update"... (checked)

Below is the (Advanced Tab) example Business Rule script to decode the input for my "comment" field before inserting or updating the table:

(function executeRule(current, previous /*null when async*/) {

    var txt = "";

    if(current.comment.changes) {

        txt = decodeURIComponent(current.comment);

        //gs.addInfoMessage(txt);

        current.comment = txt;

    }

})(current, previous);

The nice thing is the decodeURIComponent( ) function does NOT alter any other (already) unencode text that's being saved to this DB field from another source. I hope this is helpful...

[Velma]

I'll be doing an update to that application (that contains the update we're talking about) soon. I'll definitely test this out to see if it works for me. Thank you.