Create, edit, or remove a JavaScript system column

Abstract

Guide to creating, editing, or removing JavaScript system columns in NIM, including best practices and error handling.

Create a JavaScript system column

For more information, see Custom JavaScript columns.

Expand a system's table list.
Go to the relevant table.
Go to the Columns tab.
Click Add.
Enter a Column Name.
Enter your JavaScript in the Code pane.
Optional: Click a Green Arrow to insert a column variable into the current cursor position in the Code pane.
Note
Column variables are accessed using non-standard JavaScript notation, in the format tableName['variableName']. For example, employees['employee_id'].
Optional: Click Insert A JavaScript Function to insert hash functions, Vault queries, or variable queries.
Click Test Script to execute your JavaScript code.
The result appears in the Script Result Value field.
Click Save and Exit.

Edit a JavaScript system column

Expand a system's table list.
Go to the relevant table.
Go to the Columns tab.
Click Edit Column for the relevant column.
Continue by following the steps in Create a JavaScript system column.

Remove a JavaScript system column

Expand a system's table list.
Go to the relevant table.
Go to the Columns tab.
Click Remove Column for the relevant column.
Click Yes.
Click Save.

Best Practices

System Tables vs Filters

Scripted columns can be added as additional columns to a filter's results. They can also be added directly to any system table.

To determine the best place to create a scripted column there are a few things to consider:

Will this value be used multiple times or will it impact multiple layers/entities in NIM?
- E.g. All of the values in the FirstName column have trailing spaces: Trimming this value will need to happen in the filters and also in the name gen.
Can the resultant value be determined solely from the data in a single table or do I need data from other joined in tables?
- E.g. The OU path for a user is based on their grade level and their building name: If Grade Level and Building Name are not available in the same table, this is not a good candidate to be generated in the system table.

Error Capturing

There are two situations where fields that you're evaluating in a Scripted Column may throw errors:

The value in the table is simply blank
- Not all user objects in AD will have a description specified
- See more on Nullish Coalescing
The value is coming from an "any-none" join in your filter
- Not every user record in the HRMS/SIS may have an AD account
- See more on Testing for Undefined

Try-Catch

A simple way to catch errors in your scripts is to wrap the issue code in a try/catch block

let foo = 'bar'; //default value
try {
	foo = Users['description'].toLowerCase();
}
catch(e) { }

This method can become messy and difficult to understand in more complex scenarios.

Null-Coalescing (Blank values)

The Nullish-Coalescing (see example #1 above) operator can be used to get the variable value or a default value if the variable value is empty:

let foo = (Users['description'] ?? 'bar').toLowerCase();

Undefined Collection/Table

In the case of example #2 above, we also want to check if the table/collection object is undefined. This is a good method to use regardless of if the table is expected to be null or not.

Snippet 1: Check for undefined via TypeOf

let foo = (typeof Users_01 !== 'undefined') ? Users_01['description'] : 'bar';let foo = (typeof Users_01 !== 'undefined') ? Users_01['description'] : 'bar';

Snippet 2: Check for undefined via direct comparison

let foo = (Users_01 !== undefined) ? Users_01['description'] : 'bar';

The two methods can be combined - the first check to ensure that the table has a record. If the record does exist, then also handle the situation where the field could be empty:

let foo = (typeof Users_01 !== 'undefined') ? (Users_01['description'] ?? 'foobar') : 'bar';

Here is a real world example of this

let result = '';

let LocationAssignment = (typeof AssignConfigEmployeeLocation !== 'undefined') ? (AssignConfigEmployeeLocation['LocationName'] ?? '') : null;
let Location = (typeof ConfigEmployeeLocation !== 'undefined') ? (ConfigEmployeeLocation['LocationName'] ?? '') : null;
let WorkLocationAssignment = (typeof di96_pcassign_export !== 'undefined') ? (di96_pcassign_export['work_location_name'] ?? '') : null
let WorkLocation = (typeof di96_perpay_export !== 'undefined') ? (di96_perpay_export['work_loc1_name'] ?? '') : null


if(LocationAssignment != null) {
  result = LocationAssignment
}
else {
  if(Location != null) {
  	result = Location;
  }
}

if(result === null || result.length < 1)
{
  if(WorkLocationAssignment != null)
     {
       	result = WorkLocationAssignment
     } else {
       if(WorkLocation != null) {
        	result = WorkLocation
       }
     }
}

return result

String Interpolation/Template Strings

String interpolation offers a way to define a string structure with variable placeholders and implicitly convert the value of the expression/variable to a string value. This is the recommended method of building strings.

See more on Template Literals

Tip

Template strings are enclosed in the tick character ( ` ).

// String concatenation
return "Student @ " + Students['BldName'] + " | " + Students['Grade'].toString() + ".";

// Templated strings
return `Student @ ${Students['BldName']} | ${Students['Grade']}.`;return `Student @ ${Students['BldName']} | ${Students['Grade']}.`;

The placeholders ("${...}") in the template string can contain full expressions:

return `Grade ${Students['Grade'].slice(-2)}`;

In this section: