How Form refresh works with Page List properties

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Form refresh supports page list properties#### Summary

This article describes a new enhancement in the latest Pega Platform release: Form refresh in Constellation Flow Actions now supports referencing page list properties with a defined row value (for example, .SamplePageList(1).ScalarField). This enhancement improves the developer experience by expanding the set of supported Flow Action configurations.

The article explains what changed, how to configure it, and how it behaves at runtime. It also highlights current limitations observed during implementation so that developers can make informed design decisions.

Applies to

  • Pega Platform: Infinity 25
  • UI architecture: Constellation
  • Area: Flow Actions, Page list,Form refresh

What’s new

In previous versions, Form refresh settings in Constellation Flow Actions were limited to scalar and page properties. Referencing page list properties was either unsupported and hampers quick implementation of real life scenarios.

With this enhancement:

  • Form refresh now supports page list properties with a defined index, such as:
    • .SamplePageList(1).ScalarField
  • This enables more dynamic UI behavior when working with structured, repeatable data in Flow Actions.

What is not supported

  • Open-valued page list references are still not supported. For example:
    • .SamplePageList().ScalarField

Business scenario

To demonstrate this feature, a simple application was created with a case type called Intake. The purpose of the case is to collect information about cars that require maintenance or repairs.

**Note:**The focus of this article is on the Flow Action configuration used to collect data and trigger form refresh behavior.

Flow Action overview

The Flow Action is used to capture intake details, including car information stored in a page list structure.

Key characteristics

Change condition are set to specific rows (1,3 and 4) and on a specific property “ChangeApproved”.

Runtime behavior

At runtime, the Form refresh behaves as follows:

  • When the referenced field inside the page list row changes
  • The view is refreshed as expected. With the help of refresh, the view shows the field group which contains part and cost information for approval.
  • Please note that the field group header information users dynamic label feature which is also released with the latest Pega platform 25 version

End-to-end demonstrationThis demo showcases a simple Intake case designed to capture maintenance and repair information for vehicles. The focus is on how a Constellation-based Flow Action collects car details using a pre‑populated page list and leverages form refresh behavior to react dynamically to field changes within specific rows. The video highlights the key configuration elements that enable this responsive and streamlined data entry experience.

https://players.brightcove.net/1519050010001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6388721534112

Limitations and shortcomings

Note: Form refresh supports only scalar properties defined on a specific page list row. References to pages, page lists, or open-valued page list entries are not supported.

1. Static row dependency

Because the row index is hardcoded:

  • The configuration assumes the row exists
  • Additional validation or guard logic may be required to avoid unexpected behavior when rows are added or removed

2. Scalar property support onlyForm refresh supports only scalar properties defined on a specific page list row. References to pages, page lists, or open-valued page list entries are not supported

3. Limited flexibility for repeating UI patterns

For repeating layouts or grids:

  • The feature does not yet support row-context-aware refresh behavior
  • Workarounds may require additional rules or data transforms

Conclusion

The enhancement to support page list properties in Form refresh significantly improves the developer experience in Constellation Flow Actions. While there are still limitations, the feature enables new design patterns that were previously not possible.

Understanding both its capabilities and shortcomings will help developers apply it effectively and avoid common pitfalls.

Constellation 101 Series

Enjoyed this article? See more similar articles in Constellation 101 series.

Cascading Multi select Fields
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Also worth looking at other options like using Actions to add to Embedded Data Lists, that is another way of modifying data (using pre/post processing)

We have options :slight_smile:

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@MarcCheong Video shows how to add Add Actions to Embedded Data List but after adding Pagelist property in the form refresh settings, if we want to save any data in the Upper Class like pyWorkPage/TOP through the post utility/Data Transform, whatever we are setting property/values for Read-Only it is not saving appropriately. After Form submit it overwrites your Activity’s/DT Changes since your property was set by activity not entered by user in form field. Form submission doesn’t know about it and it gets vanishing. Property exists after post processing but vanishes on save/commit by the Form.

How can we save the data for Read-Only Properties through post activity/Data Transform to upper layer class once user submit’s the form through Embedded Data ?

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Apologies, I was on PTO and only just now getting around to all my emails, chats and messages @DeexithB17624872. Ready only can’t be targeted in Form Refresh settings as they are not included in the payload behind the view (DX API), because it is read only you can’t edit it.

You can do these on posting of the assignment however, this gives you more control over keeping the data up to date.