If you’ve spent time building applications with Constellation, chances are you’ve encountered scenarios where values on a form are blanked, reverted, or reset, or where data simply isn’t persisted as expected. This often surfaces after a refresh—particularly when read-only fields or fields hidden by visibility conditions are involved—and can lead to confusion about why values are no longer available after a submit (Known Issue: Read-only values are not saved in Constellation).
The good news is that Infinity 26 introduces an enhancement (Infinity ’26 | What’s new in Case Management | Forms support background values when refreshed) that directly addresses this behavior. This enhancement addresses a common Constellation pattern involving data loss during refresh and submit flows.
What’s changing in Infinity 26
Infinity 26 introduces a new Flow Action setting: Properties to submit (Data Transform)
This setting allows an application to explicitly specify additional properties that must be retained and submitted during a form submit or refresh, even if those properties are:
- not rendered in the view
- rendered as read‑only
- hidden by visibility conditions
The setting is implemented by referencing a Data Transform that lists the properties to include.
The setting supports single scalar fields and single / multi embedded data fields. The referenced Data Transform must contain only Set steps with:
- a property on the left‑hand side
- an empty value on the right‑hand side
Example: Retaining read‑only values during form refresh and submit
The screenshots below demonstrate a common data‑loss scenario and how the new configuration resolves it.
Scenario walkthrough (see screenshot callouts 1–7):
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A Flow Action contains a Constellation form with a field MyPickList configured with a Form Refresh condition.
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When MyPickList changes, the refresh triggers a Data Transform named SetValueOnRefresh.
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SetValueOnRefresh sets a value on another field, MyROText.
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MyROText is rendered on the form as read‑only.
Prior to Infinity 26, although MyROText was correctly populated during the refresh, its value would be lost on save or submit, because read‑only (or non‑rendered) fields were not included in the submitted payload.
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The Flow Action is updated to reference a Data Transform called IncludeROFields in the new Properties to submit (Data Transform) setting.
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IncludeROFields contains only Set steps, listing MyROText on the left‑hand side with an empty value on the right‑hand side (no logic or calculations).
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On form refresh and submit, MyROText is now explicitly included in the request payload even though it is read‑only. This can be observed in the network trace under the encrypted fields object, confirming the value is securely submitted and persisted.
Why this matters for Solution Builders
- Addresses a long-standing limitation affecting refresh and submit scenarios.
- Provides a supported mechanism to retain values for properties that are read-only, hidden, or not rendered in the view.
- Reduces the likelihood of unexpected data loss during form interactions.
- Can simplify application design where values are populated by refresh logic but are not intended to be editable by users.
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