Skip to main content

​
Object store

The Caseflow runtime maintains an in-memory object store. Objects are tracked by key format based on their mode:
Key formatMode
primary:<id>Primary object being viewed or edited
related:<id>Related objects loaded via relations
search-edit:<id>Objects opened for editing from search results
create:<classId>Temporary objects in create mode

​
Dirty tracking

Each object tracks whether changes exist (isDirty) by comparing current values with original values. This drives save button state and determines which attributes are included in update calls.

​
Save behavior

Save behavior depends on the current mode:
  • Update mode — changed attribute values are sent via attribute update calls
  • Create mode — a create request is generated from currently populated entries, then the object transitions to an update-like state

​
Validation tracking

Field components can register validation errors centrally. Save buttons check this state and block the save if errors are present. See SaveButton for details on save hooks and validation gates.

​
Class inheritance

Name resolution for attributes and relations supports inherited class structures. This is important in environments where relation attributes or shared fields are defined in parent classes.

​
Transient fields

Transient fields are UI-only fields that:
  • Start with underscore (_)
  • Exist in context state for variable and action logic
  • Are never persisted to the API

​
When to use transient fields

Use transient fields for:
  • Temporary computation values
  • Intermediate user selections
  • Action-chain variables that should not be stored

​
Behavioral rules

  • You can read transient fields in templates and actions like normal fields
  • Transient entries do not participate in persistent dirty calculations
  • Transient entries are excluded from save payloads
  • Type metadata is unavailable for transient fields, so set an explicit type on the component

​
Examples

A transient field for temporary display: 
<EditableField attributeName="_calculatedPriority" type="text" />
Capturing previous state into a transient field on change: 
<EditableField
  attributeName="Status"
  onChanged='setValue:{"attributeName":"_lastStatus","value":"${previousValue}"}'
/>

​
Query caching and refresh

​
Query domains

Caseflow uses query caching across several domains:
  • Caseflow object search queries
  • Related object queries
  • Relation picker option queries
  • Document search queries
  • Editable field dataset queries

​
Refresh patterns

Assign stable queryKey values to searchable components and trigger refresh through the action engine:
  • refresh:<queryKey> — refresh an object search
  • refreshDocuments:<queryKey> — refresh a document search
  • refreshDataset:<queryKey> — refresh a field dataset
Invalidate narrowly using targeted query keys rather than refreshing globally.

​
Example

Refresh multiple components after creating a related object: 
onCreated="refresh:case-tasks | refreshDocuments:case-documents"