App settings errors displayed on the App Details screen can occur even if the App Administrator has not changed any settings. In this article, we explain the causes divided into two main categories, summarizing the impact on Cases and clarifying who needs to fix what. Most occurrences stem from Cause 1.
Cause 1: Deletion or Modification of Referenced Items
App settings refer to elements that exist outside the App itself. If a referenced item is deleted or modified into a state where the reference becomes invalid, the App setting referring to it results in an error.
- Users — Operator settings in Swimlanes, etc.
- Organizations — Operator settings in Swimlanes, etc.
- Titles — Target User filtering in Swimlanes configured with a specified Organization
- Roles — Operator settings in Swimlanes, etc.
- Choice Masters — Choices or initial values for Select-type Data Items
- Includes situations where a choice disappears due to an update, in addition to complete deletion
- PDF Forms — [Generate PDF File] automated processing Steps
- Service Task Definition Files — Automated processing Steps created from definition files
- Includes situations where configuration items change due to an update, in addition to complete deletion
- HTTP Authorization Settings — [Throwing Message Intermediate Event (HTTP)] or automated processing Steps integrating with external services
- Results in an error when the setting is deleted
- When using “User-bound Settings” in standard item automated processing Steps, an error also occurs if the user who registered the configuration ceases to be an App Administrator for that App
- Other Apps — [Service Task (Start Child Case)] automated processing Steps
- Results in an error if the target App is deleted or if its Message Start Event (HTTP) settings are changed
The deletion of Users, Organizations, Titles, and Roles is performed by System Administrators of the workflow platform (users with User Management or System Administration privileges). For Choice Masters, PDF Forms, and Service Task Definition Files registered under [System Settings] > [App-Sharing Add-ons] to be shared across multiple Apps, registration and updates are also carried out by System Administrators. HTTP Authorization Settings and other Apps are changed through operations by other App Administrators. Since all of these operations take place outside the App, from the perspective of an App Administrator, the error appears even though they haven’t modified anything themselves. When an App settings error occurs, a notification email is sent to users with App Administrative privileges for that App.
Cause 2: Additional Validation Introduced by Version Upgrades
This is a pattern where the App configuration itself hasn’t changed, but that setting starts being detected as an error. Because Questetra BPM Suite is a cloud service, version upgrades may introduce additional validation checks for App configurations. There are two types of newly added checks:
(a) Settings that were originally invalid can now be detected
The setting was invalid even before the version upgrade, but because the product didn’t detect it, it was not displayed as an error. Adding the check causes the error to appear.
For example, in Ver. 18.0.3, a change was made so that an App settings error occurs if the choice specified as the initial value does not exist in a Select-type Data Item referencing a Choice Master (#11786). Specifying a non-existent choice as the initial value was invalid even prior to this change.
(b) Validation added to deprecated features to encourage migration
For features planned for deprecation in future versions, an App settings error may be displayed prior to removal to prompt App Administrators to update their settings. In thissituation, please update the settings to avoid using the deprecated feature before it is officially removed.
For example, in Ver. 18.0, the “Stop Sequences” configuration item in the standard automated processing Step [OpenAI ChatGPT: Chat] was scheduled for deprecation (#11705). Apps using this configuration item need to be modified so that they do not rely on it before it is removed.
You can check the details of newly added validation checks in the Release Notes.
Besides these two, on rare occasions, App settings errors can also occur due to changes in System Settings (such as disabling Message Start Event (Email)) or changes in licensing.
Impact on Cases
The impact varies depending on the cause.
In the situation of Cause 1, Case processing may be affected. The presence and scope of the impact depend on where the erroneous setting is being used.
In the situation of Cause 2, the error displaying itself does not change how Cases behave. This is because the App configuration values have not changed; the product has simply started detecting the issue. However, regarding (a), because the setting was invalid to begin with, Case behavior might not have been functioning as intended even before the error was displayed.
Note that even if there are App settings errors, starting a new Case in that App is still possible.
How to Proceed with Resolution
Identify the location of the error and review the App settings. If you need to fix something external to the App, an App Administrator cannot handle it alone. Please request assistance from a System Administrator of the workflow platform.
- Deleted Users, Organizations, Titles, and Roles cannot be restored with the same ID. Please change the Operator settings on the App configuration side to a different user or organization. This can be done by an App Administrator.
- For Choice Masters, PDF Forms, and Service Task Definition Files, if they can be re-registered with the same name and content, the error can be resolved without modifying app settings. However, registering or updating items in [System Settings] > [App-Sharing Add-ons] requires System Administration privileges. Please ask a System Administrator to re-register the deleted add-ons. If you have the file with the same content on hand, an App Administrator can also register it as an App-specific add-on, though in that situation, the reference target in the App settings must also be updated.
- The error message indicates which App setting has an error, but does not indicate how it should be fixed. Because the correct configuration depends on the business intent of that App, the App Administrator must make the decision. Even when making a request to a System Administrator, the App Administrator decides how to fix it and communicates those instructions.
Errors caused by Cause 1 can be prevented if action is taken before the deletion occurs. However, the necessary tasks are divided between the App Administrator and the System Administrator.
What App Administrators can do: When receiving a request from a System Administrator stating “we are going to delete this user, so please update the Operator settings”, modify the App configuration before the deletion is executed. If the request is left pending and the deletion goes through, an App settings error will occur.
What to request from System Administrators: To investigate which Apps will be affected prior to deletion, use features such as “Apps referring to the user” available in each User’s detail page under [System Settings]. This feature requires System Administration privileges and cannot be accessed by App Administrators. The procedure is explained in the following article, “How to Safely Delete Users Without Affecting Apps” (for System Administrators).
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