New Application Status Missing From a Rule Action Dropdown

Reported Issue

A partner institution wanted to add a new custom status name to an App Status rule action, so an application rule could set records to that status directly. The name they wanted was not among the options in the rule action's dropdown, and typing it directly into the action did not make it available either.

What We Found

Application Status and Person Status are both prompt-based fields in Slate. A rule action that sets one of these statuses can only offer values that already exist on the underlying prompt, application_status for Application Status and person_status for Person Status. The rule action's dropdown is a list of that prompt's current values, so a status name will only become an option once added to its designated prompt key set.

The ReSolution

Add the new status name as a value on the application_status prompt first (Database → Prompts → application_status → New Prompt), then the name appears as a selectable action value the next time that rule action is opened.

The Slate Knowledge Base documents the identical pattern on the person-status side in Customizing Person Status Rules: add the value to the person_status prompt before building or updating the rule that assigns it. The Prompts and Prompts Settings articles cover how prompt values are created and managed more generally, and Rules Overview covers rule actions in general.

Other Considerations

This same order of operations, add the prompt value first, refresh the quartet, then build the rule, applies to any prompt-based field, not just Application Status and Person Status. If a rule action's dropdown for a status field looks short, check the field's prompt before assuming the rule itself is misconfigured.