Call policy

The Call policy item allows you to have the policy that it is processed in, call to another policy and enter the processing at a given point (entry point) in the flow chart of the second policy. The destination policy must be based on a compatible event source type. This extremely powerful policy item allows you to be able to set up multiple different policies that can be navigated to and processed when conditions in the original policy demand it.

It is very useful when you have a policy where there are a lot of different conditional outcomes that need to be evaluated and processed, and the original policy would become unmanageable if it tried to maintain all the flow on the one worksheet. You can construct smaller, more manageable policies that are simply called to when required in the original policy flow chart.

The Call policy item works by diverting the policy processing to a specified policy item in another policy. It will then continue processing the flow chart of the second policy until it reaches a suitable outcome. This of course can include using a Call policy item in the second policy to return back to the original policy at a specified point.

Note

Entry points

You can specify which policy items in the target policy will be used as an entry point by the calling policy, by connecting an Entry point item to these chosen policy items (in the target policy).

Read more about Entry point items

To use the Call policy item:

1. Select or create a policy to open a policy editor.
2. In the Items section of the policy editor toolbox, select the Call policy item and drag it on to the worksheet. This will open the Call policy properties.

   

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3. In the Policy drop down menu, select the policy that will be called.
4. In the Start from drop down menu, select the Entry point policy item that has been configured in the called policy as the place where the processing will start. Alternatively you can select the option button to the right of the Policy field to open the target policy in a policy editor, so you can add Entry point items.
5. Click OK to return to the worksheet.
6. The Call policy item will now blink, allowing you to give it a meaningful name so you can identify it easily in the policy evaluation flow.

Alternative to event assignment

When you place an Event item on to the worksheet of a policy, you are assigning the event to that policy. Assigning an event to a policy means that whenever that event takes place, only the policy where the event is assigned will be processed.

When an event is assigned to a policy, the event policy item is removed from the flow chart of any other policy where it may have been previously assigned. As a result the old policy will no longer be processed when the event takes place.

To utilize the flow chart structure of the old policy, you can place a Call policy item in the flow chart of the new policy where the event is now assigned, which will call to an entry point in these unassigned policies. This makes the Call policy item very effective for the cases where several different scenarios are required to be evaluated in a policy based on one particular event.

Read about assigning events to WinGate policies