7.3

You can specify how a property is rendered, for example if should display as a checkbox or as a drop-
down menu with values obtained from a custom vRealize Orchestrator workflow.
You can also use properties to control how your custom workflows function. For information about using
vRealize Automation Designer to define and work with custom workflows, see Life Cycle Extensibility.
Best Practices for Naming Property Definitions
To avoid naming conflicts with supplied vRealize Automation custom properties, use a standard and
meaningful prefix for all property names that you create. Use a prefix such as a company or feature name
followed by a dot for all new property names. VMware reserves all property names that do not contain a
dot (.). Property names that do not follow this recommendation may conflict with vRealize Automation
custom properties. In that event, the vRealize Automation custom property takes precedence over
property definitions that you create.
General Procedures
The following steps describe the general procedure for creating and using new property definitions:
1 Create a new property definition and associate it with a data type that allows for a specific type of
content, such as boolean or integer content. Use a standard naming convention for the new property
name such as my_grouping_prefix.my_property_name.
2 Associate a property definition with a display type, such as a check box or drop-down menu.
Available display types are derived from the selected data type.
3 Add the property to a blueprint either individually or as part of a property group.
Add the property to a blueprint and specify if the property value must be encrypted.
Add the property to a blueprint and specify if the user should be prompted to specify a property value.
4 As a machine requestor, specify required values as prompted.
Using vRealize Orchestrator Script Actions
You can populate the property value in a drop-down menu by using vRealize Orchestrator script actions.
Using vRealize Orchestrator script actions also enables you to populate a drop-down menu value based
on the values specified for another property.
You can use the vra content list --type property-definition vRealize CloudClient command to
list all property definitions in the current vRealize Automation instance tenant. You can also use the vra
content list --type property-group vRealize CloudClient command to list all property groups.
For a tutorial on creating dynamic property definitions to filter the options that are available to users, see
the How to use dynamic property definitions blog post.
Custom Properties Reference
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