Site Properties and Environment Configuration in OutSystems

In Service Studio, click the Data tab (right panel). Expand the tree to find Site Properties. Right-click Site Properties → 'Add Site Property'. Set the following in the Properties Panel: - Name: PaymentAPIBaseURL - Data Type: Text - Default Value: 'https://api-staging.payments.example.com' - Description: 'Base URL for the payment gateway API. Override per environment.' - Is Secret: No (leave unchecked for non-sensitive values; check for passwords/API keys) Create a second Site Property for a feature toggle: - Name: EnableNewCheckout - Data Type: Boolean - Default Value: False - Description: 'Set to True to enable the redesigned checkout flow' TrueChange validates Site Property definitions immediately.

Site Properties are accessible only from Server Actions (and Data Actions). They cannot be read from Client Actions. Open any Server Action in the Action Flow Editor. To reference a Site Property in an expression, type its name with the Site. prefix: Site.PaymentAPIBaseURL Site.EnableNewCheckout Example: in a Server Action that calls the payment API, set the base URL dynamically: Start → Assign: RequestURL = Site.PaymentAPIBaseURL + '/v2/charge' → HTTP call node → End For the feature toggle: Start → If: Site.EnableNewCheckout → [True] → navigate to new checkout → [False] → navigate to old checkout → End In the Action Flow Editor, drag an Assign node from the Toolbox. In the Assign properties, click '+' → Variable = RequestURL (Text), Value = Site.PaymentAPIBaseURL + '/v2/charge'.

1/* Assign node values using Site Properties */
2RequestURL    = Site.PaymentAPIBaseURL + "/v2/charge"
3UseBatchSize  = Site.ProcessingBatchSize
4
5/* Feature toggle If condition */
6Site.EnableNewCheckout
7
8/* Composite expression */
9"Max batch size: " + IntegerToText(Site.ProcessingBatchSize)

After publishing your module, navigate to Service Center (your-environment-url/ServiceCenter). Log in with administrator credentials. Path: Factory → Modules → search for your module → click it → click the Site Properties tab. You see a list of all Site Properties with their current effective value and the default value set in Service Studio. Click the Edit (pencil) icon next to PaymentAPIBaseURL. Change the value to 'https://api.payments.example.com' (the live production URL) → Save. The change takes effect immediately — no redeployment needed. This is the key benefit of Site Properties: operations teams can toggle features and update configuration without involving developers. Repeat for each environment (Dev Service Center, QA Service Center, Prod Service Center) with appropriate values.

Client Variables are the client-side equivalent of Site Properties — they persist across screen navigation within a session (stored in browser localStorage). Create: Data tab → Client Variables → right-click → Add Client Variable. - Name: UserPreferredLanguage - Data Type: Text - Default Value: 'en' Read and write from Client Actions (not Server Actions): - Read: ClientVariables.UserPreferredLanguage (in any expression within a Client Action) - Write: Assign node → ClientVariables.UserPreferredLanguage = 'fr' Differences from Site Properties: - Client Variables are per-user/browser (not global like Site Properties) - They persist across screen navigation but are cleared when the user clears browser storage - They are NOT accessible in Server Actions - Never store sensitive data (passwords, tokens) in Client Variables — localStorage is readable by JavaScript

1/* Reading Client Variable in a Client Action */
2If: ClientVariables.UserPreferredLanguage = "fr"
3  [True] --> navigate to French content
4
5/* Writing Client Variable */
6Assign: ClientVariables.UserPreferredLanguage = SelectedLanguage
7
8/* NEVER do this - security risk: */
9Assign: ClientVariables.AuthToken = ServerAction.BearerToken  /* WRONG */

In ODC, Site Properties are replaced by two new concepts in ODC Portal: **Settings** (equivalent to non-sensitive Site Properties): - Created in ODC Studio: Data tab → Settings → right-click → Add Setting - Read in Server Actions: Settings.PaymentAPIBaseURL (same syntax) - Override per stage (Development, Test, Production) in ODC Portal → Apps → [Your App] → Settings tab **Secret Settings** (equivalent to Is Secret Site Properties): - Created in ODC Studio: Data tab → Settings → right-click → Add Secret Setting - Encrypted at rest, never exposed in logs or UI - Managed in ODC Portal → Apps → [Your App] → Secrets tab - Access: Settings.PaymentAPIKey (same syntax as Settings) Key difference: In O11, Is Secret Site Properties are masked in Service Center but not encrypted at rest. In ODC, Secret Settings are fully encrypted using AWS Secrets Manager.