Designing Workflows in the Editor

The Workflow editor is the canvas that you see when you open the Workflow page after creating a Workflow object. The editor contains graphic tools to insert, connect, move and work with the tasks in the Workflow. As a developer and object designer, you design the logic of your Workflow here not only by structuring and connecting tasks, but also by defining task-specific properties. You can define task-specific properties hat have an impact on the execution of the Workflow. For more information, see Task Properties in Workflows.

Notes:

  • Standard and ForEach Workflows have a START and an END node and, between these nodes, any number of executable objects.

    IF Workflows do not have START and END nodes.

  • The title bar of the Workflow editor shows the name, title or alias of the Workflow. For more information, see Name, Title, and Alias.

Tip: Read the following topics, where you find descriptions of functions that help you work faster:

Overview of the Editor

This screenshot shows the Workflow editor. Each main element of the editor has a number. The list after the screenshot briefly describes each element:

  1. Title Bar displaying the name, title or alias of the Workflow.

  2. Button to switch the edit mode on and off. A Workflow is in read only mode in the following situations:

    • You have permissions to view it but not to edit it
    • It is being edited by another user

  3. Workflow toolbar with buttons to access the most important functions that apply to the Workflow.

  4. Navigation pane with tabs to access the pages where you configure the Workflow.

  5. Editor toolbar with buttons to access the most important functions that apply to the tasks that are selected:

    • Undo/Redo buttons

      Undo (Ctrl + Z) reverts your last change, Redo (Ctrl + Y) restores your last undone action. Both apply to the Workflow design, that is, you can redo or undo the following operations:

      • Add or remove tasks
      • Copy and paste tasks
      • Replace tasks
      • Connect or disconnect tasks
      • Change the position of tasks
      • Insert or remove columns or rows

    • Function buttons that apply to the task that is selected. The buttons are grayed out if no task is selected.

  6. Field for Searching for Tasks in the Workflow Editor.

  7. Objects button for Adding Tasks to a Workflow.

  8. Properties button.

    Select a task and click Properties to open the properties pane on the bottom half of your screen. The tabs in this pane let you configure this task for executing within this Workflow.

    When you open one of the tabs, the system stores this information. If you close the Properties pane, interact with the Workflow editor and then come back to the properties of the task, the Properties pane opens to the tab that you last visited. The same applies to the scroll position within a tab. If you scroll down to view, enter or select data in any of the sections of a tab, this information is also stored. If you leave the tab and come back later, it opens to that position.

    Use this function to compare the configuration of the tasks in the Workflow.

    To reset the scroll position, refresh the view.

    For more information about task properties, see Task Properties in Workflows.

  9. Move mode button for Moving Tasks in the Workflow and Panning.

  10. Selection mode button for Selecting Tasks in the Workflow.

    When you select a task in the Workflow, leave the Workflow editor and navigate back later using the browser back button, the task is still selected and it is displayed in the center of the editor. The Workflow editor URL fragment now contains the name of the selected task. If you copy the URL and send it to another user, by clicking the link, the user will open the Workflow to that task.

  11. Connection mode button for Connecting Tasks in the Workflow.

  12. Tool for Zooming in the Workflow.

  13. Canvas. You design your Workflows here.

    When you create a Workflow, the canvas displays the START and END nodes. You start designing the Workflow by adding objects that you arrange and connect to establish the processing sequence. If necessary, you can then configure the properties of each task in the Workflow.

  14. Selected tasks. Incoming lines are always blue, outgoing lines are yellow.

  15. Mini map.

    Large Workflows spread over the visible part of the Workflow editor or monitor. When they contain hundreds of objects, panning is not enough to get an overview of the structure of the Workflow. The mini map at the bottom right corner helps you orientate within them. It provides a minimized and simplified view of the entire Workflow. In the Workflow monitor, it also displays the objects with the colors that identify their status.

    The mini map is an indicator of where the current screen lies within the Workflow structure. A square highlights it. The editor and the mini map are synchronized. If you change the focus in one, it also changes it in the other.

See also: