Defining Workflows

The steps for defining Workflows (JOBP) are the same as for any other Automic object. This section describes the settings that are specific to Workflow objects. For general information about the purpose of a Workflow object, see Workflow Definition — Overview.

A Workflow definition is made up of the following pages:

• Standard pages that are always available, no matter what type of object you are defining:
• General Page
• Version Management Page
• Documentation Page
• Additional pages that are always available for executable objects:
• Process Pages
• Attributes Pages of Executable Objects
• Variables & Prompts Pages
• Rollback Page
• The object-specific page described here.

To Create a Workflow

1. Insert the first object you want to add to the workflow.

   There are two ways of doing this:

   Using the Objects pane

   1. Click on the toolbar to open the Objects pane.
   2. Search for the object you want to insert. You have two possibilities:

      • Using the folder menu bar

        

        Click the arrow next to the home icon to open a dropdown list that replicates your folder structure in the Process Assembly perspective.

        Select a folder; if it has subfolders, a new dropdown list displays them. The objects contained in the subfolder are displayed in the hit list below.

      • Using the quick search field

        

        Enter a search string here to quickly find tasks in the hit list. You can use wildcard characters, * as placeholder for any number of characters and and ? as placeholder for exactly one character.

   3. Select the object and drag and drop it anywhere on the editor.

      Once on the editor, the objects turn into tasks boxes that you can link to each other.

   Either way, you can also select multiple objects and drag and drop them in bulk onto the editor

   Right-clicking on the editor

   1. Right-click on any empty space on the editor.

      The following context menu is displayed:

      

   2. Select Insert existing object:

      

   1. Click the arrow next to the home icon to open a dropdown list that replicates your folder structure in the Process Assembly perspective.
   2. Select a folder; if it has subfolders, a new dropdown list displays them.

   3. The objects contained in the subfolder are displayed in the hit list below.

      Select the one or more objects.

   3. Click the Insert as External Dependency checkbox if you want the task to be included as an external task.

      For details on the implications of external dependencies in workflows click here.

   4. Click OK.
2. Insert as many objects as you need

3. Arrange them on your editor.

   This has no effect on the synchronization whatsoever. It is simply for design purposes; it helps you visualize the workflow logic.

   Moving tasks

   You can move linked and/or unlinked tasks to another empty position in the workflow using the drag and drop function:

   1. Click on an empty spot in the tasks area.
   2. Hold down the mouse button.
   3. Drag and drop it to another spot on the editor.

   Panning

   You can also move the editor in two dimensions, which is useful if you have large, complex workflows. There are two ways to pan:

   • Click anywhere on the editor and drag the view.
   • Press space and the arrows on your keyboard to move up/down/right/left to move the view.

4. Link the objects.

   If you do not link the tasks and execute the workflow as is, the tasks execute simultaneously right at the beginning.

   1. Hover the mouse over the start or the end point of a task.

      Arrow symbols are displayed, from which you can start drawing the lines.

   2. Click and hold the arrow symbol and drag it to the task you want to link.
   3. Release the mouse button. The two tasks are now linked to each other.

   You can only link from a node's ending (to the right of the box) to a task's beginning (to the left of the box) or vice versa. You cannot link a task to itself.

   As soon as the relationship is established, a number of functions are available that help you fine tune the dependencies between tasks. For example, you can condition the execution of a downstream task on the status of the upstream one.

5. Define the properties of each task.

   Basically, the workflow is designed and ready for execution now. However, you'll most probably want to define task properties that will affect how and when the workflow will be executed.

   Select a task and click on the workflow toolbar to open the properties pane on the lower half of the editor.

   For details see Defining Task Properties in Workflows.

If you are creating ForEach or IF Workflows you may want to read information on their specifics. Click the links below for details:

• ForEach Wokflows
• IF Workflows

See also:

• Working with the Workflow Editor
• Deleting Connections