The areas of the "Processes" module

You can access the "Processes" module in the Portal Manager by clicking on the module bar. You can find out how to create and manage processes here.

Every opened process can be reached via its own tab at the head of the workspace. If an entry has been created in the history, the ID of the entry will be shown next to the name of the process in the tab. Simply click on the tab to switch to a different process.

All other tabs denote an area of the module.

All tabs and/or areas of the module can be closed with the symbol

Areas can be displayed via the "View" main menu. You can also move the tabs in your title via drag & drop.

The properties dialog of a process can be opened by double-clicking on the tab above the workspace.

Process properties

Title and description

Provide the process with a title and an optional description.

Multilingual

Opens the respective dialog where the title or description can be defined in the different portal languages.

Version

The current version number is shown here.

Open version manager

Opens a dialog where the version number can be defined.

Run process with administrator permissions

With this setting, the process will run independent from the permissions of the user who started the process. When the setting is deactivated, the permissions of the user will be regarded for the data access.

Allow parallel execution

With this setting, multiple instances of the same process can be run at the same time (such as simultaneous timer or data group actions).

Please only change this setting if the application case makes this necessary, and that by blocking parallel execution, undesirable effects like deadlocks can be avoided.

Timeout for process execution

Specifies the time in seconds that a process may take. If Groovy script is used, the setting only takes effect if checks for interruption requests occur in the script. As long as the workflow engine has control, it checks whether the timeout has been exceeded. Calling "checkInterrupted()" is recommended in Groovy scripts that have a long running time, since in this case the workflow engine has handed off execution to the script.

Log only warnings and errors

Reduces the recording of process steps in the log file of the process to warnings and errors.

Only activate this setting if you are certain that the process will function without restrictions for a long time. A restricted log can make the search for errors more difficult, as it will not be visible in certain circumstances to reconstruct which process steps occurred before and after an error.

Deactivate process on import into a portal for security reasons

When elements like the timer are contained in processes that lead to undesirable changes (such as data group actions) after importing the process into another portal, select the "Deactivate process on import into a portal for security reasons" setting to prevent the process from running. The setting is enabled automatically if the wizard to create a new process is used and a time-controlled process is created. It can be optionally selected from a question box when a new event source is created and first configured, and the setting has not yet been enabled for the current process.

Priority

Here, you can enter an integer to define the priority of the process. Processes can be allocated a priority that determines the order that they will be executed in, in situations where several processes are responsible for a particular event. The value is set by default to 50; higher values have higher priority, and lower values, lower priority.

Activating and deactivating processes

Processes can be deactivated so that process elements such as a timer are not executed automatically. You can find the corresponding function in the context menu via the process title in the tab above the workspace or via the main menu "Process / Deactivate" if the process tab is selected.

If a process is deactivated, you will find the link "The process is deactivated" above the workspaces. Click here to activate the process.". Click on it to open a dialog.

With "Immediately", the activation takes effect immediately on the server. In the case of "On Publish", the process is initially only marked as active. It will be activated the next time the process is published on the server. This dialog is also displayed when a process is deactivated. This can also be deactivated immediately or on publication.

Elements

Click here for more information about this area.

Snapshots

With snapshots, the current process will be cached at defined intervals.

The "Snapshots" area can be found in the standard view directly next to the "Elements" area. Click on the "Snapshots" tab to bring the area to the foreground.

Clicking on a snapshot resets the process to the state at that specific time.

Create snapshot

Opens a submenu where a new snapshot can be created. The sub menu "Create new snapshot with comment" opens a dialog in which the new snapshot can be commented.

The comment that you can write here is displayed after clicking on "OK" in the snapshot area under the date on which the snapshot was created. You will also find the dialog in layouts when you create snapshots there.

Open snapshot

The selected snapshot is opened on the workspace.

Options

Opens a dialog where the maximum number of created snapshots and the interval between automatic snapshots can be defined.

You will also find this dialog in layouts when you create snapshots there.

Maximum ... Create snapshots

The maximum number of created snapshots can be defined here.

Create snapshots automatically every ... Minutes

The time between automatically created snapshots can be determined here.

Workspace

In the middle you will find the workspace, on which all process elements will be chained to a process. You can select the elements from the "Elements" area and assign them to a location on the workspace via drag & drop.

Process overview

You will find this tab on the right of the workspace. Here, every element that you have created can be found in its specific element category, in able to aid you in locating individual elements. If you highlight the element here, it will also be marked on the workspace.

If this area is not visible, it can be displayed via the "View" main menu if required.

Bird's eye view

Here, you can find a smaller version of the entire process diagram, and can navigate with a movable window to the places on the workspace that you wish to see.

If this area is not visible, it can be displayed via the "View" main menu if required.

Context menu "Automatic scaling"

The automatic scaling adjusts the overview to the current size of the Bird's eye view area.

Context menu "Standard scale"

The overview is shown in the scale 1:5.

Context menu "Zoom in / Zoom out"

Adjusts the zoom level of the bird's eye view.

Search, Hints, History

At the bottom, you will find more tabs which can be shown/hidden via the "View" menu.

Search

Search field

Enter a search term here.

Drop-down list

Here are different functions available for the search.

  • Property

    Searches for element properties.

  • GUID: Definition

    A search will be performed in the current process for elements with the specified GUID.

  • GUID: Usage (in all processes)

    A search will be performed for a GUID in the current process, as well as in the published processes. In the results list, the search results on the current process will be shown as usual. If the GUID is found in other published processes as well, the title of the process in which it is found will be shown in the search results in color.

    Please note: If a process is opened after searching for a GUID and then selecting a hit, then the search should be performed again to gain more exact search results.

  • Title

    Searches for element titles.

  • Description

    Searches for element descriptions.

Search

Triggers the search. Hits will be shown beneath the search field. If you click on a hit, the corresponding element will be highlighted on the workspace.

Search history

Opens a window with a list of the most recent searches. Click on a search action to repeat it.

Notes

This tab provides information about elements on the workspace that have not been configured completely or connected. The symbol informs you that an element's configuration is not yet complete. Errors can occur when saving a process for two reasons.

The first is when an email action, which has been configured for a data group action, has been connected to a data group event handler, which in turn was configured for another data group. The second cause could be if an application does not exist in the portal, and its data groups are referenced by the process. The warning in the Hints area will remain until the next time the process is saved. More details about a hint will appear when you move the mouse over an entry.

History

Click here for more information about this area.