Use the Structured Process Editor
The structured process editor provides tools to easily create and edit a structured process.
The editor is divided into four areas - Toolbar, Canvas, Activities palette, and Swimlane.
Process Editor Toolbar
The process editor toolbar provides quick access to tools related to process design.
Toolbar Icon | Name | Keyboard Shortcut | Description |
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Set View | Not available | Set the view size. | |
Undo | Ctrl+Z | Revert to the last change made to your process. | |
Redo | Ctrl+Y | Reverse the last Undo action you performed. | |
Delete | Delete key |
Delete the selected items from your process. When you delete an activity that contains an incoming and outgoing sequence flow, the incoming sequence flow is automatically connected to the outgoing sequence flow. However, you may need to manually re-configure the surrounding activities. When you delete a sequence flow from a business process, any implementation details you may have configured for that sequence flow are lost. |
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Cut | Ctrl+X |
Cut the selected items and copy them to the clipboard. When you cut an activity that contains an incoming and outgoing sequence flow, the incoming sequence flow is automatically connected to the outgoing sequence flow. However, you may need to manually re-configure the surrounding activities. |
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Copy | Ctrl+C |
Copy the selected items to the clipboard. Note that when you copy a human task, the associated form is not copied. |
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Paste | Ctrl+V | Paste the items currently in the clipboard. | |
Change Icon | Not available |
Change the icon of the selected item. You can also click it to return to the default. Change Icon is available only when a valid activity is selected. |
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Change Type | Not available |
Change the type of the selected item. Change Type is available only when a valid activity is selected. |
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Snap to Grid | S |
Center the activities in your process on the closest grid axis. Existing activities are automatically centered and new activities are automatically centered when they’re added. Snap to Grid is active only when the grid is shown. |
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Show/Hide Grid | G | Toggle the display of a grid. | |
Data Association | A | Opens the data association window where you can link data to the activity inputs and outputs. |
Process Editor Canvas
The process editor canvas is the central area of the process editor window. Use the canvas to draw a diagram that represents your business process using the activities available in the Activities palette.
Activities Palette
Use the Activities palette to add activities and sequence flows to your business process by dragging and dropping activities to the process editor canvas.
Click Expand to expand a specific type of palette item and see all the activities available for that type. Click the icon again to collapse. Click Show/Hide Palette to close and open the palette. See Work with Activities.
Swimlanes
Swimlanes are the horizontal lines that run across the process editor canvas. All activities must be placed within a swimlane. Swimlanes that contain user tasks must have roles assigned to them. Swimlanes visually display the role responsible for performing each activity within your business process.
You can have multiple swimlanes that are assigned to the same role. Swimlanes can make your business process more readable when you must use the same role in different parts of the same business process.
When you create a new business process, a default swimlane is created. You can add additional swimlanes to your business process as necessary. For example, for a travel request approval business flow, you may have two swimlanes. The Employee role is assigned to the first swimlane and the Approver role is assigned to the second swimlane.