Connect
Connect creates and synchronously starts a child Instance. Synchronously means that the Connect Activity waits until this child Instance is ended by entering the closed
-state. If the child Instance is in any other state, i.e., started
, running
, canceled
and faulted
, the Connect Activity will block and not continue. The configurations Continue on error, Timeout and Retry on Error have no effect on this behavior. These three settings are only relevant during the creation of the child Instance and are ignored once the child Instance has started. Hence, only errors during the creation of the Instance can be handled with the Continue on error, Timeout and Retry on Error configurations.
Furthermore, the child Instance does not get access to the context of the parent Instance. I.e., the context of both Instances is completely separated. Therefore, Start Parameters are the only way to pass data to the new Instance.
The Start Process Activity can be used instead of the Connect Activity so that the child Instance is started asynchronously.
This Activity can have an arbitrary amount of Outcomes, but all Outcomes must have the same name. The script of each Outcome is evaluated once the Activity has completed. Each Outcome with a script evaluating to true
is followed. If more than one Outcome script evaluates to true
, the Instance is paralleled. If no Outcome script evaluates to true
, the Instance is ended by entering the closed
-state.
Activity config
General
- Name - Name of the Activity.
- Version - Version of this Activity used in the Process. If a new version of this Activity is available and you want to use it, you have to manually update the version here. When a new Activity is added to the Process, automatically the latest version is placed.
- Timeout in second - Once this time is elapsed, the Activity is closed and the Instance changes into the
faulted
-state. The default Timeout is two minutes. The timeout can be shortened and extended by entering a custom duration. If the Activity is left after a timeout, the first Outcome is followed. If multiple Outcomes have the same name as the first Outcome, all of them are followed. However, a continuation after a timeout does not effect the Outcome Scripts, meaning only Outcomes with Outcome Scripts evaluating totrue
are followed. - Hide in process graph - Controls if the Activity is hidden (Yes) or shown (No) in the Process Graph on the Execution Screen.
- Continue on error - If this is set to Yes, the execution of the Instance continues even if the Activity failed. If set to No, the Instance fails when the Activity fails by entering the
faulted
-state. In the case of a continuation after an error, the first Outcome is followed. If multiple Outcomes have the same name as the first Outcome, all of them are followed. However, a continuation after an error does not effect the Outcome Scripts, meaning only Outcomes with Outcome Scripts evaluating totrue
are followed.
Connect
Connect Activity specific configurations
GENERAL
General interaction configuration, shared with most other Activities
- Disable activity - Disables (Yes) or enables (No) the Activity. When disabled, the Activity is not executed and passed like a Connection by following the first Outcome. If multiple Outcomes have the same name as the first Outcome, all of them are followed. Disabling the Activity does not effect the Outcome Scripts, i.e., still only Outcomes with Outcome Scripts evaluating to
true
are followed. - Retry on error - If set to Yes, an automatic retry is executed up to ten times. If set to No, no retries are done. Retries are issued when the Activity failed so that the Instance would enter the
faulted
-state if the retry is disabled. - Additional text for task list - Description of this Activity shown to the Users in their task list. You can enter this text directly or use Process Context Expressions to compile it.
SETTINGS
Connect configuration
- Source - Sets how you selected the Process of which an Instance is created:
Process list
- This configuration lets you select a Process from the list of Processes in this Subscription.Variable
- This configuration lets you select a Process by its ID as it is shown as part of the Process Properties.- Variable - Here the unique ID of the Process is specified either directly or as a result of a Process Context Expression. The unique ID of a Process is found in the Process Properties.
- Input parameters - Configures the Start Parameter sent to the child Instance. Be aware that the value of Start Parameters can only be a string and no complex Variable with Attributes. Clicking
Add adds a new Start Parameter configuration:
- Key - Name of the Start Parameter
- Value - String value of the Start Parameter entered either directly or determined by a Process Context Expression.
- - Deletes a configured Start Parameter
- Output parameters - Configures the Context Variables that are copied from the child Instance back into the parent Instance having the Connect Activity. Be aware that only Context Variables that are simple strings can be copied back. Coping back complex Context Variables or Entity Variables is not supported. Clicking
Add adds a new Output Parameter configuration:
- Key - Name of the existing Context Variable in the child Instance to copy back into the parent Instance.
- Value - Name of the target Context Variable in the parent Instance. If a Variable with this name already exists, it is overwritten.
- - Deletes a configured Start Parameter