The Visual Modeler is a tool that is included in the Business Process Designer. It allows you to create and edit templates for business processes.
Starting Visual Modeler
To start Visual Modeler, use a button or a link titled Business processes in the context of a document for which you want to use a business process.
For example, use the following button with Common Lists:
The Visual Modeler Layout
The visual modeler has the following functional areas:
Context toolbar (1)
Template constructor area (2)
Action bar (3)
Common buttons (4)
The Context Toolbar
The toolbar contains the template control commands:
- Template Parameters: opens the business process settings form to set the business process properties and run parameters;
- Templates: opens a list of all available business process templates;
- Create Template: opens a popup menu in which you can select the type of a new business process:
- State-Driven Business Process: creates a continuous business process whose flow depends on the completion status of each child processes;
- Sequential Business Process: creates a simple business process to set a document on a processing route.
- Export: saves the current business process template to a .bpt file;
- Import: loads a business process template from a .bpt file. The imported template replaces the current one.
The Template Constructor Area
The template constructor area is different for sequential and status-driven business process templates.
- The following layout is used with status-driven templates:
Because a status-driven scheme is constituted by multiple sequential processes, an individual editor is used to modify each of the subprocesses of a status-driven template.
- For a sequential business process, the editor includes a selection of the business process activities:
To add a required activity to the business process, simply drag it from the list to where you want to insert the new item:
Alternatively, you can click the arrow to open a menu with the selection of activities. Once you have selected an activity from the menu, it will be inserted where you clicked:
Click
to delete an activity. Click
to edit the activity parameters.
If your template uses a lot of activities, use the collapse button to save space:
The Action Bar
The visual modeler action bar contains shortcuts to business process elements. You can drag’n’drop them to your business process template.
Document Processing
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Approve Document
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Submits the document, on which a given business process is running, for approval.
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Create New Document
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Creates a new document or other element in the context of a given business process.
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Delete Document
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Deletes a document on which a given business process is running.
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Lock Document
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Makes the business process’s document inaccessible by other processes.
Note: the lock is for processes, not users. Any user with sufficient permission can edit the locked document (element).
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Publish Document
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This action publishes the business process’s document so it becomes visible to the site users.
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Additional information
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Shows a form allowing a user to provide information required by the business process.
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Read the Document
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Issues a task to the users specified in the action properties to read the business process’s document. Tracks statistics on the share of those who actually read the document.
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Save history
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Creates a copy of the business process’s document in the state the latter is at the time of action execution. The copy name can be assigned automatically using the specified naming settings.
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Modify Document
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This action can be used to edit any parameter or contents of the document in unattended mode.
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Unlock Document
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Removes the exclusive access mark from the document.
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Revoke Document
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Removes the document from the site so it is no longer visible to the site users.
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Create new contact
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Adds a new CRM contact.
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Create new company
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Creates a new CRM company.
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Create new lead
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Creates a new CRM lead.
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Add CRM event
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Creates a new event in the CRM.
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Create new deal
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Creates a new deal in the CRM.
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Constructions
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Set State
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This action allows the status of a Business Process to be changes. Note that this is a valid action ONLY in state-driven Business Processes.
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Wait for event
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This action suspends the business process until an action occurs on the side of the selected user or system.
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Condition
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Changes the direction of the business process flow depending on the specified condition.
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Listening for parallel event
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Waits for one of the specified events to occur and then changes the direction of the business process flow depending on which event is fired.
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Parallel Execution
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Runs multiple variants of the business process flow simultaneously.
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While loop
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Makes the actions inside the loop to repeat until the loop condition changes.
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Interactive settings
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User notification
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Sends a notification to a user via the internal messenger. If the user is offline, the message will be sent by email.
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E-mail Message
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Sends the event notification to the e-mail address specified in the action parameter.
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Social Network Message
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Sends a notification to the specified social network user.
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Task
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Creates a new task.
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Calendar
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Places an event in a specified user’s personal calendar.
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Set State name
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This action lets you change the status of a document. Document statuses are visible in the general document list (library), so this function allows a convenient view of the document’s progress while the Business Process is running.
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Absence Chart
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Places an event in the Absence Chart.
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Other
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PHP Code
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Executes the specified PHP instructions.
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Log entry
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This action adds an entry in the log of a given record.
The log record is convenient to use, for example, when trouble-shooting a business process, since you can save data at any given step.
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Action block
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An action block is used to group actions into a single block, which can then be minimized visually to make the workspace more comfortable.
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Pause execution
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Suspends the business process for the specified amount of time.
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Set Permissions
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Assigns the access permissions to the document.
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Set Variables
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Sets the values of the business process template variables.
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Select Employee
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This process allows automated selection of an employee so that that employee can be inserted in further steps of the process.
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Terminate business process
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This action ends the Business Process.
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The Common Buttons
For a sequential business process, the meaning of the buttons is quite straightforward: you can Save the template going back to the templates list; Apply the changes made while staying in the visual modeler or Cancel the changes and revert to the templates list.
However, in case of a status driven business process, only the Back To States button is available which, when clicked, opens the template scheme where you can save your changes: