How to connect nodes in Workflow Designer in 7.6.0.6 and other new features

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I opened the new WF Designer in 7.6.0.6 and my Yellow and Red Pencils that I have used for the last 15 years to connect my nodes were nowhere to be found.    I knew that WF Designer had been rewritten to free us from the yoke of Java Applets and all those associated problems and errors but how did it come to this?  Where I could look all over the Canvas tab and the menus and not see how to connect one node to the next?

Luckily the solution presented itself quickly as I whizzed my mouse around.   I noticed that whenever I paused on a node an annoying popup, which I of course ignored in search of my pencils, popped up  Finally in frustration, I slowed down and read it (which is often good advice):

Lo and behold, that second sentence was talking about my beloved Yellow Pencil, also known as a positive line, also known as a positive Action Arrow.   And the last sentence was about making a negative line just like the old Red Pencil.   Eureka!

As I knew the rest of the world would soon need this knowledge I wrote this Technote titled, "Adding Action Arrows in the New Workflow Designer in 7.6.0.6":

      http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21993701

So, what else is new in the new WF Designer?

Right away we see a different node shape for the Stop node.    It is no longer a Stop Sign.   Hmmm, not all change is good but sacrifices must be made. 

What's that dot on the positive line leaving the Condition node (same shape as in days of old)?   Actually, its an Asterisk, and it denotes the fact there is an Action on that Action Arrow.  Finally!  The number one requested enhancement for WF Designer has finally been made.   Now you won't have to click through every single Action Arrow to find the few that actually have actions on them. 

Also, when you right click on an Arrow, if there is an Action specified on the Action Properties dialog box, that action will be added to the menu choices.  You can see the Action without opening the Action Properties dialog box. If WO APPR has been specified and Saved, the menu will now say "Delete action WO APPR" and "Properties WO APPR".

Zooming is different.    These 3 buttons are in the upper left of the Canvas (replacing the pencils):

They are for zooming back to full size, zoom in and zoom out.

And here are the rest of the shapes for the nodes, some are the same and others are new:

All your existing WF processes will continue to work though sometimes the layout appears different in the new WF Designer as some aspects of the geometry have changed.

You still get to the Properties dialog boxes and the option to Delete a Node or line the same old way, right click on the element to get the menu.

But say goodbye to Java restrictions!   Now any browser, including Chrome, may be used.

Please see this blog entry for additional information:

/support/pages/node/1111743