Inline user tasks are extensions of regular user tasks. Each inline user task implements
a specific interface that is implicitly defined by what is exposed to it. When you create a process
in Process Designer, an inline user task is automatically generated for the process. The inline user
task is already implemented by a hidden and non-editable client-side human service. As a result, you
can run your new process immediately after you create it.
About this task
Inline user tasks enable you to quickly create the process structure without having to
worry about designing and implementing any user interface (UI) for each of the tasks. IBM BPM
generates a client-side human service with a single coach that renders the UI that is necessary to
work with the data exposed to the inline user task in the process editor. The UI associated with an
inline user task can be customized by using coach templates that can dictate where widgets for
inputs and outputs are laid out. A default template is shipped with the BPM UI toolkit.
Note: The UI
for inline user tasks is generated using BPM UI coach views. As a result, inline user tasks are only
supported when the process app has a dependency on the BPM UI toolkit. If the BPM UI toolkit is not
in the dependency list, the task UI will not be generated and a runtime error will be
displayed.
Procedure
- In Process Center, create a process app and open it in Process Designer.
- Create a process. An inline user task is automatically generated and is wired into the process.
The UI generated for an inline user task is based on the default coach template that is included
in the BPM UI toolkit. However, you can configure a custom template to modify the inline user task.
Information about templates for inline user tasks is found in the topic Configuring coach templates for inline user tasks.
- If you need another inline user task, select it from the palette and wire it into the
process.
- In the process editor, open the Variables tab.
- In the Variables tab, create the required input, output, and private
variables. These variables will be used to simultaneously create the interface and data map for the
inline user task.
- In the process diagram, select the inline user task and then open the Data
Mapping tab (in the Properties pane). At this point, the content of the tab differs from
that of a regular user task because there is no interface yet.
- In the Data Mapping tab, add input and output variables to the data
mapping and define the interface by completing the following substeps:
- Beside the Input Mapping section, click the Add a new
input icon (+) to add the input variables. This opens a list of
the variables that you defined.
- In the list, select a variable. It is added under the Input Mapping
section.
- If you need to add more variables to the input mapping, click the Add a new
input icon (+) again. (You can delete any input variable from the
mapping by clicking the X icon to the right of the variable name.)
- Beside the Output Mapping section, click the Add a new
output icon (+) to add the output variables. This opens a list of
the variables that you defined.
- In the list, select a variable. It is added under the Output Mapping
section. (You can delete any output variable from the mapping by clicking the
X icon to the right of the variable name.)
- If you need to add more variables to the output mapping, click the Add a new
output icon (+) again.
You can expose a process variable as an input, output, or both. Input variables will be
generated as read-only fields in the UI.Note: Inline user task coaches are automatically generated
for the variables. If you change a variable in the Variables tab, the
variable is automatically changed in the Data Mapping tab. Any changes to the
mapping causes a regeneration of the affected coach in the backing client-side human service.
What to do next
When you have finished adding inline user tasks, you can convert one or more of them to use
a stand-alone implementation. This is especially useful for developing advanced user interfaces.
Information about converting inline user tasks is found in the topic "Converting inline user tasks
to use stand-alone implementations".