Open XPDL 2.0 documents in Process Designer

Easy to use diagramming tools that support BPMN (a graphical notation with standardized shapes for business processes) and mapping to XPDL enable business users to exchange process maps with developers who implement the process in advanced process modeling applications, such as Process Designer.

XML for Process Definition Language (XPDL) provides a standardized XML file format that can be used to interchange process models between tools. This direct communication eliminates the time-consuming task of recreating the steps and routes in the process modeling application.

Some diagramming tools can produce process diagrams that associate data with various steps in the process, but they are not designed to implement the full range of processing logic required for a functional automated process. When the workflow author opens those diagrams in Process Designer, he must specify the appropriate participants or queues for each step, conditions for routes, appropriate system functions, and other items to create a functional workflow definition.

BPMN elements

The BPMN standard provides a set of graphical elements that business users can use to create easy to understand diagrams to exchange with other users either directly or in XPDL format. Each advanced process modeling application supports a subset of the list of elements. The table below shows the mapping of standard BPMN shapes to Process Designer objects.

The XPDL 2.0 specification provides great flexibility in how processes can be represented. While Process Designer can open, display, and save process maps in XPDL 2.0 format, an XPDL document from a BPMN application might not be completely represented in Process Designer. Items indicated below as not mapped are not displayed in Process Designer. If you edit the process map in Process Designer and save it in XPDL format, items identified below as unmapped BPMN constructs will be lost. Therefore, both the appearance and content might be changed when the map is opened in the original or another BPMN application.

BPMN entity	In Process Designer	Notes®
Start and various other Start entities		If there are multiple Start entities in the XPDL file, the first one maps to the Launch or Start step; all others map to a General or System step.
Task		General step or System step
Sub-process collapsed		System step—Call (Submap) While the XPDL standard does not define the sub-process collapsed shape as an activity, Process Designer maps this entity to a Call system function.
Sub-process expanded	Submap	Submap
Exclusive decision-merge (XOR)		Split type OR or Join type OR
Inclusive decision-merge (OR)		Join type AND (not mapped to a split type)
Parallel fork-join (AND)		Split type AND or Join type AND
Text annotation
Connection sequence normal flow		Route with no condition
Connection sequence conditional flow		Route with condition
Connection sequence default flow		Route with no condition (must be last route from a step)
Connection association		Text annotation association

The following BPMN entities represent various types of events with triggers and results that do not map directly to objects in Process Designer. If they are present in the XPDL file, they are mapped as indicated in the table below.

BPMN shape	BPMN entity	In Process Designer	Notes
	Various Intermediate events		General step or System step
	Various End events		These map to General step or System step. Although an End event might be required in some BPMN modeling applications, it is not mapped to a corresponding step in Process Designer.
	Complex decision merge and Event base exclusive exchange (XOR)		These map to General step or System step. Not mapped to Split type or Join type
	Pool and Swimlanes		Pool and Swimlane information is preserved in Process Designer but not mapped.

The following BPMN entities are not mapped to objects.

BPMN shape	BPMN entity
	Various task entities
	Artifact data object
	Various sub-processes entities
test	Off-page connector
	Group and Transaction entities