Linking to external information (deprecated)

To include a link to an external source, paste a link into the Description field of the process application or toolkit, or the Documentation field of an artifact in IBM® Process Designer.

When you work with process applications or toolkits, you might need to link to related information that is outside of the IBM Business Automation Workflow environment. For example, you might want to link to a website or a wiki page. You can also reference a change request stored in a change management system or a test case in a quality management system. These kinds of links can be used to achieve traceability or provide details about the fixes and features that went into a new process application snapshot.

Adding a link

You can add a link to an external resource in a process application or toolkit description.

Before you begin

To add a link in the documentation field in IBM Process Designer, you must use the desktop Process Designer.

Procedure

To add a link to an external source, complete the following steps:

Log in to Workflow Center or Process Designer and select a process application or toolkit.
Do either of the following steps:
1. In Workflow Center, click the Manage tab. The
2. In Process Designer, select the artifact in the process application or toolkit for which you want to add a link to an external resource and click the Overview tab, or open the Properties editor.
Do either of the following steps:
- In Workflow Center, click inside the Description field.
- In Process Designer, click the Documentation Edit link in the Common Section of the Overview, or in the Properties editor.
In Workflow Center, the inline editor displays showing you a standard formatting toolbar. In Process Designer, a rich text editor window opens that shows a standard formatting toolbar.
To add a link, click the Insert Link icon on the toolbar and complete the fields in the Add Link window.
When you access a specific content source, you might be prompted to log in to the source. You must log in with a user ID and password that provides access to that content source. The link source must be registered as a remote content source with Workflow Center using the Create Registration option.
Note: In Workflow Center, the attachment link type is available only when you create a new snapshot, or edit an existing snapshot. When you create a new snapshot, you can create the attachment link either to an existing design file, or to a new file. When you edit an existing snapshot, you can create the attachment link only to an existing design file. Also, when you create an attachment link to a new file:
- The files that you add must be 100 MB or less.
- The name of the file that you add must be less than 64 alphanumeric characters.
- The accumulated total file size for a process application must be less than 600 megabytes.

Optional: You can specify the relationship type of the link and the asset type that the link is associated to. The asset types are determined by the type of content source that you are using in your project. When you select a link type, it can be modified by any asset type that you select. For example, if you select Implements as the relationship type and Defect as the asset type, the description of the artifact is modified with an option that defines the link as implementing a defect. The link displays as a defect.

The following table identifies the default link and asset types.

Table 1. Link options
Type	Description
Relationship Type
Unspecified	No specific link type is specified
Affected by	Defines the link target as affected what is defined by the selected asset type
Implements	Defines the link target as implementing what is defined by the selected asset type
Related to	Defines the link target as associated to what is defined by the selected asset type
Resolves	Defines the link target as resolving what is defined by the selected asset type
Tested by	Defines the link target as tested by what is defined by the selected asset type
Uses	Defines the link target as using what is defined by the selected asset type
Asset Type
Unspecified	No specific asset type is specified
Change Request	Defines the asset type as a change request
Defect	Defines the asset type as a defect
Requirement	Defines the asset types a project requirement
Service	Defines the asset type as a service that can be implemented
Test	Defines the asset type as a test

Editing an existing link

When you have your link setup, you might need to update the link or change it to a new link.

Before you begin

To edit a link in IBM Process Designer, you must use the desktop Process Designer.

Procedure

To edit an existing link, complete the following steps:

Log in to Workflow Center or Process Designer and select a process application or toolkit.
Do either of the following steps:
- In Workflow Center, click the Manage tab.
- In Process Designer, select the artifact in the process application or toolkit for which you want to add a link to an external resource and click the Overview tab, or open the Properties editor.
Do either of the following steps:
- In Workflow Center, click inside the Description field.
- In Process Designer, click Edit in the Overview tab or the Properties editor.
In Workflow Center, the inline editor displays showing you a standard formatting toolbar. In Process Designer, a rich text editor window opens that shows a standard formatting toolbar.
Place the cursor on the link and click the link text.
The Edit Link window opens. You can now edit the link or the link name.