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. Business Automation Workflow generates a client-side human service with a
single page 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
page templates that can dictate where widgets for inputs and outputs are laid out. A default
template is shipped with the UI toolkit.Note: The UI for inline user tasks is generated using UI
views. As a result, inline user tasks are only supported when the process app has a dependency on
the UI toolkit. If the UI toolkit is not in the dependency list, the task UI will not be generated
and a runtime error will be displayed.
Procedure
- In Workflow 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 page template that is included
in the 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, go to Variables, and 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 properties. At this point, the properties content differs from that of a regular
user task because there is no interface yet.
-
In the Data Mapping properties, add input and output variables 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: When you select a child parameter of a variable for an
input or output mapping, the parameter is mapped to or from the ANY type. If the inline task is
converted to a stand-alone implementation, the type of the generated variable will be replaced with
the actual data type at the time of the conversion.
Note: Inline user task pages are
automatically generated for the variables. If you change a variable in the
Variables page, the variable is automatically changed in the Data
Mapping properties. Any changes to the mapping causes a regeneration of the affected page
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".