Workflow Editor

The Workflow Editor allows you view and modify workflows. The Workflow Editor pops up in its own window and shows the tasks of a workflow as shapes. Each kind of task has a different color and shape.

The Workflow Editor shows arrows connecting tasks. The purpose of the arrows is to show the order in which the tasks will be performed.

When you create a new workflow, the workflow has two tasks: a Start task and an End task. The arrow in a newly created workflow shows that after the Start task is performed, the next task to be performed is the End task.

The Workflow Editor is organized into three sections called:

• diagram
• properties
• task palette

The diagram section is the only section of the workflow editor that is always visible.

The properties section of the workflow becomes visible when you click one of a workflow's tasks. The properties section always appears at the bottom of the window. It shows the properties of the task that was clicked. You can tell which task's properties the properties section is showing because the task is highlighted in the diagram section.

Each kind of task has a different set of properties. The properties of each kind of workflow task are described as part of the discussion of each kind of task.

If the properties section is already visible and you click a different task, that task's properties are displayed in the properties section. To make the workflow editor stop displaying any properties section, click the background of the diagram section.

The task palette section appears when you move the mouse pointer over the New Task bar on the left side of the workflow editor. The shapes in the task palette correspond to the different kinds of tasks that can be in a workflow.

Depending on the context and properties set in the workflow's Start task, some kinds of tasks may not be visible in the task palette. If a kind of task is visible in the task palette only under certain conditions, those conditions are noted in the description of the individual workflow task.

Use the task palette to add a task to the workflow. To add a task to the workflow, move the mouse pointer over the New Task bar. After the task palette appears, click the task's shape in the task palette. The task palette disappears except for the shape that you clicked. As you move the mouse pointer, the shape follows the mouse. Use the mouse to move the task to the end of the arrow that should lead to the task.

When you move the shape to the end of an arrow, the workflow editor shows a preview of what the workflow will look like if you leave the task where it is. At this point you can click the task shape to leave it where it is or move the mouse pointer to take the task shape somewhere else.

To delete a task from a workflow, click the task to make its properties visible in the properties section. If the task can be deleted (some tasks cannot be deleted under certain circumstances), there will be a Delete action in the menu of the properties section. Clicking the Delete action deletes the task.