Process Inspector actions

Process Inspector provides actions to recover failed process instances.

The following tables contain descriptions of the actions that can be initiated on process instances and activities when using the Process Inspector.

Note: Only the task owner or member of the group that claimed the task can view and modify task data.

Bulk indicates that the action can be performed in bulk on multiple items at a time.

Table 1. Process instances actions
Action	Bulk	Description
Delete	Yes	Deletes a process instance from the server. This action is available when the process instance status is Completed, Failed, or Suspended. After a process instance is deleted, the row is gone and can be recovered only by using a backup. There is no way to revive a deleted process instance.
Delete orphaned tokens	Yes	Deletes orphaned tokens from the server, allowing processing to continue. Use this action when activities have been deleted during the migration of inflight process instances from an older snapshot to a newer snapshot, thus causing orphaned tokens. Deleting orphaned tokens does not recover the orphaned tokens, but allows the process to resume so that the remaining process tokens can proceed. An orphaned token is a pointer (token) that is associated with an activity or event that has been removed from a business process definition (BPD). Important: To delete tokens, you must first configure the security policy. For instructions, see "Changing the security policy".
Resume	Yes	Starts a suspended process instance. To perform this action, the user must be a member of the group that is specified in the `PROFILE_HOME\config\cells\cell_name\nodes\node_name\servers\server_name\process-server\config\system\99Local.xml` configuration file. By default, this group is `tw_admins`. `<action type="ACTION_RESUME_INSTANCE"> <role>tw_admins</role> </action>`
Retry failed steps	Yes	Resumes or restarts a failed process instance. This action is available when a task fails. Use this action on one or more process instances after a system problem is resolved. For example, several process instances failed because the server could not access a database. After the database connection is restored, you can restart the failed process instances using the Retry failed steps action.
Suspend	Yes	Pauses the execution of an active process instance. To perform this action the user must be a member of the group that is specified in the `PROFILE_HOME\config\cells\cell_name\nodes\node_name\servers\server_name\process-server\config\system\99Local.xml` configuration file. By default, this group is `tw_admins`. `<action type="ACTION_SUSPEND_INSTANCE"> <role>tw_admins</role> </action>`
Terminate	Yes	Terminates the execution of an active process instance. This action is available when the process instance status is Failed or Suspended. To perform this action the user must be a member of the group that is specified in the `PROFILE_HOME\config\cells\cell_name\nodes\node_name\servers\server_name\process-server\config\system\99Local.xml` configuration file. By default, this group is `tw_admins`. `<action type="ACTION_ABORT_INSTANCE"> <role>tw_admins</role> </action>` After a process instance is terminated, you can only delete the process instance and only on Process Center and non-production process servers. There is no way to revive a terminated process instance.

Note about bulk processing

If you initiate a bulk operation that cannot be applied to all process instances within a selection, the operation is applied to as many items as possible. For example, there are 10 process instances in a selection; seven are active and three are completed. When you terminate an action, only the seven active items are terminated (stopped). The three completed items cannot be stopped because they have already completed and are not currently running. A message confirms the number of items that were terminated.

Table 2. Activity actions
Action	Description
Escalate	Opens a window from where you can reassign a task activity and modify the priority level.
Edit data	Opens the data tree in a separate window from where you can edit input variables or run a service or script. This action is currently not supported for Advanced Integration Services.
Fire now	Initiates timers.
Retry failed step	Restarts the activity from the step that failed; that is, it reruns the last running step. Tip: Try changing the input values. Edit and save input variables, then click Retry failed steps.
Skip	Passes data to the next activity, but no actions associated with the skipped activity will run. The skip action is only available when a task fails. You cannot go back to a skipped activity and reopen it. In version 8.0.1.1 or higher, you can skip any task if you have administrative authority. You can skip active or failed tasks. You can also skip any task if you are logged in as owner of the task or part of the participant group that the task was assigned to and have the `ACTION_RETRY_INSTANCE` action policy defined in the 99Local.xml file. Limitation: Variables with an Any type cannot be viewed or modified in the web Process Inspector. Skipping a task which uses these variables will cause the values in these variables to be lost. Important: Use this action with caution. Consider the implications for the integrity of the process before you choose to skip an activity. Tip: To skip an activity with predefined output values, edit and save private and output variables, then click Skip.