IBM FileNet P8 Case Foundation stand-alone Process Designer application

What is the stand-alone Process Designer?

Why is the stand-alone Process Designer needed?
Differences between the stand-alone applications and the old Case Foundation applets
Supported Platforms
Installing the stand-alone Process Designer

• Java JRE requirement
  Supported Java JRE Version(s)
  Installation

Using the stand-alone Process Designer

• How to run the Process Designer Application
  Running Process Administrator, Process Tracker, Personal Work Manager and the Process Configuration Console from within the Process Designer Application.
  Customization of the pedesigner.bat file

Security Considerations

• Password Security – use HTTPS/SSL to keep credentials secure

Troubleshooting and common problems

• Known Issues








 

Background Information


What is the stand-alone Process Designer?
The stand-alone Process Designer is a Java application that enables users to design, validate, transfer, and launch Case Foundation workflows- all of the same tasks that can be performed using the applet version of Process Designer. You can also use Process Designer to access other Process Engine applications, such as Process Configuration Console, Process Administrator, and Personal Work Manager. Process Tracker can be started from the Process Administrator.


Why is the stand-alone Process Designer needed?
IBM Case Foundation Process Designer has been run as a Java applet from a browser with Java Plug-in NPAPI support. Now, however, Web browser vendors are dropping or limiting Java applet support:
Java and Google Chrome Browser
https://www.java.com/en/download/faq/chrome.xml
Java plug-in does not work in Firefox after installing Java
https://www.java.com/en/download/help/firefox_java.xml

In 5.2.1.7-P8CPE-FP007, IBM provides an alternative mechanism to access Process Designer features- running Process Designer as a stand-alone Java application without requiring a Web browser.

Process Designer and other Case Foundation tools like Process Configuration Console, Process Administrator, and Process Tracker continue to work as Java applets as long as a Web browser with Java applet support (Microsoft Internet Explorer 11 for example) is installed.

Differences between the stand-alone applications and the old Case Foundation applets
There are no functional differences between the Process Designer application and the old Process Designer applet. Designing, validating, transferring and launching workflows all work the same regardless of whether the Designer is launched as an applet or as an application. The differences are mainly that the stand-alone application must be installed on the client, requiring a supported JRE and launched as a Windows program instead of from a browser. Additionally, the IBM Case Manager (ICM) Case Builder integration works with the Process Designer Java applet, launched from IBM Content Navigator (ICN) plug-in, for example, but not with the stand-alone Java application.


Supported Platforms
Installer and batch files for the stand-alone Process Designer are provided for the Microsoft Windows platform. Support for installing the stand-alone Process Designer is available in the Content Platform Engine release 5.2.1.7 and later. For example, the installer file for V5.2.1.7 is 5.2.1.7-P8CPE-WIN-FP007.EXE, in conjunction with the prerequisite release as listed in the Fix Pack Readme documentation.


Installing the stand-alone Process Designer

 
• Java JRE requirement
  The stand-alone Process Designer requires a Java JRE. Before you install the stand-alone Process Designer, you must install or locate a suitable Java JRE. If the path to the JRE is not known at install time, it is possible to set it after installation time by editing the batch files.
  
  
  Supported Java JRE Version(s)
  The stand-alone Process Designer has been tested with the following Java JRE versions:
  • Oracle JRE 1.7
  • Oracle JRE 1.8
  • IBM JRE 1.7
  • IBM JRE 1.7.1
  • IBM JRE 1.8
  It might or might not work with other JRE versions.
  
  
  Installation
  The Content Platform Engine installer is used to install the stand-alone Process Designer. Install the Tools component. This component installs or upgrades the tools on a workstation to get workflow system tools to run remotely or locally against the Content Platform Engine server. In addition to the stand-alone Process Designer, several other tools, including vwtool and pelog, are installed as part of the Tools component.
  During installation, you enter the following:
  • Choose the installation directory.
  • Edit JAVA_HOME in cpetoolenv.bat. Set JAVA_HOME to be the install directory of the Java JRE that you want to use to run the Process Designer.
  • Specify the URL used in WcmAPIConfig.properties file. Choose a HTTPS URL to keep passwords secure.
  
  Installation Notes
  When installing a fix pack, the installer might not allow you to choose the JRE directory for the Process Designer. If it does not, then you must edit the cpetoolenv.bat file and change the JAVA_HOME setting. See Customization of the pedesigner.bat file and Troubleshooting and common problems sections of this document for instructions on how to recognize and fix the problem.
  When installing a Fix Pack release, the installer process looks for a compatible prior release, and it reports an error and exits if no such release is found. To resolve this issue, first install the Tools from the prerequisite release as listed in the Fix Pack Readme documentation.

Using the stand-alone Process Designer

 
• How to run the Process Designer application
  Run the Process Designer application using a batch file called pedesigner.bat. After Installing the client tools, the pedesigner.bat batch file will be found in the <install_directory>\tools\PE directory. Open a Windows Command prompt in the <install_directory>\tools\PE directory and run the pedesigner.bat file, passing in the name of the connection point that you want to use, like this:
  > pedesigner.bat myConnectionPointName
  • You will be prompted to enter a username and password.
  • You can create a Windows shortcut to run the batch file.
  
  
  Running Process Administrator, Process Tracker, Personal Work Manager and the Process Configuration Console from within the Process Designer Application.
  As with the Process Designer applet, it is possible to run Process Administrator, Process Tracker, Personal Work Manager and the Process Configuration Console from within the Process Designer Application using the menu in the Process Designer.
  • Process Configuration Console
  
  
  • From the Designer application menu – View > Configuration
  • Process Administrator
  
  
  • From the Designer application menu – Tools > Process Administrator
  • Personal Work Manager
  
  
  • From the Designer application menu – Tools > Personal Work Manager
  • Process Tracker
  
  
  • From the Process Administrator application, select a work item, right click on the work item and from the context menu choose Open Item > Tracker…
  
  
  Customization of the pedesigner.bat file
  The behavior of the Process Designer can be modified by editing the batch files that are used to run the Process Designer. Make a backup copy of the files, pedesigner.bat and cpetoolenv.bat before making any changes.
  
  To change the Java JRE used by Process Designer, edit cpetoolenv.bat and change the JAVA_HOME setting:
  set JAVA_HOME=C:\myJava\jre
  
  To change the online context sensitive help location, edit the pedesigner.bat and change the value of the CONTEXT_SENSITIVE_HELP variable:
  set CONTEXT_SENSITIVE_HELP=https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSNW2F_5.2.1/
  
  To use the stand-alone Process Designer in a language other than the default English Language, edit the pedesigner.bat file:
  set COUNTRY_LANGUAGE_CODE =language=en,country=US
  
  Change the language and country, for example, language=fr,country=CA for French Canadian, language=pt,country=BR for Brazilian Portuguese or language=zh,country=TW for Traditional Chinese.
  
  Restriction: Do not insert any spaces into the language=xx,country=XX string.
  
  Note: Process Designer has built-in translations for more than 30 languages, if a COUNTRY_LANGUAGE_CODE is specified for which no translations are available, the default language, English, is used.
  
  Note: The installer will not preserve any customizations that are made to the batch files, so when re-installing or upgrading the client tools, make sure that you have backup copies of any customizations and reapply the changes after installation.

Security Considerations

 
• Password Security – use HTTPS/SSL to keep credentials secure
  To keep security credentials (username and password) secure, configure the client tools to use SSL/HTTPS to communicate with the CPE server.
  
  The following topics describe how to configure the Content Platform Engine for SSL
  
  Setting up Content Platform Engine and client transport SSL security

  Enabling SSL for Content Platform Engine

  Enabling SSL between IBM Administration Console for Content Platform Engine and the directory service

  On the client machine where the stand-alone Process Designer is installed, two things need to be done: importing the certificate from the CPE server into the keystore of the JRE used to run the Process Designer, and configuring the client to communicate with the server using HTTPS.

  
  
  1) From the jre/lib/security directory of the JRE used to run the Process Designer, use a command like the following example to import the certificate. Note that on the Microsoft Windows platform, the keytool command should be run from a privileged command window. From the context menu of the shortcut used to run the command window, choose Run as administrator.
  
  ..\..\bin\keytool -import -keystore cacerts -file cpe_websphere_ssl_cert.crt
  
  The certificate file (.crt) can be exported using a browser from a HTTPS URL on the CPE server that the Process Designer will connect to.
  The keytool command prompts for the password of the specified keystore.
  
  2) During installation, when asked for the URL used in WcmApiConfig.properties file, choose a HTTPS URL that can be used to communicate with the CPE server. The URL in the WcmApiConfig.properties file can also be edited after installation. The WcmApiConfig.properties file is located in the <install_directory>\tools\PE\config directory.

Troubleshooting and common problems

• Error: No such release is found
  • When installing a Fix Pack release, the installer process will look for a compatible prior release, and it will report an error and exit if no such release is found. To resolve this issue, first install the Tools from the prerequisite release as listed in the Fix Pack Readme documentation.
  
  Error: The system cannot find the path specified.
  • Error message
    JAVA_HOME is C:\MyJavaLocation\jvm\jre
    The system cannot find the path specified.
    
    The system cannot find the Java executable, look at the JAVA_HOME value and confirm that the java.exe executable exists at that location. If necessary, resolve the problem by editing the cpetoolenv.bat batch file and changing the JAVA_HOME setting to point to a suitable Java JRE location.
    
    Setting JAVA_HOME, additional notes:
    To change the Java JRE used by Process Designer, edit cpetoolenv.bat and change the JAVA_HOME setting.
    
    When editing cpetoolsenv.bat to set JAVA_HOME, there can be no spaces around the "=" when assigning a value to %JAVA_HOME%
    
    You cannot include spaces in the value of JAVA_HOME location. You can avoid problems caused by spaces in the name by using the Windows short name 8.3 format instead of a long name containing spaces. In a Windows command window, use the DIR /X command to identify the correct short name for the Java path.
    
    For example, the short name for
    Program Files (x86)\IBM\Java80\JRE
    
    Might be
    Progra~2\IBM\Java80\JRE
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   
  Error: Usage: pedesigner connection_point_name
  • Error message
    “Usage: pedesigner connection_point_name”
    
    A connection point name was not supplied on the command line. The pedesigner batch file must be given a connection point name at startup time. Resolve the problem by supplying a connection point name. Connection points are used to access a Process Engine region. Find a valid connection point using ACCE (Administration Console for Content Engine), look under “Object Stores”, pick the desired object store, the go to “Administrative”, “Workflow System”, “Connection Points”.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   
  Error: javax.net.ssl.SSLException: Unrecognized SSL message, plaintext connection?
  • Error message
    When using HTTPS/SSL to communicate with the CPE server, after entering a username and password, a popup dialog displays the error message
    “javax.net.ssl.SSLException: Unrecognized SSL message, plaintext connection?”
    
    Make sure you have authenticated with any firewall software blocking access to the CPE server.

"com.filenet.api.exception.EngineRuntimeException; The password was null or empty when trying to create JAAS Subject."

This is a benign error and when the logon prompt is displayed, and the process continues as expected.

References

• Content Platform Engine installation documentation

  Installing Content Platform Engine

  Process Designer documentation

   

  Designing workflows

  Process Designer menus

  Process applications concepts

  Tutorials for Process Designer