Editing Data in the Flow View
The Flow view is a part of the Dynamic Process Development Perspective in Designer. The Flow view provides the ability to create complex flow logic for the input and output of each process step (BPM step) that supports mapping. Flow elements (also called flow steps) are added to the Flow view by dragging the flow elements from the palette on the side and dropping them onto the Flow view. Using any element of the primary flow step types allows you to control the data in a flow.
You can edit the input or output flow logic of a process step by selecting the left/input side or the right/output side of the step respectively. When the left side (input side) of the process step is selected, then the
icon is displayed above the left side of the step, and the title of the Flow view shows
<process step name> INPUT. When the right side (output side) of the process step is selected, then the
icon is displayed above the right side of the step, and the title of the Flow view shows
<process step name> OUTPUT.
The concepts for both input and output mapping are the same and the following explanation is also valid for output data mapping.
In Designer a process step can perform work, for example via a service task. The service task can do an action such as retrieve data from a database, or print a status message. The service that performs that work usually requires input data (also known as the service's input parameters). In addition to the service's input parameters is the input data of the process step itself. The process step normally has input data that arrives into the process step from the upstream pipeline data and that upstream pipeline data is available to be mapped into the service's input parameters. The input mapping done in the Flow view and the Pipeline view is used to tie the upstream pipeline data to the service's input parameters.
The flow steps in the Flow view are executed, which enables you to affect the pipeline data both before it arrives as input to the service task as well as after it is returned as output from the service task.
In the Flow view, for process steps that support mapping, there is a single default flow MAP. Clicking on that MAP element in the Flow view results in the Pipeline view containing the following components:
1. The process step's upstream pipeline data under the column heading Pipeline In.
2. The service's input parameters under the column heading <process step name> In (<process step type>).
You can add connections from the upstream pipeline data to the service's input parameters.
When you have multiple flow elements in the Flow view, unless these elements are explicitly mapped in a previous flow element, the service's input parameters are only shown in the Pipeline view for the last flow element. This occurs because only the last flow element has the service task as a downstream element. To ensure the parameters are displayed properly, make sure to map your data gradually as you add further flow elements into the Flow view. Using this approach, the service's input parameters will be available for each successively-added flow element.
Tip: Disabling subsequent elements in the Flow view can change whether the service's input parameters are shown for previous flow elements. After the mapping is done and the subsequent flow elements are reenabled, all mapped data will remain.
For more information on flow services and the flow view, see the topics on building services and mapping data in flow services in the webMethods Service Development Help.