Navigating Steps during Debugging

Use the buttons on the Trace view toolbar to control your navigation through the process. All step navigation buttons and their corresponding menus are active during debugging. The Trace view is the active view when you start debugging, providing immediate access to available keyboard shortcuts. For more information, see About the Trace View.

Running/resuming a process means executing it. For a call activity or a subprocess, this means execute to the next enabled breakpoint, or to the end if no breakpoints are enabled.

Stepping over a step means executing it and stopping at the next step on the same level.

For a call activity or a subprocess, this means stepping over the entire process invoked in the call activity or all the steps inside the subprocess, and stopping at the next step after the call activity or subprocess.

For a looped call activity or BPMN Subprocess, this means stepping over all loop iterations and stopping at the next step after the call activity or BPMN Subprocess step. You can set a breakpoint on a step inside of the looped step in order to debug loop iterations.

For a looped webMethods Subprocess, this means stepping over all loop iterations and stopping at the next step after the webMethods Subprocess (Deprecated) step. You can set a breakpoint on the step itself and step over each iteration of the loop.

Stepping into a step means entering it. You can step into call activities and subprocesses.

Stepping out from a step means exiting it and stopping at the next step one level up. You can step out from steps inside call activities and subprocesses. If no level above exists, stepping out behaves just like Run/Resume.

From inside a call activity or subprocess, this means exiting the call activity or subprocess step and stopping at the next step after it.

From a looped call activity or subprocess step, this means executing all iterations of the loop and stopping at the next step.

Note: Step navigation moves through the levels of the process. The actions of the buttons are represented by arrows that point up (out), down (in), and over (over). Think of the process as a stack of steps. You start at the top level. Each time you enter (step into) a call activity or a subprocess, you go down a level in the stack. The process debugger stops at the next executable step (or at the next enabled breakpoint). Stepping over stays at the same level and stops at the next executable step (or at the next enabled breakpoint). Stepping out goes up a level and stops at the next executable step (or at the next enabled breakpoint). If there are no more executable steps at the level you choose, the process debugger stops at the next available executable step (or at the next enabled breakpoint).

You can run/resume a process from the current step at any time.

You can perform step in, out, or over actions on the default step, using the button, or on a selected eligible step, using the menu.

Timer boundary events, both interrupting and non-interrupting, support breakpoints and can be eligible steps.

Note: Other boundary events (message, error, signal) do not support breakpoints, and cannot be eligible steps. If you step over a message, error, or signal event, debugger stops on the step after it.

Tip: The default step is always the next eligible step in the active process track.