Auto Task Designer

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Introduction The Auto Task Designer lets you define and build processes that can then be executed from custom button's on entity views from within Hornbill apps. Auto Task processes start, execute and end, there is no concepts of stages, tasks, approvals or other nodes which would suspend a process.

Related Articles Auto Tasks Custom Buttons

Tool Bar

• Grid

The Grid option displays a faint grid on the background of the canvas. While the grid is visible, the moving of a node on the canvas will snap in to the grid to allow for easier alignment of the nodes.

• Print

The Print option will provide a complete printout of your workflow including all stages. An additional print option is available in the Print drop down menu that can be used to print only the stage that is currently being displayed on the canvas.

• Language

Provide language translations for the stage's display name and the checkpoints.

• Display Name

The display name of the stage. This can be visible both within the Business Process Designer and in apps that display process information

• Notes

Provide some notes to describe the stage

• Reposition Canvas

The canvas can grow quickly as you expand on the functions being performed within your workflow. The Reposition Canvas allows you to quickly return to the top left hand corner of you canvas.

• Save Process

The Save option will save any changes made to the workflow. Saving a workflow does not make it available for use. It must be published after saving in order to make it available.

• Validate Process

The validation is an important step in your process creation. The validation will do a check on your workflow to make sure all connections between nodes are correct, mandatory settings have been set, and looks for illogical flow design that could cause loops.

• Publishing Manager

Once a process has been saved and validated you can now publish the workflow for use in its associated app. Each time a process is published, a new version is created.

• Publish

The Publish button is displayed on the draft version of the process which has been saved and validated. Clicking on the Publish button will create a new version of the process and make it active.

• Edit Draft Version

Clicking on this option will return you to the Process Designer where you can continue to edit the draft version.

• Edit Draft Version Notes

This option lets you record notes about the draft version that you are about to publish. This can be used to summarize the changes that have been make to that particular version.

• Activate/De-activate

The currently active process is identified by the green De-activate button. Any previous version of a process can be activated by clicking on the Activate button. This allows you to return to using a previous version of a process if issues are found in your current active process.

• View Process Version

Use this option to view a previous version of a process. This is presented in a read-only mode and process access to all of the configurations for each node.

• View Process Notes

Use this option to view the notes that were recorded when that version was published.

• Manage Process Settings

Use this option to set properties that apply to the entire process

• Access Granted To

Process owners will be able to view their own processes, and processes where they have been granted access. Access to a process can be give to Roles, Users, or Groups. To enforce the above sharing and visibility controls, ensure the system setting security.bpm_access_controls.enabled is set to On from the administration console: Home > System > Settings > Advanced

• Upload a Process Definition File

Use this option to upload a BPM definition file from you local computer that has been downloaded from another workflow.

• Download a Process Definition File

Downloads a definition file to be saved to your local computer. This definition file contains the entire BPM workflow.

Nodes

Workflow is made up of a two or more nodes which have specific process functions. Nodes are connected to each other by lines, which can include branching from outcomes when associated with decision nodes.

• Start

The Start Node indicates the starting point of the workflow.

• Hornbill Automation

Hornbill Automations are definable automated actions that will occur within the workflow. The available Hornbill Automation are provided by each application that utilizes Business Process Workflows. Each application can provide automated tasks.

• Cloud Automation

This node is used to invoke automated actions in a business process using either integrations with 3rd party solutions using Hornbill's Integration Bridge, or by invoking automations defined in 3rd party tools like Microsoft Orchestrator or HP OO. options will include choosing the connector to use, selecting the Method (automation) you wish to invoke and then supplying the required input parameters relevant to the connector and method you have chosen.

• IT Automation

This allows for the selection of a specific package and operation as in an ad-hoc IT Automation Job or as used within a Runbook

• Runbook Process

This allows one to select a Runbook with the input and output parameters.

• Decision

These nodes can be used after a number of other nodes including Automated tasks where multiple outcomes are possible. The Decision node can be used to facilitate the drawing of multiple outcome lines to other nodes, and for each outcome to be individually set. It is also possible to join decision nodes, to other decision nodes through the use of a No Match outcome. This caters for situations where multiple outcomes per decision are needed and not simply the three which are available from a single decision node.

• End

The Process will end.

• Abort

This node will end the workflow.

• Start Parallel Processing

This node can be used where there is a need in a process stage to invoke more than one stream of actions, and for these to run in parallel. Adding this node, will enable multiple process streams to be defined, and these will run independently until brought back together by the Finish Parallel Processing node. An examples of where this would be used, would be where two tasks need to be assigned to different teams, but there is no dependency or need for one to be completed before the other, so they can be created and invoked in parallel.

• Finish Parallel Processing

Use this node to bring together and finish the individual process lines which had been initiated from a Start Parallel Processing node.

Node & Canvas Options

Once a node has been added to the canvas a cog icon is visible and a number of options are available by right clicking on the cog next to a node:

• Highlight nodes full process flow

This option will highlight the full path of the process out of this node

• Highlight tasks or integrations referenced in this node

This option will show which if any other nodes in the current stage are referenced or used in the current node, this is useful to know when making amends or considering removing nodes in your process

• Highlight nodes which reference this node

This option will show which if any other nodes in the current stage reference the current node, this is useful to know when making amends or considering removing nodes in your process

• Cut selected nodes

Use this option to remove one or more nodes from the stage. Once cut a paste option will be available across all stages of the process

• Copy selected nodes

Use this option to copy one or more nodes. Once copied a paste option will also be available across all stages of the process

• Save selected nodes as template

Use this option to create a template of a single or group of nodes.

• Provide the template with a name
• Right click to paste the template node/s into any stage in the existing process or other processes
• Right click to delete the template

• Delete

Use this option to delete the highlighted node

• Replace Node

This option allows you to change the node type, without having to delete the node and break any joins from other nodes. Selecting this option will present you with a list of the node types you can change the node too.

The following options are available both from the above cog icon but also by right clicking anywhere on the canvas

• New Stage Note

Choose this option to add a notes box to the current stage. Click to add a title and note details and use move the note around the canvas using the arrows icon in the title bar.

Notes are only visible and displayed on the canvas designer

• New Stage Group

Choose this option to add a group box to the current stage

• Undo

Undo the last action i.e undo the deleting or adding of a group or node

Groups

A Process has the possibility of having a large number of nodes which can result in a very busy and difficult to follow workflow. A Group feature is available that allows you to group together a number of nodes which can then be minimized and viewed as a single Group container. The nodes within the Group can be displayed again by maximizing the Group container.

• Create a New Group

Using a right mouse click on the workflow canvas will display a context menu with an option for a New Empty Group. Resize the Group to a size that would accommodate the nodes that you

• Naming a Group

Once a Group Box is highlight you can click on the Cog icon in the main workflow toolbar to open the properties of the Group and change then name

• Deleting a Group

A Delete icon is provided in the title bar of the Group container. Clicking on the delete icon will only delete the Group container. The nodes contained in the Group will remain intact and retain the layout that they were in within the Group.

• Add Nodes to a Group

To add nodes into a group simply drag either the node into the group box, or move the group box over the nodes you wish to include.

• Locking a Group

When a group is unlocked, moving the group box over nodes will automatically add the nodes into the group. Locking the group box will prevent the adding of nodes to the group if the group box is moved over nodes on the canvas.