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A Process Flow is a set of activities arranged in a sequence to perform a specific task. Combining various activities, that is, Source, Target, Schema, Mapping, or Transformer creates a process flow.  A Process Engine controls the execution of a process by starting the execution of process flow instances and all the activities present in a process flow. When the process flow is executed, data from the source is converted to the intermediate form and dispatched to the target.

Activities in a Process Flow can be executed in either of the two modes: 

• Synchronous mode: If an activity is synchronous, process flow initiates the execution of that activity, and waits for its completion. The execution of the subsequent activity is initiated only after the completion of the first activity.

• Asynchronous mode: If an activity is asynchronous, process flow initiates the execution of that activity and subsequent activities, as defined in the process flow without waiting for the completion of the first activity.

  Repository file is not generated for the activities used in the Asynchronous mode. 

  Info
  You can toggle between the two modes from the Activity Properties panel.

  Controlling Synchronization

  In a process flow, if an activity is synchronous, no signal is required to acknowledge the Process Engine about its completion as it runs in the main thread. If an activity is asynchronous, running parallel to the main thread, some mechanism is required to notify the Process Engine about its completion. This is achieved by signaling.

  Signaling
  Signaling facilitates coordination of asynchronous activities in a process flow. A signal is raised as an asynchronous activity completes. The Synch Node in the process flow waits for signal and ensures that all the activities raising that signal are completed before control moves further in the process flow. This is done using the Synch Node option while defining a process flow.

  Time Out
  When an activity is used as asynchronous, a new property TimeOut is added to it. By default, its value is 300 seconds. If an asynchronous activity cannot connect to the next activity within this time limit, it gets aborted. For information on how to use an activity in asynchronous mode and changes its property, refer to Creating Process Flow.

Understanding Web Process Designer

Web Process Designer allows you to design business processes and business rules. The Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) standard is used to graphically depict business processes. The Process Designer is easy to use and enables both technical and non-technical users to design processes. 

The Web Process Designer screen is divided into following sections:

• Tool Bar
• Palette
• Repository View
• Canvas Area

Button	Name	Function
	Repository View	Opens a tab for Repository View.
	New Process Flow	Opens a new graph canvas to create a process flow.
	Open Locally Saved Process Flow	Opens a process flow file saved on local hard disk.
	Save Process Flow to Server	Save the Process Flow to Server.
	Auto Save	Auto save a process flow.
	Refresh	To refresh the process flow.
	Undo	Reverses the previously performed action.
	Redo	Restores the previously undone action.
	Save Process Flow Locally	Saves a process flow on local hard disk in .xml format.
	Download SVG	To download the image of process flow in .svg format.
	Generate PDF	To generate the PDF of Process Flow.
	Search	To search the Process Flow activities of Canvas area.
	View Process Flow Properties	Shows the New Process Properties panel in the Canvas Area.
	Alerts	Shows the Error and Warning of the Process Flow in Alert panel.
	XML View	To view the XML of the process flow.
	Toggle Theme	To change the background color of Canvas Area.
	Toggle Grid View	For grid view of Canvas Area.
	Help	To check the document for working with process flow.

Element	Description	Notation
Activity	An activity is a work that is performed within a business process. The rectangle image displayed in the next column is used to depict an activity in a process flow.	Activity
Gateways	A Gateway is used to control the divergence and convergence of a sequence flow. Thus, it determines branching, forking, merging, and joining of paths.	Gateway
Start Event	A start event starts the execution of a process.
Error Intermediate Event	Error Intermediate Event is used to redirect Process Flow execution to an alternate path in case of failure of any activity during process flow execution.
End Event	An end event, ends the flow of a process flow.
Data Object	Data Objects do not have any direct effect on the sequence flow of the process. They are used to provide additional information for the reader of the process flow diagram. You can add any amount of information in this element.	Data Object
Hand Tool	A Hand tool is used to move all the activities in the Canvas area.
Lasso Tool	Lasso tool helps to select multiple BPMN elements from the Canvas Area and move them to another location.
Create/Remove Space Tool	Space tool is used to increase the space between the two BPMN elements.
Global Connect Tool	Global Connect Tool used to connect the BPMN elements in Canvas area and it shows the order that activities are performed in a business process.

The Repository View lists the Connect Server objects, such as Activities, Actions, and Process Flows.

• Activities: All the activities that can be used to create a process flow are listed in the Activities tab. You can expand the service to select the activity and drag it to canvas area to create a Process Flow.
• Actions: Actions enable necessary control over a process flow. You can select the Action and drag it to Canvas area.
• Process Flows: It displays the existing Process flow. Double-click the process flow to open in on Canvas area. 
  
  

The Canvas is the area where a process flow is drawn. BPMN specification and Connect Server activities are dragged onto the Canvas and arranged in a sequence in order to create a process flow. The Canvas can also be resized if an activity is dragged beyond the default size.

You can also perform these activities in the Canvas area:

• Click  icon to view canvas area in full screen.
• Click icon to view Mini Map of the process flow.
• Click  icon to zoom In.
• Click  icon to zoom out.
• Click icon to reset zoom.