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Editing in Visio — Fork tasks

 About Flow rules

Purpose

Use the fork shape (zzz) to represent a point where the flow execution chooses one of a few different paths (connectors) based on tests on the work object. At runtime, the system evaluates the conditions on each outgoing connector, starting with the connector assigned the highest likelihood. The flow execution continues along the first connector that evaluates to True.

Adding a fork task to the flow

Use these instructions to add a fork task:

  1. Drag the fork shape from the left panel and drop it onto your Visio flow diagram.
  2. The Fork Properties panel appears. Complete these fields:

Field

Description
Name

Enter a name meaningful to application users who see this on the work object history display, the breadcrumbs control (for entry points), and the Where-Am-I? diagram.

Entry Point?

Select to indicate that this fork task is an entry point, which a user can return to using the breadcrumbs control or the standard flow action Work-.Previous. The default is selected.

This check box works with Perform harness rules that include a breadcrumbs display and with assignments that offer the Previous flow action. In other cases, the check box has no effect.

Because a fork task presents no user form, if a user clicks a breadcrumbs control to return to this entry point, flow processing resumes and pauses at the next assignment or other task that requires user input.
Only going back?

This check box appears only when you select the Entry Point? check box. Select to restrict users at runtime who are at this entry point to choose only those entry points (on the breadcrumbs display) that identify earlier steps in the flow.

Leave unselected to allow users to select any entry point of the flow when at this entry point. They can click the breadcrumbs control or tab to complete or visit an earlier or later step.

TipFor maximum user flexibility, leave this check box unselected if your flow accepts inputs in any order. However, this approach is typically not workable for flows that contain fork and decision shapes, or that have intermediate tasks that are not entry points.
  1. Click  Apply .
  2. Connect at least one incoming connector to the fork shape, to place the shape within the flow. Then add two or more outgoing connectors representing the possible choices.
  3. Associate a likelihood value between 1 and 99 for each outgoing connector. At runtime, the system evaluates the conditions on connectors in order of decreasing likelihood. Choose distinct likelihood values if you care about the order. (Often, only one of the outgoing connector conditions is true, so the order of evaluation does not matter.)
  4. Set up the tests (When conditions or expressions) on each connector so that at least one of them evaluates to True at runtime. You can set the condition on the least-likely connector to ELSE to make it a none-of-the-above choice.

zzz About Flow rules