Flow form
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Every new flow has a single Start shape, an Assignment shape, and an End shape. The End shape defines an end of the flow. A flow may contain none, one, or multiple End shapes.
When processing reaches this shape, no further processing by this flow occurs. If this flow was called as a subprocess by another flow, processing continues in the calling flow.
Flow processing automatically saves the work item (using the Obj-Save method) when an End shape is reached, unless the work item is temporary. Reaching an End shape does not change the work item status.
1. On the flow Diagram tab, open the properties panel using one of the following:
2. When the End Properties panel appears, complete the fields as described in the tables below.
3. Enter the Name using descriptive text for this End shape. Choose a name meaningful to application users who see this on the work item history display and the Where-Am-I? diagram. For example, Application Completed.
The shape name is only descriptive; it does not affect runtime execution of the flow. This name also appears below the End shape on the Diagram tab.
4. Click OK or click anywhere off the shape to save edits and close the panel.
5. Connect at least one other shape to the End shape.
Deleting an End shape from the flow
An End shape may be deleted from the process flow. Right-click the shape, and select Delete from the drop-down menu.
You can also select the End shape and do one of the following:
Complete the Status tab as described below. This allows you to easily change the status at multiple points in the life cycle of a work item without adding a Utility shape to the flow for each status change. Similar to setting work item status using a Utility shape, setting the status on this tab invokes the UpdateStatus activity. Any defined tickets dependent on the status are raised, as appropriate.
Field |
Description |
Flow Result |
Optional. Enter the result or status that indicates the outcome of the flow when this End shape is reached. When the current flow is a subprocess, the system returns this value to the calling flow, which can access the value in a connector. The flow result value updates .pyStatus. This flow result is not related to the work item status. If a process flow contains two or more End shapes, they may return the same or distinct status values. For example, a subprocess can include two End shapes with status values Success and PartyNotFound. The calling flow can contain two outgoing connectors from the Subprocess shape, one to match each of these two outcomes. |
Work Status |
Optional. Select the status for the work item. The work status updates pyStatusWork when a flow execution reaches the shape. |
Optional. Add a Ticket Name field under the Tickets tab to indicate the ticket(s) available at runtime. Use the Ticket to mark the starting point for exceptions that may arise at any point in the flow, such as a cancellation. The ticket is a label for a point in a flow, much like a programming "GOTO" destination.
An activity executing anywhere in your entire PRPC application can set or raise this ticket by executing the Obj-Set-Tickets method with this ticket name as a parameter. See Ticket help for other ways to raise a ticket.
The scope of a raised ticket includes all flows on the current work item that contain this ticket. If found, processing stops on that flow promptly, and resumes at the ticket point.
The system adds to the end shape to indicate one or more tickets are associated with this end shape. Assigned ticket names appear beside this icon on the flow.
Field |
Description |
Ticket Name |
Optional. Select one or more tickets that are to be available at runtime for this End shape. Add a row for each ticket. Use SmartPrompt to display all tickets available to flows in this work type. Creating ticket rules is recommended but not required. You can enter here a name that does not correspond to a ticket rule. If a shape has more than one ticket associated with it, then processing continues with that task only after all tickets are set. |
Display Name | Optional. The Ticket Name appears by default. Enter a name to display other than the ticket name. |
Although using the End shape is recommended for clarity, a flow may contain no End shapes. Technically, a flow execution ends when processing reaches a shape that has no outgoing connectors. This may be any shape except an assignment shape.
As a best practice, include at least one End shape in every process flow, and connect each ending shape to it. Avoid creating flows that have execution end at other shapes, as this can be a source of (human reader) confusion.