Flow form — Editing in Visio End shapes

Purpose

Define an end of the flow by dragging the End shape () to the diagram and dropping it. 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.

The work item may remain open (unresolved) when it advances to an End shape. Processing in a separate flow may advance the work item farther toward eventual resolution.

Flow processing automatically saves the work item (using the Obj-Save method) when an End shape is reached, unless the work item is temporary.

To Add an End shape

1. Drag the End shape from the stencil and drop it on the flow.

2. Optionally, complete the End Properties panel.

Field	Description
Name	Enter 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 inside the End shape on the Diagram tab.
Status	Optional. Enter a literal constant 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 accessed the value in a connector. If a 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 Start shape, one to match each of these two outcomes.

3. Click  Apply   when done.

4. Connect at least one other shape to the End shape.

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 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.

About Flows