Introduction to Workflow Editor

Workflow Editor and Workflow System are based on the Microsoft .Net Workflow Foundation library.

Workflow Editor is the tool to create, modify and run workflow templates.

A workflow template describes work that has to be done (like a cooking recipe or a script). It consists of a series of steps visualized in a diagram. Workflow templates are blueprints from which a running workflow instance is created from. Sometimes the term workflow is used instead of workflow template or workflow instance.

The available steps that can be used in a workflow template are called workflow activities. Some activities are provided by Microsoft, other activities, especially the one that interact with our system, are provided by DAVID Systems.

Programming language expressions used in workflows can use VB.Net or C# syntax.

Workflow Editor Areas

Workflow Editor consists of the following areas.

Top Area

Application menu

Application toolbar

To run and stop workflow instances

Left Area

Activities toolbox

Lists all available activities; use the context menu to collapse/expand the activities tree

Templates

Lists all workflow templates stored in the Workflow System database; double-click an item to open it

Arguments

Provide test arguments for a workflow; test arguments can also be save and opened again

Outline

Displays the structure of a workflow as tree

Statistics

Shows usage statistics for activity types in the currently opened workflow. Job activities are displayed in bold text.

Usage will be updated when loading or saving workflow or when clicking into the XAML window at the bottom for a modifed workflow.

Middle Area

Workflow Designer

Build your workflows here by dragging and dropping activities onto the workflow designer.

Workflow Variables

Define and optionally initialize variables for a workflow

Workflow Arguments

Define workflow arguments 

Namespace Imports

Add namespace imports

Right Area

Properties Grid

Display and edit all properties of currently selected activity

Tracking

Tracks activity state when a workflow is running

Find

Search for text occurrences in designer.

Double-click a found item to navigate to according location in designer.

Bottom Area

XAML

The XAML source code of the workflow you see in the workflow designer.

You can also modify source code here and reload the designer from the modified XAML using the menu item Workflow\Open from XAML.

Output

Any output related to running a workflow