Workflow designer elements overview
The workflow designer is used for building processes that are a part of a service request definition (SRD). The workflow designer uses basic
BPMN 2.0 fundamentals
for building processes in BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog.
Basic terms and concepts
This topic uses the following terms:
- Process is a logical sequence of actions that are required to satisfy a business need. Both system and human interaction can be involved in executing actions in a process. A process starts with the Start event, which is triggered when the end user submits a request in BMC Helix Digital Workplace. The process ends with the End event or Error End event when all actions in the process are executed, and the request is closed.
- Workflow is a graphical representation of a process.
- Sub-process is a part of a bigger process. Subprocesses are graphically represented by Call Activity (called process) and Sub-Process (structural subprocess) elements. Any subprocess starts with the Start event, and ends up with the End event or Error End event.
- Design time is the time when a workflow is being designed in the workflow designer.
- Runtime means the time when a process described by a workflow is being executed.
Basic elements
The following table lists basic elements by categories available in the workflow designer:
| Process workflow designer palette groups | Element | Icon | Description | Reference topics |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Events | Start |
| Indicates the start of a process or subprocess. By default, the Start event is available on the palette when you start drawing a workflow. It is required for any workflow. If a workflow contains a Sub-process or a Call activity event, the event must start with the Start event. | |
| End |
| Indicates the end of a process or a subprocess (Sub-Process or Call Activity). A process can have multiple End events in a process (for example, in a process with gateways, or with error events). | ||
| Error Boundary |
| Captures errors and exceptions within a process and identifies the path that should be executed after a business error or exception is captured. | Handling errors in processes | |
| Error End |
| Indicates that a process or a subprocess represented by Sub-Process or Call Activity event ends up with an error. | ||
| Timer |
| The Timer event can be attached only to the Receive Task. This event interrupts a wait step represented by the Receive Task, and indicates how to continue a workflow after the wait step times out. | Setting up a timer for a Receive Task | |
| Annotation | Annotation text |
| Provides additional information for anyone reading the process diagram. | Annotation example |
| Activities | Call activity |
| Calls for an external workflow. This external workflow is a subprocess (or child process) that can call for one or more other processes, for example, a request approval process. | Calling external workflows |
| Connector |
| Is a generic element used for calling an external activity of any connector that is enabled in the BMC Integration Service and configured for use with BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog. | Setting up a workflow to open a JIRA issue through a BMC Helix Integration Service connector | |
| iPaaS Jitterbit |
| Enables integration of BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog with third-party applications through BMC Helix iPaaS, powered by Jitterbit. | ||
| iPaaS Mulesoft |
| Enables integration of BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog with third-party applications through BMC Helix iPaaS, powered by MuleSoft. | ||
| Receive Task |
| Suspends the process until the the external system sends a response back to BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog. The Receive Task element waits for the response in the form of a signal. This signal can contain signal parameters to pass into a process. The external system (such as BMC Helix ITSM, TrueSight Orchestration Platform, or Active Directory) must be configured to return a message packaged in the same name as the Signal Parameter expected by the Receive Task. If the external system is an Action Request System application, see Integrating BMC applications with BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog. | Waiting for a response | |
| Sub-Process |
| Indicates a type of a subprocess that describes a detailed sequence of actions in a workflow. This subprocess cannot be called from multiple processes, and belongs only to the included process. It is used to hide or show additional levels of process details. When the Sub-Process element is collapsed, a plus sign | Embedding sub-process workflows | |
| Web Request |
| Enables you to connect with the REST API web services of another application and invoke web API requests. | ||
| Gateways | Parallel |
| Branches the sequence flow to execute multiple activities concurrently. When a parallel gateway is used as a join gateway to streamline multiple sequence flows into one, the join gateway waits until all the threads are complete before proceeding with the next step in the sequence. | Control of workflow with gateways |
| Exclusive |
| Branches the sequence flow to define the workflow execution paths. For a given instance of a process, only one path can be taken based on the conditions placed on the sequence flows coming out of the gateway. | ||
| Approval request | Create Approval Stub Entry |
| Although this element is available for selection on the palette, it cannot be used directly. This element is a part of an out-of-the-box Approval Process that can be called (by using the Call Activity element) from a process. | Workflow to request approval |
| String utils | Index Of |
| Returns the first index within a search string in a specified text. | Index Of |
| Last Index Of |
| Returns the last index within a search string in a specified text. | Last Index Of | |
| Insert |
| Inserts a string in specified text. | Insert | |
| Substring |
| Retrieves a string from a specified Json. | ||
| Length |
| Counts character length of a specified text. | Length | |
| Matches |
| Counts how many times a string appears in a specified text. | ||
| Json Parser |
| Retrieves a string from a specified Json. | Json Parser | |
| Replace |
| Replaces all occurrences of a string within another string. | Replace | |
| Replace All |
| Replaces every substring of text that matches a given regular expression with a given replacement. | ||
| To Lower Case |
| Converts an input text string to lowercase text. | ||
| To Upper Case |
| Converts an input text string to uppercase text. | ||
| Epoch To String |
| Converts the epoch/UNIX timestamp to a formatted date. | Epoch To String | |
| Expressions | Compute Value |
| Is used to build an expression and use its output in multiple actions. | Compute Value |
| Digital Workplace Catalog | Build Input Set |
| Creates custom parameters to send to an activity. | |
| Send In App Notification |
| Sends out In App notifications to BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog. | ||
| Send Email |
| Sends an email to a defined email address. Note: The Send Email element works in runtime only if the SMTP settings are configured for BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog. | ||
| Send Rich Text Email |
| Sends an email with rich text formatting in the email body to a defined email address. Inline images in the email body are converted to Base64 encoding. Note: The Send Rich Text Email element works in runtime only if the SMTP settings are configured for BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog. | ||
| Set Service Request Status |
| Updates the status shown to end users in the requesting user's activity timeline in the BMC Helix Digital Workplace end user console. | ||
| Track External Activity |
| Records that an external activity is ongoing, or checks the status of that activity. Track External Activity can be used with connectors that have an external activity that can be tracked. You can use it with service connectors such as BMC Helix Platform, Remedy, AWS Marketplace, and AWS Service Catalog. | ||
| My Stuff Remove Service |
| Removes a provisioned service asset from the My Stuff page when executed in a process. For more details about service actions, see Managing service actions. | Designing a workflow to remove a service request from the My Stuff page | |
| Create Activity Log For Service Request |
| Automatically posts comments to service requests (for native BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog services and bundles, and imported SRDs). Under different names, this element can be used several times and in any place in a workflow. | Designing a workflow to create a request activity log | |
Convert From Rich To Plain Text |
| Converts a rich text string into a plain text string and converts inline image tags into an image content GUID as placeholder in BMC Helix ITSM. For example, Replace <u>an office chair</u> of mine <img src="my chair"> is converted into Replace an office chair of mine [[my chair]] Note: Attachments are not preserved, so [[my chair]] is not clickable or downloadable. | ||
Convert Q&As From Rich To Plain Text |
| Converts a rich text answer into a plain text string and converts inline image tags into an image content GUID as placeholder in BMC Helix Business Workflows. The output metadata contains relevant image URIs for further processing. | ||
| Update Service Request |
| Enables you to set the summary of a service request that can override the default summary of the request. Specify values for the following properties in this element:
| ||
| Add External Activity Attachments |
| When the system calls this action, the specified attachments are sent to a remote connector during the Important: You cannot send questionnaire attachments to custom process actions. For example, the attachments that you provide through the remote connector framework. Specify values for the following properties in this element:
|
appears against the bottom line of the rectangle. 
Connectors elements
Available connector elements can be used to build your workflow. These elements are available on the palette, and are grouped together in sections under connector tiles.
Important
Connector elements become available in the workflow designer only after you add and configure corresponding connectors. For more details about configuring connectors, see Service connector capabilities.
The following table describes the BMC Helix Digital Workplace Catalog connector categories that might be available on the palette:
| Connector section | Connector name | Additional information |
|---|---|---|
ACTIVE DIRECTORY | Active Directory | Active Directory connector |
AWS MARKETPLACE | AWS Marketplace | AWS Marketplace connector |
AZURE | Azure | Microsoft Azure connector |
CLIENT MANAGEMENT | Client Management (BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management) | BMC Client Management connectors |
CLIENT MANAGEMENT MOBILE | Client Management Mobile (BMC Cloud Lifecycle Management for mobile clients) | BMC Client Management connectors |
FLEXERA | Flexera | Not applicable |
| INNOVATION STUDIO | BMC Helix Innovation Studio | BMC Helix Innovation Studio connector |
MS OFFICE | Microsoft Office 365 | Microsoft Office 365 connector |
HELIX ITSM | Helix ITSM (BMC Helix ITSM) | Helix ITSM connector |
REST | REST (Web service REST) | REST connector |
| TSO | TSO (TrueSight Orchestration Platform) | TSO connector |
XEN APP | Citrix XenApp | Citrix XenApp and Citrix XenDesktop connectors |
XEN DESKTOP | Citrix XenDesktop | Citrix XenApp and Citrix XenDesktop connectors |
XEN Mobile | Citrix XenMobile | Not applicable |
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