Process Nodes and Smart Services

The Appian process modeler palette contains all of the nodes and Appian smart services that can be used to define a process workflow. These activities are broken into two main categories: standard nodes and smart services. Standard nodes consists of standard BPMN activites, events, and gateways. Smart services are flow activities that integrate specialized business services, like sending e-mails or writing data to a database. Smart services consists of Appian Smart Services and Integration Services.

Refer to the following tables for more information about specific nodes or smart services:

Standard Nodes

Smart Services


Standard Nodes

Standard nodes consist of Activities, Events, and Gateways. Activities are used within process workflow to capture or process business data. Events allow designers to start, stop, or continue the progress of workflows. Gateway are used for workflow control.

Sub Category Icon Name Description
Activities Script_Task.gif Script Task The Script Task is used to perform an automated activity. Script Tasks are often used for data queries & transformation between other activities in a workflow
Activities User_Input_Task.gif User Input Task The User Input Task activity is used to assign a task to a user and/or group. InterfacesInterfaces.md are associated within a User Input Task to capture data from a form into a process.
Activities Sub_Process.gif Subprocess The Subprocess Activity is used to launch child processes from within your parent process, allowing for data transfer between them. Subprocesses can be run either synchronously or asynchronously.
Events End_Event.gif End Event An End Event is used to denote the end of a process flow within a process model. The process remains active until all active paths in the process arrive at an end event.
Events Timer_Event.gif Timer Event Timer events can added to the process flow to schedule a process activity, or to only continue the flow when certain conditions are met.
Events Receive Message_Event.gif Receive Message Event The Receive Message event can consume an action, in the form of a Java message or e-mail. When a receive message event is configured as a process node on the designer canvas, the event is activated when the process flow reaches the event. The process flow only proceeds once the event has completed execution.
Events Rule_Event.gif Rule Event Rule events can either be added to the process flow. They are used when there are certain conditions that need to be met before the process flow proceeds. Once an intermediate rule event is activated, it remains active until the rule evaluates to true.
Events Send Message_Event.gif Send Message Event In a process, a Send Message event can be used to generate a message that is made available to all Receive Message events (which are actively listening for messages). Messages sent to events that are not active are discarded.
Events Start_Event.gif Start Event A Start Event node denotes the beginning of a process in a process model, and is used to configure how a process is launched.
Gateways And_Gateway.gif AND Gateway The AND Gateway directs all incoming workflow(s) to all of the possible branches. If more than one incoming path is used, all incoming paths must reach the node before the process can continue.
Gateways Complex_Gateway.gif Complex Gateway This type of gateway allows you to selectively accept (or restrict) incoming paths and evaluate rules to determine outgoing paths. For example, you can restrict the node to accept only the first three out of four incoming paths, or require input from certain nodes before continuing. Outgoing paths can be configured in the same manner as other gateway nodes.
Gateways OR_Gateway.gif OR Gateway An OR Gateway directs incoming flows to one of many possible output paths, based on the condition(s) you set.
Gateways XOR_Gateway.gif XOR Gateway The exclusive (XOR) gateway connects one incoming path with a single outgoing path. The outgoing path is chosen from a number of possible paths and determined by one or more conditions that you set.

Smart Services

Smart services provide specialized business services. The two categories of smart services are Appian Smart Services and Integration Services. Smart services are, by default, unattended, meaning the activity will execute once activated. However, certain smart services can be configured as attended. Many of the attended smart services also have an associated smart service function available, which can be used in an Appian expression to invoke that smart service independent of a process model.

Category Sub Category Icon Name Function Name (for use in Appian expressions) HiddenCategory
[Deprecated] Deprecated.gif Add Attachment Smart Service [Deprecated] Not available for this smart service. 一Deprecated一
[Deprecated] Deprecated.gif Create Case Management Page Smart Service [Deprecated] Not available for this smart service. 一Deprecated一
[Deprecated] Deprecated.gif Create Community Smart Service [Deprecated] Not available for this smart service. 一Deprecated一
[Deprecated] Deprecated.gif Create Department Smart Service [Deprecated] Not available for this smart service. 一Deprecated一
[Deprecated] Deprecated.gif Create Forum Smart Service [Deprecated] Not available for this smart service. 一Deprecated一
[Deprecated] Deprecated.gif Create New Version Smart Service [Deprecated] Not available for this smart service. 一Deprecated一
[Deprecated] Deprecated.gif Create Page Smart Service [Deprecated] Not available for this smart service. 一Deprecated一
[Deprecated] Deprecated.gif Create Team Smart Service [Deprecated] Not available for this smart service. 一Deprecated一
[Deprecated] Deprecated.gif Deactivate Community Properties Smart Service [Deprecated] Not available for this smart service. 一Deprecated一
[Deprecated] Deprecated.gif Delete Community Smart Service [Deprecated] Not available for this smart service. 一Deprecated一
[Deprecated] Deprecated.gif Delete Department Smart Service [Deprecated] Not available for this smart service. 一Deprecated一
[Deprecated] Deprecated.gif Delete Forum Smart Service [Deprecated] Not available for this smart service. 一Deprecated一
[Deprecated] Deprecated.gif Delete Message Smart Service [Deprecated] Not available for this smart service. 一Deprecated一
[Deprecated] Deprecated.gif Delete Page Smart Service [Deprecated] Not available for this smart service. 一Deprecated一
[Deprecated] Deprecated.gif Delete Team Smart Service [Deprecated] Not available for this smart service. 一Deprecated一
[Deprecated] Deprecated.gif Delete Topic Smart Service [Deprecated] Not available for this smart service. 一Deprecated一
[Deprecated] Deprecated.gif Edit Community Properties Smart Service [Deprecated] Not available for this smart service. 一Deprecated一
[Deprecated] Deprecated.gif Edit Department Properties Smart Service [Deprecated] Not available for this smart service. 一Deprecated一
[Deprecated] Deprecated.gif Edit Page Properties Smart Service [Deprecated] Not available for this smart service. 一Deprecated一
[Deprecated] Deprecated.gif Edit Team Properties Smart Service [Deprecated] Not available for this smart service. 一Deprecated一
[Deprecated] Deprecated.gif Export to Excel/CSV Smart Service [Deprecated] Not available for this smart service. 一Deprecated一
[Deprecated] Deprecated.gif HTTP File Download Smart Service [Deprecated] Not available for this smart service. 一Deprecated一
[Deprecated] Deprecated.gif HTTP File Upload Smart Service [Deprecated] Not available for this smart service. 一Deprecated一
[Deprecated] Deprecated.gif HTTP Query Smart Service [Deprecated] Not available for this smart service. 一Deprecated一
[Deprecated] Deprecated.gif Modify Community Security Smart Service [Deprecated] Not available for this smart service. 一Deprecated一
[Deprecated] Deprecated.gif Modify Forum Security Smart Service [Deprecated] Not available for this smart service. 一Deprecated一
[Deprecated] Deprecated.gif Move Community Smart Service [Deprecated] Not available for this smart service. 一Deprecated一
[Deprecated] Deprecated.gif Move KC Smart Service [Deprecated] Not available for this smart service. 一Deprecated一
[Deprecated] Deprecated.gif Move Topic Smart Service [Deprecated] Not available for this smart service. 一Deprecated一
[Deprecated] Deprecated.gif Page Security Smart Service [Deprecated] Not available for this smart service. 一Deprecated一
[Deprecated] Deprecated.gif Post Message Smart Service [Deprecated] Not available for this smart service. 一Deprecated一
[Deprecated] Deprecated.gif Publish Page Smart Service [Deprecated] Not available for this smart service. 一Deprecated一
[Deprecated] Deprecated.gif Reactivate Community Properties Smart Service [Deprecated] Not available for this smart service. 一Deprecated一
[Deprecated] Deprecated.gif Send Alert Smart Service [Deprecated] Not available for this smart service. 一Deprecated一
[Deprecated] Deprecated.gif Set Global Home Page Smart Service [Deprecated] Not available for this smart service. 一Deprecated一
[Deprecated] Deprecated.gif Set Group Home Page Smart Service [Deprecated] Not available for this smart service. 一Deprecated一
[Deprecated] Deprecated.gif Set User Home Page Smart Service [Deprecated] Not available for this smart service. 一Deprecated一
[Deprecated] Deprecated.gif Set User Storage Space Smart Service [Deprecated] Not available for this smart service. 一Deprecated一
[Deprecated] Deprecated.gif Start Topic Smart Service [Deprecated] Not available for this smart service. 一Deprecated一
[Deprecated] Deprecated.gif Upload Document Smart Service [Deprecated] Not available for this smart service. 一Deprecated一
Appian Smart Services Analytics Execute_Process_Report.gif Execute Process Report Smart Service Not available for this smart service. Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Communication Send_Email.gif Send E-Mail Smart Service Not available for this smart service. Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Communication Send_Push_Canvas.gif Send Push Notification Smart Service a!sendPushNotification() Appian_Smart_Services
Integration Services Connectivity Services Call_Integration.gif Call Integration Smart Service Not available for this smart service. Integration_Services
Integration Services Connectivity Services Call_Web_Service.gif Call Web Service Smart Service Not available for this smart service. Integration_Services
Integration Services Connectivity Services Invoke_SAP_BAPI.gif Invoke SAP BAPI Smart Service a!sapInvokeWithCommit() Integration_Services
Integration Services Connectivity Services Query_Database.gif Query Database Smart Service Not available for this smart service. Integration_Services
Integration Services Data Services Delete_From_Data_Store_Entity.gif Delete from Data Store Entities Smart Service a!deleteFromDataStoreEntities() Integration_Services
Integration Services Data Services Write_To_Data_Store_Entity.gif Write to Data Store Entity Smart Service a!writeToDataStoreEntity() Integration_Services
Integration Services Data Services Write_To_Multiple_Data_Store_Entity.gif Write to Multiple Data Store Entities Smart Service a!writeToMultipleDataStoreEntities() Integration_Services
Appian Smart Services Document Generation Export_Process_Report_to_CSV.png Export Process Report to CSV Smart Service a!exportProcessReportToCsv() Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Document Generation Export_Process_Report_to_Excel.png Export Process Report to Excel Smart Service a!exportProcessReportToExcel() Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Document Generation Export_Data_Store_Entity_to_CSV.png Export Data Store Entity to CSV Smart Service a!exportDataStoreEntityToCsv() Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Document Generation Export_Data_Store_Entity_to_Excel.png Export Data Store Entity to Excel Smart Service a!exportDataStoreEntityToExcel() Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Document Generation HTML_Doc_From_Template.gif HTML Doc From Template Smart Service Not available for this smart service. Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Document Generation Open_Office_Doc_From_Template.gif Open Office Writer Doc From Template Smart Service Not available for this smart service. Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Document Generation PDF_Doc_From_Template.gif PDF Doc From Template Smart Service Not available for this smart service. Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Document Generation Text_Doc_From_Template.gif Text Doc From Template Smart Service Not available for this smart service. Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Document Generation Word_Doc_From_Template.gif Word Doc from Template Smart Service Not available for this smart service. Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Document Management Create_Folder.gif Create Folder Smart Service a!createFolder() Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Document Management Create_KC.gif Create Knowledge Center Smart Service a!createKnowledgeCenter() Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Document Management Create_KC.gif Create Knowledge Center Smart Service (17.4) a!createKnowledgeCenter_17r4() Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Document Management Delete_Doc_Folder_KC_Or_Group.gif Delete Document Smart Service a!deleteDocument() Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Document Management Delete_Doc_Folder_KC_Or_Group.gif Delete Folder Smart Service a!deleteFolder() Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Document Management Delete_Doc_Folder_KC_Or_Group.gif Delete KC Smart Service a!deleteKnowledgeCenter() Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Document Management Edit_Document_Properties.gif Edit Document Properties Smart Service a!editDocumentProperties() Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Document Management Edit_KC_Properties.gif Edit KC Properties Smart Service a!editKnowledgeCenterProperties() Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Document Management Lock_Document.gif Lock Document Smart Service a!lockDocument() Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Document Management Modify_Folder_Security.gif Modify Folder Security Smart Service a!modifyFolderSecurity() Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Document Management Modify_KC_Security.gif Modify KC Security Smart Service a!modifyKnowledgeCenterSecurity() Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Document Management Move_Document.gif Move Document Smart Service a!moveDocument() Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Document Management Move_Folder.gif Move Folder Smart Service a!moveFolder() Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Document Management Reconcile_Doc_Extraction.gif Reconcile Doc Extraction Smart Service Not available for this smart service. Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Document Management Rename_Folder.gif Rename Folder Smart Service a!editFolderProperties() Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Document Management Start_Doc_Extraction.gif Start Doc Extraction Smart Service Not available for this smart service. Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Document Management Unlock_Document.gif Unlock Document Smart Service a!unlockDocument() Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Identity Management Add_Group_Admins.gif Add Group Admins Smart Service a!addAdminsToGroup() Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Identity Management Add_Group_Members.gif Add Group Members Smart Service a!addMembersToGroup() Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Identity Management Add_User.gif Create User Smart Service a!createUser() Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Identity Management Change_User_Type.gif Change User Type Smart Service a!updateUserType() Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Identity Management Create_Group.gif Create Group Smart Service a!createGroup() Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Identity Management Deactivate_User.gif Deactivate User Smart Service a!deactivateUser() Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Identity Management Delete_Doc_Folder_KC_Or_Group.gif Delete Group Smart Service a!deleteGroup() Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Identity Management Edit_Group.gif Edit Group Smart Service a!editGroup() Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Identity Management Join_Group.gif Join Group Smart Service Not available for this smart service. Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Identity Management Leave_Group.gif Leave Group Smart Service Not available for this smart service. Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Identity Management Modify_User_Security.gif Modify User Security Smart Service a!modifyUserSecurity() Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Identity Management Reactivate_User.gif Reactivate User Smart Service a!reactivateUser() Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Identity Management Remove_Group_Admins.gif Remove Group Admins Smart Service a!removeGroupAdmins() Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Identity Management Remove_Group_Members.gif Remove Group Members Smart Service a!removeGroupMembers() Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Identity Management Change_User_Type.gif Rename Users Smart Service a!renameUsers() Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Identity Management Set_Group_Attributes.gif Set Group Attributes Smart Service a!setGroupAttributes() Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Identity Management Update_User_Profile.gif Update User Profile Smart Service a!updateUserProfile() Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Process Management Cancel_Process.gif Cancel Process Smart Service a!cancelProcess() Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Process Management Cancel_Process.gif Cancel Process Smart Service (17.3) a!cancelProcess_17r3() Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Process Management Complete_Task.gif Complete Task Smart Service a!completeTask() Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Process Management Execute_Robotic_Process.gif Execute Robotic Process Smart Service Not available for this smart service. Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Process Management Modify_Process_Security.gif Modify Process Security Smart Service Not available for this smart service. Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Process Management Start_Process.gif Start Process Smart Service a!startProcess() Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Rule Management Increment_Constant.gif Increment Constant Smart Service Not available for this smart service. Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Rule Management Start_Rules_Test_All.gif Start Rule Tests (All) a!startRuleTestsAll() Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Rule Management Start_Rules_Tests_Application.gif Start Rule Tests (Applications) a!startRuleTestsApplications() Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Rule Management Update_Constant.gif Update Constant Smart Service Not available for this smart service. Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Social Follow_Records.gif Follow Records Smart Service Not available for this smart service. Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Social Follow_Users.gif Follow Users Smart Service Not available for this smart service. Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Social Post_Comment_To_Feed.gif Post Comment to Feed Entry Smart Service Not available for this smart service. Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Social Post_Event_To_Feed.gif Post Event to Feed Smart Service Not available for this smart service. Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Social Post_Hazard_To_Feed.gif Post Hazard to Feed Entry Smart Service Not available for this smart service. Appian_Smart_Services
Appian Smart Services Social Post_System_Event_To_Feed.gif Post System Event to Feed Smart Service Not available for this smart service. Appian_Smart_Services
Open in Github Built: Fri, Nov 04, 2022 (07:10:52 PM)
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