Process Nodes and Smart Services
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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: workflow nodes and smart services. Workflow nodes consist of human tasks, BPMN activities, events, and gateways. Smart services are flow activities that integrate specialized business services, like sending e-mails or writing data to a database.
Refer to the following tables for more information about workflow nodes or smart services:
WorkflowCopy link to clipboard
Automation Smart ServicesCopy link to clipboard
WorkflowCopy link to clipboard
Workflow nodes consist of Human Tasks, Activities, Events, and Gateways. Human Tasks are human in the loop activities such as an activity used to assign a task to a user or group. 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.
Icon | Name | Description |
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Icon | Name | Description |
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Activities | ||
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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 |
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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 | ||
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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Timer Event | Timer events can be added to the process flow to schedule a process activity, or to only continue the flow when certain conditions are met. |
Gateways | ||
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OR Gateway | An OR Gateway directs incoming flows to one of many possible output paths, based on the condition(s) you set. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
Human Tasks | ||
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User Input Task | The User Input Task activity is used to assign a task to a user and/or group. Interfaces are associated within a User Input Task to capture data from a form into a process. |
Automation Smart ServicesCopy link to clipboard
Smart services provide specialized business 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.
Tip: Deprecated smart services are only accessible through Search.
Icon | Name | Function Name (for use in Appian expressions) |
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