How to create a flow

Use this procedure to create a flow and make it available to application developers. RECHECK, OR DELETE ALTOGETHER?

Planning and design

Confirm that the properties and class structure you defined for your application are sufficient to support your flow processing.

For flow creation concepts and guidelines, refer to Pega Developer Network article PRKB-25463 Introduction to process definition and flow rules and Pega Developer Network article PRKB-25166 How to create and test a flow model

Building the flow rule

To create your flow in Process Commander, do the following:

1. From the Application Explorer, select and right-click Process > New > Flow.
2. Complete the New form. For the Applies To key part, accept the work type. In the Flow Type field of this form, enter a name that describes the purpose of the flow. Start the name with a letter and use only letters and digits.
3. On the Flow form that appears, click the Flow Editor toolbar button () to open an empty Microsoft Visio form titled with the name you provided in the Flow Type field. The system automatically inserts the Flow starter shape at the top of the Visio page. It displays the class and the Flow Type label you specified.
4. You can click the Draft button () to enter draft mode, or work in normal mode. In draft mode, your flow can refer to activity rules, decision rules, properties, and other flows that do not yet exist. (A draft mode flow rule can serve as a specification or plan. You can save a draft mode flow rule, but cannot run it. Update the flow rule later and turn off draft mode when the other rules you need are available.)
5. Working in Visio, begin by creating the primary paths and then create the less important flows. Use the SmartShapes from the left side of the Visio form. As you drop each shape onto the Visio page, provide the additional Properties details as prompted.
6. On the Process tab, check the Creates a new work object? box if you want this flow to be available to application users in the New area of the Process Work workspace. MADDS MARTT 1/20/04 In this case, select and enter the Short Description field carefully. Choose words that help an application user select and enter new work objects for this flow. Make certain the Short Description values for starter flows in your application are clear and distinct.
7. On the Process tab, check the Can be added to a work object box if this flow might be started by a user for an existing open work object. When you select this box, this flow becomes visible as a choice in the  Start a New Process   button on harness forms. Both the current flow execution and the selected flow execution operate simultaneously on a single work object.
8. When you finish updating the flow rule, click the Return toolbar button () at the right of the toolbar to save the flow. Then click the Save toolbar button () to save the Flow form.

	flow
	About Flow rules Flows — Concepts and terms How to set up Visio Process Commander documentation
	Atlas — Standard flow rules

Process category