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Activity formUse the Steps tab to define a sequential set of instructions, or steps, for an activity to execute. Each step calls a method or supported rule type to perform the required processing.
You can control the flow of execution by repeating a group of steps, defining a set of pre-conditions for a step, or jumping to a later step.
As a best practice, limit each activity to thirty or fewer steps to promote modularity.
Populating a step
If your activity supports a Declare Trigger or Declare OnChange rule, select an appropriate activity type in the Usage field before entering populating any steps.
Each numbered row on the Steps tab represents a step. Use the following options to control how the activity processes a step at run time.
Element |
Description |
| Label |
A unique identifier. Enter a short (one-or two-character) string that other steps can reference in their jump criteria. Otherwise, leave this field blank. Enter two slash marks (//) to comment out a step, or exclude it from execution. A commented-out loop step excludes all child steps from execution. |
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No iteration or loop criteria exists. Click to specify loop criteria such as the number of iterations or the type of element to evaluate. |
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Iteration or loop criteria exist. Click to review or edit the loop criteria. |
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No pre-condition or when criteria exist. Click to specify a when rule that controls whether a step is executed or skipped. |
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Pre-condition or when criteria exist. Click to review or edit the when criteria. Uncheck the Enable conditions before this action box to remove the when criteria. |
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Parameter details for the specified Method. Click to expand the Method Parameters section and provide parameters to the specified method or rule instance. Click a second time to collapse the section. |
| Method |
The method or rule to execute. Select a method name from the list or enter a keyword followed by a supported rule instance. This list excludes deprecated methods. Leave this field blank when creating a loop step. |
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You have specified a keyword and rule in the Method field. Click to open the rule. |
| Step Page |
The context, or page for this step. Enter a page name from the Pages & Classes tab or leave this field blank to use the primary page of this activity. Depending on the scenario, you can use additional syntax:
Most methods require a step page to exist. When using the Call or Branch keyword, you can only enter a page name with the same Applies To key part as this activity. |
| Description |
Internal documentation. Enter a brief description for other developers to understand what this step does. |
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No transition criteria exist. Click to define how this step transitions to the next step or jumps to a later step. |
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Transition criteria exist. Click to review or edit the transition criteria. Uncheck the Enable conditions after this action box to remove the transition criteria. |
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Removes a step in an activity. |
Add a step |
Inserts a new step below the step currently in focus. |
Managing steps
Use these options to speed up development of your activity steps:
- Reorder steps using drag-and-drop. Click the number next to any step and drag it to a new position. You cannot use drag-and-drop to change the nesting order of a step. For example, you cannot drag a child step outside of a loop step.
- Reuse or remove steps with right-click actions: Cut, Copy, Paste, Insert above, Insert below, and Add child. You can use these actions on steps within the same activity or between different activities.
- Add new rows by focusing in any field in a step and pressing the
Enterkey. - Click Collapse All Steps to only see top-level steps in the activity.
The API Version field appears when an activity does not use the latest Java version. Accept the default value of 03-02 and save the rule form to remove this field.
About Activities