Steps tab on the Activity form

Use 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 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.
Loop (no outline)	No iteration or loop criteria exists. Click to specify loop criteria such as the number of iterations or the type of element to evaluate.
Loop (with outline)	Iteration or loop criteria exist. Click to review or edit the loop criteria.
When (no outline)	No pre-condition or when criteria exist. Click to specify a when rule that controls whether a step is executed or skipped.
When (with outline)	Pre-condition or when criteria exist. Click to review or edit the when criteria. Clear the Enable conditions before this action check box to remove the when criteria.
Expand	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. Many methods and instructions require parameters.
Magnifying glass	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: Type "." followed by an embedded property of mode `Page`. Type "." followed by the name of a `Page List` or `Page Group` property and an index (integer or name) in parentheses. Omit the index and parentheses when a step is a loop iterating over a `Page List` or `Page Group` property. Type a full property reference to iterate over an embedded property on a different page. For example, pagename.propertyname. 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.
Jump (no outline)	No transition criteria exist. Click to define how this step transitions to the next step or jumps to a later step.
Jump (with outline)	Transition criteria exist. Click to review or edit the transition criteria. Clear the Enable conditions after this action check box to remove the transition criteria.
Trash bin	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 Enter key.
Click Collapse All Steps to only see top-level steps in the activity.

The API Version field is available when an activity does not use the latest Java version. Use the default value of 03-02 and save the rule form to remove this field.