Defining Flow Properties

Click Properties to display the flow's Properties pane. These properties include:

• Inputs - flow inputs specify the data required by the flow.

  You define flow inputs when you want to use their value throughout the whole flow and various steps or if you want the inputs to get values from outside (from the user or when other flows use it). Step inputs are the inputs that the contained flow/operation/decision needs.

  If this flow is used as a subflow in another flow, the flow inputs are exposed as step inputs.

  See Inputs.

• Outputs - you can set up outputs for a flow.

  Once outputs have been set up for the flow, you will be able to choose flow outputs to be published as step outputs when this flow is used as a step.

  See Outputs.

• Results - the Results tab displays the results that were dragged to the canvas for the flow. You can enter descriptions for these results.

  See Results.

• Description - you can enter a summary of what the flow does. It is recommended to include in this summary only the flow level description and not the input/output level description.

Notes about expressions in OO Designer:

• In the Expression Editor, if there is a multi-line description, each additional line should not start with @. For example, the following is an invalid description:

  @input input_name: this is the first line

                     @this is the second line

                     this is the third line

The Graph pane contains the graphic representation of the flow.

For details, see Graph Pane.

Flow inputs are available for the entire flow. For example, you can set the value of a flow variable and use this in various steps in the flow.

1. Click the Properties button to display the Flow Properties pane for the current flow.

   The inputs of the flow are displayed under the Inputs tab.

   Note If you open a flow from the Dependencies pane, the Flow Properties pane is in read-only mode. If you want to edit the flow, first copy it to the Projects pane and edit the copy.

2. To add a new input, click the New Input button.

3. In the new row that appears, enter the details of the input:

   

   See Inputs.

4. To delete an input, select the input row and click the Delete button.
5. To move an input up or down in the list, click the Up and Down arrows.

Flow outputs are available for the entire flow. A flow output can be used as inputs to other flows.

1. Click the Properties button to display the Flow Properties pane for the current flow.

   The outputs of the flow are displayed under the Outputs tab.

   Note If you open a flow from the Dependencies pane, the Flow Properties pane is in read-only mode. If you want to edit the flow, first copy it to the Projects pane and edit the copy.

2. To add a new output, click the New Output button.

3. In the new row that appears, enter the details of the output. For example:

   

   SeeOutputs.

4. To delete an output, select the output row and click the Delete button.
5. To move an output up or down in the list, click the Up and Down arrows.

On the Results tab, you can add description to the results that were added to the flow.

1. Click the Properties button to display the Flow Properties pane for the current flow.

2. Click the Results tab to display the results that have been dragged to the canvas for the flow.

   

3. (Optional) Enter a description of the results in the Description column.

Flow errors

If a flow or its properties contain errors, an error flag is displayed in the Graph and/or Properties buttons at the top of the Authoring pane. This flag includes a number, representing the number of errors.

Click the error flag to display a tooltip with information about the errors.

After you fix the errors, numbers in the error flag are adjusted, and when all are fixed, the flag disappears.

Error in the flow properties

If errors exist in the flow properties, the error flag appears on the relevant tab and in the rows that are affected. Also at these levels, you can click the error flag to display a tooltip with information about the error.

If the value being entered is not correct from CloudSlang point-of-view, an error will be displayed. If the error causes the corresponding YAML to be corrupted, the value will be reset after removing the focus from the item.

1. You can see information about the input, output, and result CloudSlang code.

   To view the code defining the flow,operation, decision, or system property, click the Show as Text button in the Authoring pane toolbar. A text box appears. This text is the CloudSlang code that will actually run. For details, see YAML File Textual Representation.