3.9 - Testing a Process

New enhancements are available in Test Mode! Watch the Test Mode Enhancements Video to learn about new functionality, retrying previous tests and reviewing documents in sub-process calls. -

Test mode allows you to quickly test Processes from within the Build menu without needing to deploy the Process to an Atom and wait for results to be posted back to the Manage menu. Test mode is intended to provide immediate feedback on Process configuration for use during initial development or production debugging. Test mode provides results and detailed logging information for each step to assist with troubleshooting.

There are a few important things to understand about Test mode:

When executing a Process in Test mode, the Process actually runs. Data actually runs through the Process so records will be moved, created, modifying, deleted, etc. according to the Process configuration.
You must deploy an Atom on which the Process can execute. However the Process does not need to be deployed to that Atom (more on Deploying Processes).
When entering Test mode, the Process will be saved automatically.
The log and data files produced during Test mode are temporary. Once you exit Test mode this information is lost. Test mode executions are not displayed on the Manage menu.
Test mode is limited to a maximum of 10 files (documents) per inbound Connector step. If more than 10 files or documents are retrieved by an inbound Connector, an error message appears. If this error occurs on the Start step, you will have the option to Retry just the 10 documents that are originally picked up and forward them through the rest of the Process. If this occurs on an inbound Connector step later in the Process (inline), you will receive a standard error message. You should configure your connector accordingly to process less data for future tests.
Test mode is limited to a maximum aggregate data size of 1 Mb across the entire Process execution. If the size is exceeded, an error message pop-up appears. You should configure filters and/or other selection criteria in the inbound Connector operations or profile to limit the size of data read into the Process.

How to Use Test Mode

To Run a Test

Open a Process.
Clicking the Run a Test button, found above the upper right corner of the canvas.
In the Run a Test window, select the Atom on which the Process should execute.
(Optional) If Extensions are enabled for your account, click the Test Extensions arrow to configure Extension values.
Click the Run Test button.
The Process canvas background turns gray, indicating that you are in Test mode. You cannot edit the Process.

While a step is being tested it is highlighted in yellow. If the step passes the test it is highlighted in green. Then the test continues to the next step in the Process.

As the Process executes in Test mode you can watch the progression of documents through the Process steps. Once the test has finished, you can view the log and data files produced.

Review the high-level log information for the overall execution by clicking the Process Name dropdown and choosing View Log. To view data and log files for a specific document, select a document from the numbered list below and then click a Process step. This will display the log information for that particular step. The Start step and all Connector steps have a Connection Data tab that displays the inbound/outbound documents along with any Connector-specific tracking information and a link to view the actual data contents ( ). If you click this icon the document opens in the Document Viewer dialog.

All steps other than the Start step contain a Shape Source Data tab. When selecting a step and clicking this tab, you can view in the Document Viewer the source document that was sent into this step. This is helpful, for example, when reviewing the source data of a Map or the request data sent to an outbound Connector.

To Exit Test Mode

Click the Return To Edit Mode button
The Process canvas background turns white, indicating that you are in Edit mode.

Logs are Temporary!
The log and data files produced during a Test mode execution are temporary. Once you exit Test mode, this information is lost. Test Mode executions are not displayed on the Manage menu.

Reviewing Process Call Results

You can also review the results of a child Process (also called a sub-Process) that was executed with the Process Call step:

Select the Process Call step in the main Process for a particular document.
Click the Shape Source Data tab.
Click the blue Process Call arrow ( ) in the Process Call column.

Choosing this Process Call view option will not rerun the child Process. The Atom is simply uploading the logs for the document from when it originally executed.

The Test Mode view will now display the steps executed for the given Document. The Process dropdown will be updated and you can view the log for the current Process. Clicking on the Close button or the Parent Process in the dropdown will return you to the main Process view.

Retrying Previous Tests

When developing new Processes, Test Mode is an important debugging tool. If you are continually making updates to a Process, you can choose to retry previous tests. This will prevent you from having to re-run from scratch and continually access the source system to bring documents into the Process flow. This is helpful, for example, when your Connector Operation is set to Get and Delete inbound Documents so you do not need to continually reset the data in your source system.

Enter Test Mode by clicking the Run a Test button
Assuming you have run a previous test with the Process open, click on the Retry a Test button
Select the desired execution from the dropdown
Check/Uncheck the Documents that should be re-sent through the Process
Click Run Test

Previous test documents are only accessible when the Process is open. Closing the Process will erase the queue of test executions and you will need to re-run and grab documents from your source connector.

Troubleshooting

Inbound Documents that processed successfully will be marked as successful ( ) and each of its Process steps will be highlighted in green. Documents that errored are marked as failed ( ) and one of the Process steps will be highlighted in red.

If an error occurred during the execution, a dialog will be display containing the error message:

To view more information, view the Process Log and/or Document logs by selecting the failed Document and then clicking the Process step highlighted in red. In the log, look for the entry section marked as SEVERE and click Details link for more information. Depending on the error message, you may need to review the inbound data to look for bad data or exit Test Mode and modify the Process configuration.

Review the Viewing Logs page to learn more about Process and Document logs.