Adding a Process Property component

Process Property components are one type of process property. They are reusable components that can consist of a collection of properties.

Process Property components can be created in the same way that you create other types of components: from the Build page’s Create New button or Component Explorer, or from any process step that contains a plus icon for creating a new component. When you create a Process Property component you can add one or more properties to it. You can place the properties in a specific order. For each property within a Process Property component you define its data type, whether it should be persisted, a descriptive label, help text, and a default value. If the property is of the Number or String data type, you also can set allowed values.

You can create Process Property components in the same way that you create othe types of components: from the Build menu's Create New button, Start tab, or Component Explorer; or from any process step that contains an icon for creating a new component.

1. Go to the Build page.

2. Do one of the following:

   • Click the Create New button and select Process Property from the list.

   • In the Component Explorer, click the blue arrow icon next to the desired folder, and select New Component.

   • Next to Type, under All Components, select Process Property, and click Create.

   The New Process Property dialog opens.

3. Type a name for the Process Property.

   The maximum length for a component name is 255 characters.

4. Click Add Property.

   A property, named Process Property #1 by default, appears in the list. Its unique ID appears in the Key field.

5. Select a Data Type.

   Available data types are Boolean, Date, Hidden, Number, or String. The selected data type ensures that when you manually enter data in the Default Value field or in the Extensions dialog on the Runtime Management page, it is of the correct data type.

6. To persist the property value across subsequent runs, select Select to persist the value across subsequent executions checkbox.

7. Type a new name for the property in the Label field.

8. To supply information about how to use the property, type it in the Help Text field.

9. Do one of the following:

   • If Data Type is set to Boolean, select Default Value to set it to True or leave it cleared to set it to False.

   • If you set Data Type to Date or Hidden, enter a date or string value in the Default Value field.

   Hidden process property values are not visible in the user interface.

10. If Data Type is set to Number or String and if you want to build a list of allowed values for this property, click Allowed Values.

    1. Type a value and a label, then click OK.

    2. Repeat the previous step to add more allowed values.

    3. In the Default Value field select one of the allowed values that you added.

    note

    Create this list if you want to restrict users to only these values. These values are used in process extensions.

    Above the list are icons for adding, editing, deleting, and moving up and down the allowed values that you add. When adding an allowed value you must supply a value, which appears in parenthesis following the label in the list. If you do not supply a label, the contents of the Value field also appear in the Label field.

    There is no limit to the number of properties that you can add to a Process Property component, and there is no limit to the number of Process Property components that you can add. The Process Property components that you add appear in the Component Explorer in the Process Properties category.

    Process Property components are easy to find and reuse because you can choose them in the Choose Property dialog. You do not need to remember and type their names manually, like you do when using dynamic process properties.

11. To add another property to the Process Property component, repeat steps 4–10.

12. Click Save and Close.