Process Developer Preferences
You can set default preferences for all processes, and then override a preference for individual processes.
To set Process Developer preferences, select Window > Preferences > Process Developer.
Preferences on the main page include:
Default settings for new process files: |
Target Namespace preamble | Every BPEL process needs a target namespace. Type in a default namespace preamble, if desired. You can change the namespace and add additional ones for each new process you create. |
Expression Language (URI) | Process Developer supports a variety of expression languages. The default expression language is XPath 1.0. Two other expression languages are built-in. These are XQuery 1.0 and JavaScript 1.5. You can select any of these languages as the default. The default language refers to the expression language that is used (both for validation and simulation) for a given process when that process does not explicitly declare the expression language. Select Dialog (...) to view the configured expression languages. |
Suppress join failure | Enabled by default. For a description of this setting, see Process Element and Properties. |
Abstract process | Create all new processes as abstract, as opposed to executable, processes. Disabled by default. For a description of this setting, see Creating an Abstract Process. |
BPEL Version | Select the BPEL specification version to use when launching Process Developer and when creating new BPEL processes. The versions supported are WS-BPEL 2.0 (current version) or BPEL4WS 1.1. The version you select sets the correct menu items, palette, and other details for new processes. Any new process you create conforms to the version chosen. Any process you open conforms to the correct BPEL version. |
BPEL Extensions |
Create XPath | A Process Developer extension for WS-BPEL 2.0 processes. For a description of this setting, see Using the Process Developer Create XPath Extension. To use this setting during simulation of BPEL4WS 1.1 processes, see Simulation Preferences. |
Disable Selection Failure | A Process Developer extension for WS-BPEL 2.0 processes. For a description of this setting, see Using the Process Developer Disable Selection Failure Fault Extension. To use this setting during simulation of BPEL4WS 1.1 processes, see Simulation Preferences. |
Links are Transitions | A Process Developer extension for WS-BPEL 2.0 processes. Allows links that target completed activities. See Process Developer Extension for Links. |
Add object option |
Launch primary property dialog after add | In Outline view, you can right mouse click on a node, such as Imports, Partner Links, or Variables and add a new item. If you enable this option, you can right mouse click on the item to edit the primary property. You can disable this option if you prefer to edit all the properties (not just the primary property) in the Properties view. |
New deployment options |
Addressing Version | The default WS Addressing specification is W3C 1.0. This specification is referenced in the preamble of a new Process Deployment Descriptor file. You can select one of the earlier specifications if applicable for your new deployment descriptors. |
These settings take effect the next time you start Process Developer. You can set additional preferences for the following:
- •BUnit Preference
- •Cache and Timeout Preference
- •Colors and Fonts Preferences
- •Contribution Preference
- •Layout Preferences
- •Relationships View Preferences
- •Identity Chooser Preference
- •Remote Debugging Preferences
- •Simulation Preferences
- •Tasks and Problems Preferences
- •Editing HTML in Process Central Forms
B-Unit Preference
BPEL unit (B-unit) testing is a framework that tests BPEL processes in the Process Developer engine. The easiest way to create a B-unit test is to simulate a process and save the simulation as a B-unit test.
To simulate a process, you add sample data for receives and invokes.
Set the default sample data generation method for B-unit tests: inline data or imported data file. By default, the data is imported as a sample data file. This setting can make it easier for you to maintain B-unit tests. If you select inline, the data from the simulation is shown as an XML document.
In the B-unit Editor, select Invoke > Simulated Response > Message > Part, you can set the data to be inline or to be imported from the workspace.
For details, see BPEL Unit Testing.
Cache and Timeout Preference
You can set cache and timeout values for process validation if you experience problems when waiting for workspace builds to finish.
There are various scenarios in which WSDL and schema files are loaded, such as when opening a BPEL process that uses such WSDLs and schemas or during validation. For a process with many, large, or remote WSDLs and schemas, load and build times can get slow. This is especially the case when you have references that do not exist or take a long time to load.
Select Window > Preferences > Process Developer > Cache and Timeout to view these preferences.
- •Bad WSDL Cache Timeout. This value is set to 120 seconds. If a connection cannot be made to a WSDL URL during process validation, the WSDL location is cached so that a later attempt to connect can be made.
- •Resource Load Timeout. This timeout controls the amount of time spent waiting to read external WSDL files. This timeout also controls how long it takes to read the WSDL (and all its imports). By default, it is set to five seconds. You can increase this value if your machine or network is slow.
For details on validation builders, see About Project Orchestration and Validation Builders.
Colors and Fonts Preferences
Select Window > Preferences > Process Developer > Colors and Fonts to view these preferences.
The Expression Builder for creating data manipulation expressions is available for several activities, transition conditions, and queries. You can set the font properties for the Process Developer Expression Text within the Expression Builder.
The BPEL Unit Testing (B-unit) view contains a toolbar button that opens a B-unit XML Compare window. You can set a preference for the text color and font that appear in this window.
For details on B-unit Testing, see BPEL Unit Testing.
Contribution Preference
A contribution should include all process resources to be managed as a unit of files on the server.
To view contribution preferences, select Window > Preferences > Process Developer > Contribution.
When you deploy a process to the Process Server, it is recommended that you include all process resources within the contributed deployment. By default, the Export Wizard selects all resources in all project folders except sample-data and test. However, you can exclude the resources if you disable Auto-select all non-excluded project artifacts.
You can list the project sub-folders that should be selected or excluded within Export BPR Contribution Deployment Wizard. Create a list of relevant folders to start the export wizard with.
You can also add your own folder names to the list of folders that the Export wizard should exclude. For example, if you created a backup folder, you can add it to the list.
For details, see Managing Deployment Contributions.
Layout Preferences
Set the default values for laying out graphical elements on the Process Editor canvas.
Select Window > Preferences > Process Developer > Layout to view these preferences.
The Layout preferences page allows you to do the following:
- •Select an editing style defining default visual process properties.
- •Define defaults for Auto Layout mode.
- •Define defaults for Expand/Collapse Containers layout.
Editing Style and Stylesheets
This panel specifies the default visual properties for new BPEL processes. The default editing style is BPMN for modeling BPEL processes in the Business Process Model and Notation language. BPEL processes visually resemble BPMN diagrams.
Select Classic for legacy Process Developer visual representations of activities. See What is Process Developer Classic Style?
If you select BPMN for the editing style, you can also set BPMN or BPEL. In this panel, you can set whether you want to use the standard BPMN notation or the BPEL-centric version of BPMN. That is, the icons are mostly standard BPMN, consistent with the palette in older Process Developer versions.
For details, see Comparing the BPMN-Centric and BPEL-Centric Tool Palettes and Which Edit Style to Choose: BPMN-Centric or BPEL-Centric?.
Under Stylesheets, you can select Other for a stylesheet and edit the stylesheet file in a text editor to change a default value. The change applies to all processes. For example, you can set a border for the receive activity icon. In any BPEL process, you can remove the border for an individual receive activity, if desired. Note that the Classic stylesheet contains some properties that apply to only one version of BPEL, either WS-BPEL 2.0 or BPEL4WS 1.1. The BPMN stylesheet applies only to WS-BPEL 2.0.
For a description of visual properties, see Setting Visual Properties and Using Your Own Library of Images.
Auto Layout
The main Process Developer toolbar contains an Auto Layout button that organizes graphical elements on the process canvas into a grid that best fits the display area.
In this panel, set the default values for laying out the graphical elements (for example, activities and containers).
The Auto Layout Methods are available from the Auto Layout toolbar button. For details, see Process Developer Menus and Toolbars.
Make additional Auto Layout preferences as follows:
Orientation: Horizontal or vertical | Select the primary axis for your process diagrams. |
Size of margins for containers | Set the size, in pixels, for interior margins for scopes, sequences, and other containers. |
Spacing between levels and nodes | Set the size, in pixels, for vertical (level) and horizontal (node) spacing between activities. |
Expand/Collapse Containers
In this panel, set the default values for object movement and link style of the container activities: Sequence, If, While, Pick, Flow, Scope, For Each and Repeat Until. For details, see Showing and Hiding Activities.
Auto Move | When a container is collapsed, objects fill in the empty space. When a container is expanded, objects move out of the way. |
Auto Move Expand | When a container is expanded, objects move out of the way |
Auto Layout | After a container is collapsed or expanded, objects are laid out along an invisible grid |
No Move | No objects move when a container is collapsed or expanded |
Collapsed Link Style | Sets the solid, dashed or dotted style for links to and from activities within a collapsed container. A style that differs from other link styles provides a visual cue for a hidden activity or container. |
Activity Context Menu
By default, all relevant Eclipse context items are displayed in the right-mouse button menu of an activity on the Process Editor canvas.
To hide these items, uncheck Show Non-Process Developer Context Menu Items.
You can hide:
- •Compare with
- •Debug as
- •Profile as
- •Replace with
- •Run as
- •Team
- •Validate
- •Wikitext
Process Editor Tabs
You can hide the Fault Handlers, Event Handlers, and Source tabs of the Process Editor. Hide these items by removing the check mark from Show tabs other than Process Activities.
Relationships View Preferences
Set the default layout for Relationships view, which shows you a graphical representation of dependencies and references of BPEL, WSDL, XSD, and other artifacts in relation to the file open in the editor.
The Relationships view shows you a graphical representation of dependencies and references of BPEL, WSDL, XSD, and other artifacts in relation to the file open in the editor.
Set the preferences as follows:
- •Depth Limit. If a file has imports and the import has imports, you can see these different levels. The default depth limit is two, for one file importing another.
- •Layout Options. Several graphical layout styles are available. Select the one that works best for the file that is open in the editor. The default is a Directed graph, which is like a tree, but with better horizontal control.
Tasks and Problems Preferences
You can enable and create your own tags for tasks.
Select Window > Preferences > Process Developer > Tasks and Problems to view these preferences.
Enable user-defined task tags | Select the check box to use your own tags for creating tasks. |
Add a task tag | Add a tag, and then use the tag in an activity's Comment dialog. The text is added as a Task in Tasks view. It is also part of hover help for the activity. For details, see Add Task Tag. Process Developer provides two default tags: @todo, with a Normal priority and TODO with a High priority. |
Enable error problems | Select this check box to display all validation errors when you save your file. A validation error refers to an invalid BPEL element definition. For example, if you drag a Receive activity to the canvas without specifying the partner link, operation, and variable, error problems are generated for each missing attribute. If you do not want to be reminded of problems, deselect this check box. Before simulating execution, be sure to enable error problems and make corrections. |
Enable warning problems | Select this check box to display all validation warnings when you save your file. A validation warning can refer to unused resources, such as variables and partner links, unsupported expression languages, or other potential errors. If you do not want to be reminded of warnings, deselect this check box. If your processes use Correlation Sets, it is highly recommended that you enable warning problems. A warning problem appears if correlation is missing from activities that handle correlated messages. |
Enable info problems | Select this check box to display all information messages when you save your file. If you do not want to be reminded of information messages, you can deselect this check box. |
Identity Chooser Preference
Select a group from your enterprise's directory. Fill in the details for the service that identifies your organization's group names. Process Developer communicates with the service to present Group Names in certain activities
Select Window > Preferences > Process Developer > Identity Chooser to view the settings page.
This preference, which allows you to specify the location of an identity service, is currently used only with the People activity, an activity that incorporates human interaction within the process. For details, refer to Human Tasks within the Process Developer Help.
You can set an endpoint and credential for two identity services: the Identity Chooser used for group member selection and the Admin Service used for creating a people query in the Process Deployment Descriptor Editor.
Identity Chooser
When the Process Server is running, you can open the Process Deployment Descriptor Editor, and on the People tab, there is a selection for the Identity Chooser dialog. When you select Refresh, this action submits a request to the Identity Service enabled in Process Server. The list of group names from your organization's directory, or from your file-based identity service, is retrieved. The group names can be selected for a Logical People Group during deployment.
On the Identity Chooser page of Process Developer Preferences, you can define communication details for accessing the identity service needed for the Identity Chooser as follows:
Endpoint | Modify the default host:port section of the Endpoint URL for the Process Server. The default URL points to a server running on localhost:8080. Modify only the host and port values to point to your server. |
Username | Type in the user name credential, if needed, to access the Process Developer aeIdentityService. Your Process Server administrator can provide the user name and password associated with the abIdentityListConsumer role that enables security for the identity service from Process Developer. Information about this role is included in the Server, Installation, Configuration, and Deployment sections of this help. Note that the user name and password may be the same one you type in when deploying a BPR file as a Web Service, as described in Creating and Deploying a Business Process Archive Contribution. |
Password | Type in the Password for the above user name |
Using the Identity Chooser
Use the Identity Chooser to return a list of groups in your organization for selecting Logical People Groups in a People activity.
Before selecting the Identity Chooser, you must do the following:
- •Ensure that the Process Server is running, described in Setting Up the Embedded Process Server.
- •Ensure that the Informatica Process Identity Service Preference page is filled in correctly on the server
For details on the Identity Chooser, refer to the Human Tasks (Process Developer) Guide.
Admin Service
The Admin Service communicates with the server to retrieve configuration settings for creating a people query for a Logical People Group. Refer to the descriptions above for Identity Chooser for adding communication details.
Your Process Server administrator can provide the username and password associated with the abAdmin role needed for the ActiveBpelAdmin service.
Additional Preferences
In addition to the general workspace preferences described in Process Developer Preferences, refer to the following preference pages, described in other sections:
- •Remote Debugging Preferences
- •Simulation Preferences