Common variable properties

Some properties are common to all variable types. These properties are described in this section instead of in each operation section in the reference.

    Implicit properties

    All service operations have the implicit properties Name, Title, Description, and Type. The list and map variable types are collections and have the Subtype property, which defines the type of data that they contain.

    Name

    A name that identifies the variable in the process data model. The name must be a valid XML element name and therefore cannot contain spaces or special characters. The name must be unique to the process.

    Title

    (Optional) A name that identifies the variable if it is exposed in a user interface such as Workspace. If no value is provided for Title, the value of the Name property is used by default.

    Description

    A brief explanation of the purpose or contents of the variable. The description is useful for communicating the purpose of the variable to other process developers.

    Type

    The variable type, which coincides with the type of data that it stores. For example, a string variable stores string data.

    Subtype

    (Collections) The type of data that list and map variables store.

    General

    Properties that specify whether the variable is involved in storing data when the process is initiated or is completed.

    Required

    Select this option to specify that the data this variable stores must be provided when the process is invoked. If this option is not selected, providing the data when invoking the process is optional.

    Input

    Select this option to specify that the variable is a parameter that data is provided for when invoking the process. The variable stores the data when the process is invoked. For example, if the purpose of a process is to manipulate a PDF document, create a document variable and select the In property.

    Output

    Select this option to specify that the data the variable stores is provided in the process results. The results are available to the client that invoked the process when the process is complete.

    Enduser UI items

    Properties that specify whether Workspace users can interact with the data that variables store. These properties are applicable to these variable types:

    • boolean

    • byte

    • date

    • date-time

    • decimal

    • double

    • float

    • int

    • long

    • short

    • string

    Searchable

    Select this option to make the variable available as search criteria for Workspace users.

    Visible In UI

    Select this option to display the variable as task data to users in Workspace.