Recording and playing back process

You can invoke process versions from within Workbench for testing purposes. Invoking directly is useful for focusing only on the process version functionality.

After focusing on the process version, you should perform tests that mimic usage scenarios that are expected in the production environment. (See Testing using realistic scenarios .)

When you invoke process versions directly, specify values for input variables. The results of the process execution appear in a dialog box. The information that the dialog box provides depends on whether the process version is long-lived or short-lived:

Long-lived:

The dialog box indicates the identification of the process instance. (See also Short-lived processes and long-lived processes .)

Short-lived:

The dialog box indicates the values of the output variables for the process instance.

If you invoke a process version multiple times, you can either use the same values for input variables or specify different values.

Keep in mind that you can optionally record process executions and play them back when invoking a process.

To invoke a process version directly:

1. In the Applications view, right-click the process version and select Invoke Process.

2. Specify values for the input variables of the process version. Required values are denoted with an asterisk (*):

   • If you previously invoked the process version directly, the input variables are automatically configured with the previously-used values.

   • To change all existing values, click Reset to remove the values and then specify new values.

3. (Optional) To record process executions, do one of the following:

   • Short-lived process: To record process executions and play them back, select Enable and Playback Recording.

   • Long-lived process: To record process executions, select Enable Recording.

4. Click OK.

If the process version is open, you can right-click an unused area of the process diagram to access the Invoke Process command.

Invoke process versions to execute them and create process instances. You can invoke process versions by using various tools that AEM forms provides:

• AEM forms programming APIs and EJB, SOAP, and remoting end points.

• Watched Folder or Email endpoints.

• Workspace and TaskManager endpoints. (For information about processes that integrate with Workspace, see Designing human-centric processes .)

After you activate a process version, EJB, SOAP, and Remoting endpoints are automatically created for the process version’s service. You must manually create Watched Folder, Email, and Task Manager endpoints by using Applications and Services.

For more information about creating endpoints, see “Managing Endpoints” in Applications and Services Administration Help.

Open recordings in playback mode so that you can see the routes that were followed at run time and to play the recording.

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A.

Playback controls

B.

Route that was followed

To open a recording in playback mode, you select the recording from a list of existing recordings. The list provides the following information so that you can identify the recording that you are interested in:

Process Instance ID:

The unique identification of the process instance that was recorded.

Recording Started:

The date and time when the recorded process instance was invoked.

Process Version:

The number of the process version, and the date and time when the revision was saved.

Recordings are associated with the revision of the process version that they are made with. When you open a recording that was created with a prior revision of a process version, the process diagram appears as it did for that revision.

For example, after you create a recording for a process version, you add an operation to the process map and save the changes. The recording that you created is associated with the previous revision of the process version. When you open the process recording in playback mode, the process diagram appears without the operation that you saved in the latest revision.

You can specify that recordings for a process version are deleted automatically when the process version is saved. (See Customizing record and playback behavior .)

You need to be assigned the Process Administrator role or have the Process Recording Read/Delete permission to play and delete recordings. Contact your AEM forms administrator, or use administration console to set these permissions.

To open a recording in playback mode:

1. In the Applications view, right-click the process version to play a recording for and select Record And Playback > Play Process Recording.

2. Select the recording to play and then click OK.

If the process version is open, you can right-click an unused area of the process diagram to access the Record And Playback commands.

Play recorded process instances to observe process behavior at run time. When playing, you can see variable values at each operation, and information about any errors that have occurred. (See Interpreting recordings .)

When playing recordings, the progress line indicates the current state of the process instance during execution:

• Ticks on the progress line represent the operations that executed at run time.

• The direction of progress is from left to right. The first tick on the progress line represents the process before it is executed.

• The slider on the progress line indicates the current state of progression. The tick where the slider is positioned represents the last operation that completed executing. This operation is also highlighted on the process diagram.

For example, a progress line that includes five ticks indicates that four operations executed at run time. If the slider is located at the third tick during playback, the second of the four operations has completed executing.

You can either play the entire recording or manually step through the recording. Manually stepping through the recording allows more time for observing variable values at each operation.

You can specify the amount of time that playback pauses at each tick. (See Customizing record and playback behavior .)

Visual indicators on the process diagram provide information about the results of the process execution:

• Routes that were followed during execution are highlighted in green. Routes that were not followed are blue.

• As you play or manually step through the recording, the last operation that completed executing is highlighted. The color of the operation indicates the success of its execution:

  • Green indicates that the operation executed successfully.

• Red indicates that an error occurred during execution.

Use the Variables view to see the run-time values of variables:

• The values correspond with the current state of execution during playback.

• Variables whose values changed are highlighted in green. Variables are highlighted only at the steps that cause a change to occur.

• Values of simple data types appear on the view. Values of complex data types are displayed in a separate dialog box.

• If a variable value is a document, you can open the document in the application that it is associated with. For example, if your operating system associates XML files with a web browser, then XML files open in the web browser.

• If a variable is used to store form data and the form location, you can open the form and see the form data.

The Variables view also shows information about any errors that occurred during execution. Errors in the view are highlighted in red. The columns contain the following information:

Name:

Contains Error .

Type:

The type of error and the error message.

Value:

An ellipsis button that opens an Error dialog box that shows the error message and stack trace. Use this information to determine the cause of the error.

If no errors occurred during execution, no Error row appears in the Variables view.

To see variable values during playback:

When the recording is playing, see the value in the Value column of the Variables view. For complex data types, documents, lists, and maps, click the ellipsis button to see the data or open the document .

Right-click a variable and select Copy to copy the value of the variable. You can paste the value in an email message for communicating with other developers.