Working with Applications

Applications provide business users and data stewards with a customized access to the master data and with human workflows for managing this master data.

Introduction to Applications

The model contains entities describing all the master of the enterprise. Business users and data stewards require specific access to the master data the hub, depending on their roles and privileges.

This access should:

For example, a deployed model contains customer, contact, employee and cost center entities:

Such an access to specific access to the master data is defined in Semarchy Convergence for MDM using Applications.

An application provides the following features:

Tip: From a single holistic model that includes all the master data domains ( customers, suppliers, products, HR, etc.), you can define several applications ( Customer Data Hub, Product Information Management, HR Hub etc.) for all the business roles and responsibilities of the enterprise. An application will expose to users the data and workflows appropriate to their roles.

Applications

An application is made up of the following components:

The Home page, Search feature, Dashboards and Entities are automatically generated. The Application Structure, Folders, Business Object Views and Human Workflows are created as part of the application design.

Note: When a model is created or upgraded from an older Convergence for MDM version, a simple application called Default Application is automatically created. This application contains no business object views or workflow.

Note: When accessing an MDM hub (a data edition), you can select one of the applications deployed with this data edition.

Objects and Views

In an application, business users can browse and edit the content of the MDM Hub using user-friendly views called Business Object Views.

A business object view joins two elements:

Design Process

When designing an application, the Semarchy designer creates:

  1. Various Forms Views and Table Views to define the layout of the entities used in the application.
  2. Various Business Objects by assembling Entities Objects (from the entities) and organizing them through Transitions (based on the relations).
  3. Various Business Object Views that will state how these business objects must be displayed using the configured form and table views.

Note: Business Objects, Form and Table views can be reused in several Business Object Views across the applications attached to the model. The business object defines a functional group of related entities. The business object view defines how a business object is displayed in a specific application.

Table Views

Table views are views used to display a list of records for a given entity.

Such a table has is an ordered list of Table Attributes (columns in the table), and each attribute displays a SemQL expression built from the attributes of the entity. It is possible for all attributes to provide a Custom Label for the table attribute as well as a Display Type .

For example, to display a list of Employee records, we define two table views:

The first view will be used in most cases, and the second view will be relevant for applications dedicated to HR users.

The example below shows a table view in action for an Employee entity.

Form Views

Form views are views used to display the details for one record for a given entity.

A form view is organized in ordered Form Sections that contains an ordered list ordered list of Form Section Attributes.

Similarly to the attributes of the Table Views, the form section attributes:

Form views support two types of layout:

Both a grid and a flow layout can be defined for a form view. Switching from grid to flow is performed by user actions or automatically depending on the size of the browser window.

The figures below show a form view for an employee entity in action with a flow layout, then with a grid layout.

Display Types

Each form or table attribute can be associated with a Display Type. The display type defines the graphical component used to show the attribute’s value in the table or form view. The graphical component can be configured using its display properties.

The available display types are listed in the following table:

Display Component Description
Embedded Binary Displays the content of the binary attribute in an embedded frame. Use this type to display any application data or document supported in a browser (PDF, Video, etc.), stored in binary format. Note that in table views, the content will be displayed in a popup dialog linked from the table view.
Binary Popup Displays the content of the binary attribute in a popup dialog. Use this type to display any application data or document supported in a browser (PDF, Video, etc.), stored in binary format.
Checkbox Displays a checkbox representing the Boolean value of the attribute.
Complex Displays the complex type’s display name with a button that expands in a popup the list of complex attributes.
Date Displays a date chooser.
Embedded Content Displays the content of the attribute in an embedded frame. Use this type to display any application data or document supported in a browser stored in text format (for example HTML, JavaScript or XML). This text will be interpreted by the client browser. Note that in table views, the content will be displayed in a popup dialog linked from the table view.
Content Popup Displays the content of the attribute in a popup dialog. Use this type to display any application data or document supported in a browser stored in text format (for example HTML, JavaScript or XML). This text will be interpreted by the client browser.
Embedded URL Displays the resource referred to by the attribute value in an embedded frame. The attribute value must be an URL. Use this type to display any application data or document supported in a browser (PDF, Video, etc.) stored in a remote location. Note that in table views, the content will be displayed in a popup dialog linked from the table view. Note than this display type renders a blank frame in most browsers if the referenced URL prevents frame/iframe embedding using “X-Frame-Options” in the HTTP response header.
Hyperlink Displays a hyperlink contained in the attribute value. Note that you can use a displayed string different from the URL by putting a pipe sign (vertical bar) between the display string and the URL to link.
Generated ID Displays the ID attribute with a generated value that cannot be modified.
Generated ID (Editable) Displays the ID attribute with a generated value that can be modified.
Manual ID Displays the ID attribute as a value to set manually.
Image Displays the binary data stored in the attribute as an image. This display type supports Scaling Mode and Alignment properties.
Image Popup Displays the binary data stored in the attribute as a popup dialog.
Image URL Displays the resource referred to by the attribute value as an image. The attribute value must be an URL. This display type supports Scaling Mode and Alignment properties.
Image URL Popup Displays the resource referred to by the attribute value as an image in a popup dialog. The attribute value must be an URL.
Text Displays the attribute value a text field. This display type supports Alignment and Multi-line display properties.
Long Text Displays the attribute value as a long text field. This display type supports Alignment and Multi-line display properties.
Drop-Down List Displays the list of values attribute as a drop-down list.
List Box Displays the list of values attribute as a list box.
Multi-Value Zone Displays the list of values attribute as a multi-value zone.
Multi-Value List Box Displays the list of values attribute as a list box that supports multiple selection.
Reference Picker Displays the reference as a reference picker.

Note: Each display type is appropriate for displaying certain data. Only the display types relevant for given attribute are available when editing this attribute in the workbench.

Business Objects

A Business Object is a composite object made up from a set of related entities. It is a functional subset of the model.
For example, the Company Hierarchy business object includes information from the Cost Center and the Employee entities, and uses the relations that link employees to managers, cost centers to parent cost centers, and employees to cost centers.

Entities used in the business object are defined as Entity Objects. A given entity may appear several times in the same business object. For example, the Customer entity may be used in a business object twice, once to describe the Domestic Customers and once for the International Customers. An entity object is a direct link to an entity, associated with a Filter.

Transitions enable the navigation between entity objects within a given business object. The transitions are created based on the relationship references defined between the entities. For example, if the Cost Center entity is related to the Employee entity through the Employee has Cost Center reference relationship, it is possible in a business object to create a transition to navigate from the cost center to the reporting employees.

A business object is always defined with a Root Entity Object. This root entity object is the entry point of the business object.
For example, in the Company Hierarchy business object, the root entity object is created from the Cost Center entity, filtered to only return the root cost centers in the hierarchy of cost centers (that is those with no parent cost center).

Business Object Views

A Business Object View defines how a business object is displayed:

Business object views are defined within an application, and serve two purposes:

  1. They are used to browse data in a user friendly way from the Application Structure.
  2. They are used to edit data in the hub as part of a Data Entry Activity.

The following example shows one instance of the CostCenter business object, displayed through a business object view. The CostCenter business object uses CostCenter as its root object (filtered to show only the root cost centers), and has transitions to the Child Cost Centers (this transition recurses to show an infinite depth of cost centers) and to the cost center’s Reporting Employees. The form and tables used to display each node of the hierarchy are defined in the business object view.

Human Workflows

Human Workflows enable business users to manage the data in the MDM hub via an application.
When users want to manage the master data, they initiate an Activity based on a predefined human workflow. This activity follows the workflow through Transitions and Tasks which are assigned to roles, claimed, processed and then completed by users. The last task of a workflow can submit (or cancel) the data changes done in the activity, and start a data certification process with these changes.

There are two types of human workflows in Semarchy:

Workflow Lifecycle

A workflow is a set of tasks, linked by transitions. A running or completed workflow instance is called an Activity.
An activity is initiated from an Application. When an activity runs, it executes a single task at a time. A task is assigned to a role declared in Semarchy. Such a task can be claimed by a user having this role. This user then can perform data entry or duplicate management operations. When the task is completed, the user completes the task and moves it through a transition to another task.

The task may finish the activity either via a submit or a cancel operation. The cancel operation cancels any duplicate management or data entry action, and the submit operation submits into the hub the data entry or duplicate management transaction. After a submit operation, an integration job is started to certify the changes performed in the activity.

Transaction

An activity carries along a Load Transaction (equivalent to an external load) which contains the duplicates modified or the records manually entered by the users. This transaction attached to the activity, and is transferred with the activity when a task is assigned to a role. This enables multiple entry/edition points and validations steps as part of the workflow.

Creating an Application

An application provides a customized access to the MDM Hub.

To create an application:

  1. Right-click the Applications node and select Add Application.... The Create New Application wizard opens.
  2. In the Create New Application wizard, check the Auto Fill option and then enter the following values:
  3. Click Finish to close the wizard. The Application editor opens.
  4. In the Description field, optionally enter a description for the Application.
  5. If you want to add or remove features from the application, or restrict feature access to certain roles, select in the Available Features section the features to activate and the required roles for each activated feature.
  6. Save the editor.

Tip: It is possible to create multiple applications for a single model and to support different views to this model. For example, a simple application for users browsing the hub through the Business Object Views, another application supporting in addition data entry workflows, and a third application for data stewards showing in addition the details of the entities.

Creating Views and Objects

Views and object define how business users and data stewards see the MDM hub content in an application.

Creating Table Views

A Table View provides a layout for displaying a list of records for a given entity.

To create a table view:

  1. Right-click the Table Views node under an entity and select Add Table View.... The Create New Table View wizard opens.
  2. In the Create New Table View wizard, enter the following values:
  3. Click Finish to close the wizard. The Table View editor opens.

The table view editor display a list of available attributes and a table showing all the attributes from the table view, with their label and SemQL expression.

To add attributes to a table view:

  1. In the Table View editor’s Table tab, drag an attribute from the available Attributes list to the list of table attributes. The new attribute is added to the table attributes table:
  2. To edit an attribute, select the Properties view, and then select the attribute in the attributes table. The Properties view shows all its properties, including:

Note: You can add not only attributes from the entity, but also attributes of entities related to the current entity (For example, an employee’s parent Cost Center name), or any complex SemQL expression.

Tip! You can alternately select (by pressing the CTRL key) and drag and drop multiple attributes from the attribute list.

To remove an attribute from a table view:

  1. Select the attribute in the attributes table.
  2. Click the Delete Selection button in the editor toolbar and confirm the deletion. The attribute is removed from the table.

Creating Form Views

A Form View provides an organized layout for displaying a given entity record in a form. It is composed of several Form Sections, each section containing Form Attributes.

Form view are arranged either using a vertical Flow Layout, where section and attributes are simply ordered, or a Grid Layout, where each section and attribute is positioned on a grid. You may design a form with one or both layouts. When both layouts are available, the form view switches from grid to flow layout either by user action, or automatically when the display falls below a certain width.

To create a form view:

  1. Right-click the Form Views node under an entity and select Add Form View.... The Create New Form View wizard opens.
  2. In the Create New Form View wizard, enter the following values:
  3. Click Finish to close the wizard. The Form View editor opens.

Warning: To design both the flow and grid layouts for the form view, you must have either User Layout Switch or Auto Layout Switch activated. Otherwise, you can only design the layout selected in the Default Layout.

When working with the Form View editor:

Configuring the Form

In the Overview tab, you can configure the following parameters:

Flow Layout Design

In the flow layout, you define and order form sections containing form attributes.

To add a form section:

  1. In the Flow tab of the Form View editor, click the Add Form Section button in the toolbar. A new form section is added to the list.
  2. Edit the Name and Label for this section directly in the table or in the Properties view.
  3. Optionally, you can:

Note: A section or attribute can be visible in the flow and/or grid layout. Changing an attribute or section visibility with the Toggle Selection Visibility button does not remove it from the form, and can be reverted. Using the Remove Selection button deletes the attribute or section from the form entirely, which cannot be undone.

To delete a form section:

  1. In the Flow tab of the Form View editor, select the form section and then click the Delete Selection button.
  2. Confirm your choice. The section and all its form attributes are deleted.

To add a form attribute:

  1. In the Flow tab of the Form View editor, drag an attribute from the available Attributes list to an existing form section. The new attribute is added under the form section. You can now:
  2. Select the Properties view and then select the attribute in the attributes table. The Properties view shows all the attribute properties, including:

Certain properties available for form attributes are used specifically in the flow layout:

Tip! You can alternately select (by pressing the CTRL key) and drag and drop multiple attributes from the attribute list. If you drag them into a section, they are added to this section. If you drag them outside of the sections, a new section is automatically created.

To remove an attribute from a form section:

  1. Select the attribute in the attributes table.
  2. Click the Delete Selection button and confirm the deletion. The attribute is removed from the form section.

Grid Layout Design

In the grid layout, each section and each attribute is positioned at an absolute position on a grid, and has a defined height and width.

To add a new form section:

  1. In the Grid tab of the Form View editor, click the Form Section button or drag the button to a position in the grid. A new form section is added to the grid.
  2. In the Properties view set the following properties for the new section:

Tip! Use the toolbar to move and re-size faster the selected form section or attribute. Multiple selection is supported.

To add an existing form section:

  1. Drag an existing form section from the Outline view to the grid. The section is added to the grid and you can edit it from the Properties view.

To delete a form section:

  1. Select the form section from the grid and then click the Delete Selection button.
  2. Confirm your choice. The section and all its form attributes are deleted.

To add a new form attribute:

  1. In the Grid tab of the Form View editor, drag an attribute from the available Attributes list to an existing section in the grid. The new attribute is added to the grid.
  2. Select the Properties view and then select the attribute in the grid. The Properties view shows all the attribute properties, including:

Tip! You can drag and drop multiple attributes from the attribute list to the grid. If they are dropped on an existing section, they are added to the section. If they are dropped on the grid, a section is automatically created around these attributes.

To add an existing form attribute:

  1. Drag an existing form attribute from the Outline view to the grid. The section is added to the grid and you can edit it from the Properties view.

To remove an attribute from a form section:

  1. Select the attribute in the grid.
  2. Click the Delete Selection button and confirm the deletion. The attribute is removed from the form section.

Creating Business Objects

A Business Object is a composite object made up from a set of related entities. It is a functional subset of the model.

To create a new business object:

  1. Right-click the Business Objects node and select Add Business Object.... The Create New Business Object wizard opens.
  2. In the Create New Business Object wizard, enter the following values:
  3. Click Next.
  4. In the second page of the Create New Business Object wizard, check the Auto Fill option and then enter the following values:
  5. Click Next.
  6. Enter a Root Filter expression for the Business Object. This filter selects only the records of the root entity that should appear when opening the business object. For example, in a business object representing the hierarchy of Cost Centers, we should filter only the cost centers with no parent cost center. The navigation to child cost centers will be defined later in the business object.
  7. Click Finish to close the wizard. The Business Object editor opens.
  8. Press CTRL+S to save the new business object.

After creating a business object, only the records of the root entity filtered by the root filter are displayed (for example, the root Cost Centers of the hierarchy). To include more entities in the business object (for example, child Cost Centers or Employees reporting to the cost centers), it is necessary to create Transitions to other Entity Objects.

You can create transitions from the root entity object or from any entity object in the business object.

To create transitions:

  1. Create a transition from the root entity object or from another entity object:
  2. In the Create New Business Object Transition wizard, enter the following values:
  3. Click Next.
  4. The target of the transition may be either a New Entity Object or an Existing Entity Object:

Tip: It is possible to create hierarchies with infinite depth by creating a transition from an entity object to itself. For example, to create a hierarchy of cost centers, create a business object with a Cost center as the root entity object (call it CostCenterEO) and a root filter selecting only the cost centers with no parents (e.g.: ParentCostCenter is null). Then add a transition using the self-relation linking parent and child cost centers, and transition to the existing CostCenterEO.

Creating Business Object Views

Warning: Before creating the Business Object Views, make sure that the appropriate business objects are created and that forms and table views exist for all the entities involved in these business objects.

To create a business object view:

  1. Right-click the Business Object Views node and select Add Business Object View.... The Create New Business Object View wizard opens.
  2. In the Create New Business Object View wizard, check the Auto Fill option and then enter the following values:
  3. Click Finish to close the wizard. The Business Object View editor opens.

Advanced Business Object View Configuration

When the business object view is created, every entity object in the hierarchy of the related business object maps to:

It is also possible to configure a customized Sort Expression for the records in the node, and a customized Display Name for showing the records the hierarchy tree.

If the form views used contain references pointing to other entities, you can define for these references how References Browsing (for browsing data) and References Selection (for data entry) will behave.

To configure the views and the references behavior:

  1. In the Business Object View editor, in the Hierarchy section, review the Form/Table Views associated with the business object’s entity objects. To change or set one of these views:
    1. Select a node in the hierarchy corresponding to the entity object. The Properties view shows the Entity Object Form View properties.
    2. In the Name and Definition section, select a Table View, a Form View and optionally a Data Entry Form View.
    3. Select the Customized Sort options and then set a SemQL Sort Expression to define the default sort order.
    4. Select User-Defined Sort to allow users to define their own sort order for this node in the hierarchy.
  2. Optionally configure the references navigation:
    1. Select the References Browsing section in the Properties view.
    2. Click the Refresh button in the Properties view toolbar to refresh the list of browsable references.
    3. For each reference listed, select a Browsing Target: Not Browsable makes the reference not navigable, Default Form View opens a popup with the default form view for the entity and Business Object View opens a business object view that contains in its hierarchy the target of the reference. If you select a Business Object View target, then you can select a Target Business Object View
  3. Optionally configure the references selection:
    1. Select the References Selection section in the Properties view.
    2. Click the Refresh button in the Properties view toolbar to refresh the list of selectable references.
    3. For each reference listed, select a whether the reference selection component should display a Reference ID Input Field. If this option is not selected, the only way to select a reference is via a reference picker popup dialog.
    4. Optionally set for each reference a Reference Picker Filter. This filter restricts the possible selection. Such a filter is used for example when selecting the Customer referenced by a Contact, to filter only those of the Customers located in the same country as the Contact.
  4. Repeat the previous step to assign the correct view to each entity object and transition.
  5. Press CTRL+S to save the editor.

Tips for Creating Views and Objects

Creating Views for Specific Purposes

It is recommended to create different business objects/table/forms views for specific purposes. From the same business object, it is possible to design several different views that serve a variety of purposes. For example, create different business object views for browsing the same data with a reduced number or attributes for certain users and a more comprehensive set of attributes for power users.

It is not necessary to have business object view dedicated to data entry, as a business object view references different form views for browsing and for data entry. If you want to create business object views that will be used only for data entry, make sure to create them with the Visible flag un-selected, so that they do not appear in the application structure.

Selecting Attributes for Views

The form/table views designed and used in a business object view define the attributes visible when the business object is used.

Key Attributes

The key for a record depends on the context (master record, golden record, source record, etc.) as well as the type of entity (fuzzy or exact matching). To make form design simpler and consistent, you can simply include the primary key attribute for the entity in the form or table view. Depending on the context and entity type, the correct attribute will be displayed. For example, for a source record of a fuzzy matching entity, the SourceID will be displayed. Unless you want to have a specifically one of the key attributes displayed (Golden ID, SourceID, etc.), you should not specifically add one of these in the form or table view.

Data Entry Form Views

For data entry purposes, certain attributes are required in the form views:

Warning: When creating a business object view, make sure that the form views set for data entry include the primary key attribute.

Organizing the Application with Folders

You can use folders to organize the business object views in the application.

Creating Folders

To create a folder:

  1. Double-click the Folders node under the application. The Application opens on the Folders section.
  2. Click the Add Root Folders button to create a root folder, or select an existing folder and select Add Child Folder... to create a sub-folder. The Create New Folder wizard opens.
  3. In the Create New Folder wizard, check the Auto Fill option and then enter the following values:
  4. Click Finish to close the wizard. The Folder is added to the list of folders.

Moving Business Object Views into Folders

You can select the folder containing a business object view when creating this business object view, or change it afterwards.

To move a business object view into a folder:

  1. In the application, expand the Business Object Views node and then double-click the business object view. The Business Object View editor opens.
  2. In the Business Object section of this editor, select the ... (Select a Value) button in front Folder field.
    1. In the folder selector, select one of the folders of the application and then click OK
  3. Press CTRL+S to save the editor.

Creating Human Workflows

Human Workflows enable business users to manage the data in the MDM hub via an application.

Creating a New Duplicate Management Workflow

To create a duplicate management workflow:

  1. Right-click the Human Workflows node and select Add Duplicate Management Workflow.... The Create New Duplicates Workflow wizard opens.
  2. In the Create New Duplicates Workflow wizard, check the Auto Fill option and then enter the following values:
  3. Click Finish to close the wizard. The Duplicates Workflow editor opens.

Creating a New Data Entry Workflow

To create a data entry workflow:

  1. Right-click the Human Workflows node and select Add Data Entry Workflow.... The Create New Data Entry Workflow wizard opens.
  2. In the Create New Data Entry Workflow wizard, check the Auto Fill option and then enter the following values:
  3. Click Next. In the next page, select the actions available for this workflow:
  4. Click Next.
  5. In the Business Object Views page, select a Business Object View in the Available BO Views list and then click the Add >> button to add it to the Selected BO Views.
  6. Repeat the previous operation to add other BO Views to this workflow.
  7. Order the Business Object Views using the Move Up and Move Down buttons. The Business Object Views are displayed in this order at run-time.
  8. Click Finish to close the wizard. The Data Entry Workflow editor opens.

The Workflow Editor

The workflow editor displays the workflow as a diagram. This diagram is used to configure, add tasks and transitions to the workflow.

This workflow contains by default the following elements:
* A Start Event that represents the startup point for this workflow. All the start tasks are linked from this event.
* An End Event that represents the completion point for this workflow. This event is preceded by two built-in tasks called Submit Data and Cancel Data that represent the submit and cancel operations that finish a workflow.
* A Task that is linked from the Start Event and that links to the Submit Data and Cancel Data built-in tasks. This task is a placeholder that can be removed or modified.

Note: It is possible to link the start event to your tasks, but your tasks cannot link directly to the end event. They must transition to the built-in Submit Data and Cancel Data tasks that finish the workflow.

Configuring the Workflow

The workflow can be configured from the Properties view. Click the background of the workflow diagram to open the workflow properties.

All workflow have the following properties sections:

Data Entry workflows have specific properties sections:

Duplicate Management workflows have specific properties sections:

Adding a Task

To add a task from the diagram:

  1. In the Workflow diagram, select the Add Task tool in the Palette.
  2. Click the diagram. The Create New Task wizard appears.
  3. In the Create New Task wizard, check the Auto Fill option and then enter the following values:

The new task appears in the diagram. If it is the first task added to this workflow, it is linked from the start event.

Configuring a Task

A task selected in the workflow is configured from the Properties view.
The Name and Definition properties section contains the following properties: Name, Label, Description and Assigned to Role.

For data entry workflows' tasks, it is in addition possible to:

Tip: Task-specific Business Object Views help deliver an optimal experience for the data entry process. Enrichers triggered in tasks add interactivity in the data entry. Validations on tasks enforce data quality as part of the data entry process by proactively detecting errors.

Overriding Business Object Views in Tasks

A task of a data entry workflow can override the default business object views from the workflow and use a different set of business object views.

Setting Business Object Views on tasks allows workflow designers to specialize the data entry experience for each task of the workflow. For example, a first task uses a Business Object View to edit simple attributes, and a second (optional) task uses a different one to edit advanced attributes.

To override business object views in tasks:

  1. Select the task in the workflow diagram. The Properties view displays this task’s properties.
  2. Select the Business Object Views section in the Properties view.
  3. Click the Define Managed Business Object Views button in the Properties view toolbar. The Manage Tasks dialog opens.
  4. Select the appropriate Available Business Object Views and click the Add >> button to add them to the Selected Business Object Views
  5. Order the Business Object Views using the Move Up and Move Down buttons. The Business Object Views are displayed in this order at run-time.
  6. Click Finish to close the dialog.
  7. Select the Name and Definition section in the Properties view.
  8. Select the Override BO Views option. This option must be selected in order to take into account the BO Views of the task instead of those from the workflow.

Configuring Enrichers and Validations in Tasks

A task of a data entry workflow can provide interactive feedback to the user. This feedback includes:

The following sections are available in the Properties view for configuring the interactive feedback for data entry tasks:

Note: Enrichers triggered in a task modify the data entered in the transaction. The modified data is persisted in the transaction.

The triggers for validations and enrichers in a given task are:

Note: When they have the same execution trigger, enrichers are always executed before validations.

Tip: The validations at a task level have an informational purpose, and do not prevent a user from entering incorrect data. You may prevent the user from proceeding with the workflow using transition validations. See Configuring Enrichers and Validations in Transitions for more information.

Adding a Transition

A transition links to tasks in the diagram.

To add a transition from the diagram:

  1. In the Workflow diagram, select the Add Transition tool in the Palette.
  2. Select a task the diagram or the Start event. Keep the mouse button pressed, and move the cursor to the next task in the workflow, or the built-in Submit or Cancel tasks.
  3. Release the mouse button.

The transition is created and a link appears between the two elements in the diagram.

Note: Transitions have a direction. If a transition goes from Task_A to Task_B, it only means that you can move in the activity from Task_A to Task_B. If you want to move from Task_B to Task_A, then you must create another transition in the other direction.

Configuring a Transition

A transition selected in the workflow is configured from the Properties view.
The Name and Definition properties section contains the following task properties: Name, Label and Description. Label and description are customized only if the Use Custom Label option is selected. By default, a transition is named after the target task of this transition.

Configuring Enrichers and Validations in Transitions

A transition of a data entry workflow can enforce data quality checks. These checks warn the user of possible data issues and can optionally block the transition.

The following sections are available in the Properties view for configuring the checks for data entry transitions:

Note: Selected enrichers are always executed before validations.

Warning: Validations marked as Block prevent the workflow from proceeding through the transition. Validation marked as Warn may be ignored by the user.

Validating an Application

An application or a component of the application (business objects, workflow) must be validated to ensure its correct behavior after deployment and raise possible issues. For example, in a workflow, a task that cannot be reached or a task that cannot lead to the end of the workflow.

To validate the application or one component from the diagram:

  1. In the Model Design view, select the node corresponding to your application, business process or human workflow, right-click and then select Validate.
  2. The validation process starts. At the end of the process, the list of issues (errors and warnings) is displayed in the Validation Log view. You can click an error or waning to open the object causing this issue.

The workflow is also validated as part of the overall model validation.

Opening an Application

You can connect the deployed applications from the Welcome page.

To open an application:

  1. Open a new tab in your web browser and connect to the URL that provided by your administrator. For example http://<host>:<port>/semarchy/ where <host> and <port> represent the name and port of the host running the Semarchy application. If you are not logged in yet, the Login Form is displayed.
  2. Enter your user name and password.
  3. Click Log In. The Semarchy Welcome page opens.
  4. In the welcome page, recently connected and available applications and data editions appear as buttons named as follows: <application_name> [<data edition>] (<data location name>).

The application opens.

Tip: You can bookmark the URL when connected to a given application to return directly to this application.

Tip: When designing applications, changes made to the views, business objects, applications and workflows are directly applied to the development data location without having to go through a model deployment or update procedure. You simply need to refresh the browser tab connected to the application to see these changes.

Applications Global Configuration

All applications running in a Convergence for MDM instance share configuration properties such as the header logo or the export limits. These properties are configured from the Administration Console. See the "Managing the Platform" chapter in the "Semarchy Convergence for MDM Administration Guide" for more information.