The Flow Pane

The Flow Pane contains the sequence of actions, layers of functionality, and additional properties of the selected step. It contains the following tabs:

• Flow tab: the primary Flow Pane display; shows the flow of actions in the step

• Window tab: contains all the window properties available for the recorded step

• Notes tab: enables RPA developers to add internal notes and comments to a step

Flow tab

The Flow tab displays the flow of actions within the selected step, and enables you add layers of functionality relating to these actions. When you record a step, the Flow tab automatically displays the three default step actions:

• Step start

• Core action

• Step end

In addition to displaying the step flow, the Flow tab enables you to:

• Insert step actions

• Change action types

• Delete actions

• Change action events

• View action fallbacks

• Access the Properties Pane

Step actions

Each wizard step is made up of a series of actions that occur in a sequence. These actions are at the heart of the wizard step and enable you to add functionality to the step.

Some actions are built-in by default, while others can be inserted by the RPA developer according to the process logic. The settings of all actions can be customized to fit the process needs.

Actions are listed in the Flow tab in the order in which they occur, and can start either:

• one at a time (single action)

  

– or –

• at the same time as other actions (grouped actions)

  

Read more about the different types of step actions.

By default, all actions are set per step. Some actions can be set to work across more than one step (see Cross-step actions).

Every action in the step is represented in the step’s Flow tab, and contains the following elements:

• Visual indicator & label: An icon and text label, representing the type of action (for the Step start action, the icon displays the step number)

• Properties Pane: Contains customizable properties for the action (hidden by default – to access the action's Properties Pane, either double-click the action or right-click it and select Properties)

• Show/hide icon: Click the action’s icon to hide an action that prevents you from accessing actions beneath it in the Display Pane

• Delete: For removable actions, click the button or right-click the action and select Delete

• Drag Handle: Actions that can be dragged and dropped onto a different position in the flow are indicated by a drag handle

  

Cross-step actions

Cross-step actions are actions set to end at the end of a subsequent step in the wizard. In this way, these actions function across more than one step. The actions that can be used as cross-step actions are:

• Blocks

• Bubbles

Cross-step actions are listed at the top of the Flow tab and are collapsed by default. They can be edited by clicking the link to the step number in which the action began.

Fallbacks display

The Fallbacks display provides a quick view of all fallbacks for each action in the step’s Flow tab.

Read more about Fallbacks.

To access the Fallbacks display:

1. From the Flow tab, click Fallbacks

   

   The Fallbacks display appears, listing the fallbacks for each action.

   

   You can update the fallback command by clicking on the fallback dropdown list:

   

Window tab

Window detection and various additional window options are managed from the Flow Pane’s Window tab.

Notes tab

RPA developers can type internal notes and comments in a step by using the Notes tab. Notes are for internal reference only and will not appear when the wizard is played in Nintex Robot. Notes can only be viewed in the Wizard Editor or when the wizard is exported to a Word or PowerPoint file whose template contains the Notes field.

This is how the Notes tab appears in the Wizard Editor’s Flow Pane (when notes are added to a step, the Note icon appears in the Notes tab’s heading):

When a step contains notes, the Notes icon also appears in the step's thumbnail in the Navigation Pane: