Object Browser - Process/Activity Data

Expanding the Data Fields node shows the following field types:

Field Type	What it is	How to use it
	Provides access to Data Fields that have been configured for a process or activity	Expand the activity to expose the data fields OR Right-click the activity and click Add See Add a Data Field
	Provides access to data fields configured at the level of the process and available across multiple activities	Select the process data field OR Right-click on the process and click Add See Add a Data Field
	Custom data fields - all objects beneath the activity or process nodes	Select the data field OR Right-click on the data field and select Edit See Add a Data Field to see a breakdown of the fields that can be edited

Add Data Field

Right-click on the Process/Activity Data browser and expand the nodes until you see the activity or process node. Right-click on the activity or process and select Add.

Option	What it is	How to use it
Name	The name of the Data Field that will be displayed within the Object Browser	Enter a name for the data field
Data Type	Boolean A logical value including True, False, 0 and 1 Date Date value in the format YYYY-MM-DD Decimal A numeric value that may or may not contain a fractional part Double Any 64-bit floating-type real number e.g. 1E4, 1267.43233E12, 12.78e-2, 12 Integer Stores whole numbers in the following range: -2,147,483,648 though 2,147,483,647 Long Used to stored whole numbers from: -9,223,372,036,854,775,808 through to 9,223,372,036,854,775,808. String Used to store standard ANSI text characters in strings of variable size Binary Encoded binary information	Select the data type from the drop down
Category	The category options allow you to set where the data field value can be accessed. NOTE: If System is selected it does not appear at runtime and is not visible in reports.	Select the category from the drop down
Initial Value	This value is determined at design time by the developer and exported with the workflow definition.	Enter the initial value
Metadata	Metadata describes how and when and by whom a particular set of data was collected, and how the data is formatted.	Enter any required metadata
Description	Custom description that describes the data field.	Enter a description
Hidden	Prevents the data field from begin shown in the object browser.	Click on the check box
On Demand	Selecting this option ensures that K2 Server only loads data fields when and if required either by reading a value or setting a value in a data field. The data on demand option impacts the performance of K2 Server.	Click on the check box
Keep Audit	An audit is kept of all the modified values of the data field. This option is only available if the data field is logged.	Click on the check box
Shared	A shared data field cannot store separate values. Every time the value is set for that data field, the previous value is overwritten. This option is only available on activity level.	Click on the check box

Field Type	What it is	How to use it
	Provides access to XML fields that have been configured for an activity	Select the activity XML field or Right-click on the activity and click Add
	Provides access to XML fields that have been configured within a process	Select process XML field or Right-click on the process and click Add

Add XML Field

Right click on the Activity/Process Data Browser and expand the nodes until the XML field node is visible. Right-click on the Activity or Process and select Add.

Option	What it is	How to use it
Name	The name of the XML field that will be displayed within the Object Browser	Enter a name for the XML field
Category	The category options allow you to set where the XML field value can be accessed.	Select the category from the drop down
Description	The custom description of the XML field	Enter a description for the XML field
Hidden	Prevents the XML field from begin shown in the object browser	Click on the check box
Keep Log	Keeps of log of the XML field	Click on the check box
On Demand	Selecting this option ensures that K2 server only loads XML fields when and if required either by reading a value or setting a value in a data field. The On Demand option impacts the performance of K2 server	Click on the check box
Keep Audit	This option enables you to keep track of the changes made during the execution of the workflow process and is by default already selected.	Click on the check box

Option	What it is	How to use it
Initial Value	The value contained within the XML Node at the beginning of the activity or process	Specify the required value
	Generates a sample of XML	Click on the Generate sample XML File button
	Saves the XML to a file on the local system	Click on the Save to XML File button

Option	What it is	How to use it
Metadata	Metadata describes how and when and by whom a particular set of data was collected, and how the data is formatted.	Specify metadata

Option	What it is	How to use it
Available Schemas	Describes the structure and the content constraints of the XML	Specify an XML Schema OR Browse the local file system and load an XML schema

Initial Values

When XML fields are created, make sure that the fields are not created with null values.

The initial value is a value created during design time and the XML field uses that value for each new instance of the process until some point when the value is updated.

The SmartObject Association wizard creates a mapping between a process SmartObject and a custom SmartObject . When adding a SmartObject association in a workflow, it creates an association between the process SmartObject's properties (process object, activities objects, client event objects) and the other SmartObject (e.g. Order). When running reports and choosing the specific workflow SmartObject, it show the other SmartObject (e.g. Order) as a related object.

The SmartObject Association wizard is accessed in the Object Browser > Process/Activity Data. To open the wizard right-click on the Associations folder and select Add...

The SmartObject Method Reference wizard creates a reference between a SmartObject Method and a process data field. Adding a reference to a SmartObject method in a workflow process provides you with easy access to the SmartObject return properties of the method that it's bound to. References are typically used where specific SmartObject properties are used multiple times in the process.

The SmartObject Method Reference wizard is accessed in the Object Browser > Process/Activity Data. To run the wizard right-click on the Reference folder and select Add...

After the reference has been added via the SmartObject Method Reference Wizard, it can be viewed in the K2 blackpearl Object Browser > Process/Activity Data > References. This reference can now be used instead of navigating to the SmartObject itself.

UsageThe same method reference can be consumed again within the same process. The method reference runs once per activity and the dataset generated by that execution may, depending on the nature of the process, become out of sync with the data in the SmartObject. To get the latest data, the method reference must be executed again, but this can only happen in the next activity. Each execution of the method reference creates a cached reflection of the SmartObject data that is not real time.