Building the service flow

Building the flow of service basically involves three main activities.

1. Adding the right node from nodes library to service flow area
2. Customizing the added node parameters using the node properties panel
3. Linking the output link point of a node to the input link point of another node using relations

To build the service flow via Designer, you need to Navigate to Services view and select the service you would like to modify. You will be directed to the service details view.

1. Nodes library - This panel lists all the built-in, custom, and marketplace nodes you can use in your service design. To use a node in your service, select the node and drag & drop it to the service flow area.
2. Service flow area: This is the design area where you build your service. You add nodes to the service flow area and connect them using relations (connectors). To connect one node to another, press the left mouse button on the output link point of the originating node, and while the mouse button is pressed, drag it over to the input link point of the destination node and over the input link point release the mouse button.
3. Node properties: When you click on a node in the service details view, the node properties panel is automatically populated with node-specific parameters. You can customize the behavior of the node by setting these parameters. Node parameters can be mandatory or optional, and all mandatory parameter values need to be set to have a valid node configuration. If the node is not correctly configured, you will have validation errors, and you need to update your node configuration to remove these validation errors.

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You can view the validation status of a node on the node properties panel. The errors are marked in red color, and successfully validated nodes are marked with green color.

The validation status is also displayed next to the title of the node rectangle with a red or green dot.

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A node that has validation errors cannot be executed. Eventually a servide that has validation errors cannot be executed.

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To add a multi-step straight connector, click on the originating node output link point (press and release mouse left button over the output link point). You will be in connector mode. Move your mouse, click the left mouse button again to add a connector point, and continue this step until you create all the required connector points. As a final step, click your mouse over the input link point of the destination node to create the relation. In connector mode, you can press the Esc key to exit the connector mode.

To add additional connector points to a relation line, select the relation line and then double click on the line position where you would like to add the new point. To delete a point, select the relation and then double click on the point that you would like to remove.

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You can change the position of a link point. Press the shift key and while keeping it pressed, drag & drop the link point to change its position relative to other link points.