Configuring Data Outputs

A data output represents information that may be output from any activity. For example, validation of credit card information may trigger an output that checks for product availability.

You can drag data from the Data Dictionary View and drop it on the Inputs and Outputs tab in the properties panel. If data of the same name and same type has been placed on the drawing canvas, the data output is automatically associated with that data.

Example

A simple data type called Description is added to the process (placed on the drawing canvas). If you drag and drop the Description data type from the Data Dictionary View to the Inputs and Outputs tab of a user task, that data type is automatically associated with the Description data type that was placed on the canvas.

Note: Automatic associations are made only if the data type on the drawing canvas matches the name and data type that you drop on the Inputs and Outputs tab. If the name does not match but the data type does match, you will need to make a manual data association. If the data type matches but the name does not match, you will need to make a manual data association. In addition, if you drag and drop a data type to the Inputs and Outputs tab before adding a data object to the drawing canvas, an automatic association will not be made — even if the name and data type match.

Add Data to the Inputs and Outputs Tab

1.

On the drawing canvas, select an object.

2.

In the properties panel for the selected object, click the Inputs and Outputs tab.

3.

In the Data Dictionary View, click a data type and drag it to the Inputs and Outputs tab in the properties panel.

Note: The type of data you can add to the Inputs and Outputs tab (simple or complex) depends on the type of object selected. Some objects can accept only simple data types while others can accept simple and complex data types. For example, a user task shape can only accept simple data types.

Associate Data Output to Data in the Process

If the association is not made automatically, follow these steps.

1.

Select the data you added to the tab and click Associate.

2.

The Add Output Association dialog opens and displays data that you can associate with the data output.

3.

In the Add Output Association dialog, select the output data object you want to associate with the selected data output and click OK.

Note: The association is made automatically if a data type of the same name and same type was previously placed on the drawing canvas. Data on the Output tab can only be associated to data that has been added to the process. To associate data with an output, you must add data from the Data Dictionary View to the process. For example, if you want to add a background check as a data output, make sure you have added the background check data object to the drawing canvas.

The output data is now associated to the selected data object in the process. If you have associated at the complex type level, all of the complex data type's attributes — including simple and nested complex types — are also associated to the selected object.

Note: You can have more than one version of the same data. As data is modified and saved within the Data Dictionary, a version number is added to it (1.1, 1.2, or 2.0, 3.0 and so on). You can use any available version of the data to suit your needs. In addition, each time you drag a data object from the Data Dictionary View to the drawing canvas, XTRAC adds a number to the data object's name (for example, cusName1, cusName2, cusName3, etc.). For more information, see Working with Data Versions.