External References

External package concept allows you to re-use common Participant, Application and WorkflowProcess definitions contained within other Package definitions. You just need to define these common entities ones, and store it within a XPDL file, and then re-use it afterwards in all other XPDLs you create

TWE provides possibility of referencing external Packages. After referencing it, automatically, every participant, application, type declaration or workflow process defined there in will be accessible from the main package.

If external package we referenced also contains the references to other external packages, all of the package references will be imported in TWE in read-only mode.

TWE's External package relations component will show the relations of the main package external packages, their external packages, and so on.

Adding External Packages

This dialog appears when you press the package toolbar button, or Package menu item for adding external packages . It enables you to select the XPDL file from your disk, and to reference it as an external package for the package you are currently editing. As already mentioned, after adding external package, you are able to use participants, applications and workflow processes defined in that package.

NOTE: You can't add external package if the main XPDL package you are working on is not yet saved to the disc.

Removing External Packages

Action Remove external packages from the toolbox, or External packages menu removes external package from the current package.

If this external package is not referenced by any other external package of the main package, it will be really removed from TWE's memory. In the case some of the elements from this external packages are in use (Applications, Participants or WorkflowProcesses), you'll be asked for the confirmation.

The external package mechanism allows packages and its elements (applications, processes and participants) to be multiple referenced.

Before the removement of the selected external package, if it contains any element that is referenced, and the external package reference that will be deleted is the last one, the warning message about removement of the external package is displayed.

External Participants

To get the following dialog, click button (or appropriate menu item from External Packages menu).

This dialog shows all participants of package's external packages. Every external participant is presented with its Id, Name (optional data), Participant Type and Description (optional data).

External Processes

To get the following dialog, click button (or appropriate menu item from External Packages menu).

This dialog shows all workflow processes of package's external packages. Every external process is presented with its Id, Name (optional data) and Access level (optional data).

External Applications

To get the following dialog, click button (or appropriate menu item from External Packages menu).

This dialog shows all applications of package's external packages. Every external application is presented with its Id, Name (optional data) and Description (optional data).

External Type Declarations

To get the following dialog, click button (or appropriate menu item from External Packages menu).

This dialog shows all type declarations of package's external packages. Every external type declaration is presented with its Id, Name (optional data) and Description (optional data).