AX1145

Modifying active processes

If a process is not active, you can edit its definition as desired. When a process is active, then certain edits are not allowed, and other edits have no effect on the active process.

NOTE: The editing limitations noted here only apply to general process definitions. Plan file process definitions have different rules for editing active processes. For more information, see Starting and stopping plan file processes.

To edit a process definition:

  1. On the Axiom tab, in the Administration group, go to Manage > Process Management > Process Definitions.

    NOTE: In systems with installed products, this feature may be located on the Admin tab. In the Workflow group, click Process Management > Process Definitions.

    The Axiom Explorer dialog opens, filtered to only show the Process Definition Library.

  2. Double-click the process definition that you want to edit.

  3. In the Edit Process dialog, make any allowed edits as needed.

    If the process is currently active, a warning message displays at the top of the Process Properties tab.

  4. Click Apply to save (or OK if you are finished making edits).

Disallowed edits for active processes

The following edits cannot be made to the process definition of an active process, because they would invalidate the currently active step or the process history:

  • Making any edits to the properties of a completed step
  • Moving the currently active step to another level
  • Deleting the active step

Editing considerations

All properties of the currently active step can be edited. Note the following:

  • If you change the step name, description, or action of the active step, and the current step owner currently has the Process task pane open, they will need to refresh it in order to see these changes.

  • If you change the step owner or due date of the active step, this will cause the task for the step to be regenerated with the new information, including sending a new Step Activated notification to the step owner (if applicable).

  • If you add a step to an active parallel subprocess or multiple approvals step, the new step will be automatically activated in the process when you save the change to the process definition.

For the most part, any new, deleted, or moved steps should be after the currently active step, so that they will still be part of the step progression. However, it is possible to add new steps to any point of the process, delete any steps other than the currently active step, and move any steps (except as noted in the previous section). You should carefully consider the effect any of these types of changes will have on the active process before making them. For example:

  • If you add a step before the currently active step, then that step will not be part of the progression unless you move the process back to that step, or unless it is possible for the process to be rejected back to that step.

  • If you move the currently active step to an earlier point in the process, this may result in re-activating already completed steps as the process moves forward from the currently active step. If you move the currently active step to a later point in the process, this may result in some steps never being started.

  • If you delete a completed step, that step will no longer display in the process definition or in the Process Status dialog for the current instance. The only way to view the details of that step would be to query the Axiom.ProcessEvents table, which would still contain the events for the step activation and completion.