Connecting worksteps

You can use the Connect Shapes link in the Tasks pane to connect the several shapes or process template elements in your process template. The connections (or links) between the process elements determine the workflow of the process. Each shape contains up to 12 points of connection, enabling you to make multiple links to worksteps and shapes. Note that when you click the Connect Shapes link, the Tasks pane displays three types of connectors for—Normal flow, Compensation flow, Timeout flow—which you can use.

Table 14. Link types
Link	Appearance	Description
Normal (Default)		The Normal ( ) connector type provides standard connectors to worksteps. In the case of a workstep with multiple outgoing links, the default link (indicated by the slanting line in adjoining figure) indicates a link with no condition.
Normal (Conditional)		This is another Normal connector type. In the case of a workstep with multiple outgoing links, this conditional link indicates a link with a condition. The workflow selects this link path if the condition is satisfied.
Compensation		Indicates the compensatory steps to be taken in the event of an Error occurring during the execution of the process or a Recovery. The link from the source workstep of a Compensation Flow is marked with a . When you add the Compensation Flow to a diagram, the target workstep of the Compensation Flow automatically becomes a Rollback Point (see Defininga Rollback ) and is marked with a Compensation symbol ( ).
Timeout		Indicates the direction of a workflow after Overdue Actions have been executed and the Last Overdue action is completed. Add the Timeout Flow link to the diagram and the source workstep of a Timeout Flow is marked with a . For more information, see Defining a Timeout in worksteps.

Note: Keep the Optimize connectors when moving shapes checkbox clear to maintain the point of connection to the shape when you move the connected shape. Alternatively, if you select this checkbox, the shortest path between shapes is used for the connection. For example, if the position of "Activity2" in the process diagram is closer to "Activity1" than the position of "Activity3," then any connector from Activity1 is joined to Activity2.

After choosing one of the above flow types, the representation of the cursor in the Content pane changes to reflect the type of flow you selected. Table 15 indicates the type of links that can be used with typical process template components and the number of links (single, multiple, or none), which are allowed to originate from each element.

Table 15. Shape and Output Link Matrix
Shape/Workstep	Default	Conditional	Compensation	Timeout
Start	Multiple allowed	Not allowed	Not allowed	Not allowed
Decision	One allowed	Multiple allowed	Not allowed	Not allowed
Split	Multiple allowed	Not allowed	Not allowed	Not allowed
And-Join	One allowed	Not allowed	Not allowed	Not allowed
Or-join	One allowed	Not allowed	Not allowed	Not allowed
Xor-Join	One allowed	Not allowed	Not allowed	Not allowed
Activity workstep	Multiple allowed	Multiple allowed	One allowed	One allowed
Subprocess worksteps	Multiple allowed	Multiple allowed	One allowed	One allowed
Message	Multiple allowed	Multiple allowed	Not allowed	Not allowed
End	Not allowed	Not allowed	Not allowed	Not allowed