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Using the Studio

Using the Studio Interface

This section explains how to start the Studio, and provides an overview of the Studio graphical user interface:

- Starting and Logging On to the Studio

- Overview of the Studio Interface

- Using Interface View

- Exiting the Studio

Starting and Logging On to the Studio

To start the Studio, do one of the following:

- On a Windows system, choose Start—>Programs—>BEA WebLogic Platform 7.0—>WebLogic Integration 7.0—>Studio.

- On a UNIX system, do to the WLI_HOME/bin directory and run the studio command.

For example, if WebLogic Integration is installed in the /home/bea/weblogic700/integration directory, enter the following:

>     cd /home/bea/weblogic700/integration/bin

>     . ./studio

The Logon to WebLogic Integration dialog box is displayed.

Figure 2-1 Logon to WebLogic Integration Dialog Box

To log on to WebLogic Integration:

1. Enter your user name and password in the appropriate fields. If you have not yet been assigned a user name and password for the Studio, enter a default user name and password. For a list of default user names and passwords, see "WebLogic Integration Users and Passwords" in Getting Started in Starting, Stopping, and Customizing BEA WebLogic Integration.

   Note: User names and passwords are case-sensitive. Be sure to enter the user names and passwords in lower case.

2. In the Server [:port] field, specify the system that is running the WebLogic Integration server as follows:

   t3://host:port

   - host is the computer name or IP address of the system that is running the WebLogic Integration server. Specify localhost if the server is running on the same computer as the Studio application.

   - port is the number you specified for the listen port when the WebLogic Integration server was installed. The default is 7001.

   To log in to clustered servers, enter the following in the Server[:port] field:

   t3://host1,host2,host3:port

   In this case, host1, host2, and host3 are the computer names or IP addresses of the clustered WebLogic Integration servers.

3. Click OK to display the main window of the Studio.

   Figure 2-2 WebLogic Integration Studio Main Window

Overview of the Studio Interface

This section describes the parts of the Studio user interface, and the functions they provide.

Menu Options

The following sections provide information about using the menu bar in the Studio.

File Menu

Choose File—>Option to perform the functions described in the following table.

Menu Option | Function
--- | ---
Logon | Log on to the WebLogic Integration server.
Logoff | Log off from the WebLogic Integration server.
Exit | Log off from the WebLogic Integration server and exit the WebLogic Integration Studio.

View Menu

Choose View—>Option to perform the functions described in the following table.

Menu Option | Function
--- | ---
Refresh | Update the information if changes are made to the database by other client applications.
Use color on flowcharts | View the workflow diagrams in color or black and white.
Sync selection with tree | Synchronize the workflow components in the folder tree hierarchy with the workflow components in the drawing area. For example, clicking the Start node in a workflow diagram opens the corresponding Start node folder in the folder tree hierarchy.
Look and feel | Change the look and feel of the Studio display. The choices are: Metal CDE/Motif Windows
Interface View . . . | Display additional visual objects to represent business operations, sub-workflows, XML documents, and plug-ins. Selecting this menu item displays the Interface View Preferences dialog box. For details about setting interface view preferences, see Using Interface View. If a start, event, or done node contains a customized property defined by a plug-in, a small plug-in icon is displayed in the upper-right corner of the node icon.

Configuration Menu

Choose Configuration—>Option to perform the functions described in the following table.

Menu Option | Function
--- | ---
Organizations | Define organizations that represent different business entities, geographical locations, or any other distinction relevant to the particular business of the company. For details about defining organizations, see Maintaining Organizations.
Business Operations | Define business operations representing a method call on an EJB or Java Class instance. For details about defining business operations, see Configuring Business Operations.
Events | Define event key expressions. For instructions about defining event key expressions, see Configuring Event Keys.
Plugins | View and configure the available plug-ins. For details about configuring plug-ins, see Configuring Plug-Ins.
Permissions | Define the user and role permission levels. For details about defining permission levels, see Setting Permissions for Users and Setting Permissions for Roles.
Role Mappings | Map the currently-defined roles to WebLogic Server groups. For details about mapping roles, see Changing the Mapping for Roles.

Tools Menu

Choose Tools—>Option to perform the functions described in the following table.

Menu Option | Function
--- | ---
Export Package . . . | Export workflow objects as a JAR file. For details about exporting packages, see Importing and Exporting Workflow Packages.
Import Package . . . | Import workflow objects from a JAR file. For details about importing packages, see Importing and Exporting Workflow Packages.
Show XML Finder . . . | Display the XML finder dialog box to manage the XML repository. For details about managing the XML repository using the XML finder, see Managing Entities in the Repository.

Help Menu

Choose Help—>Option to perform the functions described in the following table.

Menu Option | Function
--- | ---
Help Topics | Access the online help for the Studio.
Plugin Help | Access the online help for the loaded plug-ins.
About WebLogic Integration Studio . . . | Provide software version information about the WebLogic Integration Studio.

Folder Tree Display

The WebLogic Integration Studio interface contains a folder tree display, which organizes workflow components in a standard tree structure.

Figure 2-3 WebLogic Integration Folder Tree Display

To select a different organization, use the Organization drop-down list at the top of the window.

To view details about any of the following items shown in the folder tree display, double-click the item to expand it:

- Templates

- Calendars

- Users

- Roles

- Routing

- Workload Report

- Statistics Reports

For example, double-click the Templates folder to display a list of workflow templates. Double-click a workflow template to display a list of all workflow template definitions. Expanding a particular workflow template definition displays folders containing the Tasks, Decisions, Events, Joins, Starts, Dones, and Variables for that workflow template definition.

You can right-click most items in the folder tree to display a menu containing options relevant to the highlighted item. For example, right-click on an existing workflow template to display a menu with the options shown in the following figure.

Figure 2-4 Workflow Template Menu Options

Workflow Design Area and Toolbar

Once you have created or opened an existing workflow template definition (for procedures, see Working with Template Definitions), the workflow design area, shown in the following figure, is where you create your workflow designs. The workflow toolbar contains the shapes representing workflow nodes and the connections you use to define a workflow.

Figure 2-5 Workflow Design Window

You can have multiple workflow designs open simultaneously. You can view more than one workflow, and toggle back and forth between them.

Figure 2-6 Multiple Workflow Diagrams

Using the Toolbar

The toolbar also contains the following toggle controls:

Table 2-1 Toolbar Buttons

Toolbar button

Description

Zoom out of the diagram. This is helpful if you are working with a complex diagram and need to view the overall flow.

Zoom in to the diagram.

Display or hide a grid in the diagram.

Align shapes in the diagram.

Set auto-alignment of shapes on or off.

Toggle Interface View on or off. For more information about Interface View, see Using Interface View.

By default, the workflow toolbar appears at the top of the drawing area. Depending on the size of the Studio window or drawing area, you might not be able to see the entire toolbar. To see the entire toolbar, relocate the toolbar to another part of the Studio drawing area, or to another location on your desktop.

To relocate the toolbar, click the background area of the toolbar (for example, the space between the Draw Connection and Zoom Out button), and drag the toolbar to the desired location.

If you drag the toolbar to another location on your desktop outside of the Studio drawing area, the toolbar becomes a separate window on your desktop, which you can minimize, maximize, and close.

Using Interface View

Once you have created a template definition, begun to define nodes and add actions to them, it is often useful to see the objects to which a workflow interfaces, according to the nodes that reference those objects. You can use the Interface View to display the components in the workflow diagram, plus icons representing the following objects to which the workflow can interface:

- Sub-workflows — other workflows to which the current workflow connects

- Business operations — software components, such as EJBs and Java classes, that the workflow invokes to perform a function

- Inbound and outbound XML documents — XML documents that are coming into the workflow, or that the workflow is sending to another workflow or application.

- Plug-ins — custom workflow components

Interface View is disabled by default. To use Interface View, you must turn it on for each template definition, and for each new session in which you access the same template definition.

By contrast, Interface View preferences, which determine the objects that are visible, are set system-wide; that is, they apply to all template definitions. They are saved from session to session in the Studio; they are not saved as part of the template definition.

To specify the objects you want to view:

1. Choose View—>Interface View to display the Interface View Preferences dialog box.

   Figure 2-7 Interface View Preferences Dialog Box

2. Select the check boxes for the objects you want to display, or clear the check boxes for the objects you do not want to display.

To toggle between a normal and interface view for the current template definition, click the following button in the toolbar:

Viewing Inbound XML Document Data

In an interface view, the following icon represents an inbound XML document in the workflow diagram.

Note: The arrow points toward a template node to indicate inbound direction.

An inbound XML document icon is displayed for Start and Event nodes that respond to incoming XML documents. Hover the mouse pointer over the XML document icon in the workflow diagram to display a text box containing the type (inbound or outbound), root, and key of the XML document.

Viewing Outbound XML Document Data

In an interface view, the following icon represents an outbound XML document in the workflow diagram.

Note: The arrow points away from a template node to indicate outbound direction.

An outbound XML document icon is displayed if either a Send XML to Client or Post XML Event action is defined for an object. You can obtain information about the XML document as follows:

- Hover the mouse pointer over the XML document icon in the workflow diagram to display a text box containing the type (inbound or outbound), root, and key of the XML document.

- Double-click the XML document icon, or right-click the icon and select Properties from the pop-up menu, to display the dialog box (read-only) for the defined action, either Send XML to Client or Post XML Event.

For details about the Send XML to Client and Post XML Event actions, see Sending an XML Message to a Client Application and Posting an XML Message to a JMS Topic or Queue.

Viewing Sub-workflow Data

In an interface view, the following icon represents a sub-workflow in the workflow diagram.

A sub-workflow icon is displayed if a Start Workflow action is defined for an object. You can obtain information about the sub-workflow as follows:

- Hover the mouse pointer over the sub-workflow icon to display a text box containing the name of the called sub-workflow.

- Double-click the sub-workflow icon, or right-click the icon, and select Properties from the pop-up menu, to display the Start Workflow dialog box (read-only).

For details about the Start Workflow action, see Calling a Sub-Workflow.

Viewing Business Operation Data

In an interface view, the following icon represents a business operation in the workflow diagram.

A business operation icon is displayed if a Perform Business Operation action is defined for an object. You can obtain information about the business operation as follows:

- Hover the mouse pointer over the business operation icon in the workflow diagram to display a text box containing the name of the business operation to be performed.

- Double-click the business operation icon, or right-click the icon and select Properties from the pop-up menu, to display the Perform Business Operation dialog box (read-only).

For details about the Perform Business Operation action, see Calling a Business Operation.

Viewing Plug-In Data

In an interface view, the following icon, or a custom icon, represents a plug-in action in the workflow diagram.

If a node contains a plug-in action, you can obtain information about the action as follows:

- Hover the mouse pointer over the plug-in icon in the workflow diagram to display a text box containing a description of the plug-in action.

- Double-click the plug-in icon, or right-click the icon, and select Properties from the pop-up menu, to display the corresponding plug-in action dialog box (read-only).

Note: If a Start, Event, or Done node contains a customized property defined by a plug-in, a small plug-in icon is displayed in the upper-right corner of the node icon.

Exiting the Studio

To log off WebLogic Integration and keep the Studio displayed:

1. If you want to save changes to a workflow, right-click the workflow template definition and choose Save from the menu that is displayed.

2. Choose File—>Logoff.

To exit the Studio:

1. If you want to save changes to a workflow, right-click the workflow template definition and choose Save from the menu that is displayed.

2. Choose File—>Exit, or select the System Close box. A dialog box asks you to confirm your decision. Click Yes to exit.

Note: If you try to exit the Studio without saving your changes, a dialog box prompts you to do so.