# How Do I: Use the Design View?

Designing a business process in WebLogic Workshop involves creating a graphical representation of the business process that meets the business requirements for your project. You represent the business processes you wish to model by drawing and connecting shapes that comprise the flow. Program control is represented visually by these shapes (nodes) and the connections between them. In effect, you create a drawing of your business process and its interactions with clients and other resources.

To help you design your business processes graphically, this section provides a brief overview of the components provided in the WebLogic Workshop graphical design environment. To learn how to design specific business process patterns, see Guide to Building Business Processes.

### Design View and Source View

Two tabs are provided on your main work space in the Business Process development environment: Design View and Source View. You use the Design View as your main work space when you develop business processes graphically. Your source code is updated in the Source View to reflect your work in the Design View. Two way editing is supported—in other words, changes you make in the Source View are reflected in the Design View also. The source code is commented to help you edit the source correctly. To learn more about the components of your business process source code (JPD files), see Business Process Source Code.

### Node Builders

Node builders provide a task-driven interface that allow you to specify the logic required at nodes in your business process. You drag nodes from the Palette onto your business process to represent the business logic required at points in your business process. Double-click a node to invoke a node builder, which contains tasks appropriate for the node. Node builders open in place in your business process—you can open several at once and move back and forward between them to design your business process logic.

For example, you can define methods that are invoked by clients to start your business process, and methods by which the business process responds to clients on Client nodes. You can specify controls with which your business process node interacts and the data exchanged in the interaction. You can also invoke the transformation tool to transform heterogeneous data as it is exchanged between your business process and resources. For example, the following figure shows the node builder for a Client Request node:

### Palette

In the Design View, you add business process nodes to create the graphical representation of your business process that meets the business requirements for your project. To add nodes to the business process, drag a node from the Palette onto the business process in the Design View.

If the Palette tab is not visible in WebLogic Workshop, choose View —> Windows —> Palette from the menu bar. The Palette displays business process nodes you can use to design the patterns required for your business process.

As you drag a node from the Palette onto the Design View, targets appear on your business process. Each target represents a valid location in the flow where you can place the node. As you drag the node near a valid location, the target is activated and the cursor changes to an arrow . When this happens, you can release the mouse button and the node snaps onto the business process at the location indicated by the active target. Note that if you create a node at an invalid location (that is, if you create invalid logic in your business process flow) that node is marked with the following icon: . Move your mouse pointer over the error icon to see a message that describes the error.

### Data Palette

If the Data Palette is not visible in WebLogic Workshop, choose View —> Windows —> Data Palette from the menu bar.

The Data Palette displays the following tabs: Variables and Controls. The Variables tab displays the business process variables created in your business process, and allows you to create new variables. To learn how to use the Variables tab, see Business Process Variables and Data Types.

The Controls tab displays the instances of controls in your project, and allows you to create new instances. Business Processes interact with resources such as Web services, databases, EJBs, and so on, via controls. To learn about using controls in your business process, see Interacting With Resources Using Controls.

### Property Editor

The Property Editor allows you to view and set properties for the different components of your application such as controls and business processes, as well as nodes and groups of nodes in your business process. Each Property Editor looks different depending on the component. Most components contain the notes property; any notes you enter in the Property Editor are associated with and displayed for that component throughout the WebLogic application.

If the Property Editor is not visible in WebLogic Workshop, from the menu bar, choose View —> Property Editor.

Related Topics

Guide to Building Business Processes