Streamlined process development

The Applications view provides new file-management tools for distributed development environments. Developers now check out files when they work on them. Application assets are still stored in a central location in the LiveCycle database; however, local copies are created when they are checked out:

• Checking out files prevents other developers from changing to them.

• Work done on local copies of files improves performance due to less reliance on network bandwidth.

  When developers check in their files, the copy on the LiveCycle server is updated and becomes available to other developers.

The Workbench 9 activity wizards make it easier to accomplish tasks that are difficult to do or understand. These wizards present panels that guide you through the following tasks:

Form Data Manipulation:

Data prefill, extract, data merge of form

Archiving (Output) of documents:

Converting documents to PDF for storage in content management systems (CMS), database, printer, file system, and email.

Approving of documents:

A new operation provided by the Task Manager to allow multiple users to approve a document.

User Task setup:

A guided experience of setting up a User Task that hides some of the complexities of the current User Service Property Sheet.

New wizards step users through the creation of new assets:

• Forms (See Creating the form design .)

• Processes (See Creating processes using the New Process wizard .)

• Guides (See Create a Guide using a wizard .)

• Process start points (See Starting processes using start points .)

• Data models (See Application Modeling Technology Reference.)

• DDX files (See Getting Started with Document Builder .)

• User lists (See Creating and changing user lists .)

Process invocation is now represented on process diagrams as start points . Additionally, when the process is deployed, a corresponding endpoint is automatically created on the LiveCycle server. You are no longer required to log in to LiveCycle Administration Console to create endpoints.

New XPath Builder features make creating XPath expressions easier:

• Automatic prompting to select the next node in the path

• Automatic syntax checking

• Color distinguishes functions and operations for better readability

The Process Properties view (renamed from Properties view) has several enhancements to improve usability:

• Properties can be filtered to expose only basic properties, while hiding more advanced properties. Filtering helps you to determine which properties to focus on first.

• Visual indicators make it easy to see whether a required property for an operation is not configured.

• The Help that appears when F1 is pressed is more finely tuned. Help that is specific to the in-focus property group, rather than for the entire operation, is displayed when F1 is pressed.

A new toolbar makes it easier to add items to process diagrams. Several service operations, such as Assign Task, Set Value, Email With Document, and Decision Point, can be dragged directly to the process diagram.

Use the new archival wizard to easily preserve files that are used in processes. Using the wizard, you can select a document or a form to print, send by email, or save to the content store or the file system. Optionally, the wizard can convert the document or PDF form before archiving it.

The wizard adds several operations to the process diagram to implement selected options. Properties for each operation and route in the process are set based on the options selected in the wizard. The wizard also creates all variables that are required to run the process.

Gateways are now easier to work with. To add a new branch, draw a route from the start of the gateway to the elements to include in the branch. Select the branch to change the name and edit the properties in the Process Properties view.