Linking steps to data
Say for each step which tables and fields it reads, writes, creates or approves, and deal with orphaned links.
Select a step in the editor. The panel shows its type, its name and "Linked data": every table and field linked to the step as a chip with the relation, the domain and the name. Below it, "Link data" adds a new link. Readers see the chips but not the form.
You can link tasks, events, gateways and subprocesses. Sequence flows, pools, lanes, text annotations and groups cannot carry links; the panel says so when you select one.
Who can use this
- Adding and removing links: Owner, Admin and Compliance
- Every member with a built in role: Owner, Admin, Accountant, Sales, Purchase, HR Manager, Employee, Viewer and Compliance (read)
Steps
1. Select the step
Click the step in the diagram.
2. Choose the domain
Under "Link data", choose the "Domain", for example People.
3. Choose the table
Choose the "Table", for example Salaries.
4. Choose a field if needed
Leave "Field" on "Whole table" to link the whole table, or choose a single field, for example the annual salary.
5. Choose the relation
Under "Relation", choose "Reads", "Writes", "Creates" or "Approves".
6. Add a note
Optionally explain the link under "Note (optional)", for example which records are meant. The note appears when you point at the chip.
7. Link
Click "Link". The chip appears under "Linked data" and the step gets a small number badge in the diagram. Repeat for further data.
8. Save
Click "Save" in the header. Links are only stored when you save.
Fields and options
- Reads
The step uses the data without changing it, for example calculating salaries reads the annual salary.
- Writes
The step changes existing data or adds entries, for example posting payroll writes journal entries.
- Creates
The step creates new records, for example creating a quote creates a quote.
- Approves
The step approves records, for example approving payroll approves the payroll run.
- Whole table
The link points at the table as a whole instead of a single field.
- Orphaned
The step of this link is no longer in the diagram. The chip is marked "Orphaned".
Tips
- Remove a link with the cross on its chip, then save.
- In the domain Other fields, each group collects fields without their own table, for example company or company profile data. There you must choose a field; the group itself cannot be linked.
Good to know
- One step can link the same table or field only once. If you try again, "This data is already linked to the step." appears.
- Save stores the diagram and the process details first and the links afterwards. A step you have just drawn and linked is therefore saved together with its links in one click. If saving the diagram fails, for example because someone else changed the process, the links are not saved either.
- A link belongs to the step, not to its name. When you delete a step, its links are kept and marked "Orphaned". Select nothing in the diagram to see them under "Orphaned links". Remove them, or bring the step back with "Revisions". A new step with the same name does not take over the old links.
- Links are not part of a revision. Restoring an older diagram keeps the links; links to steps that the restored diagram does not contain become orphaned.
- Orphaned links do not appear in the knowledge graph.
Related
- Running processes
Choose the mode of a process and set under "Execution" what each step means in the app: an event, an approval, a task or a check.
- Domains and data
The domains of your company with their tables and fields, how many records each table holds and which process steps use it.
- Following a process with the trace
Read a process from start to end with the data each step uses, find unreachable steps and see where data is used elsewhere.
- Processes in the company graph
How processes, steps, domains, tables and fields appear in the Company Brain knowledge graph and which connections link them.