topic bmpn20.xml does not sync with .acitiviti files properly in Alfresco Archive

bmpn20.xml does not sync with .acitiviti files properly

ruedesilva — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 15:02:23 GMT

Hi,In the latest 5.7.1 designer when you open an .xml file the .activiti file that gets generated automatically is not synced properly. Form parameters, documentation elements etc are missing in the Activiti diagram. Then when you save the Activiti diagram the .xml file is overwritten and all the Fo

Re: bmpn20.xml does not sync with .acitiviti files properly

warden — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 12:37:11 GMT

I have the same issue as you.
Does somebody know if this is the nomal behaviour?

Is there any other modeler that imports bpmn20.xml to modify it and export it again?

Thanks

Re: bmpn20.xml does not sync with .acitiviti files properly

trademak — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 15:46:18 GMT

Hi,

In the current version we have chosen to do a one way generation of the BPMN 2.0 XML document.
But what you can do, is delete the .activiti file and reopen the BPMN 2.0 XML document. Then the diagram will be regenerated.

Best regards,

Re: bmpn20.xml does not sync with .acitiviti files properly

ruedesilva — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 17:06:09 GMT

Yes but then as per my original post:

"Form parameters, documentation elements etc are missing in the Activiti diagram"

An when I save they are gone from the bpmn.xml file also. This is really creating a big headache and I think is a bug?

thanks,
Rue

Re: bmpn20.xml does not sync with .acitiviti files properly

ronald_van_kuij — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 17:35:44 GMT

Formparams is already fixed on trunk (see other post). For documentation it might not.

Re: bmpn20.xml does not sync with .acitiviti files properly

trademak — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 17:50:38 GMT

Hi,

Documentation is now also fixed for process, sub process, user and service tasks.
If you experience other issues in the import just let me know.

Best regards,

Re: bmpn20.xml does not sync with .acitiviti files properly

ronald_van_kuij — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 18:06:00 GMT

Besides the delay between the initial and second post, the issues are fixed within half a day. Great work by Tijs don't you think?

Re: bmpn20.xml does not sync with .acitiviti files properly

ruedesilva — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 13:47:01 GMT

Yes it's incredible. You guys are doing a great job, and we really appreciate it.

Keep up the good work!

thanks,
Rue

Re: bmpn20.xml does not sync with .acitiviti files properly

lisama — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 21:09:47 GMT

Is there a way to not overwrite changes I made manually to the xml file (like adding an intermediateCatchingEvent) when saving the diagram but merge them somehow?

I found the option to not automatically save everything to the xml file, so that I need to export everything with the "Export to BPMN2.0 XML" but I see that more as an workaround because once I change the sequence flow in which I added my catchingEvent the catchingEvent in the xml fileis gone again.

When I add the catchingEvent and delete the diagram to generate a new one, like suggested before, I get a whole bunch of errors because the designer doesn't know the catchingEvent. So the errors make actually sense but makes my work so much more difficult.

Re: bmpn20.xml does not sync with .acitiviti files properly

tiesebarrell — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 07:22:34 GMT

other than the way you described, no, you can't keep changes in place that Designer doesn't understand. The entire Bpmn file is recreated every time the export is done. If you find yourself applying the same tedious changes to the bpmn file all the time, there's always the option to automate it. I know it's a workaround, but if you create an xslt file to do the additions and run it from a unit test, it's a matter of seconds to redo the additions Designer doesn't support at the moment. In fact, add that to the setup of your unit tests for the process and you probably won't even notice the difference.

Re: bmpn20.xml does not sync with .acitiviti files properly

lisama — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 13:57:27 GMT

Thank you for the prompt answer Tiese. Is there already a release date set for the new designer version with the included bugfixes?

Re: bmpn20.xml does not sync with .acitiviti files properly

tiesebarrell — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 17:27:29 GMT

LisaMa,

sorry, but I don't understand your question. Which bugfixes are you referring to? The workaround I suggested is something you would implement yourself and isn't planned for Designer itself. Could you clarify?

Re: bmpn20.xml does not sync with .acitiviti files properly

lisama — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 20:44:07 GMT

I was refering to the bugfixes mentioned my Tijs at the start of the topic. Sorry for that making that clearer

Re: bmpn20.xml does not sync with .acitiviti files properly

trademak — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 09:14:58 GMT

Hi,

I took a new look at the XML syncing issue and came to the conclusion that we should support this.
I've committed some code changes to make this work again.
It now syncs the basic stuff for the most tasks including multi instance, activiti listeners and field extensions.
Can you let me know what kind of functionality you would like in the XML sync in addition, if any?

Best regards,

Re: bmpn20.xml does not sync with .acitiviti files properly

ronald_van_kuij — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 16:05:39 GMT

so there is a dual editor again? Certainly have to check the source out then.

Re: bmpn20.xml does not sync with .acitiviti files properly

lisama — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 18:00:27 GMT

Wow you guys are awesome for adding more sync features, can't wait for the new Designer.

Not really part of the sync mechanism, but if I could wish for something it would be some kind of dummy element for the palette. So that if you import something from Modeler or edit the xml file by hand, for example adding an element which is not yet supported by the Designer, it will be replaced with the dummy element. The diagram would still exist and could be worked with and there would be one less error message to get headaches about

Re: bmpn20.xml does not sync with .acitiviti files properly

trademak — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 18:41:57 GMT

Hi Ronald,

Yes it's a dual editor, but not a multipage editor.
So you can edit the model file which is synced to the XML file and vice versa in separate editor pages.

Best regards,

Re: bmpn20.xml does not sync with .acitiviti files properly

trademak — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 18:43:40 GMT

Hi,

Could you explain in which cases you had a need for the dummy element?

Best regards,

Re: bmpn20.xml does not sync with .acitiviti files properly

lisama — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 07:11:20 GMT

For example the send and receive tasks from Modeler.

Re: bmpn20.xml does not sync with .acitiviti files properly

trademak — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 07:14:18 GMT

Hi,

Okay right. We can easily solve this by using dummy manual tasks for these elements.
Let me know if you can think of more items.

Best regards,