Create a skin
Define custom settings for a skin to override the default settings of the template at runtime.
The skins created for a template always use the latest version of the template. Before creating a skin, you must do the following:
-
Create a process template. See Process template.
-
Define rule variables for the template. See Manage process variables.
- Navigate to .
-
Click
New.
The Create new skin dialog box is displayed.
- Enter a Name for the skin.
-
On the
Template list, select the
process on which to create the skin.
The skin opens in a new tab. By default, the Info tab is open in the properties panel.
- On the Category list, select the category in which to place the skin.
-
Specify the
Availability (Valid from and
Valid to) of the skin
within which it can be invoked.
Note
- If you do not specify the time frame, the skin will remain active for the entire life cycle.
- The skin must be active at runtime, otherwise TotalAgility cannot invoke the skin.
-
Define the skin rule to determine which skin should be
used when a job is created on the base process.
- Right-click in the rule editor.
- Select the rule variables; use operators and provide values for variables. For example, VAR1=True.
-
Click
Validate.
Note If two skins have the same rule, the skin whose rule is first met is applied.
-
By default, the skin takes the settings defined in the process
template. You can override these settings and specify values unique to the
skin. In the properties panel, click the
Settings tab and change
the settings as needed.
Owner If selected, allows you to select the required individual or group resource as the process owner.
Expected cost If selected, allows you to change the expected cost.
Expected duration If selected, allows you to change the expected duration.
Service level agreement If selected, allows you to change the SLA and specify the threshold.
Triggers and alerts If selected, allows you to specify the triggers and/or alerts specific to skin.
To add a process trigger or alert, click .
See Create a process trigger and Create an alert for more information.
-
To override the rules associated with a document type, on the skin
modeling bar, click
Document set, and select
Override.
If you choose to override, you can only modify the rules associated with each document type; you cannot add or delete any of the document types within the document set.
-
You can override the value of a variable in a skin.
- On the skin modeling bar, click Variables.
-
Click the required variable.
The Edit variable dialog box is displayed.
-
Select
Override and make
changes to the value, as needed.
To override the Date and Nullable date variables, click fx for Value.
By default, @Today macro appears in the Value box. Use @Today macro to get the current date or past/future date by adding or subtracting the number of days. For example, specify the variable value as @Today+5. When you create a job on a process that uses the @Today macro, the value of the variable is set to the current date, or current date + (plus) or - (minus) the number of days specified (if any).
- Click Update.
-
You can override the properties of the activities in a skin,
inherited from a process template (see
Activity properties.) The skin settings override the
template settings, and take effect when the skin is used at runtime.
- Select the activity.
- In the properties panel of the activity, select the tab where the property needs to be updated.
-
Select the check box for the property to override.
Note You can also override thread pools for automatic activities within a skin.
- To override any embedded process defined for the template, select the process which you want to override on the Info tab of the embedded activity.
-
Save the skin.
A new version is created for the skin. All the skin versions are listed in the Skins list in the Designer, regardless of which template they use.
Note When you export a template map, you can also export the skins created on that template. TotalAgility exports each skin as a separate XML file. Select the XML files for the template map and the skins to import.