In this section:

Overview

Flows are one or more nodes that can perform specialized tasks (see Working with Nodes). Flows are grouped into services to more evenly distribute data processing across endpoints, which results in more stable execution (see Working with Services for instructions on creating services).

There are a few ways to create flows:

• Drag nodes from the parasoft palette on the left into a tab and configure them manually. Different types of nodes have different configuration options. Double-click a node to open the editor and view its functionality. 
• Import components, examples, and other pre-built flows into the tab and modify them according to your needs (see Importing and Exporting Flows).

The tabs are a construct for visually organizing flows. You can click the + icon to add more tabs if the tab you're working on becomes difficult to work with. All flows added to a service will execute when the service is deployed.  

You can also minimize the Extension Designer sidebar by clicking the icon in the upper-left corner of the screen and use the navigation buttons on the bottom of the tab to zoom out and increase overall visibility. 

Creating Flows

You can manually build flows or import prebuilt flows into your service. 

Manually Creating Flows

1. Click and drag nodes from the Parasoft palette on the left into the tab.
   
2. Double-click on the node to open the node editor and configure the node. Different types of nodes have different configuration options, which are documented in the node Info tab. See Working with Nodes. 
   
3. When nodes have been added to the tab, you can click and drag input/output points between nodes to chain together their functions into a flow. Flows are stored using JSON for easy sharing and versioning. 
   
   You should use Debug nodes to verify functionality as you create your flows. See Debugging Services and Flows.
4. To create another flow, click the Add flow button. Select the new flow tab that is created and repeat the steps above to add and configure nodes.
   

Importing and Exporting Flows

1. Choose Import from the vertical ellipses menu.
   
2. The Local tab of the Import nodes dialog contains example components shipped with Extension Designer, as well as extensions you may have installed (see Downloading and Installing Artifacts). Select a flow and click Import.
   
3. The imported item will be connected to your mouse cursor. Click on an area in the tab to drop it.
4. Configure the nodes in the imported flow according to your needs (see Working with Nodes). You should use Debug nodes to verify functionality as you create your flows. See Debugging Services and Flows.
5. To import another flow, click the Add flow button. Select the new flow tab that is created and repeat the steps above to import nodes.
   

6. Click Deploy to activate the flow (see Deploying Services).

   Imported dashboards and widgets are not available in Report Center until the browser is refreshed.

You can also export a workflow/slice you created as JSON to your OS clipboard or to your local library.

Using the Clipboard

You can export the contents of a tab to the clipboard and import to the contents of the clipboard to another tab.

1. Click on the tab that contains the nodes/flows you want to copy and choose Export from the ellipses menu.

2. Click the Clipboard tab and choose an Export option. By default, the current flow export option is selected, but you can also export all flows in the service by click the all flows option. If you selected node prior to opening the Export menu, then you can click the selected nodes option.  

3. Choose a format to copy. You can copy the nodes as GUI representations or as JSON. In both cases, the actual flow is copied as JSON. The GUI representation just provides a more human-readable format.

4. Click Copy to clipboard to hold the JSON in your OS clipboard or Download to download a JSON file containing the nodes. 

   Export Flows to Your Own Directories

   Flows exported to any of the local library directories shipped with Extension Designer (Common, Components, Examples, etc.) will not be restored during a restore or upgrade process.

   
   
   

5. Click on the + button to open a blank tab and choose Import from the ellipses menu.
6. Click the Clipboard tab and use your OS paste keyboard command to paste the contents of the clipboard to the flow (Control + v for Windows or Command +v for macOS). If you exported to your local library, click the Local tab and choose exported nodes/flow. If you exported and downloaded the nodes/flow as a JSON file, click select a file import.
   
7. Click Import.

About the Local Artifact Library

Artifacts that have been downloaded and installed are stored in the Workflows folder under the Local tab in the Extension Designer library. In addition to storing Parasoft artifacts, the local library includes commonly-used flows, examples, and other building blocks to help you quickly build custom flows and understand how Extension Designer works. 

Disabling Flows

You can disable a flow to prevent its endpoint from being called. Widgets associated with the flow are also unavailable in DTP. If a widget has already been deployed to DTP, the widget will show a "No permission or deprecated" message.

1. Open a service and double-click the tab containing the flow you want to disable.
2. Click the Disabled/Enabled button to enable/disable the flow and click Done.
3. Click Deploy save the changes to your flow.

To verify that the flow and its endpoint is disabled, click on the service category and expand the Available Endpoint page to the disabled flow.

Next Steps

When flows have been added to your service and configured, you can click the Deploy button to make them available to DTP. See Deploying Services for details.