This topic will provide a high-level overview of each task involved in building a process flow. It will explain which tools are involved in each task and will provide links to the relevant sections of the User Manual for each phase and tool.
Be aware that you do not necessarily need to build your model in the exact order listed here.
1. Plan Your Process Flow
Before you begin designing your process flow, you might want to understand the basics of how process flow works. You should start by reading these topics:
- Overview of Process Flow - Provides an overview of the process flow user interface and important terms and concepts.
- Navigating in the Process Flow Window - Explains how to create a new process flow and how to arrange process flow tabs.
- Types of Process Flows - Discusses the four different types of process flows and their purposes.
- Overview of Process Flow Objects - Provides a high-level overview of all the different activities that are available in process flow
2. Add, Connect, and Edit Activities
Activities are the basic building blocks of every process flow. To learn more about how to use activities, consider reading these topics:
- Adding and Connecting Activities - Explains key concepts and several different methods for adding and connecting activities in process flow.
- Moving and Deleting Activities - Discusses how to move and delete activities.
- Editing Activity Properties - Describes two different methods for editing an activity's properties. It also explains the Universal Edit feature, a new type of property that is available for some properties in the Process Flow module.
- Common Process Flow Object Properties - This reference page explains some of the common properties that are found in many process flow activities.
3. Link the Process Flow to a 3D Model
Process flows can run independently from a simulation model if needed. But process flows are probably most useful when they are linked to the 3D simulation model. Process flows can help you build complex logic into your model, replacing the need for complicated code. Process flows will also make it easier for you to troubleshoot your model logic if needed. With that in mind, these topics cover how to integrate process flows with a standard simulation model:
- Linking Process Flows to 3D Models - Gives a high-level overview of two different ways to link process flows to 3D simulation models.
- Key Concepts About Event-Listening - Events are the most common way to link to a process flow from a simulation model. This topic explains the key concepts that are related to event-listening and gives different examples of ways to use event-listening in a simulation model.
- Event Types - This topic discusses the two different types of events and their related properties.
4. Edit General Process Flow Properties
You can also change some of the process flow's general properties and visual settings:
- General Process Flow Properties - Explains the general properties that are available for each process flow.
- Changing Process Flow Visuals - Describes how to change the way process flows appear visually.
- Using Process Flow Themes - Discusses how to change the overall color scheme in process flow.
5. Running and Troubleshooting a Process Flow
Lastly, you'll want to run your process flow:
- Running a Process Flow Simulation - Running a process flow is slightly different from running a normal simulation model. This topic will discuss what you should see when a process flow is running.
- Troubleshooting Process Flows - One of the main advantages of process flow is how easy it is to troubleshoot it. This topic explains the best strategies for troubleshooting a process flow.
