How Do I Get Started?

Spend about 30 minutes with a hands-on tutorial that guides you through process creation, simulation, deployment, and remote debugging.

Read the ActiveBPEL Online Help Welcome for a tour of ActiveBPEL features

I’ve Already Got BPEL Processes or I’ve Downloaded the Product Samples. What Do I Do First?

See Importing an Existing BPEL Process

Tip: Download product samples from http://www.active-endpoints.com

I Don’t Have Any WSDL Files. What Do I Do?

Use the Operation Wizard to create a BPEL activity with the appropriate WSDL description. The wizard helps you create a new WSDL with partner link type, port type, operation, and messages.

Alternately, use the tools palette of the Process Editor to diagram and annotate a BPEL process without using any WSDL files. This technique is good for a top-down design.

Jump-Start a New BPEL Process with Service References and Interfaces

Add a WSDL file to Service References or directly to an Orchestration Project before creating any BPEL activities.

ActiveBPEL catalogs WSDL for automated activity creation.

Display Interfaces.

Tip: If no WSDL exists, add it. Also, create Partner Link Types, as described in the next tip. Partner link types are required BPEL extensions to a WSDL definition.

Drag an operation to the Process Editor canvas to start the activity wizard.

Create Partner Link Types

Add a WSDL file to an Orchestration Project.

In Interfaces, expand a port type that contains the operation you want to invoke, receive from, or reply to.

Drag an operation to the Process Editor canvas to start the partner link type wizard.

Create Message Properties and Property Aliases

Message properties are WSDL extensions for BPEL that allow you to correlate messages for a long-running, asynchronous process. Select Add Correlation Set to create message properties and property aliases.

After you create message properties and property aliases, they are added to Process Variables and WSDL files. Then you can create correlation sets. Add a correlation set to each activity that should correlate messages.

Filter Interfaces by Workspace, Project, or Process

Select a filter to view only the Interfaces you need currently. By default all interfaces in the workspace are displayed.

Use the Convenient Repository of Sample Data with Automatic Generation for Complex Types

Add a WSDL file to your project.

Right-mouse click on a message part to generate or add sample data: instance documents for a complex type or values for a simple type. For a complex part, Generate Sample automatically.

Data is automatically loaded into process variables for use during simulation of process execution.

Data is available for re-use with other processes.

Add the Target Namespace to a BPEL process manually

If you start a process with a Web Reference, the target namespace is automatically added.

Manually add a target namespace in the Outline view by right-mouse clicking Imports and selecting Add Import.

Customize BPEL Process Settings

ActiveBPEL has extensive settings for global customization of BPEL processes. Set preferences for all processes, such as suppressing join failure and providing a default target namespace. Override the defaults for individual processes as needed.

See ActiveBPEL Preferences for details.

Create Variable Assignments Automatically

Drag a like-typed process variable or variable part onto another process variable to automatically create a Copy operation. Blue color and from/to arrows differentiate variable parts in use.

Process Viewing Tips

Manage screen real estate by collapsing containers like Scopes, Whiles, and Sequences. Right-mouse click on a container and select Collapse. See Process Design Tips below too.

Use Thumbnail view to select and pan a section of the process.

To display the Thumbnail view, select Window> Show View>Thumbnail

View a process full screen by double-clicking the process’s titlebar.

To view process properties and to activate the main toolbar, click anywhere on the Process Editor canvas to put it in focus.

Significantly Shorten Design Time with BPELets

Save any BPEL activity or set of activities as a BPELet -- a custom activity. Drag a BPELet from the Custom palette to the canvas for any process.

Discover and Fix Problems with Automatic Validation

View a list of Errors, Warnings, and Informatoin for invalid activities. Correct the problem, and it automatically disappears.

Activity Creation Tips

Add a link between activities by selecting the source activity and then selecting the target. Select Link Activities from the right mouse menu.

Contain a group of activities in a container by selecting them and then right mouse clicking on Create Container.

Add an Assign then add/edit copy operations in the Assign by double-clicking the activity or by selecting from the right mouse menu of the activity.

Add fault handling (or other handlers) to a scope by selecting from the right mouse menu Show Fault Handlers, Show Event Handlers, Show Compensation Handler, and Show Termination Handler.

Note that a fault activity is in a catch container. A catch container is inside a fault handler. The activity, catch, and fault handler are separately selectable.

Process Design Tips

Use Auto Layout on any container, such as a While or If activity, to optimize your display area. You can also select a group of objects for auto layout.

Objects snap to a grid. Move an object one pixel at a time by using the Alt key + mouse combination.

Anchor a drawing label to an activity by selecting both and then selecting Anchor Annotation from the right mouse menu.

Press the (?) button or F1 for Context Help on Dialogs

For help on the dialog or view in focus, press the F1 key.

Tip: If no help appears, try clicking within a text box on the dialog before pressing F1.

Leave Help window open when using wizards. You can view new help for each page.

Advanced Help Search for all ActiveBPEL Documentation

You can add the ActiveBPEL InfoCenter into Designer so that you can search through all product documentation for the ActiveBPEL family of products.

The InfoCenter is located on the Active Endpoints Web site, in the Resources section.

For advanced Designer and server documentation searching:

1. From the ActiveBPEL Designer Menu bar, select Help>Search.
2. In the Search view, select the Default link.
3. In the Select Search Scope Sets dialog, select Edit.
4. Select New to open the New Search Engine dialog.
5. In the New Search Engine dialog, select Info Center, and then Finish.
6. In the URL field, paste the following:

http://www.activebpel.org/infocenter/ActiveBPEL/vNN/

where NN is the version you are using.

7. Select OK twice.
8. In the Search view, enable "Show result categories". This is a toolbar button.
9. Perform a search. For example, search for indexed properties to view search results from both Designer and ActiveBPEL Enterprise documentation.

Tip: In the Search view, select the arrow next to Search scope, and disable Local Help to speed up the search.

Starting the ActiveBPEL Embedded Server

For remotely debugging your processes, start the server engine, and complete the deployment steps.

View the ActiveBPEL Administration Console by typing the console URL in your browser.

Starting the server:

• Select the Servers view in the lower right of the workspace.
• Select the Start the Server button. As the server starts up, you see start up tasks scroll in the Console. Several files are deployed to the embedded server each time you start it.

Viewing the server Administration Console in a Designer Web Browser:

http://localhost:8080/BpelAdmin

Change port 8080 if it is already in use on your computer.