Subflow Input

This node is used to describe the input to a subflow. The starting entity in the Subflow Input node is optional. Providing this field allows you to explicitly supply these details to give the subflow the context it needs to be able to execute, information that will be passed to the subflow from the runbook.

Properties

Node Label — Type an informative name for the Subflow Input node. You can keep the system-provided default of "Subflow Input" if you wish.

Debug — Select Debug if you want to receive debug data when the node executes.

Starting Entity

Specify the object that will be passed to the subflow by choosing it from the dropdown menu.

Context Values Received From Caller

Specify the names of variables that correspond to parameters that will be passed into the subflow. (Each variable needs to be defined separately.) When the subflow is placed in a runbook, these will be listed in the subflow node editor, and each will require a value to be supplied.

In order to make the configuration of the subflow input variables within a runbook easier, the UI allows the author to Configure a description on each of the variables input into the subflow so the user can better understand what each variable does. The UI also allows the user to configure the validation of the input values and to specify lists of values that are applicable to string variables. To configure the description and/or the value options for each variable click the Configure button:

After the Configure button is pressed the Configure Input Parameters dialog will appear and this will allow you to configure the Description and Value of the input parameter. The following screen shot shows the Description tab.

On the Description tab, specify the description that should appear when the subflow is editor is used to edit the subflow in a runbook. For example if you specify the string "This is the description that will be shown to the user", here is an example of the description when it is viewed in the subflow editor when the subflow is dragged into a runbook:

To configure the input variable Value, click on the Value tab and you will see the following for a string variable:

For an integer variable you will see the following:

The following options can be specified:

  • Required - select this to specify that the variable is a required variable. When set to true and the subflow is being edited in the runbook, the subflow editor will not close until this field has a value.

  • Advanced - select this to specify that the variable should be hidden under the advanced section in the subflow editor and will only be visible if the user expands the advanced section.

  • Allowed Values

    • Any - Specify this if there are no restrictions on the value

    • From Regular Expression - Select this and specify the regular expression to use to validate the value. If a regular expression is specified the user will not be able to save the edits until the regular expression is satisfied. This only applies to strings.

    • Between - Select this to specify a range of integers or floats that the specified value must be between when the user edits the subflow in a runbook. This only applies to integers and floats.

    • From List - Specify a list of values that the user can select. When editing the subflow the user then is restricted to this set of values

Context Values Sent Back To Caller

Specify the names of variables that correspond to parameters that will be passed out of the subflow to the runbook. (Each variable needs to be defined separately.) When the subflow is placed in a runbook, these will be listed in the subflow node editor, and each will require a value to be supplied.

In order to make the configuration of the subflow output variables within a runbook easier, the UI allows the author to Configure a description on each of the variables output from the subflow so the user can better understand what each variable does. To configure the description of each variable click the Configure button:

Clicking configure will bring up a dialog similar to the configuration dialog shown above for the input variables. Since output variables do not allow the user to set the value, the only thing that can be configured is the description. Configuring the description will produce a question mark icon on the output variable when the subflow is edited after being dragged into a runbook. It will appear as shown above for the input variables.

Runbook Compatibility

Subflow