Related Topics
This document describes the code-based customization that is available for Process Director, with the appropriate SDK license. This guide is intended for companies that require customization of process or form processing, or that require integration into other applications.
Script Types
Process Director enables you to create Knowledge View, Form, and Process Timeline script types. All script files are stored as ASCX files in Process Director. They can be placed anywhere in the Content List and are referenced (pointed to) by the object definitions that call them.
.NET Forms
The .NET Form enables you to develop forms completely inside the Visual Studio environment to enable the full functionality that .NET offers.
Customization through Scripting
Process Director provides customization options and APIs that allow the product to provide specialized business logic needed by your organization. The programming API enables you to customize the various functions and interfaces of Process Director; it also enables the product to interface with external systems via API calls made through scripting. There are three main areas where custom scripts are implemented: Form processing, Timeline processing, and configuring user options. This customization isn't required, but is important when you want to perform specific business logic for your requirements. The customization is provided by allowing you to create and write custom .NET controls and functions. These custom functions can get and/or modify data within Process Director or external applications.
To develop Scripts inside Visual Studio, use the fully functional Visual Studio project installed with the product named bpVS.zip. This project includes the DLL’s necessary to use Intellisense and compile-time error checking.
Additionally, you can run Process Director inside Visual Studio. This will enable setting of breakpoints in custom scripts, inspection of objects, viewing logs in the Visual Studio output window, and other debugging techniques. To accomplish this, license and install Process Director on a test/development workstation or server. Then launch Visual Studio, select File->Open Web Site, and select the website folder where Process Director is installed (typically C:\Program Files\BP Logix\Process Director\website). If prompted, don't upgrade to .NET 4. Select Debug-Start Debugging. If prompted, allow Visual Studio to modify web.config to enable debugging.
If you are running Process Director on a development server, you can also edit the web.config manually to enable debugging, by adding the attribute debug="true" in the <compilation> section, as shown below. This is NOT a recommended practice for any production system!
<configuration>
<system.web>
<compilation debug="true" targetFramework="X.X"/>
</system.web>
</configuration>
If you manually edit the web.config file, you should be aware that Process Director will overwrite the web.config file on every full or patch installation of Process Director.
To set breakpoints, open the relevant forms or scripts from the FormCache or WfScriptCache folder. Once opened, breakpoints can be set, and variables can subsequently be inspected or modified. Notice that the scripts and forms are overwritten in the cache folders if they are changed. You may need to right-click Refresh the cache folders in Visual Studio to see new files appear.
Documentation Feedback and Questions
If you notice some way that this document can be improved, we're happy to hear your suggestions. Similarly, if you can't find an answer you're looking for, ask it via feedback. Simply click on the button below to provide us with your feedback or ask a question. Please remember, though, that not every issue can be addressed through documentation. So, if you have a specific technical issue with Process Director, please open a support ticket.
