When creating you workflow you will need to have different steps in the process. A step contains one or more actions that need to happen in a particular part of a process.
A common example of a step is a simple step that runs and allocation rule to find out to whom a task should be allocated and then creates that task. This article describes how to add a step onto a workflow canvas.
- Open up your workflow canvas
- Select the toolbox tab on the right hand side
- Select the workflow step option (use search to find) and drag and drop onto the canvas
- Click on the step that has been added onto the canvas to highlight it
- On the right hand side the screen will allow you to enter in the configuration for the step
| Step name | This will potentially be visible to end users to give it a meaningful name that describes the function of the step |
| Step system name | This is the unique system name for the step - you may wish to follow our naming convention recommendations which can be found here - Naming Conventions |
| Description | Descriptive text which describes the purpose of the step |
| Optimal path | Setting optimal path to On indicates that this is part of the standard pathway of the flow. |
Create a step by dropping an action onto the canvas
From Clio Operate 7.13, you can create a step by dropping an action onto an empty area of the canvas. Clio Operate creates a new step at the drop point and puts the action inside it. You do not need to add a Workflow step first.
The canvas highlights a step when you drag an action over it, but displays no highlight over an empty area. If you release an action outside the step that you intended, Clio Operate creates a new step instead.
- Open your workflow canvas.
- Select the Toolbox tab on the right-hand side.
- Find the action that you want to add. You can use Search toolbox to find it.
- Drag the action onto an empty area of the canvas, away from any existing step, and release it.
The canvas displays a new step at the drop point, with the action inside it. On a busy canvas, the new step can cover nearby steps. If it does, drag the new step to a clear area.
The new step works in the same way as a step that you add from the toolbox. You can select it to configure it, and you can add connections to and from it. You can configure the action inside it in the usual way.
Where an action lands
The result depends on where you release the action.
| Where you release the action | Result |
|---|---|
| Over an existing step | The step highlights, and Clio Operate adds the action to that step. |
| Over the start step or the end step, marked PLAN START and PLAN END | Clio Operate adds the action to that step. |
| On an empty area of the canvas | Clio Operate creates a new step that contains the action. |
| On a connection line between two steps | Clio Operate creates a new step that contains the action. The existing steps and the connection do not change. |
| Outside the canvas, or you press Esc before you release it | Clio Operate does not add the action or create a step. |
Default step names
Clio Operate gives the new step a default Step name and Step system name, based on the number of steps in the workflow. The count includes the start step and the end step. For example, a new workflow has only those two steps, so the first step that you create is named Step 3, with the system name step3.
If you deleted a step earlier, the default system name can match a step that already exists. Clio Operate then displays "Step system names must be unique within the workflow", and both steps display Step has errors. To fix the error, change the Step system name of the new step.
Clio recommends that you give each new step a meaningful name. For system names, see Configuration Best Practice - Names and System Names.
Move or copy actions into a new step
You can also drag actions that are already on the canvas out of their step and onto an empty area. Clio Operate creates a new step for them. Each action keeps its configuration.
- To move an action, drag it out of its step. Clio Operate removes the action from the original step.
- To copy an action, hold down Ctrl (Option on a Mac) as you drag it. The original action stays in its step, and the copy has its own configuration.
- To move several actions together, hold down Shift and select each action, then drag them as a group. The new step contains all of them, in their original order. The order matters, because a step runs its actions in that order.
If you move the last action out of a step, the original step stays on the canvas with no actions. Check the connections to and from that step, and delete the step if the workflow no longer needs it. See Delete a step or action, later in this article.
Duplicate a step or action
From Clio Operate 7.13, you can duplicate a step or an action on the workflow canvas. The copy has the same configuration as the original, so you do not need to set it up again.
Each step and each action has an ellipsis icon (⋮). On a step, the icon is in the top-right corner. On an action, the icon is at the right-hand end.
- Select the ellipsis icon (⋮) on the step or action that you want to duplicate.
- Select Duplicate.
Clio Operate selects the copy and displays its configuration on the right of the screen.
What a duplicate step contains
The duplicate step appears on top of the original, slightly below and to the right. Drag the copy to a clear space on the canvas.
A duplicate step has these settings:
| Setting | In the copy |
|---|---|
| Step name | The original name followed by (copy), for example Send letter (copy). |
| Step system name | The original system name. Clio Operate adds a number to keep the system name unique, for example sendLetter_1. |
| Description and Optimal path | The same as the original. |
| Actions | A copy of each action in the original step, in the same order and with the same configuration. |
| Connections | None. The copy is not connected to any other step. |
If you rename the copy, its Step system name stays the same. To change the system name, edit the Step system name field.
What a duplicate action contains
The duplicate action appears at the end of the same step. It has the same name and configuration, but it is not connected to any other step. Add the connections that the copy needs.
Actions run in the order in which they appear in the step. If the copy needs to run earlier, drag it to its place in the step.
Duplicate the start or end step
The start and end steps are marked PLAN START and PLAN END on the canvas. If you duplicate one of these steps, Clio Operate creates a new ordinary step instead. The new step contains copies of the actions and has a default name, for example Step 4 (copy).
Copy and paste steps and actions
From Clio Operate 7.13, you can also copy and paste steps and actions with keyboard shortcuts. On a Mac, use Cmd in place of Ctrl.
You can copy one step at a time, or one or more actions. You can paste only into the workflow that you copied from, and only until you close that workflow.
Copy a step
- On the workflow canvas, select the step that you want to copy. Select the step itself, not one of its actions.
- Press Ctrl+C.
- Press Ctrl+V.
The pasted step is the same as a step that you create with Duplicate.
If you copy the start or end step, Clio Operate copies only its actions. When you paste, Clio Operate creates a new step for those actions.
Copy actions
- On the workflow canvas, select the actions that you want to copy. To select more than one action, hold Shift and select each action.
- Press Ctrl+C.
- Select the step where you want to paste the actions. You can also select any action in that step.
- Press Ctrl+V.
Clio Operate adds the pasted actions to the end of the step, in the order in which you selected them. If nothing is selected when you paste, Clio Operate pastes the actions into the step that you copied them from.
The pasted actions keep their names and configuration, but they are not connected to any other step. Actions run in the order in which they appear in the step. Drag the pasted actions to where they need to run.
Delete a step or action
From Clio Operate 7.13, the ellipsis menu on each step and action also has a Delete option. You can still select a step or action and press the Delete key.
Clio Operate deletes the step or action straight away. It does not ask you to confirm, and the canvas has no undo. When you delete a step, Clio Operate also deletes its actions and its connections to other steps.
If you delete something by mistake, select Close before you save. Clio Operate closes the workflow without asking, and discards every unsaved change.
- Select the ellipsis icon (⋮) on the step or action that you want to delete.
- Select Delete.
You cannot delete the start step or the end step. On their menus, Delete is greyed out.