Introduction
The specification flow task provides the ability to customize the behavior of specifications created by running a project. Multiple steps can be configured, and the actions that are taken at each customized.
Specification Flow gives complete control over the specification process.
It allows the creation of the navigation buttons that appear on the user forms.
You can choose what will be created from a specification and when it will happen.
Furthermore you decide which Users or Teams have permission to perform actions on a specification.
Beyond simply customizing the built-in specification flow, it is possible to completely replace it with a custom one of your own design to gain complete control over the specification process.
At the top of the specification flow designer, there is a list of warnings (if there aren't any then this won't be visible). Many of these warnings will prevent you from being able to run a project.
Default Specification Flow
The default specification flow can be customized to suit your own requirements. This is useful if changing the name of the Transitions or Operations is all that is required. Anything more than this and we recommend to Clear the default Specification Flow.
To Customize the Specification Flow
By default, the Specification Flow for a project is not customized and cannot be changed. A warning message indicating this will appear at the top of the design area, which reads:
Warning: This specification flow is not customized and can not be edited
To customize the Specification Flow, click the 
button on the command bar.
To add a state to the specification flow
| Step 1 |  | Click the "Add State" button on the command bar. |
|---|---|---|
| Step 2 |  | Give the new state a name and click OK or hit Return on the keyboard to create it. |
Every Specification Flow must have one Initial State.
This tells DriveWorks which state a specification enters when a new specification is started.
 | For the default specification flow the Initial State is the Specify State. |
To Change the Initial State
| Step 1 |  | Right click on the State that is to be set as the Initial State. This will open the State Type dialog. |
|---|---|---|
| Step 2 |  | Click "Initial State". The state has now been set to be the initial state |
To Change the Type of State
Once a State has been added to the design area it's type can be set.
There are three types of states:
| Step 1 | | Right click on the State that is to have its type changed. This will open the State Type dialog. Select one of the state types:
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To Open the State Editor
The state editor enables an administrator to customize the tasks that are run when operations and transitions are started, or when events occur.
| Step 1 |  | Click the "Edit..." link at the bottom of the state to edit. |
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To Create a new Operation on a State
| Step 1 | | Select the state on which to create the new operation. |
|---|---|---|
| Step 2 |  | Click the "Add Operation" button on the command bar. |
| Step 3 |  | Give the new operation a name and click OK or hit Return on the keyboard to create it. |
To Create a new Transition from one State to Another
- Select the state from which the transition will start.
- Click the "New Transition" button on the command bar.
- Give the new transition a name and press Enter or Return to create it.
|
To Change the Target of a Transition
If the transition already has a target:
- Click the orb next to the arrow head at the target of the transition, and drag it over the new target state.
If the target does not already have a target state:
- Expand the source state, find the transition, and drag its title over the new target state.
To Rename a State
- Click the title of the state to rename, the state will become selected.
- Click the "Rename" button on the command bar.
- Type the new name of the state.
- Press Enter or Return to save the new name.
 | If you are working with a specification flow that has already been customized, be careful when renaming states because they might be referred to by name in rules in your project, e.g. by using the DWCurrentStateName special variable. |
To Delete a State
- Click the title of the state to rename, the state will become selected.
- Click the "Delete" button on the command bar.
To See an Overview of a Large Specification Flow
If a specification flow becomes so large that it cannot be see without scrolling, a preview can be turned on by clicking on the "Overview" button on the command bar.
You can click and drag the red rectangle in the overview to navigate the specification flow.
To Reset the Specification Flow to the Default
- Click the "Restore Default" button on the command bar.
| If you restore the default specification flow, all of your customizations will be lost. |
Load Template
To load an exported template it must first be installed on the DriveWorks Administrator machine it is to be used.
- Using Windows Explorer, locate the .drivesft template file created when the template was exported.
- Right click on the template file and select Open. The DriveWorks Content Installer will guide you through the process of making this template available in DriveWorks Administrator.
- Select who will have access to use the template. Click Next.
- Review the details of the template to ensure the correct one has been loaded. Click Next to begin the install.
- Click Finish to close the content installer.
Once the template has been installed on the DriveWorks Administrator machine it will be available in the Template list once the Load Template button is clicked.
- Click Load Template from the command bar of the specification flow stage.
- Select the template from the template list
- Click Finish to load the template.
Export Template
The customized specification flow can be exported as a template, this is essential when:
- The current customization needs additional modification.
- The current customization is to be repeated on additional projects in the same group.
Using the Export function on projects in different groups may cause complications if the security policy is different between the groups or the specification flow refers to documents or models specific to the source group.
To Export the Specification Flow
- Save the current customization by clicking the Save project icon on the DriveWorks Administrator toolbar.
- Click the Export Template button
- Enter a Title for the customization, this name will be shown when the template is loaded.
- Enter a description for the template, the description ideally gives a good synopsis of what the specification flow does.
- Click Next and browse to a location to save the template and enter a File Name.
The created template will have the file extension .drivesft.
Aligning States
To align two or more states, either box select (by click-dragging the specification flow design surface), or control-select each state you wish to align, and then press the relevant alignment button.
The following alignment
tools are available:
| Icon | Alignment | Description |
|---|---|---|
 | Align Left | Aligns all selected states to the left most position |
 | Align Top | Aligns all selected states to the top most position |
 | Equalize Vertical Spacing | Evenly distributes three or more selected states between the top most and bottom most selections |
 | Align Center | Aligns all selected states to the centre (vertically) of the last selected state |
 | Align Middle | Aligns all selected states to the middle (horizontally) of the last selected state |
 | Equalize Horizontal Spacing | Evenly distributes three or more selected states between the left most and right most selections |
 | Align Right | Aligns all selected states to the right most position |
 | Align Bottom | Aligns all selected states to the bottom most position |
To Zoom In and Out of a Specification Flow
To zoom in or out of a specification flow, hold the control key on your keyboard, and scroll using the wheel on your mouse.
To reset the zoom to 100% at any time, double click the Zoom box at the top right of the specification flow.
To Rename/Delete/Modify Transitions and Operations in a State
To be able to work with transitions or operations in a state, you first need to expand the state by using the Expand/Collapse box at the top right of the state, this will expand the state so that it looks like the following:
You can then use the arrows at the top and bottom to scroll the operations, transitions, and events in the state.
- To select an operation, transition, or event, click it in the list.
- To edit conditions or tasks for an operation, transition, or event, double click it in the list to launch the State Editor with the operation, transition, or event selected.
- To delete an operation or transition, select it in the list, and click the "Delete" button on the command bar.
- To reorder an operation or transition, the operation or transition to the desired location.
 | The order of the operations and transitions in the state list is the same as they will be shown on the specification explorer. |
- To change the name of an operation or transition, select it in the list, and click the "Name" link that appears to the right.
- To change the title of an operation or transition, select it in the list, and click the "Title" link that appears to the right.
| Operations and Transitions have both a name and a title. Two operations or transitions can have the same title but must have different names, this is useful in cases where you want the end-user to see the same action, but you want to do slightly different things, perhaps based on the team they belong to, or settings in DriveWorks. For example, in the default specification flow, there are two Release transitions ReleaseLocal and ReleaseToAutopilot which are both titled Release, but only one is visible to the end-user depending on the settings in DriveWorks. |
Load Template
To load an exported template it must first be installed on the DriveWorks Administrator machine it is to be used.
- Using Windows Explorer, locate the .drivesft template file created when the template was exported.
- Right click on the template file and select Open. The DriveWorks Content Installer will guide you through the process of making this template available in DriveWorks Administrator.
- Select who will have access to use the template. Click Next.
- Review the details of the template to ensure the correct one has been loaded. Click Next to begin the install.
- Click Finish to close the content installer.
Once the template has been installed on the DriveWorks Administrator machine it will be available in the Template list once the Load Template button is clicked.
- Click Load Template from the command bar of the specification flow stage.
- Select the template from the template list
- Click Finish to load the template.
See Also
Administrator - Using
States
Security
Condition Editor
Administrator - Knowledge Base
How To: Modify
Specification Flow