Table of Contents
Object: Connectors
Connectors are used to display links between the different modeling objects. Connector types. There are three standard connectors available: Sequence Flow The sequence flow is used to display the seq…
Table of Contents
Connectors are used to display links between the different modeling objects.
Connector types
There are three standard connectors available:
 Sequence Flow | The sequence flow is used to display the sequence of the process from the start event, through the various tasks to be completed, to the End event. It usually links tasks with subsequent tasks, events and sub-processes. |
 Association Link | The association link is used to display the reference of additional information on tasks: This includes, for example:
|
 Message Flow | The message flow is used to display the communication between different process participants. Therefore it connects different pools / swimlanes with each other. |
However, if you want to use a different connector, you can select it in advance in the symbol area of the Process Designer or change the format of the connector.
Modelling with connectors
You can model connectors in different ways:
New connector via mini icon palette | Select the object from which the connector is to be dragged by mouse click so that it is highlighted and the mini icon palette is displayed. From the mini palette, drag and drop the symbol for the connector to the center of the object to be connected and release the mouse when the object is displayed with a green frame.   When the connector is modeled in this way, the connector's start and end points change automatically, if necessary, when one of the connected objects is moved. |
From / To an anchor point of the object | Point the mouse to the border of an object so that the anchor points (blue crosses) are displayed. Then drag and drop the mouse from one of these anchor points onto the anchor point to be connected and release it when it is highlighted in red.  When the connector is modeled in this way, the connector's start and end points always remain the same when one of the connected objects is moved. |
Change position to other object | Use the mouse to point to the beginning or end of an existing connector. From there, drag the connector to the center or to the anchor point of another object.  |
Changing the orientation of a connector | Mark the created connector by mouse click. Green squares appear at the edges of the connector. The orientation of the connector can be adjusted by dragging and dropping these squares.  |
Additional option: New connector from center to center
In the process management settings, you can activate the option that a new connector can also be created by dragging "from center to center". If this option is activated, you can also create a new connector in the following way:
From / To the center of the object | Use the mouse to point exactly in the middle of the object until the white index finger appears and the object is framed in green. Then drag and drop the mouse to the center of the object to be connected and release the mouse when the object is also framed in green.  When the connector is modeled in this way, the connector's start and end points change automatically, if necessary, when one of the connected objects is moved. |
In this case, the mouse must be positioned slightly off center to move an object.
Formatting and settings of connectors
Connector label
With a double click or right click on a modelled connector its properties can be opened.
For a better understanding of the process model a label can be entered for each connector.
If the 'Move edge labels' setting is activated in the options in the footer of the Process Designer, the label can be moved to any position in the process model by dragging and dropping the yellow square on the connector label.
The option 'Allow dangling edges' allows you to drag connectors even if they do not have a defined end point in the process model.
Formatting
With a right click on the modelled connector the formatting of the standard connectors can be changed in the 'Format' area.
In addition to the settings for color, width and a dashed line display, the alignment can be defined in the area 'Connector'.
The 'Line Start' and 'Line End' areas can also be used to adjust the symbol at both ends of the connector. Thus a relationship can be represented either directed or undirected.
How did we do?
Object: Sub-Process
Object: Events
