User Interface

Automation Builder provides a graphical user interface for arranging and connecting tasks on a canvas to create a flow-based automation. To access, select Automation Studio from the IAP homepage and then choose your desired automation or create a new one.

Figure: Automation Studio

Collection View

The collection view in Automation Studio displays a list of all the automations deployed across a system. From here, you can search or browse the automation collection to select an automation to open. Automations that have an hourglass icon in their card or list view were built in the Automation Builder Gen 1 interface, while automations without an icon in their title were built using Automation Builder Gen 2. Each will open in the appropriate editor version when clicked.

Figure: Automation List

Create an Automation

From any Automation Studio view, you can click the plus (+) icon to create a new automation. First, select Automation in the type dropdown. Next, enter a name for the new automation. Finally, select which generation of Automation Builder to build the automation with and click Create.

Figure: Creating automations

Note: For additional information on this functionality, see the Automation Studio Overview guide on the docs.itential.com site.

Automation Canvas

Below is a sample of the Generation 1 Automation Builder canvas, along with a reference table that highlights the various menu views and functions.

Figure: Main canvas view

Label	UI Element	Function
1	Generic actions	Buttons (from left to right) for New component, Automation Studio Home, Search, Import, and Documentation.
2	Search	Search for available automations in the system.
3	Applications menu	Applications that comprise the Automation Studio suite.
4	Sidebar control	Allows the user to shrink or expand the sidebar navigation.
5	Automation title bar	Buttons (from left to right) for Save automation, Start job, Open secondary actions menu.
6	Transition toolbar	Functions (from left to right) include Transition selector (T key), Transition binding, Transition action.
7	Automation inspector	Use the dropdown to select an item to search for and use the text field to enter a search term. Use the alternated arrows button and select a task to highlight where its inputs come from and where its outputs go.
8	Task toolbar	Buttons (from left to right) to Increase font size, Decrease font size, Fit automation, Copy task, Delete task.
9	Task search	Search for available tasks.
10	Deprecated task toggle	Shows or hides deprecated tasks.
11	Task list	Available tasks for the automation.
12	Task list controls	Allows user to shrink or expand the task navigation.

Rename an Automation

To rename an automation:

1. Click the Ellipsis button in the title bar and select the View metadata option. Automation Builder will open the Automation Settings dialog.
2. Type the new automation name into the Automation Name field.
3. Click SAVE.

Figure: Automation Settings Dialog

Automation Groups

As an option, automation groups restrict who is authorized to start jobs from an automation. When automation groups are assigned, only group members can start jobs from the automation.

Automation groups are a similar concept to task groups that restrict who is authorized to work a manual task.

To set optional automation groups:

1. Click the Ellipsis button in the title bar and select the View metadata option. Automation Builder will open the Automation Settings dialog.
2. Begin typing the name of a group in the Automation Groups field. Matching group names will appear in a list after you begin typing.
3. Click the correct group name to add that group to the automation groups. The group will not be added unless it is selected from the list. Add as many groups to the automation groups as desired.
4. Click SAVE.

See the Automation Settings Dialog figure above.

Resize Automation to Fit Window

To resize an automation:

1. Click the Fit Window button in the upper right corner of the Automation Builder canvas. The automation will be reduced to fit within the visible area of the canvas.
2. Click SAVE

Clone an Automation

To clone an automation:

1. Click the Clone button in the title bar. Automation Builder will open the Clone Automation dialog.

2. Type a name for the cloned automation.

3. Click SAVE.

   Figure: Clone Automation Dialog

   

Start an Automation

To start an automation:

1. Click the Start button in the title bar to open the Job Description dialog (see figure below).

2. Enter a description for the job (optional).

3. Click START.

   Figure: Job Description

   

   Automation Builder will analyze the automation and find all job variables. If an automation requires job variables, Automation Builder will display the Set Variables dialog box where you can see the required job variables set to null values (see figure below).

4. Enter the desired values with the required data types, e.g., "device": "er1.wdc".

5. Click START.

   Figure: Set Variables Dialog

   

Search an Automation

Automation Builder supports searching the content of your automations through the Search Canvas function located at the top of the main canvas. This inspection function is captioned as label 7 in the canvas view reference table.

1. Select the option to search in the dropdown. Available search options include: app, description, id, job variable, name, and summary.
2. Enter a search term in the field next to the dropdown.
3. Click the search icon (magnifying glass) to start the search and highlight all tasks that match the search term.
4. To clear the search, click the CLEAR button.

Example

Let's say you have the following automation open in the editor. The workflow design is simple, with only one task.

Here's the configuration for the concat task. Note the myJobVar reference variable.

Searching for the exact text myJobVar will yield the following highlight (black frame) on the canvas to indicate the job variable is found in the concat task.

Data Highlight Mode

In addition to searching the automation canvas, Automation Builder supports highlighting the source and destination of a task's inputs and outputs. With this feature you can track how data is moving through an automation. To visualize the data relationship of a task to the rest of an automation, click the Data Highlight Mode icon located next the search icon, and then click the task to display the visualization.

The reference table below explains the various highlight colors associated with data visualization when Data Highlight Mode is enabled.

Color	Description
black	A black frame surrounding the task box shows the data that is being referenced or where the current task is pulling the data from.
blue	A blue frame surrounding a task box shows the data is being assigned from the search task to this task.
red	A red frame surrounding a task shows that the task has assigned data from a search task and also retrieving data.

Troubleshooting Automations

This section presents a list of errors and warnings that can occur when saving a workflow that does not pass validation.

Draft Errors

When an automation is incomplete or has an error, it is saved as a draft. The DRAFT indicator appears in the bottom-right corner of the canvas, indicating the number of errors in the automation. An error modal also displays with a description of the errors. You can close the modal by clicking CLOSE. To see the errors again, click DRAFT.

The following is a list of draft errors that can occur in Automation Builder.

Draft Error	Description	How to Fix
No config found for adapter ${app}.	The task adapter is not in the config.	Install the adapter on the current IAP.
Cannot find match for input "${leftoverModelInput}" from model.	Task parameters do not match the parameters on the task model. The task model contains a paremeter that is not defined in the task.	Delete and re-add the task on the workflow to save against the correct model inputs.
Cannot find match for input "${leftoverTaskInput}" from task.	Task parameters do not match the parameters on the task model. The task contains a paremeter that is not defined in the task model.	Delete and re-add the task on the workflow to save against the correct model inputs.
Output ${output} does not match model output ${outputName}.	Outgoing variable in task does not match the name of the output defined on the model.	Delete and re-add the task on the workflow to save against the correct model output.
Method not found.	The adapter task method is not defined in the adapter config.	Restart the adapter. If the method is still not found, replace the task with a valid adapter task.
No applications found.	No applications in the config.	Check that the application is present in the services page and restart the application.
Package not found.	Package not found in the config	N/A
Input ${inputName} is not a valid name according to platform naming conventions.	A model input of a task does not follow IAP naming conventions.	Fix the invalid name using a valid name.
Output ${outputName} is not a valid name according to platform naming conventions.	The model output of a task does not follow IAP naming conventions.	Fix the invalid name using a valid name.
Referenced job variable "${varName}" is not a valid name according to platform naming conventions.	The reference job variable of a task's incoming variable was edited in a way that makes it invalid.	Fix the invalid name using a valid name.
Outgoing job variable "${varName}" is not a valid name according to platform naming conventions.	The outgoing variable of a task was promoted to a job variable and edited in a way that makes it invalid.	Fix the invalid name using a valid name.
Error job variable "${varName}" is not a valid name according to platform naming conventions.	The error variable of a task was promoted to a job variable and edited in a way that makes it invalid.	Fix the invalid name using a valid name.
Task cannot contain ${state} standard and revert transitions.	A task contains a revert and standard transition of the same state (success, failure, or error).	Remove either the standard or revert transition with a duplicate state from the invalid task.
Task must contain only one ${state} revert transition.	A task contains two revert transitions of the same state (success, failure, or error).	Remove any duplicate state revert transitions from the invalid task.
Manual tasks require "groups" array to contain at least one active group.	A manual task can have zero groups specified or one/many active IAP groups.	Either add an active group to the manual task or remove all its groups.
Manual tasks require "view" key with path to task view.	A manual task does not contain a view, although it is required by all manual tasks.	Provide a valid view in the pronghorn.json for the task.
Invalid transition object requires keys: "type", "state".	The automation contains a transition that is missing the type and/or state properties.	Replace the invalid transition with a valid transition.
Invalid "from" task is not found in task list.	The automation does not contain the "from" task in the transition.	Replace the invalid transition with a transition that contains a valid "from" task.
Invalid "to" task is not found in task list.	The automation does not contain the "to" task in the transition.	Replace the invalid transition with a transition that contains a valid "to" task.
Invalid "type" for transition; must be one of ${types}.	The transition has an invalid type.	Replace the invalid transition with a valid transition type: "standard" or "revert".
Invalid "state" for transition; must be one of: ${state}.	The transition has an invalid state.	Replace the invalid transition with a transition with a valid state of "error", "failure", or "success".
Transition is part of a cyclic path.	The automation contains standard transitions that create a cycle.	Remove a transition to prevent cyclic paths.
Revert transitions must be from a future task to a previous task.	The automation contains a revert transition that moves forward in the automation.	Remove the offending revert transition.
Loop transitions can only exist from loop tasks (i.e. "forEach") to other tasks.	The automation contains a loop transition from a task that is not forEach.	Remove the offending loop transition.

Draft Warnings

An automation can also contain warnings that indicate problems in the automation. The WARNING indicator appears on the bottom-right corner of the canvas if the automation contains warnings. Note that warnings do not place an automation into draft status, and a job can be started from an automation if the automation has warnings and no errors.

The following list of draft warnings can occur in Automation Builder.

Draft Warning	Description	How to Fix
Invalid incoming static variable value ${variableName} is required but no value was provided.	A non-string incoming variable for a task is marked as required, but the field is left empty.	Provide a valid value for the required variable in the invalid task.
Invalid incoming static variable value ${variableName} is of type enum but has a non-enumerated value ${variableValue}.	A static variable is of type enum, but the value input is not of type enum or string.	Provide a valid value for the required variable in the invalid task.
Invalid incoming static variable value ${variableName} should be of type ${variableType} but is of type ${typeof variableValue}.	The static variable type does not match the type defined on the task.	Provide a value of the correct type for the offending variable in the invalid task.