Using the Activity Library
The Activity Library enables you to reuse certain activities that repeat during the automation of business processes, such as a login, to avoid creating the same workflow multiple times.
Use the Activity Library Explorer to edit, copy, or delete activities and search for activities in your organization’s library based on Activity Tags. You can export activities to a package file (.calw) and import these activity package files into the Activity Library.
You can create Activity Tags and assign them to the activities for further categorization and filtering capabilities.
Before You Begin
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To open and to use the Activity Library, you need the Activity Library Open and Activity Library Administration privileges.
For more information about assigning user privileges, see Assign Privileges to a User.
Upload an Activity to the Activity Library
To upload an activity to the Activity Library:
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In RPA Builder, open a process for editing.
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Click an activity to select it and open the context pad.
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In the context pad, click Add to Activity Library (
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In the Upload Workflow to Activity Library window, provide a name and description for the activity.
Each activity must have a unique name, which cannot be longer than 60 characters. Otherwise, RPA Builder cancels the upload and shows an error message. -
Click Upload.
Import an Activity from the Activity Library
To import an activity from the Activity Library to your project:
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Select an activity in your project.
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In the context pad, click Import Workflow from Activity Library (
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Select the activity to import and click either Add as a library reference or Add as a local copy, depending on which method you want to use.
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Add as a library reference
This method creates a link in each process to an activity from the Activity Library. Because the activity is already saved in the library, it is not uploaded again. The activity automatically receives the name of the reference, and you cannot change the name in the BPMN editor. An activity with a referenced workflow shows a gray background in the task element.
If you import an activity from the Activity Library as a reference, the system checks whether the activity parameters contained in the activity fit the process. If the activity (or the workflow behind it) contains activity parameters that are missing in the process, you can either add these parameters to the process or cancel the import.
You cannot import an activity that contains activity parameters that use the same name but a different data type as the activity parameters in the process.
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Add as a local copy
This method creates a local copy of the workflow behind the activity and inserts it into the project, which enables you to make changes. However, because there is no reference to the activity in the Activity Library, the local copy does not automatically update if the activity in the Activity Library changes.
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Change the Revision of a Referenced Activity
If the deployed revision of a referenced activity does not work properly in a process or if you accidentally deployed the latest revision using RPA Manager, follow these steps to revert the activity to an earlier or later revision:
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In the BPMN editor, click the referencing activity.
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On the context pad, click Show Activity Log (
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In the window Activity Log, select the revision to use. The link symbol shows the currently referenced revision.
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Click Download.
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In the window A workflow is already mapped to this activity, click Yes to replace the workflow with the selected revision.
Convert Referenced Activities to a Local Copy
Creating a copy of a referenced activity enables you to modify the activity.
To create a local copy of a referenced activity:
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In the BMPN editor, double-click the referenced activity to copy.
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Click Create Copy.
After you click Create a Copy, the workflow behind the activity opens in the Workbench for editing. Because the activity loses its reference, the next time you upload the activity, it is treated as a new workflow.