Using Variables
Variables are powerful tools that allow you to save and use values throughout your Workflow. You can predefine variables (the Login Data in your Workflow for example) or create variables at runtime (by using Read Clipboard for example) and then use these variables within other action steps. Think of a variable as a placeholder for any text/numeric constant, or value. When creating the Workflow, you can create variables and use them as placeholders. During execution, these variables will be resolved to the value you gave them or that you want to assign to during execution. For example, if Read Clipboard is used, then the clipboard content at that point during execution will be transferred to a variable and any action step referencing that variable will then use the value transferred.
Pin Variables
Pin variables are used by creating a mapping between one set of action step properties and another action step variable. If this option is available, a little pin will be shown on the action step that can be mapped to:
In the example above, Read Clipboard provides a variable which can then be subsequently used by Ping. This is indicated by the pin icon on the right-hand side of the Ping element. Click on the pin to open the Edit Variable Mappings wizard:
Here you can see a list of all Ping properties that can be mapped to. Each property has an adjacent drop-down box containing all variables which can be mapped to the associated property. To map a variable, simply select it from the drop-down box. The variables which can be allocated may change depending on the position of the action step. A variable can only be allocated to the property "Suffix" within a configured File Controlled Loop. Other variables are limited to one Transaction. This limitation can be overcome using the Variable action step. When you close the wizard, you will see that there is now an active mapping, indicated by a black pin:
You can also view a list of all other action steps that a particular action step has taken variables from.
To do this, open the context menu for the action step of interest by right-clicking on the Workbench, then select the entry Mapped to action step. The list will be displayed as a sub-menu.
Clicking on an element in this sub-menu will take you directly to the corresponding action step.