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Signals

Signals are events with a specific name. Signals are broadcasted globally, they are not limited by a process scope. It means that a signal triggered in one BPM process can be caught in another process.

The signals feature is a part of the Advanced Pack extension and can be utilized in the BPM and Workflows tools.

How signals are broadcasted:

  • There are set of standard signals which are broadcasted upon specific events in the application. These built-in signals are listed below in the article.
  • It's possible to broadcast custom signals in a BPM process.
  • It's possible to broadcast custom signals using the Formula function bpm\broadcastSignal(SIGNAL_NAME).
  • It's possible to broadcast custom signals via PHP code.

There are two types of signals:

  • Regular signals
  • Object signals

In this article:

Regular signals

  • Can be broadcasted and caught within a running process.
  • Cannot be used to start a process or a workflow rule.

In BPM processes, the Signal Intermediate Events can catch and throw only regular signals.

Built-in signals

Below is the list of available out-of-the-box signals which are broadcasted in the system upon specific conditions.

Note

Signal name parts written in the upper case (e.g. ENTITY_TYPE, ID, LINK_NAME) must be replaced with corresponding values. E.g. when an Account with an ID abc01 is updated, a signal update.Account.abc01 is broadcasted. See the naming clarification below.

Default

  • create.ENTITY_TYPE – record of ENTITY_TYPE created, e.g. create.Lead;
  • update.ENTITY_TYPE.ID – record update, e.g. update.Lead.aabbcc01;
  • delete.ENTITY_TYPE.ID – record removed;
  • relate.ENTITY_TYPE.ID.LINK_NAME – record related with another record (only for many-to-many);
  • relate.ENTITY_TYPE.ID.LINK_NAME.FOREIGN_ID – record related with another record, ID of the related record is specified (only for many-to-many);
  • unrelate.ENTITY_TYPE.ID.LINK_NAME – record unrelated from another record (only for many-to-many);
  • unrelate.ENTITY_TYPE.ID.LINK_NAME.FOREIGN_ID – (only for many-to-many);
  • createRelated.ENTITY_TYPE.ID.LINK_NAME – created a related record, one-to-many relationship, e.g. Opportunity created for Account;
  • createChild.ENTITY_TYPE.ID.CHILD_ENTITY_TYPE – when created a record related through a parent, e.g. Meeting created for Account;
  • streamPost.ENTITY_TYPE.ID – when somebody posted in the stream;

Contacts/Leads

  • leadCapture.ENTITY_TYPE.ID – when a Lead (or Contact) is processed through the Lead Capture (confirmed opt-in if the double opt-in is enabled);
  • leadCapture.ENTITY_TYPE.ID.LEAD_CAPTURE_ID – the same, but the ID of a Lead Capture record is specified;
  • optOut.ENTITY_TYPE.ID – person opted-out;
  • optOut.ENTITY_TYPE.ID.TARGET_LIST_ID – person opted-out from a specific target list;
  • cancelOptOut.ENTITY_TYPE.ID – person opted-in again;
  • cancelOptOut.ENTITY_TYPE.ID.TARGET_LIST_ID;
  • eventAccepted.ENTITY_TYPE.ID.EVENT_ENTITY_TYPE – person accepted a meeting/call invitation;
  • eventAccepted.ENTITY_TYPE.ID.EVENT_ENTITY_TYPE.EVENT_ID – person accepted a meeting/call invitation, event id is specified;
  • eventTentative.ENTITY_TYPE.ID.EVENT_ENTITY_TYPE – person set Tentative status in a meeting/call invitation;
  • eventTentative.ENTITY_TYPE.ID.EVENT_ENTITY_TYPE.EVENT_ID;
  • eventAcceptedTentative.ENTITY_TYPE.ID.EVENT_ENTITY_TYPE – person set Accepted or Tentative status in a meeting/call invitation;
  • eventAcceptedTentative.ENTITY_TYPE.ID.EVENT_ENTITY_TYPE.EVENT_ID;
  • eventDeclined.ENTITY_TYPE.ID.EVENT_ENTITY_TYPE – person declined a meeting/call invitation;
  • eventDeclined.ENTITY_TYPE.ID.EVENT_ENTITY_TYPE.EVENT_ID

Contacts/Leads/Accounts/Users

  • clickUrl.ENTITY_TYPE.ID – recipient opened a tracking URL , see here;
  • clickUrl.ENTITY_TYPE.ID.CAMPAIGN_TRACKING_URL_ID – recipient opened a specific tracking URL;

Other

  • clickUniqueUrl.UNIQUE_ID – recipient opened a tracking URL with a unique ID, see here;

Placeholders

When defining a signal name in Signal Events in a BPM Flowchart, you can use placeholders:

  • {$attribute} – attribute of target record
  • {$$variable} – formula variable

E.g. mySignal.{$status}.{$id} – status and id are attributes of the target record. Placeholders will be replaced with attribute values, so the actual signal name will look like mySignal.New.someIdValue.

Object signals

  • Broadcasted along with the entity (record).
  • Prefixed with @ character.
  • Can be used only to initiate a new process or workflow rule.
  • Can't be caught within a running process.
  • Can be broadcasted by a running process.

Note

Signal Intermediate Event (Catching) can't catch object signals.

Example: A process triggers signal @approve. A target record of the Lead entity type is attached to the signal. You have another BPM flowchart for the Lead entity type that starts with the @approve signal. In this case, a new process will be started, and the Lead record from the first process will be passed as a target record of the second process.

Built-in signals

Below is the list of available out-of-the-box signals that are broadcasted in the system.

Note

Signal name parts written in the upper case (e.g LINK_NAME, FOREIGN_ID) must be replaced with corresponding values. See the naming clarification below.

Default

  • @create – record created;
  • @update – record updated;
  • @delete – record removed (can't be used in BPM);
  • @relate.LINK_NAME – record related with another record (only for many-to-many); the foreign ID is passed in the id parameter;
  • @relate.LINK_NAME.FOREIGN_ID – record related with another record, an ID of related record is specified (only for many-to-many);
  • @unrelate.LINK_NAME – record unrelated from another record; the foreign ID is passed in the id parameter;
  • @unrelate.LINK_NAME.FOREIGN_ID

Contacts/Leads:

  • @leadCapture – when a Lead (or Contact) is processed through the Lead Capture (confirmed opt-in if it's enabled);
  • @leadCapture.LEAD_CAPTURE_ID
  • @optOut – person opted-out;
  • @optOut.TARGET_LIST_ID – person opted-out from a specific target list;
  • @cancelOptOut – person opted-in again;
  • @cancelOptOut.TARGET_LIST_ID

Contacts/Leads/Accounts/Users

  • @clickUrl – recipient opened a tracking URL;
  • @clickUrl.CAMPAIGN_TRACKING_URL_ID – recipient opened a specific tracking URL;

Meetings/Calls/Events

  • @eventAccepted.ENTITY_TYPE – an attendee accepted the event (ENTITY_TYPE can be Contact, Lead, User; as of v3.0.13); the foreign ID is passed in the id parameter;
  • @eventTentative.ENTITY_TYPE – an attendee set a tentative acceptance status; the foreign ID is passed in the id parameter;
  • @eventDeclined.ENTITY_TYPE – an attendee declined the event; the foreign ID is passed in the id parameter;
  • @eventAcceptedTentative.ENTITY_TYPE – an attendee accepted the event or set as tentative (ENTITY_TYPE can be Contact, Lead, User; as of v3.0.13); the foreign ID is passed in the id parameter;

Signal parameters

As of v3.2.

Some object signal are passed with additional parameters. These parameters can be accessed with a formula function workflow\\signalParam('parameterName').

Naming clarification

  • ID – an ID of a record that you can obtain from the browser address bar;
  • ENTITY_TYPE – an entity type of the record (not translated), you can obtain it at Administration > Entity Manager;
  • LINK_NAME – a relation name, you can obtain it at Administration > Entity Manager;
  • FOREIGN_ID – an ID of a related record.