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installing-kaleo-designer-for-java-liferay-portal-6-2-dev-guide-07-en |
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Kaleo Designer for Java lets you incorporate back-end Java development and scripting in your workflows. Its graphical interface lets you drag and drop nodes into your workflow. A shortcut on each node gives you easy access to the node's XML, letting you edit its current implementation to make subtle modifications or inject new business logic. In addition, Liferay Developer Studio comes bundled with a Java/Groovy editor (made available by Spring Source), giving you the same rich editing experience you're accustomed in editing Kaleo Groovy scripts. From the editor you can delegate workflow decisions to your custom business logic APIs or access any of the Liferay Portal APIs. In Developer Studio, you can leverage editors for Beanshell, Drl, JavaScript, Python, and Ruby scripting languages. You can also leverage the editor for the FreeMarker template language. Kaleo Designer for Java gives you a rich tool set for creating/editing workflows, manipulating workflow nodes, and implementing business logic. But there's more!
With Kaleo Designer for Java, you can remotely add and update workflow definitions directly to and from your Liferay server. You can publish your workflow drafts to your portal by simply dragging the workflow file onto your portal server in Developer Studio's Servers tab. The Servers tab shows workflows you've published from studio and gives you access to workflows already published on the portal server. You can edit existing workflows and create custom business logic in Developer Studio locally, then republish them on your portal; you don't have to navigate back and forth from your portal and Developer Studio to complete these tasks. As you can see, Kaleo Designer for Java is a powerful application for creating, modifying, and publishing workflows in Liferay Developer Studio.
Although Kaleo Designer for Java is the tool of choice for EE workflow designers, CE workflow designers can write Kaleo workflows too. But they are limited to writing them in their favorite XML editor. All Kaleo process definitions must follow the schema http://www.liferay.com/dtd/liferay-workflow-definition_6_2_0.xsd.
The Kaleo Designer is automatically bundled with Liferay Developer Studio. Additionally, the Kaleo Forms EE app now comes bundled with Liferay Enterprise Edition. If you still need to install it from Liferay Marketplace, follow these steps.
The Kaleo Forms EE app from Liferay Marketplace includes three
plugins--kaleo-forms-portlet, kaleo-designer-portlet, and kaleo-web
plugins. Here's how to download and install Kaleo Forms EE:
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Go to Liferay Marketplace.
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Click on EE Marketplace in the left navigation area.
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Download and install the Kaleo Forms EE app.
| Note: The Kaleo Forms EE app comes with an existing workflow designer | that's used within Liferay Portal. It's used to design workflow configuration | and is described in the Kaleo Forms: Defining Business Processes | chapter of Discover → Portal. Refer to the Using Workflow | chapter of Discover → Portal if you're unfamiliar with basic Kaleo workflow | concepts or want to know how to design your workflow within Liferay Portal.
Note: After downloading and installing the Kaleo Forms EE application, you must restart the Liferay Server. For Developer Studio to connect to the Kaleo APIs to open workflow definitions in Portal 6.2, you must make sure to use the username and password of a Portal Administrator in your server's settings.
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Stop your 6.2 server.
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Open the server's configuration editor by double-clicking the server from within the Servers view in Studio.
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In the configuration editor under Liferay Settings add your portal admin username and password. Save the configuration changes.
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Start the server.
A Kaleo Workflows folder automatically appears underneath the server instance in the Servers view of Developer Studio.
Developer Studio retrieves all workflow definitions published on your portal server. As mentioned previously, the Kaleo Designer for Java lets you remotely add and update Kaleo workflow definitions directly to and from the portal server. The Single Approver workflow comes already installed with the Kaleo app.
To open a workflow, double click it in the Kaleo Workflows folder. This retrieves the workflow definition from the Liferay server so you can edit it in Developer Studio.
| Note: When you open a workflow, you'll be prompted to choose whether to | switch to the Kaleo designer perspective. Clicking Yes lets you use the | perspective's helpful features, including the palette toolbar, properties view, | and outline view.
Once you have Kaleo Designer for Java installed, get into the flow (pun intended) by creating your own workflow using the Kaleo Workflow Designer for Java.