About Events

An event is an object that is raised (created) when something happens. For example, an event object can be raised when:

  • A file arrives in a directory.

  • A process completes.

  • An Operator manually raises the event.

When an event is raised, it can trigger a Process Definition or Chain Definition. This allows you to create automated flows that are driven by events, rather than schedules.

After an event is raised, it can be cleared. This, too, can trigger a Process Definition or Chain Definition.

Raise Events and Wait Events

Raise Events and Wait Events are not specific types of event objects. Rather, they are fields on a Process Definition or Chain Definition.

  • A Process Definition or Chain Definition with a Wait Event will not execute until that event is raised.

  • A Process Definition or Chain Definition with a Raise Event will raise that event when the process or Chain reaches a particular status.

Process and Chain Definitions can wait for one or more Wait Events to be raised before they start. They will not start until all required Wait Events are raised.

Event Definitions

Every event is based on an Event Definition (Definitions > Events).

An Event Definition lets you do the following.

  • Specify a name for the event.

  • Require an Operator to log a comment when they raise or clear the event.

  • Specify default comments to be logged when the event is raised or cleared.

  • Optionally add one or more File Event Definitions to the event.

Raise comments and clear comments can be made mandatory, forcing users who manually raise or clear an event to provide a reason for their actions. For Process and Chain Definitions, the raise and clear comments can be defined on the Process Definition or Chain Definition.

Each event has a Raiser Object field that indicates the object or user that raised the event. You can view an event's Raiser Object by navigating to Monitoring > Processes and selecting the event.

File Event Definitions

A File Event Definition is not a type of Event Definition. Rather, it is a rule associated with an Event Definition. A File Event Definition lets you specify that its parent event should be raised when a file arrives in a particular directory.

Event Statuses

Both events and Event Definitions can have different statuses.

Events have three possible statuses, and they move through those statuses in the following order.

  1. Pending (waiting to be Raised)

  2. Raised

  3. Cleared

Event Definitions have two possible statuses:

  • Raised: At least one event of this type has been raised.

  • Not Raised: No events of this type are currently raised.

Queueing Events

Raising an event definition object multiple times will create a queue of event objects. In that queue, the first event will be Raised, and all other queued event objects will be Pending.

Clearing a Raised event definition clears its currently raised event object. If there are other Pending event objects queued for the Event Definition, the next event object in the queue is Raised. If there are no more Pending event objects to be raised, the Event Definition returns to the Not Raised state.