Catalog

What is the catalog?

The catalog contains all master data from your diagrams that may be reused; such as roles and IT-Systems. The processing and quality assurance of catalog items is available for users with administrator or editor rights to support a central administration of master data.

In modeling, suggested catalog items appear as usual in red and italics in the modelers’ suggestion list, but can be changed in the diagram. As soon as the administrator or the editor has accepted catalog items, they appear in black text (not italics) in the suggestion list and cannot be changed by modelers anymore. This reduces the risk of objects being accidentally changed in individual diagrams, which are reused elsewhere and thereby result in unintended side effects.

You can find the Catalog in the menu and open it with one click.

The catalog opens and a list of all catalog items, that you can access, is displayed. This includes the symbol of the type and the name of each catalog item here. In addition, the associated attributes and occurrences can be displayed. You can see the number of currently listed catalog items in the header next to the “Catalog”. If a catalog entry includes a description, it is displayed either below the name in the list or within the catalog entry.

In the public workspace, accepted catalog items as well as suggested catalog items are displayed in the catalog. You can recognize a suggestion by an orange dot at the icon of the item.

In addition to the list of catalog items you can also use the dashboard to represent some of the data in your catalog graphically.

Create and edit catalog items

How do I create new catalog items?

Within the new user interface you can generate new catalog items in two different ways, which are described below.

Note

Note that you create catalog suggestions here. To start the publication of a diagram containing instances of catalog items, these catalog items have to be accepted.

Create items directly in the catalog:

This functionality can be used by administrators or editors. Navigate to the catalog in public workspace and click the plus symbol New catalog item at the bottom of the screen.

A dialog appears where you can insert a name and a type for the new catalog item. Furthermore, you got a checkbox, which redirects you to the details page of the newly created catalog item. If you have deselected the checkbox you will be redirected to the catalog list and get notified about the successful creation. Afterwards you can create a new catalog item, if wanted.

If you activated a filter before creating a new catalog item, the filtered type is selected in the drop-down list. For example, when you view all data store items in the catalog and realize that one data store of your organization is not listed, you can directly add the missing object via the New catalog item button. As soon as you confirm the type by selecting the save changes button, you will be directed to the details of the new catalog item in edit mode. You can set the attributes of the new catalog item (e.g. name, identifier or description) there. The name of the new catalog item is initially maintained as the type name. Save the new catalog item afterwards using the equivalent button to close the edit mode.

Note

After you created a new catalog item the catalog list is not sorted alphabetically anymore. To go back to the alphabetical sorting you need to reload the list first (e.g. by pressing F5).

Adding items by modeling:

New catalog items can be generated when creating new symbols in the diagram modeling process. The activation of the object type as catalog suggestion in the administration area is required to use this function.

Create a new symbol in a diagram, which can be used in the catalog. (These are reusable symbols, such as roles, risks, etc. Symbols that are not displayed in the catalog by default are symbols which are normally unique, like for example activities and events.) You then have to check in your diagram to make the items available in the catalog. As soon as you have checked in your diagram, a new catalog item for each of the symbols is available. Furthermore, they are available in the suggestion list when creating new symbols of the same type in the editor.

Note

In the old user interface, you also have the possibility to suggest existing symbols as catalog items.

How do I create new catalog items using AI?

As an administrator and editor, you have the option of generating catalog items using AI. To do this, navigate to the Options panel of the catalog and click on AI-powered Editor.

This will open a dialog window where you will need to follow three steps. First, you must inform our AI-powered editor, Arty, of the desired type of AI-generated catalog items. Additionally, you can specify the industry and the quantity of catalog suggestions. Click on Next to proceed to the next step.

In the next step, Arty generates a range of catalog suggestions. Here, you can select which items meet your requirements. To select all AI-generated suggestions, please click on the top entry Catalog items selected. If you are dissatisfied with the suggestions, you can click the Previous button to adjust your input accordingly.

Once you have selected at least one suggestion, you can click on Next to proceed to the final step.

In the final step, you will see an overview of all catalog items generated by Arty. If no errors were identified, you will see a green checkmark next to the suggestions. To view the suggestions in the catalog list, please click the Close button.

The catalog items generated by Arty are now displayed at the top of the catalog list. Once you reload the page, the items will appear in alphabetical order. You can find information on how to edit catalog items here.

Note

Please be aware that the AI-generated catalog items are generated only in the current content language.

Note

The AI-powered Editor option is not available in the mobile view.

Hint

This function is performed by Arty, our AI Editor. Please note, that this function requires a separate license. Please also refer to the notes on using the AI feature.

How do I edit attributes of catalog items?

Navigate to the catalog in public workspace and search for a catalog item that you like to change. Select the item to open the details.

Click the Edit button to enter the edit mode.

If you are editing a catalog item that is only a suggestion, a small banner at the top informs you about that.

Edit the attributes according to your wishes by changing, inserting or deleting values. Read-only and system attributes cannot be edited. You can add links and files in the attribute field Attachment (URL), which are sorted alphabetically. Permanent links to attached files will only work persistently if the title of the attachment remains unchanged. Once the title is changed, the link becomes invalid, and the attachment can no longer be accessed or downloaded using the generated link. The attachments can be provided language dependent. An explanation for the functionality can be found in the chapter about the attribute “attachment”. Moreover, note the different functionality to edit the attribute “Description”.

Organizational units, documents and norms can be created while editing the attributes of certain entities in the catalog. To do this, the attribute field must be selected. Suggestions of existing catalog items are shown after the the first letter is entered.

In addition, a new entity can be created and assigned directly. This is done by entering the desired name in the selected field and clicking “create” for the required entity type.

A notification will inform you that chosen entity has been created and added to the publishing workflow for catalog items.

Confirm your changes by selecting Save. You will be redirected to the original view of the catalog item. You can undo your changes via the button Exit edit mode.

If you are leaving the edit mode and there are unsaved changes, you will get a hint. You will have the possibility to save your changes or leave without saving. Alternatively, you can cancel leaving the edit mode by clicking outside of the pop-up window.

Note

In the edit mode you can only see values of properties that have been maintained for the selected content language. Outside of the edit mode you will also see values that have been maintained in the alternative language but not in the content language. This behaviour enables you to be sure that when being in edit mode you will always set up values for the currently selected content language.

Hint

In the edit mode, all options except for *Delete* are deactivated. For example, no catalog suggestion can be approved or rejected during editing.

Tip

If a diagram or object has been added to the details of a catalog entry, you can navigate to the corresponding diagram or object by clicking on the chip.

How can I reuse tasks inside the catalog in different ProcessApps?

As PE-Editor you have the option of using the PE-Editor for tasks within the catalogue in order to reuse them in different ProcessApps.

Once a task is available as an approved catalog entry and you enter it in Process Execution (for example, a user task, script task, service task, rule task, or send task), the PE Editor is available.

If it is a task that is not an approved catalogue entry, you can also open the PE editor as soon as the task is entered in Process Execution (e.g. user task, script task, service task, rule task or send task).

Hint

Please note that the PE editor is also available without activating edit mode, regardless of whether it is an approved or suggested activity. If the editing mode is activated and the option remains deactivated, please check the settings.

What happens if I change symbol attributes in a diagram that are in the catalog?

If you change symbol attributes in an existing diagram when they have already been accepted in the catalog, a new catalog item is created for this symbol. This serves to prevent unwanted or accidental changes in the attributes of the same symbol. The creation of new items allows you to manage changes centrally in the catalog, for example, to decide whether the changes should also apply to other symbols.

Create a new symbol (for example, a role) and select a catalog item from the suggestion list. The symbol has the same properties as the selected catalog item. If you change the attributes of this symbol, for example, by renaming it, the following happens.

Accepted (black) catalog item

A new catalog item containing the changed attributes is created by checking-in the diagram. Other symbols in the same diagram that previously referred to the same catalog item are also changed and then refer to the new creation mentioned before. However, the symbols of the catalog item that are used in other diagrams do not change and the reference remains. If you want to replace the selected catalog item with the newly created item for these symbols as well, you have to do it via the Delete option.

Proposed (red, italic) catalog item

Check in the diagram and the changes will be accepted for the existing catalog item without creating a new one. These changes also affect all other diagrams in which the proposed catalog item is used.

Note

Be aware that the suggestion list of the server will be updated after you check in your diagram. In other words, if a suggested catalog item is renamed, this item will still have the old name in the suggestion list of the server until you have checked in the diagram once.

Quality assurance in the catalog

How do I change the state of an accepted catalog item?

As administrator or editor you have the possibility to set accepted catalog items back to the status catalog suggestion.

To do that, open the details of the catalog item and open the options menu.

Choose the Option Change to suggestion to set the catalog item to the status of a catalog proposal.

How can I accept a catalog suggestion?

The user roles Administrator and Editor are authorized to manage catalog items and can therefore accept suggestions to include them into the catalog.

Navigate to an existing catalog item in the catalog list that has not yet been accepted. You can recognize such a catalog suggestion by an orange dot at the icon of the item.

You can directly accept the suggestion in the list. Open the context menu (three dots) of the item and select the option Accept.

Alternatively, you can find the same option in the detail view of the catalog suggestion. Click the item, then switch to the Options tab in the right sidebar and select Accept.

As soon as you accepted the suggestion, it will be added to the catalog and thus will be part of the master data of your repository.

If an object of the approved catalog item is changed in a diagram, the item in the catalog is not changed but a new catalog item is created instead. Changes for reuse of the accepted item can thus only be made via the catalog itself.

Tip

You can filter suggested catalog items in the catalog.

How can I reject a catalog suggestion?

Items that have been rejected in the catalog are removed and no longer available for reuse in any diagrams (via the suggestion list). As an Administrator or Editor you can reject proposed items from the catalog as follows.

Navigate to an existing catalog item in the catalog list that has not yet been accepted. You can recognize such a catalog suggestion by an orange dot at the icon of the item.

You can directly reject the suggestion in the list. Open the context menu (three dots) of the item and select the option Reject.

Alternatively, you can find the same option in the detail view of the catalog suggestion. Click the item, then switch to the Options tab in the right sidebar and select Reject.

As soon as you reject the catalog suggestion, it will be removed from the catalog. Until the page is updated, the item will be displayed strikedthrough. This action cannot be undone.

Search and filter catalog items

How do I search for catalog items in the catalog?

If you want to search for specific catalog items, you have to click on Search catalog list in the filter tab. To start the search, press enter or click on the magnifier icon.

You will then see all the search results that contain the specific term.

If there are no matching catalog items for your search term, the main area will show a corresponding hint as well as the button Toggle language & search again. You can select this button to set the alternative language as your content language and restart the search in this new content language.

If you want to display your entire catalog list again, click Clear search next to the magnifier glass icon to reset your list.

Hint

Here you can find an overview of the different options you have for search terms.

Note

The search results are sorted by relevance. Therefore, it is not possible to sort them by name.

How can I filter catalog items?

Navigate to the Catalog.

There, in the right sidebar you can choose between the register cards Filter or Options. In case you are using a mobile device you can find the filters via the three dotted menu in the upper right corner. If the register card Filter has been selected, filters for all available object types in the catalog are listed. If you click on the desired filter, it will be expanded and automatically applied to the catalog. Additionally, the selected filter will be visually enhanced by a checkmark on the corresponding item.

The catalog only displays items of the selected type, as you can see in the header of the catalog. After expanding the filter, individual facets are displayed for the selected entity type. A facet corresponds to an attribute type of the object type and is listed here as soon as it has been maintained on an object and activated in the administration area. The order is alphabetical. Attribute types that include checkboxes or assignments to persons are not taken into account here. The facets can also be expanded. The attribute values of the object type appear and are always listed dependently of a search term. Each attribute value has a checkbox and can be selected and deselected to limit the search to that value.

You can now select more facets, search within the filter, or remove the filter. By collapsing the filter or facet, all filter and facet settings are reset. Note, that you cannot select two filters at the same time.

As an administrator, editor or author you also have the possibility to filter only catalog suggestions. To do that, use the toggle button on the top of the right sidebar. Depending on the stage you are currently in, the button will be labeled differently and you will get different results. If you are in the public workspace, you will get only suggested catalog items. If you are in the preview stage, you will only see catalog items that need approval. It is possible to combine this filter with other filters.

Filters, which have no corresponding catalog items can be hidden within the administration area. To do so use the option to automatically generate catalog items, when checking in. In case this option is deactivated the affected filter will be hidden. This filter will then only be displayed if catalog items for this object type already exist or in case a new catalog item has been manually created in the catalog.

How can I filter catalog items by their current state?

With the Governance Lifecycle filter, you can filter catalog items according to their currently active workflow, their publication or their revision. This gives you a better overview of the status of the catalog items.

If you want to apply this filter, you must be in the Public workspace. In the Filter tab, you can open the Governance Lifecycle filter.

Publication

If you open the Published subfilter and at least one catalog item has been published, you can filter for the corresponding catalog item by clicking on Depublished, Not published or Published.

Revision

If the Revision subfilter is expanded and at least one catalog item has a revision status, you can select a specific revision status as a filter. You can filter catalog items according to the following revision statuses: Modified, Unmodified and Unknown. Changes to a catalog item cannot be displayed until it has been republished. Until then, it has the revision status Unknown.

Workflow

If you have expanded the Governance Lifecycle filter, you also have the option of opening the Workflow subfilter. Here you can then filter whether a workflow is active for the catalog item. A distinction is made between Depublication, Publication and Resubmission.

You will then see a filtered list and a number of all catalog items that are in the corresponding area.

Hint

The Governance Lifecycle filter is available from version 7.14.0. To display all published catalog items in the filter, you must check the catalog items out and back in at least once.

Note

All filtered results are sorted alphabetically by browser language.

Hint

The Governance Lifecycle filter is also available to filter diagrams by their Workflow, their Publication or their Revision.

Translate catalog items

As Administrator or Editor you have the possibility to translate all catalog items. This is only possible if you have previously filtered the catalog list. As an Author you can only translate the filtered catalog items you are assigned to. To translate the catalog items, go to the option area and click Translation Mode.

Hint

The option Translation Mode will only be shown if you are in the Public Workspace stage.

After selecting the Translation Mode option, the catalog items will be displayed in your content language. To now insert an alternative language, click on the catalog item in which you want to add a translation.

A list of filtered catalog entries appears to translate the language-dependent attributes. After clicking on a catalog entry, several text input fields appear where you can enter the name, description, and keywords in another language. The language codes (two-letter codes following ISO 639-1) indicate which text field the translation should be entered into. You can use the horizontal scroll bar to view all supported languages by BIC Process Design and provide translations.

After entering the translations, you can either save or discard the changes by clicking on the Save icon or the Discard icon in the changed catalog item.

Hint

The function save changes is only available per entry and not for all entries together. This allows you to save changes or modifications to a single entry, but it is not possible to save all entries at once.

To leave the Translation Mode, you can either click on the Translation Mode option again or click on your next destination in the application. If you have unsaved changes, a dialog window appears with the according hint. You can decide if you want to discard the changes by clicking on the Leave button or go back to your modified catalog item and save the translation(s) by clicking on the Cancel button.

Note

The option Translation Mode is not available for small screen sizes (e. g. in the mobile view).

How can I automatically receive translation suggestions in the catalog?

If the DeepL translation service is enabled, you can generate translation suggestions for attributes Name, Description, and Keywords in other languages. To do this, only a language-dependent attribute needs to be maintained in the active content language, which serves as the basis for the translation suggestion.

The option for the translation suggestions is automatically disabled if an input field already contains text. Conversely, the option is activated automatically when an input field’s existing input is removed.

If you want to request a translation for a language-dependent attribute, select the Create translation suggestion option in the respective input field. This will send a request to the DeepL API, which will automatically generate translation suggestions.

Dashboard

What is the dashboard and what options does it offer to display the data?

You can display all catalog items in a pie chart when using the dashboard. To open the pie chart select the tab Dashboard within the headline of the catalog.

The dashboard opens with a pie chart in which all catalog items are sorted according to the object types. You can highlight individual elements by moving the cursor over an element in the pie chart.

To return to the usual list-based view of the catalog items, select the List icon next to the dashboard icon.

Tip

The number displayed in the center of the donut diagram shows the the number of different entity types within the catalog.

Which data is offered by the dashboard?

In the dashboard you can decide whether you want to display an overview of all catalog items of all object types or all facet values of all catalog items that belong to a specific object type.

If you have not selected a filter in the catalog, all catalog items will be displayed, sorted by their object type. In parentheses after the name of the object type, the number of catalog items that exist for this type are shown.

In case you have selected a filter, the facets and their values are displayed for the specific object type. A separate diagram is displayed for each facet. Each of these diagrams shows the different values that exist for the respective facet. Behind each of the values in parentheses you can see the number how often this value was given for the facet.

Occurrences

How can I view the relationship of a catalog item to other catalog items?

You can see in the respective details of a catalog item if this item is related to other catalog items. To do this, open a catalog item and select the Occurrences tab in the right sidebar. The appearing facet Catalog can be expanded to view its relationship to other catalog items.

If the catalog item is related to other catalog items, you can view its details by clicking on the corresponding item.

If the catalog item is not related to any other catalog items, you will be notified with the corresponding information.

How can I view occurrences of catalog items in diagrams?

In the catalog, you have the option to view the occurrences of catalog items. In doing so, all occurrences will be displayed, in which diagrams they are used and the relations they have to other objects.

Select the Catalog item in the menu. There select a catalog item to open the details of that item. Within the right sidebar you can see the register card Occurrences. In case it is selected a list of all the occurrences of the item will be displayed.

For occurrences with connections to other symbols, the name of the connected symbol and the name of the diagram are displayed. For objects without connections to other objects, only the diagram name is displayed.

Select an occurrence from the list. The diagram or allocation diagram that contains the occurrence will be opened and the symbol will be pre-selected.

You can also display the occurrences of an object in diagrams.

How can I see how a catalog item is used in a diagram?

When you navigate to the catalog list and have selected an item, you have the option Occurances under the details. This option allows you to see the relationships between other catalog items and diagrams.

If the corresponding item is used in a diagram, this diagram is listed in the occurrence list. The list is sorted alphabetically, with each item being an expandable field with the number of occurrences. When the diagram field is expanded, all occurrences of the item are listed. These are clearly presented in ordered groups, each with its own designation.

Hint

To navigate to a specific occurrence of an item, you need to click on that item.

How do I reuse catalog items in multiple diagrams?

You can reuse catalog items in multiple diagrams by using the suggestion list. It does not matter whether the items have already been accepted in the catalog or not (“suggested”).

Create an object type that already exists in the catalog. Edit the name of the object by double-clicking or pressing F2 and type in at least one letter of the catalog item that you want to reuse. All catalog items, up to a maximum of five, appear in the suggestion list of the server containing the entered term. For example, the search term “manager” will also find “process manager”. In addition, the suggestion list is prefiltered by the diagram attribute “Scope”:

• Scope defined: Only catalog items whose scope is not defined or which have the same scope as the diagram are found in the suggestion list. Scopes are considered to be the same as soon as an organizational unit exists in both scopes.

• Scope not defined: Only catalog items whose scope is not defined are found in the suggestion list.

Select the catalog item that you want to reuse from the suggestion list.

Note

The suggestion list for catalog items in the attributes of an object behaves in the same way. When reusing, note the differences by editing suggested and accepted catalog items.

Catalog Export and Import

How do I create a Process warehouse export in the catalog?

The Process warehouse export contains all currently displayed catalog items in the form of an Excel table. This means that filters, facets or search results can limit the content of the catalog export.

In your menu bar, navigate to the Catalog. In the right sidebar click on the register card Options. There select the option Export to excel. The export will then be created according to the current filtering.

As soon as the report has been generated you get a popup notification which informs you about the successfully created report. There you also get the option to directly download the export. In addition, the function Download the report appears on the right side of the Export to excel function. Via those two options you can download the report.

In the export, the first visible row forms the header, that is, the heading of the following rows. In the first column, the unique identifiers of the catalog items are listed under the heading “Entity ID”. The following columns relate to the attributes of the catalog item. The names of the attribute types represent the headings, for example the name, identifier, description, attachment, keywords, system attributes and the object type. The following rows specify the filled attribute values associated with the catalog items. Multi-value attributes, like keywords, are listed separated by a semicolon. In general, the attribute types are only part of the export if they have been maintained for at least one catalog item.

Hint

In older versions, all attribute types were exported, regardless of whether they were deactivated or removed within the method. From now on, only visible attribute types are exported.

Note

Attribute values exceeding 32767 characters will be automatically shortened. A notification will be provided at the end of the shortened value indicating it has been reduced.

Note

The attribute type IDs, which are defined in the method, are specified in the initially hidden first row. This allows you to re-import the exported data and make changes to catalog items. However, note the following restriction.

Note

Each cell of the column “Attachment (URL)” contains a comma-separated list of the links maintained in the corresponding attribute field. Maintained titles are specified at the corresponding URLs via URL encoding. If you edit (or add) the title of a URL in the process warehouse, be sure to use URL encoding in order to update the catalog item successfully.

Note

The date information you find within your exports (e.g., “Valid from”, “Valid to”, “Created date”, and similar) undergo conversion to the time zone of the currently active user. This ensures that the display of date information always aligns with the user’s current time zone.

How can I import data into the catalog?

With the rights of the user role “Editor” you can import a (adapted) process warehouse export in csv or xlsx format into the catalog of the public workspace to add or change data. The data is always saved in the current content language.

Navigate to the Catalog via the menu bar and select the desired catalog filter. The catalog filter specifies the object type of the subsequently imported catalog items and must be active for the import. If there are no catalog items of the type you want to import in the current catalog list, please add a catalog item of the desired type to obtain the corresponding filter facet. After filtering for the desired type, switch to the options tab in the right sidebar and select the entry Import.

Open the desired csv or xlsx file via the appearing file selection window. The import is carried out according to the current filtering, recognizable by a corresponding message at the bottom right of the screen. If the data has been imported successfully, you receive another message. Refresh the catalog by clicking on this message to display the imported items in the catalog list. Instead, if the import fails, you will receive a corresponding message without the refresh function.

Note

The date information you find within your imports (e.g., “Valid from”, “Valid to”, “Created date”, and similar) undergo conversion to the time zone of the currently active user. This ensures that the display of date information always aligns with the user’s current time zone.

Note

Note that the entries of the “Attachment (URL)” column have to be URL-encoded in order to be imported successfully. Thus, if you like to attach URLs with titles to a catalog item, the titles have to be URL-encoded.

Functionality:

The import process is explained using exported (customized) catalog items. The import file is then structured as follows: The initially hidden first row specifies the attribute type ID for each column, that is defined for an object type in the application and is taken into account for your import. The first visible row, which is the second row in the screenshot, specifies the header. The filled out rows below correspond to the catalog items. This structure basically applies to an import file. In the following example, three catalog items are created during import in the same order as in the file.

Note

Accordingly, when importing in both csv and xlsx format, the catalog items are read in from the third row onwards.

Attributes listed in the import are adopted for the catalog items if the attribute is defined for the corresponding object type in the method: the attribute type and its data type. If this is not the case, the respective attribute type is ignored by the import. The system attributes are set or adjusted automatically at the start of the import and cannot be adjusted manually.

By default, the first column of the import file contains the ENTITY_ID if it is an export. However, if you modify the import file or create it yourself to update or create catalog items, adopt the structure described above and note the following functionality. If the first column of the import file contains the ENTITY_ID or an attribute type ID of type Text (as the header, see example above) and corresponding row entries,

• this column is regarded as identifying. It is used for the case-sensitive comparison with catalog items.

• the row of the file in the import is skipped if no Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) is used to define the ENTITY_ID. A UUID is a globally unique identifier of numbers and letters which is defined by time and location stamps. The use of an existing UUID or the generation of a new one is necessary for the import with ID and the update functionalities based on it. You can generate a new UUID using a generator (e.g. using the Online UUID Generator Tool).

• a new catalog item is created as a suggestion if the ID or text attribute does not already exist in the catalog.

• the existing catalog item with the exact same ID or text attribute is updated, that means the attribute types contained in the import are reset for the selected content language. Accordingly, empty or filled cells in the import delete or change the attributes of a catalog item. Attribute types that are not listed in the import remain unaffected in the catalog item. To update via the ID, the corresponding catalog item must be available in the filtered catalog.

  • If this is not the case for the ENTITY_ID, that means the same ID already exists for a catalog item of another object type, the affected row is skipped in the import.

  • The adjustment using the attribute type ID does not take into account the existing objects of another object type. However, if the selected filter contains several objects with the exact same attribute text, the affected row is skipped in the import.

If several line entries of the identifying attribute have the same name in the import file, the contents of the first corresponding line entry are updated with the subsequent line entries. Note that using the ENTITY_ID only makes sense in the first column. If the import file contains neither an ENTITY_ID nor a text attribute, it will not be imported.

Format:

For certain attributes, you must note the format. These include date values that must be entered in the format of the current content language.

Note

When importing as an xlsx file or via Excel, it is recommended to format date values in Excel as “date”. Importing as a csv file or as an xlsx file, in which date values are formatted as “text”, allows the following formats per data type.

Attribute value for data type	Format
Date	yyyy-MM-dd
Datetime	yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss
Time	HH:mm:ss

Also note that cell representation of numbers in scientific format, that means in exponential notation, is not supported by the import.

Note

The date information you find within your imports (e.g., “Valid from”, “Valid to”, “Created date”, and similar) undergo conversion to the time zone of the currently active user. This ensures that the display of date information always aligns with the user’s current time zone.

Note

The combination of quotation marks and a semicolon (";) in attributes with string values (e.g., the attribute Name, AT_NAME) is not supported by the import. Instead please use commas to separate these attributes.

HTML tags which are used in the attribute Description will be interpreted during the import. The content of the attribute will then be displayed in the desired format after the file has been imported into the catalog. For example, you can specify the description of a document as shown below.

The content of the attribute is then displayed according to the given HTML format after the import into the catalog. Thus, the description attribute of the document “Vacation request” is maintained as follows:

The possibility to convert HTML tags into the desired format only applies to the import. The export cannot process HTML tags and also the formatting is not converted into HTML tags.

Multi-value text attributes, such as keywords, and links are also supported. The individual attribute values must be separated by a semicolon in the import so that they can also be recognized as multiple values. A space before or after the semicolon is not adopted in the attribute value.

For example, the import above creates the two keywords “Checklist” and “Offer” for the “checklist for an offer” document and shows them in alphabetical order.

Note

Since all catalog items are created during the import as object types of the selected filter, the imported file should also contain only this object type. Furthermore, the files (xlsx, csv) should be UTF-8 encoded. When importing an xlsx file, only the first spreadsheet is taken into account.

Hint

Please note that you cannot maintain or update assignments (like an assigned diagram in the subprocess attribute or person/ organizational units in the governance attributes author/examiner/responsible) via the catalog import. If you update existing catalog items via an import, the current assignments in BIC Process Design are not overwritten (and new ones are not added).

How can I export the profile of a catalog item?

Go to the Catalog and navigate to the catalog item for which you want to create a profile. With this you will enter the item’s details view. There, in the right sidebar, navigate to the register card Options and select the option Create the report next to the Profile entry. The creation will then be started.

As soon as the report has been generated you get a popup notification which informs you about the successfully created report. There you also get the option to directly download the profile. In addition, the function Download the report appears on the right side of the Profile entry. Via those two options you can download the docx file.

The profile is available in the catalog for the object types defined in the administration area. Administrators and Editors can retrieve it.

Note

In general, the availability for the profile depends on the configuration in the corresponding report descriptor.

It lists all attributes that have an attribute value and the corresponding value in alphabetical order and is created in the current content language of the application. You do not see the values of assignment attributes as titles, but the actual assignment, such as a URL.

Hint

Please note that a catalog item used as an attribute is not currently evaluated in the profile report for catalog items. Currently, only the occurrences of a catalog item that are modeled in a diagram are displayed.

Hint

The date information you find within your exports (e.g., “Valid from”, “Valid to”, “Created date”, and similar) undergo conversion to the time zone of the currently active user. This ensures that the display of date information always aligns with the user’s current time zone.

Note

For now the administration area can only be reached through the old user interface. If the report template does not exist in the selected content language, the English template is used. The maintained attribute values remain in the content language.

Delete catalog items

How do I delete a catalog item?

Catalog items which are no longer needed can be deleted from the catalog. This is possible for catalog suggestions and accepted catalog items. Deleting a catalog item is irrevocable! Navigate to the desired catalog item in the catalog list and open its context menu. Select the option Delete in the menu.

The option Delete is also available in the right sidebar if you open the catalog item (i.e. in its detail view).

After selecting the option, a dialog window appears to confirm or cancel the deletion. If the catalog item is neither used as an object in a diagram nor assigned to an attribute, the item will be deleted directly.

Catalog item in usage: If the catalog item has at least one occurrence in a diagram, an existing catalog item has to be chosen as a replacement. A second dialog appears which includes an input field. Enter and select an existing item of the same type via the selection list. You can confirm the dialog via the Replace button as soon as you chose an item as a replacement.

Assigned catalog item: In case the catalog item is at least assigned to one attribute (but not in usage as an object), you can decide to remove or replace the item in a second dialog. For example, this might be person objects in governance attributes. Choosing the option Replace, you can enter and select an existing item of the same type via the selection list in the input field. This item will replace the deleted catalog item after you confirmed the button Replace. Alternatively, you can directly and irrevocably Remove the catalog item. The corresponding assignments in the attributes of other objects or diagrams will be deleted as well. This is executed as soon as you confirm the dialog.

Afterwards, you will return to the catalog list. If an item was deleted in the catalog list, it is crossed and greyed out. When the page is updated, the item disappears from the list.

How can all unused catalog items be deleted?

With the function Reorganize all unused catalog items of a special object type can be deleted. This includes all catalog items that are neither modeled nor used in attributes as subprocesses. The user roles administrator and editor are authorized to delete catalog items.

Navigate to the catalog list. You can find the entry Reorganize in the options tab in the right sidebar. Reorganizing the catalog is only possible in combination with an active object type filter. Therefore select the filter facet of the object type, for which you want to delete unused items. Afterwards click the Reorganize option.

You have to confirm the reorganization in the appearing dialog. If you are sure that you want to delete all unused catalog items of the selected type, enter the name of the selected object type in the input field. Your input must match the type name from the current method in your current browser language (i.e. the UI language). Note that the check is case-sensitive. If your input is correct, you can confirm the reorganization of the selected type via the corresponding button.

Hint

Please note that the input is case insensitive.

All unused catalog items will be permanently removed from the catalog. Deleted items will be shown crossed out. When the page is updated, the item disappears from the list.

Warning

Please note that the “Reorganize” function affects all unused catalog items of an object type, regardless of which facets were selected in addition to the filter.

Note

The option Reorganize is not available for small screen sizes (e. g. in the mobile view).