BPMN Modeling

CIB seven Modeler uses bpmn-js to render and edit BPMN 2.0 process diagrams.

Creating a New BPMN Diagram

  1. Open CIB seven Modeler and navigate to the Processes tab on the start page
  2. Click New to create a blank BPMN diagram
  3. The BPMN canvas opens with a default Start Event

Alternatively, you can import an existing .bpmn file:

  1. Click Import
  2. Drag and drop a .bpmn file or click to browse
  3. The diagram is parsed and saved to the database; duplicate names can be overwritten when prompted

Editing a Diagram

Canvas Operations

Action How to
Add element Drag from the palette on the left, or click an existing element and use the context menu
Move element Drag the element to the desired position
Connect elements Hover over a source element, then drag from the blue arrow to the target
Delete element Select and press Delete or Backspace
Undo / Redo Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y
Zoom Mouse wheel or the zoom controls in the toolbar
Fit to screen Click the fit-to-screen icon in the toolbar

Properties Panel

The properties panel on the right can be collapsed to give the canvas full width. A toggle strip on the left edge of the panel acts as a show/hide button:

  • Click it to collapse the panel — the canvas expands to fill the full available width and the resize handle is hidden
  • Click it again to expand the panel — it returns to its previous width

The properties panel allows you to configure the selected element:

  • General — ID, Name, Documentation
  • Implementation — Service task type, connector configuration
  • Multi-instance — Loop characteristics
  • Listeners — Execution and task listeners
  • Input/Output — Variable mappings
  • Element Templates — Bind a element template to apply a preset configuration

Saving a Diagram

Changes are saved automatically when you:

  • Click Save in the toolbar
  • Deploy the diagram (triggers an implicit save)

The raw BPMN XML is stored in the process_diagram table. You can also download the XML at any time via Download XML.

Deploying to CIB seven Engine

Once your diagram is ready:

  1. Click the Deploy button in the toolbar
  2. The diagram is packaged and posted to the CIB seven engine deployment API
  3. On success, the deployment ID is shown in a confirmation message

Engine connection required

Deployment requires a running CIB seven engine. Configure the engine URL in application.yaml before deploying.

Starting a Process Instance

After deployment, click Start Process to immediately start a new instance of the deployed process definition. Variables declared in the start form (if any) are submitted along with the request.

XML Editor

Click the XML tab to switch from the graphical canvas to the Monaco Editor XML view. This is useful for:

  • Bulk editing or searching the raw BPMN XML
  • Pasting in XML from external sources
  • Debugging namespace or attribute issues

Switching back to the canvas view re-renders the diagram from the current XML.

Supported BPMN Elements

CIB seven Modeler supports the full BPMN 2.0 palette as implemented by bpmn-js, including:

  • Events (Start, Intermediate, End — all types)
  • Tasks (User, Service, Script, Business Rule, Send, Receive, Manual, Call Activity, Sub-Process)
  • Gateways (Exclusive, Inclusive, Parallel, Event-based, Complex)
  • Sequence Flows, Message Flows, Data Objects, Pools, Lanes, Groups, Annotations

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