Mapping and Transforming Process Data to Activity Input
When an activity is first dragged from a palette to the design panel, the activity’s input elements are displayed as hints. These hints show you the data the activity expects as input. Each element can be required or optional. Required elements must have a mapping or formula specified. Once a mapping or formula is specified, a hint becomes an XSLT statement. For more information about hints and statements, see Statements, Hints, and Errors.
You map data by selecting an item in the Process Data panel, then drag and drop that item into the desired schema element you wish to map in the Activity Input panel. When you perform mapping, simple mappings appear in the formula area next to the input element after you release the mouse button. For more complex mappings, the Mapping Wizard dialog allows you to select which kind of mapping you wish to perform.
Most options in the Mapping Wizard dialog are straightforward. However, there are some complex scenarios that require multiple steps. Many of these situations are described in the section Examples of Mappings. You may also wish to refer to XSLT Statements for a reference of XSLT statements when deciding which XSLT statement can be used to achieve the result you desire.
You can specify XPath formulas to transform an element if you need to perform more complex processing. The XPath Formula Builder allows you to easily create XPath formulas. For more advanced use of XPath, see XPath. There are also a variety of third-party books and resources about XSLT and XPath.