Step dependency is a mechanism for users to dictate their process’ workflow explicitly. The complexity of step dependencies in your process can go from very simple to very complicated and left to the freedom of the process designer.

A typical step dependency is made of a group of logic statements known as compound logic statements. A compound statement is made up of multiple atomic statements or smaller compound statements. Atomic logic statements are singular sentences stating a specific condition for a singular step or file.

Note: If you've reached this article because your step dependency is not behaving as you would expect, please the see the known limitations of our step dependency system here.

How to create and use dependencies

In general, the default step dependency for newly created steps is that the previous step was completed successfully. For every action or data step, you will see on the top right of your step page, a button option called ‘Step dependency’. This button is your way to access the configuration menu of a step’s dependency settings and allow you for more complex logic.

Configuration Menu

Clicking on “Step dependency” button will bring up the following menu on this page.

You can add a condition for a step run by selecting the + if condition. Alternatively, you can add a skip condition by ticking “Skip this condition if any … conditions are met:”

Once you click + if condition or tick the checkbox, you will be provided with a drop-down to select your conditions.

Note: You can repeatedly select + if condition to create nested logic.

A special exception

A distinctive feature of step dependency is that you have the option to configure a step to run when the system detects any update to a file.

The seven states of a SolveXia step

Before selecting the right conditions, you will need to understand the various states a step can take. The seven states of a step are:

Completed successfully
Failed (Completed unsuccessfully)
Completed with a warning
Resting
Scheduled to be run
Running
Skipped Step.

The timeline of a step’s life can be described below.

Adding/removing logic statements

Sometimes, you can build logic statements and you may:

realise you need and additional statement
realise you added too many statements.

Don’t worry if this is the case; you don’t have to start all over! SolveXia can add and move logic statements.

To add logic statements, click the + sign, as shown below.

Similarly, to remove a statement, click the - sign.

Moving logic statements

If you have nested statements, one useful feature is moving a statement from one level to another nested level; you can do this by clicking … sign and selecting whether you want the statement to be moved left or right.

How to view and read the step dependency logic

The step dependency system has a technical view that reflects formal logic statements. This view is available on the right side of your configuration menu and will live update as you configure you step dependencies on the left side of the menu.

Step Dependencies