Events

Intermediate Events

Intermediate Events allow a workflow to listen for, or dispatch an event at a specific point in its execution — enabling communication between workflows, timed delays, or synchronization with external triggers.

To add an Intermediate Event to a workflow:

1. Drag the Intermediate Event element from the toolbar onto the workflow canvas.

2. Enter a Task Title to label the step (e.g., "Test").

3. Under Create or select an event code, choose the Event Direction:

   • Catch (Listens to event) – The workflow pauses at this step until the specified event is received.

   • Throw (Dispatches event) – The workflow sends out the specified event to notify other listening steps or workflows.

Configuring a Catch Event

When Catch is selected, additional fields appear:

Field	Description
Title	A descriptive name for this event configuration (e.g., "New Event Config").
Event Code	The unique code the step listens for. You can select an existing event code from the dropdown or create a new one.

The Event Code dropdown displays previously configured codes along with their type, shown in parentheses:

• Signal – A custom event code manually triggered elsewhere in the workflow (e.g., Event A – A (Signal), Event B – B (Signal)).

• Timer – A time-based event that fires automatically after a set duration (e.g., 30 SECONDS WAIT – WAIT-30 (Timer)).

You can also create a brand-new event code directly from this field using the + button beside the Event Code dropdown.

Configuring a Throw Event

When Throw is selected, the step is configured to dispatch a chosen event code, which any corresponding Catch step elsewhere in the workflow (or in another workflow) can listen for.

Notes

• Event codes can be reused across multiple Catch/Throw steps to synchronize different parts of a workflow, or even across separate workflows.

• Timer-based events (like "30 SECONDS WAIT") are useful for introducing scheduled delays without requiring an external trigger.

• Once the required fields are complete, click Continue to save the Intermediate Event configuration.

Creating a New Event Code

If the event code you need doesn't already exist, you can create one directly from the Event Code dropdown using the + button. This opens the Event Code configuration dialog.

Provide the following configuration details:

Field	Description
Name	A descriptive, human-readable name for the event code (e.g., "Order Approved").
Code	The unique identifier used internally to reference this event (e.g., "APPROVED").
Event Type	The category of event this code represents. Selecting an event type may reveal additional configuration fields specific to that type.

Event Type Options

The Event Type dropdown offers the following options:

Event Type	Description
Timer	Fires automatically after a defined duration or schedule, rather than waiting on a manual trigger. Supports ISO 8601 and Cron-based expressions.
Error	Fires when a specific error condition occurs within the workflow, allowing the process to catch and handle exceptions.
Signal	A manually-triggered event, dispatched by a Throw step elsewhere in a workflow and picked up by a matching Catch step.
Message	Represents an event triggered by an incoming message, typically used for communication between processes or external systems.
Escalation	Signals that a situation requires attention beyond the normal flow, often used to notify a parent process or supervisor step.
Compensation	Triggers a compensating action to undo or roll back the effects of a previously completed step, typically used in error-recovery scenarios.

Once the required fields (Name, Code, and Event Type) are filled in, click SAVE to create the event code. It will then be available for selection in the Event Code dropdown for any Intermediate or Boundary Event across your workflows.

Note: Depending on the Event Type selected, additional configuration fields specific to that type (e.g., timer expressions for Timer events) will appear before saving.

Signal Events

Signal Events are a type of event code used to synchronize activity between steps in a workflow — or between separate workflows entirely. Unlike Timer events, which fire automatically after a set duration, Signal events only fire when explicitly dispatched by a Throw step.

Selecting a Signal Event Code

Once a Signal event code has been created, it becomes available in the Event Code dropdown for any Event step. In the example above:

• Event Direction is set to Catch (Listens to event).

• The Event Code field

Once an event code is selected, the field provides quick-access controls:

Icon	Action
✏️ (Edit)	Opens the Event Code configuration dialog to modify the Name, Code, or Event Type of the selected event.
✕ (Clear)	Removes the currently selected event code from the field.
▼ (Dropdown)	Reopens the list of available event codes to choose a different one.
+ (Add)	Opens the Event Code configuration dialog to create a brand-new event code.

How Signal Events Work

1. A Catch step configured with a Signal event code (e.g., A) will pause the workflow at that point until the matching signal is received.

2. A Throw step — placed elsewhere in the same workflow, or in a different workflow — is configured with the same event code to dispatch the signal.

3. When the Throw step executes, any Catch step listening for that same event code resumes execution.

This makes Signal events useful for:

• Coordinating steps across parallel branches of a workflow.

• Synchronizing two or more separate workflows that need to communicate with one another.

• Pausing a process until a specific business condition or external action is signaled.

Once the Event Code is selected, click CONTINUE to finalize the Event configuration.

Timer Events

Timer Events are a type of event code that fire automatically after a defined period of time, without requiring a manual trigger. They're ideal for introducing delays, deadlines, or recurring scheduled actions into a workflow.

When an Event uses an Event Code configured as Timer (e.g., WAIT-30 | 30 SECONDS WAIT (Timer)), a set of additional fields appears to define exactly when and how the timer fires.

Countdown From

This field determines the reference point the timer counts down from. Available option shown:

• Task Created – The countdown begins from the moment the task/step is created.

• Task Assigned – The countdown begins from the moment the task/step is assigned.

• Task Started – The countdown begins from the moment the task/step is started.

Timer Expression Type

You can define the timer's schedule using one of two expression types:

• ISO 8601 – Best suited for expressing durations, periods, and time intervals relative to a start point.

• Cron – Best suited for expressing recurring points in time (e.g., every day at midnight, every Tuesday at 10am).

ISO 8601 Expressions

When ISO 8601 is selected, enter a Timer Expression using one of the following formats:

• A duration expression — represents a length of time (e.g., PT1H for 1 hour).

• A time interval expression — represents a span between two points, in one of four forms:

Format	Example	Meaning
<start>/<end>	2007-03-01T13:00:00Z/2008-05-11T15:30:00Z	A fixed interval between two dates.
<start>/<duration>	2007-03-01T13:00:00Z/PT1H	1 hour after the given start date/time.
<duration>/<end>	PT1H/2007-03-01T13:00:00Z	1 hour before the given end date/time.
<duration> only	PT1M	Counts from the task's Created/Assigned/Started date (per the Countdown From field) — e.g., 1 month after task creation.

Advanced: Recurring Intervals

Toggling Use advanced ISO 8601 Interval expression? allows you to define a more complex timer e.g. a recurring timer. Recurring timers are defined by prefixing the interval with R and an optional repeat count. If no count is given, the recurrence is unbounded (repeats forever).

Examples:

• R2/PT1H – Fires 1 hour after task creation, then repeats 2 more times, 1 hour apart (3 total events).

• R/PT1H – Fires 1 hour after task creation, then repeats indefinitely, 1 hour apart.

• R2/2026-01-01T00:00:00/PT1H – Fires 1 hour after midnight on 2026-01-01, then repeats 2 more times, 1 hour apart (3 total events).

• R2/PT1H/2026-01-01T00:00:00 – Fires 1 hour before midnight on 2026-01-01, then repeats 2 more times, 1 hour apart (3 total events).

Important: To stop an unlimited (R/...) recurring timer that's already running, you must reconfigure the expression — this change will apply to all active process instances affected.

ISO 8601 expressions are best for durations and periods. To schedule a recurring point in time (e.g., every day at midnight, every Tuesday at 10am), use a Cron expression instead.

Cron Expressions

When Cron is selected as the Timer Expression Type, enter a Cron Expression to define a recurring schedule.

Supported formats:

Format	Example	Meaning
minute hour day_of_month month day_of_week	0 0 * * *	Every day at midnight
second minute hour day_of_month month day_of_week	30 0 0 * * *	Every day at midnight and 30 seconds
second minute hour day_of_month month day_of_week year	30 0 0 * * * 2027	Every day at midnight and 30 seconds, in the year 2027

Nonstandard predefined scheduling keywords (@ expressions) are also supported:

Keyword	Meaning
@midnight	Everyday at midnight
@hourly	Every hour
@daily	Everyday
@weekly	Every week
@monthly	Every month
@yearly	Every year

Once the timer configuration is complete, click CONTINUE to save the Intermediate Event step.

Boundary Events

Boundary Events attach to a specific activity step e.g. a User Task or Call Activity step and let the workflow listen for an event while that step is active. When the event fires, a designated target node is activated — either alongside the original task or, if configured as interrupting, in place of it. Boundary events only truly work when a task step takes time to be executed e.g. a human task, a call activity, a prolonged syncrhonous service task etc.

Accessing Boundary Events

Boundary Events are configured from within a task step's settings:

1. Open the task step.

2. Navigate to the EVENTS tab of the task.

3. Here you'll find an explanation of how boundary events work

4. Click + ADD BOUNDARY EVENT to create a new one.

Configuring a Boundary Event

Clicking ADD BOUNDARY EVENT opens the Boundary Event Configuration dialog, with the following fields:

Field	Description
Title	A descriptive name for this boundary event (e.g., "New Boundary Event").
Target Node	The step that will be activated when the event fires (e.g., "Reminder Notification").
Event Configuration	The event configuration this boundary event listens for. Select an existing code or create a new one, just like with Intermediate Events. A boundary event configuration can only be a catch event.
Enabled	Toggle to activate or deactivate this boundary event without deleting it.
Interrupting Boundary Event?	If enabled, the original task (e.g., "Approve") is cancelled once the event fires and the target node is activated instead. If disabled (non-interrupting), the target node runs alongside the original task, which continues normally.

Once configured, click SAVE.

Result

After saving, the boundary event appears as a small icon attached to the task step on the workflow canvas (shown as a dashed line connecting to the target node). The EVENTS tab also lists a summary of each configured boundary event, for example:

New Boundary Event — Activates Reminder Notification on catching the WAIT-30 - Timer event.

From here, you can:

• EDIT — Reopen the Boundary Event Configuration dialog to make changes.

• DELETE — Remove the boundary event entirely.

You can attach multiple boundary events to a single task by repeating the + ADD BOUNDARY EVENT process.

Use Cases

• Non-interrupting — Send a reminder notification while the user still has time to complete the original task (e.g., a "30 seconds wait" timer triggering a reminder without cancelling the Approve task).

• Interrupting — Automatically escalate or cancel a task if it isn't completed within a certain time, or if a specific signal/error event is received.

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