Actions for a Process Instance
In the Process Explorer, running, failed, cancelled, or finished instances can be processed further – without switching to the process designer. This article explains when each action is useful and what the difference is between the standard and the "with edit" variants.
Available actions
Which actions are shown depends on the current status of the instance.
| Action | Visible for status | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Cancel | running | The running instance is stopped. |
| Retry | failed, cancelled (with resume point) | The instance is resumed at the failed activity. |
| Resume with edited message | failed, cancelled (with resume point) | Like "Retry", but the activity's input message can be edited first. |
| Restart | failed, cancelled, finished | A new instance is created with the original start data. The old instance stays untouched. |
| Restart with edited message | failed, cancelled, finished | Like "Restart", but the start message can be edited first. |
When to use what
Cancel
A running instance should be stopped – for example because it is waiting for an external response that will never arrive.
Retry
A service task failed with a temporary error (e.g. network issue). The data is still correct, the step just needs to run again.
Resume with edited message
A service task failed because the input data was wrong (e.g. missing field, invalid value). The input is corrected and the instance continues with the fixed data.
Restart
The original run is finished or failed – the whole process should be executed again from the start with the identical start data. Useful for example to resend a confirmation email.
Restart with edited message
Like "Restart", but the original start message (the initial JSON) can be edited first. Typical use case: a finished process should run again with slightly different input data.
Difference: Retry vs. Restart
- Retry continues the same instance at the failed step. Previous steps are not executed again.
- Restart creates a completely new instance with its own ID. All steps run from the beginning.
Edited message – what happens technically?
For the "with edit" variants an editor opens where the current input message (JSON) can be modified.
- The original message is kept (audit trail).
- A new version of the message is stored.
- The instance is resumed or restarted using the new version.
- An indicator with editor and timestamp appears in the overview.
This makes it traceable that and when an input was changed manually.
Note
The actions are only visible for authorized users. Which permissions are required depends on the role configuration of the tenant.