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Author's profile photo Kamlesh Zanje

SAP Cloud Integration – Copy and Paste feature in the Integration Flow Editor

Introduction

With the 5.24.x/6.16.x release, SAP Cloud Integration provides a feature to copy and paste single flow step within an integration flow. In this blog, I will give a detailed overview on this feature.

This feature is described in the SAP Help Portal (see Copy and Paste Flow Steps).

New with SAP Cloud Integration release (5.26.x.x/6.18.x)

With the release of 5.26.x/ 6.18.x, SAP Cloud Integration now provides a feature where users can Copy and Paste Multiple Flow Steps within and across Integration Flows. Please refer the detailed aspects from the blog.

New with SAP Cloud Integration release (5.25.x.x/6.17.x) 

SAP Cloud Integration August 2021 release (5.25.x/6.17.x) provides an extension in copy and paste feature that will allow single flow step copy and paste across the integration flows.

Please refer the section – Copy and paste across integration flows for details.

What is Copy and Paste in an integration flow

Copy and Paste is a feature which allows integration developer to copy flow step and other elements within and across integration flows.

Why Copy and Paste

Integration developer who builds multiple and complex integration flows usually needs a capability to copy and paste the flow steps along with the properties, configurations, externalized parameters, and resources from an existing integration flow.

This feature will enable integration developer to improve developer productivity, ease the modelling aspects and reduce the effort required to develop integration flow.

How to use Copy and Paste 

You can use copy and paste feature in three different ways

  1. Copy and Paste button in tool palette.
  2. Copy and Paste speed button on the flow step.
  3. Keyboard controls for copying (e.g. CTRL + C) and pasting (e.g. CTRL + V).

There are two variants in copy and paste feature.

  1. Explicit selection – In this variant, the paste is performed on the desired location at a mouse pointer.
  2. No explicit selection – In this variant, paste is performed without choosing the desired location. Copied flow step will overlap.

Example

Let us understand how to use copy and paste feature in the integration flow editor with an example.

Scenario # 1 – Copy and paste of flow step in the integration flow editor with explicit selection

In this scenario, I’ll explain how the flow step can be copied along with its resource in the integration flow.

 

Open and edit the integration flow where you want to perform copy and paste of flow step.Image1: Open integration flow for copy and paste

Select the flow step which you would like to copy. Click the copy button available in the tool palette.Image2: Flow step is selected for copy

Select the local integration process using the mouse pointer where you want to paste the copied flow step.Image3: Local integration process selected to paste the copied flow step

On click of the paste button from the tool palette, copied flow element will be pasted.Image4: Copied flow element is pasted in the local integration process

Later, you can connect the flow step manually to the sequence flow.Image5: Flow step is connected to the sequence flow

You will notice resource is maintained and referenced in the copied flow element.Image6: Resource is maintained in the copied flow element

 

Scenario # 2 – Copy and paste of flow step with no explicit selection

In this scenario, I’ll explain how the flow step can be copied along with the properties and externalized parameters in the integration flow.

Write variable flow is selected for copy and it has properties and externalized parameter.Image1: Write variable is selected for copy

Copy is clicked from the tool palette to copy write variable.Image2: Copy from tool palette is clicked.

Without moving mouse pointer, click the paste button from the tool palette.Image3: Paste button is clicked from the tool palette

On paste, the copied flow step is overlapped.Image4: Flow step is copied and it is overlapped

Copied flow step will hold the properties and externalized parameters.

Image5: Properties and externalized parameter is maintained in the copied flow step.

Copy and Paste rules and constraints

This table will explain the rule and constraint defined for the copy and paste feature.

 

Where What On Explicit selection No Explicit selection (at mouse pointer)
Integration flow canvas
  • Integration Process
  • Local Integration Process
  • Participants (Sender & Receiver)

 

Yes Yes
Process
  • Flow Steps
  • Sequence Flows
  • Exception sub-process
Yes Yes

Exception Sub-Process

 

  • Flow Steps
  • Sequence Flows

 

Yes Yes

Participant

 

  • None can be pasted
N/A N/A
Sequence Flow
  • Flow steps
Yes Yes

As mentioned in the beginning of the blog, the 5.24.x/6.16.x release contains the first scope – copy and paste of single flow step inside the integration flow.

Copy and paste across integration flows

Select flow step that you would like to copy from the source integration flow.Image1: Flow step selected for copy.

Click copy action from the source integration flowImage2: Copy action in the source integration flow.

Select the process pool of the target integration flow where you want to perform the paste.
Image3: Process pool of the target integration flow is selected.

Click paste action from the target integration flow.Image4: Paste action in the target integration flow.

On paste, copied flow step will be seen in the target integration flow.Image5: Flow step is copied in the target integration flow.

Points to note

  • Source integration flow can be either in the read or edit mode.
  • Target integration flow has to be in the edit mode.
  • Flow step is copied along with the properties and externalized parameters.
  • Flow step is not copied along with its associated resource (groovy, javascript, xslt etc.). You have to manually maintain the resource in the target integration flow.
  • You can copy and paste across the browser tab and windows, but the browser has to be of  same type. For an example, Copy from Firefox and paste in the Google Chrome is not supported.

In the forthcoming increments, we have plans to address the following cases.

What’s coming next?

  1. Copy and paste of adapter inside and across integration flows
  2. Copy and paste of Integration process, Local Integration Process, Exception subprocess inside and across integration flows.

I hope, you can benefit from the feature presented in this blog post.

In case of questions or feedback, please feel free to comment on this blog.

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      13 Comments
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      Author's profile photo Abhinav Verma
      Abhinav Verma

      Hi Kamlesh,

      Indeed it is very Nice Features and its actually helping when you want use same logic multiple times.When I was consuming this features, it really helped me to save my time in designing the iflow.

      Regards,

      Abhinav Verma

      Author's profile photo Kamlesh Zanje
      Kamlesh Zanje
      Blog Post Author

      Thanks for feedback Abhinav !

      Author's profile photo Insung Bang
      Insung Bang

      Hi Kamlesh,

       

      It is really glad that CPI editor will have a Copy and Paste feature at Q3, however I also would like to  know when Redo/Undo function(CTRL + Z) will be adapted at editor? If I deleted the ifow steps by mistake, I lost my changes since last saving without Redo/Undo function.

       

      Regards,

      Insung

      Author's profile photo Kamlesh Zanje
      Kamlesh Zanje
      Blog Post Author

      Hello Isung,

      Thanks for appreciating this feature. We have Redo/Undo in our pipeline, but it would be available in next year 2022. However, thanks for sharing your view and feedback on Redo/Undo.

      Regards,

      Kamlesh.

      Author's profile photo Georges Messanges
      Georges Messanges

      Hi Kamlesh,

      So great !

      What about your project to Redo/Undo you mean in your post ? It would be a so helpfull feature.

       

      Regards,

      Georges

      Author's profile photo Kamlesh Zanje
      Kamlesh Zanje
      Blog Post Author

      Hello Georges,

      I agree with you. Undo/Redo will be very useful feature.  But due to program prioritization, we are not able plan this developer efficiency backlog. Nevertheless, we will propose in 2024 road map.

      Regards,

      Kamlesh.

      Author's profile photo Georges Messanges
      Georges Messanges

      Thanks for responding Kamlesh.

       

      So let waiting for this feature in 2024 !!

       

      Best Regards,

      Georges

      Author's profile photo Syambabu Allu
      Syambabu Allu

      Hi Kamlesh,

      Nice feature.Thanks for sharing in detail.

      Thank you,

      Syam

      Author's profile photo Kamlesh Zanje
      Kamlesh Zanje
      Blog Post Author

      Hello Syam,

      Thanks for sharing your feedback

      Regards,

      Kamlesh.

      Author's profile photo Allen Chew
      Allen Chew

      Great feature. Really a time saver for everyone!

      Author's profile photo Kamlesh Zanje
      Kamlesh Zanje
      Blog Post Author

      Thanks Allen for sharing positive notes.

      Author's profile photo Dilip Mehra
      Dilip Mehra

      Thanks Kamlesh for this blog , this feature will save a lot of time and would make development even more convenient .

      I checked that only contrl C and V allowed but not delete button for now. Hopefully that also comes in future. Thanks again for the blog.

      Author's profile photo Kamlesh Zanje
      Kamlesh Zanje
      Blog Post Author

      Hello Dilip,

      Thanks for sharing feedback.

      We will take your feedback into consideration and shall provide keyboard support for deleting shapes.

      I can't promise on the timelines, but certainly the availability of the same will be made transparent via product documentation and sap blogs.

      Regards,

      Kamlesh.