A process map is not a secret that you want to keep with you. It is meant for others to look at. This can be done in two ways, namely by sharing or publishing a process. Below we briefly explain the difference:
- Sharing: sharing a process is done when the process description is still in a concept phase. You want to ask one or a few users for their feedback. After one or a few iterations, a final version of the process description is reached.
- Publishing: publishing a process is done when the process description has reached a final version. When a process is published, it ends up in the (digital) process manual, the Engage Process Viewer. The Viewer is the tool for the entire organisation to look at processes.
How do I share a process?
Sharing a process that has not yet been shared
To share a process that hasn't been shared at this point, follow these steps:
- Open the process you want to share and click the Share button on the Collaborate tab. The following window appears on the screen:
- Share options: Choose from the following options:
o Also show linked process(es): check this option if the process you want to share contains one or more process links and you also want to share the content (only the highest level) of linked processes, so that a Viewer user can also view the content of linked processes.
o Allow user comments: Check this option if users are allowed to leave comments on the shared process in the Viewer.
Please note! Giving reactions to linked processes is not possible unless these linked processes are shared independently and commenting is allowed for this linked process.
o Allow anonymous users: check this option if you want to share the process with people who are not designated users of Engage Process. You then enter the e-mail address of these people.
Please note! This option is only visible if the administrator of Engage Process within your organisation has checked this option in the Admin Centre under the 'Security' section.
- Share with: enter the people you want to share the process with.
- Click the Add User/Group button to add users or groups. The following dialog box appears:
- Select the user(s) and/or user group(s) by clicking on the name.
- Tip! With <Ctrl> pressed in, you can select multiple times.
- Click the radio button and enter an email address to enter the email addresses of the "anonymous" users. This is only visible if you have checked ‘Allow anonymous users’ in the Share options. Click the Enter an email address radio button and type an email address of a non-existent Viewer user in Engage Process. Once you have finished typing, a new input box will appear for an e-mail address to be entered.
- Click <Agree> to exit this window.
- Click the Add User/Group button to add users or groups. The following dialog box appears:
- Expiration date: you can link an end date to being able to view the shared process in the Viewer. After this date, the process can no longer be viewed in the Viewer. By default, the expiration date is set to 1 month, but it can't be longer than 3 months from when the chart is shared or reshared. You can also choose not to give an expiration date.
Please note! If the option 'Allow anonymous users' is checked, an expiration date must always be given. This is for security reasons.
- Description: fill in an explanation and/or a list of the most relevant changes compared to a possible previous version. This description can be found in the Viewer App by clicking on the icon below that is at the upper right corner of the application.
- Finally, click <Agree>. An email notification is automatically sent to all the people you have filled in, except for yourself. This email notification states that a process has been shared with them including a link to open this process directly in the Viewer.
Resharing a currently shared process
Above are the steps for sharing a process that is not currently shared. Of course, you can share a process again, for example after you have made some changes. This is the same as described above, except for the following:
- The next time you want to share the process, the following message will appear on the screen:
Click and <Yes> the window for sharing the process will appear.
- Share options: a new option has been added, namely:
Suppose you have already started working on the process, but you want to add an additional user. Then you may not want the current version of the process to be shared in the Modeler, but still the previously shared version.
How do I publish a process?
As a Modeler user, you can't publish processes directly in the Viewer. The actual publishing is done in the Engage Process Publisher.
As a Modeler user, you can submit a process for publication.
This is done as follows:
- Open the process you want to publish (or have published) and click on the 'Submit for publication' button on the 'Collaborate' tab.
- The process you had in view is already checked. You can also submit several processes for publication at once. In that case, you check every process that you also want to offer for publication.
- Click on the button <Next> if you want to leave an explanation that will also be visible in the Viewer and/or click on <Agree>.
If an older version of the process has been shared in the Viewer, the following message will appear:
Click <Yes>, to stop sharing the older version. This keeps the process manual nice and tidy.
Please note! If you have been assigned the role 'Publication Administrator' in the Engage Admin Centre as a Modeler user, you also have access to the Engage Process Publisher. If the process you are submitting for publication has already been published once before, the following message will appear after submitting for publication:
Clicking <Yes> will replace the current published version of the process with this newer version of the process. This version is directly available in the Viewer without the intervention of the Engage Process Publisher.
Finally, the application announces that this has been successfully submitted for publication.
How do I create a link to a process in the Viewer myself?
For both shared and published processes, you can create a Viewer link in the Modeler. By clicking on this link, the process will open directly in the Viewer. This can be useful if you are using a generic Viewer account for sharing processes. This way you can send an email notification to the people you want to share the process with.
Another reason may be that you want to make (certain) processes quickly accessible via a shortcut on the desktop or the start menu in Windows or on a page on your intranet.
Creating a Viewer link is done as follows:
- Open the process you want to create the link for.
- On the "Collaborate" tab, click the "Create Viewer Link" button.
- Status: Choose whether you want to create a link to a shared or published process.
- Module: leave 'Viewer App' selected here. In 2025 there will only be one Viewer and it will look more like our current Viewer App than the old Viewer.
- Process Tap: Check this option if you want the circle to be around the process step when the process opens.
Please note! If the correct process step is not here, close the window and select the correct process step in the process. Then click on the 'Create Viewer Link' button again.
- Username and Password: enter the username and password of your generic Viewer account here.
- Click the <Test Link> button to see if the link is correct. The following points are checked:
- Is the process shared/published in the Viewer?
- Is the entered user (name) authorised to view the process in the Viewer?
- Is the username and password combination correct?
With 3 times "yes" the message comes that the link is valid. If the answer to any of the above questions is "no", a message will appear as to why the link is not valid.
- Click <Copy to Clipboard> and click <Close>.
- You can now paste the + link <Ctrl> <V> wherever you want.
Please note! We're talking about a process in this article, but you can also share brainstorming diagrams and outlines created in the Engage Process Modeler or submit them for publication.