mckryton / text2process

an applescript for OmniGraffle pro to translate csv files into graphic BPMN like charts

status

• early development
• functionality is limited (see limitations)

about

text2process is a script that reads a comma separated textfile containing business process steps and uses OmniGraffle to draw this process as BPMN chart.

requirements

• OmniGraffle Professional 5 or 6
• MacOS X 10.6 or later I

installation

At the moment there is no install script available. So copy these files manually:

OmniGraffle 5
scripts/text2process.scpt	>	~/Library/Scripts/Applications/OmniGraffle Pro
templates/process template.gtemplate	>	~/Library/Application Support/The Omni Group/OmniGraffle/Templates
OmniGraffle 6
scripts/text2process.scpt	>	~/Library/Scripts/Applications/OmniGraffle
templates/process template.gtemplate	>	~/Library/Containers/com.omnigroup.OmniGraffle6/Data/Library/Application Support/The Omni Group/OmniGraffle/Templates

• The location of Omnigraffles template directory depends on version of MacOS and Omnigraffle!
• Try to create a new template by yourself to figure out the right location for your OmniGraffle templates
• If Omnigraffle doesn't recognize the template it might help to remove the ".gtemplate" extension.
• Of course you can run the text2process script from any location.

usage

1. write your process as text (use comma as delimiter, use , to escape commas in text)
   • col1: unique id (e.g. number)
   • col2: name of swimlane
   • col3: description
   • col4: type of shape (e.g. start, task, end; see user data of shapes for available types)
   • col5: id of previous step (optional for alternative connections) (see samples/phone call.txt)
2. open OmniGraffle
3. run text2process from the Applescript menu (can be activated by the AppleScript Editor settings)

limitations

• it's not possible to choose the connection type
• no support for complex charts like sub-processes and choregaphies
• automatic linking for multiple connections has to be improved