Related Action referring to Ghost Process Model version

Question

I fixed my Process Model with help from the forums. When I ran the Record Related Action that was using it, I realized older version of my Process Model was getting picked. 
 So I made sure my latest corrected Process Model version had been published. It was and all older versions showed disabled. For good measure I deleted my Related Action on my Record and recreated it. Same problem. I know for sure the last but one version of my Process Model getting picked because when I monitor the instance and look at Variables in Process Details, I see the debug variables I had introduced. 
 In frustration, I deleted all previous versions of Process Model and only kept the one which works and which does not have any debug process variables. Once again, I deleted Record Related Action and created it again. For good measure, I also unpublished Application and published again. 
 I ran my Related Action again. SAME Problem. How in the world is my Related Action able to find a non-existent version of my Process Model and instantiate it?

ManuelHTG · Answer

Hello, 
 The only way that could happen is if that related action is triggering a process model that is running (not a new one). 
 When you publish a new process model, non-completed processes of old process models are still running. You should check 
 1) Create a new record and do the necessary steps to execute that related action 
 2) Check in the monitoring non-completed running instances of your related action. If that is the case, delete those instances. 
 Let me know if that hel

Mike Schmitt · Answer

There's a way you can try this without having to start from scratch with your process model. From your current process model, select "File" --> "Save As", which will save a copy of the original as a separate / new PM. Name it something noticeably different, then choose it as the related action PM instead of the original one, and see what happens when you try running it. If it works well, you could just switch to using the new one as your main related action PM, and ditch the old one.

Dave Lewis · Answer

For sanity sake, how about creating a new PM that has nothing to do with any that have come before. Let it be just start node and end node. Configure the related action to run that PM and do nothing instead of whatever it was doing. Confirm that you can at least do that. 
 Afterward, try reconfiguring your related action to use the new PM you've been trying to get it to run.

Dave Lewis · Answer

Because deleting in Appian is super weird, perhaps create a related action with a completely different name, then make sure the PM you're trying to run doesn't have the same name as anything you deleted. 
 It could be that Appian sees an object with the same name as a deleted previous object, and runs the previously deleted one because it goes by names for reasons. 
 It's stuff like this that gave colleagues of mine the best practice of never deleting anything in Appian ever.

Mike Schmitt · Answer

appianfreak said: Whenever I make a change to the Process Model, it will not get picked up UNLESS I re-configure/re-save dependents. So in my case, I had to go to the Record Type Related Action, remove the Process Model reference, re-add it, and Save. 
 If this is true and you can reproduce this behavior on demand, then you should consider opening a support case with Appian if possible, because this does not reflect the intended behavior or my experience whatsoever. 
 Just to double check, you are using the "save and publish" functionality ( ctrl-alt-S ) every time you save your process model, right? Most experienced designers I know of do this by default in most situations, since not doing so can cause unexpected issues.

Related Action referring to Ghost Process Model version

Top Replies