Operators and Icons › Operator Icons › Creating, Editing, and Applying Custom Icons

Creating, Editing, and Applying Custom Icons

Custom icons are visual identifiers for an operator. They assist you in identifying the specific function of an operator. You can create custom icons in any automation library folder, and then apply them to any operator. Each icon displays your chosen base image with a modifier image overlaid in the lower right corner. The base (object) and modifier (action) provide a consistent structure for all icons.

The topics in this section describe why and how a CA Process Automation Content Designer uses custom icons to customize the appearance of operators. This section also provides examples.

As a process designer, you rely on the visual cues that icons provide to determine the purpose of each operator. For example, what would you guess is the function of the following operator icon?

Even without a label, you can infer from the image that this icon represents a Delete Email operator. An appropriate icon helps you and other designers understand the functionality of an operator.

The initial investment of time you make in assigning an appropriate icon yields many benefits, including the following:

Standardization

Using a standard set of base and modifier images helps designers understand the object performing the action.

Simplicity

Designers can readily identify distinct operators in even the largest, most complex, processes.

Sharing

Teams of designers working in other native languages can share process designs because they are easier to understand.

Use the following flowchart as a guide when customizing icons for your process operators:

No sequence is required for performing the listed tasks. At any time, you have the following options for customizing icons:

• Apply a Custom Icon to Any Operator in a Process: While you design a process, you can change the icon for any operator to customize its appearance only for a single instance. Select a specific instance of an operator and change its icon to one of the predefined custom icon objects in the library.
• Apply a Custom Icon to a Custom Operator: When you change a custom operator icon, your choice of icon is applied to all future instances of that operator. In addition, all designers can see the new icon for the custom operator in the Operator palette.
• Edit a Custom Icon: As time goes by, you can edit one or more predefined custom icons. Your changes apply wherever that custom icon is already used.
• Create a Custom Icon: You can define one or more custom icons. You can create a series of custom icons that you plan to assign to operators or custom operators. Or, you can simply create and save custom icons without knowing in advance exactly where they will be used.