Supported BPMN Elements in ProcessMind

Supported BPMN Elements

ProcessMind reads and writes the BPMN 2.0 elements below. Supported means the element is covered by our round-trip tests: a model that contains it is exported to BPMN and imported again with the same elements, connections, geometry and labels. Partly supported states exactly what is not kept.

Flow elements

BPMN Element	Support Status	Notes
bpmn:Process	Supported	(Invisible) A file may hold several processes
bpmn:LaneSet	Supported	(Invisible)
bpmn:Lane	Supported	Nested lane sets included
bpmn:Task	Supported
bpmn:UserTask	Supported	Visual representation only; execution attributes are not used
bpmn:ManualTask	Supported
bpmn:ServiceTask	Supported
bpmn:SendTask	Supported
bpmn:ReceiveTask	Supported	instantiate is kept
bpmn:ScriptTask	Supported
bpmn:BusinessRuleTask	Supported
bpmn:CallActivity	Supported	Cross-process links export as calledElement
bpmn:SubProcess	Supported	Expanded, collapsed and event sub-processes
bpmn:AdHocSubProcess	Supported
bpmn:Transaction	Supported

Gateways

BPMN Element	Support Status	Notes
bpmn:Gateway	Supported	The plain gateway, rendered as an empty diamond
bpmn:ExclusiveGateway	Supported
bpmn:InclusiveGateway	Supported
bpmn:ParallelGateway	Supported
bpmn:ComplexGateway	Supported
bpmn:EventBasedGateway	Supported	instantiate and eventGatewayType included

Events

BPMN Element	Support Status	Notes
bpmn:StartEvent	Supported
bpmn:EndEvent	Supported
bpmn:IntermediateCatchEvent	Supported
bpmn:IntermediateThrowEvent	Supported
bpmn:BoundaryEvent	Supported	Including the task it is attached to
bpmn:MessageEventDefinition	Supported
bpmn:TimerEventDefinition	Supported	Date, cycle and duration
bpmn:SignalEventDefinition	Supported
bpmn:EscalationEventDefinition	Supported
bpmn:ErrorEventDefinition	Supported
bpmn:CancelEventDefinition	Supported
bpmn:CompensateEventDefinition	Supported	waitForCompletion included
bpmn:ConditionalEventDefinition	Supported
bpmn:TerminateEventDefinition	Supported
bpmn:LinkEventDefinition	Supported

Connecting objects

BPMN Element	Support Status	Notes
bpmn:SequenceFlow	Supported	Name, condition expression and default flow included
bpmn:MessageFlow	Supported	Between pools, and between a flow element and a pool
bpmn:Association	Supported	Links annotations, data objects and data stores to flow elements. A plain bpmn:association between an activity and a data reference is written back as the data association it describes
bpmn:FormalExpression	Supported	Condition expressions, timer values and loop conditions
bpmn:DataAssociation	Supported	An activity (task or sub-process) linked to a data object or data store is written as the nested bpmn:dataInputAssociation / bpmn:dataOutputAssociation of that activity, direction included. assignment and transformation are not modeled, and a data association on an event is not read

Artifacts

BPMN Element	Support Status	Notes
bpmn:TextAnnotation	Supported
bpmn:Group	Supported	The group name comes back through its category value
bpmn:DataObjectReference	Supported	ProcessMind’s data object
bpmn:DataStoreReference	Supported	ProcessMind’s data store
bpmn:DataInput	Supported	In the process input/output specification
bpmn:DataOutput	Supported	In the process input/output specification
bpmn:Category	Supported	Written for groups
bpmn:CategoryValue	Supported	Carries the group name

Pools, collaboration and diagram interchange

BPMN Element	Support Status	Notes
bpmn:Collaboration	Supported
bpmn:Participant	Supported	Pools, including collapsed pools
bpmn:Documentation	Supported	Written for the model’s elements, in every export path. Documentation on a connection (a sequence flow, association or message flow) is read from a file into the model, but the export writes element documentation only
extensionElements (processmind:*)	Supported	Element settings, colors, mapped activities and simulation settings. Simulation settings travel with the in-app Export BPMN only — the catalog export and the API download write no simulations
bpmndi:BPMNDiagram	Supported
bpmndi:BPMNPlane	Supported
bpmndi:BPMNShape	Supported	Position, size, colors and label position
bpmndi:BPMNEdge	Supported	Waypoints and label position
bpmndi:BPMNLabel	Supported	Text position

Not reproduced one-to-one

These elements do not block an import or an export — they are simply not reproduced one-to-one:

BPMN Element	What happens
bpmndi:BPMNLabelStyle	Font settings are read and shown in the modeler, but the export writes no label styles: element fonts are not part of the exported file
bpmn:DataObject, bpmn:DataStore (the declarations)	Ignored: ProcessMind keeps data as bpmn:DataObjectReference / bpmn:DataStoreReference and writes no separate declaration
bpmn:Event, bpmn:ThrowEvent, bpmn:CatchEvent, bpmn:ImplicitThrowEvent	Abstract event types: read as the concrete start, intermediate or end event they describe and written back as that concrete type
bpmn:FlowElement, bpmn:FlowNode, bpmn:RootElement, bpmn:BaseElement	Abstract types that never appear in a file; the export writes the concrete element instead

Unsupported BPMN Elements

ProcessMind does not support these elements, as they are typically related to execution, choreography or non-essential metadata:

• bpmn:Choreography, bpmn:GlobalChoreographyTask, bpmn:ChoreographyTask, bpmn:CallChoreography, bpmn:SubChoreography
• bpmn:Conversation, bpmn:ConversationNode, bpmn:ConversationLink, bpmn:ConversationAssociation, bpmn:GlobalConversation
• bpmn:PartnerEntity, bpmn:PartnerRole, bpmn:CorrelationProperty, bpmn:CorrelationKey, bpmn:CorrelationSubscription
• bpmn:ParticipantAssociation, bpmn:MessageFlowAssociation
• bpmn:GlobalTask, bpmn:GlobalManualTask, bpmn:GlobalUserTask
• bpmn:ResourceRole, bpmn:Performer, bpmn:PotentialOwner, bpmn:HumanPerformer
• bpmn:Property, bpmn:DataState, bpmn:Assignment
• bpmn:Error, bpmn:Message, bpmn:Signal, bpmn:Escalation (the shared root declarations — the matching event definitions are supported)
• bpmn:Interface, bpmn:Operation, bpmn:EndPoint (execution only)
• bpmn:Auditing, bpmn:Monitoring, bpmn:Rendering, bpmn:Extension (extension metadata; ProcessMind’s own extensionElements are supported)

What ProcessMind Supports

ProcessMind supports the essential BPMN 2.0 elements critical for effective process modeling and analysis. It prioritizes elements integral to visualization and process structure, omitting those used for execution or extended metadata. The list above is kept honest by the round-trip test suite: an element is only called supported while a test proves that a model containing it survives export and import.

Related topics

• BPMN Building Blocks: element reference.
• BPMN 2.0: the BPMN language.