- Introduction
- Getting started
- Build on any canvas
- Build with Case
- Reference
- Defining case keys (system vs. external)
- Establishing task I/O and write-back contracts
- Modeling primary and secondary stages
- Triggering a case from Data Fabric
- Implementing stage-level personas and permissions
- Setting SLAs and automated escalation rules
- Configuring a rework loop (re-entry)
- Configuring and testing the Case Manager Agent (preview)
- Build with Flow
- Build with BPMN
- Operating
- Monitoring
- Optimizing
- Reference information
Queue tools
The Create queue item and Create and wait for queue item nodes, which add a work item to a queue so that robots can process it.
What it does
A queue holds work items that software robots process one by one. The queue nodes work with a queue from a workflow. To find them, search for queue in the Add node panel. The search lists Create queue item, Create and wait for queue item, Delete queue items, and Set transaction status. The first two add a work item to a queue, which distributes work to robots:
- Create queue item: adds the work item and continues immediately, without waiting for the result.
- Create and wait for queue item: adds the work item and pauses the workflow until a robot has processed it. The processed result is then available to the nodes after it.
When to use
- Use Create queue item to hand work to robots when the workflow does not need the result.
- Use Create and wait for queue item to hand work to robots and use the result before continuing.
- Delete queue items and Set transaction status are also in the Add node panel. This page doesn't describe them yet.
- To start a known process directly with known inputs, use the RPA Workflow node.
- To go through the items of a list one by one inside the workflow, use the Loop node.
Configuration
| Field | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Queue | Yes | The name of the queue that receives the work item. |
| Item data | No | The JSON payload of the work item. JSON is a text format for structured data. |
| Priority | No | Low, Normal (the default), or High. |
| Reference | No | A tracking reference for the work item. |
| Defer date | No | The earliest time to process the item, in ISO 8601 format. |
| Due date | No | The deadline for processing the item, in ISO 8601 format. |
The Create and wait for queue item node reads the same queue and item data fields.
Output
The nodes continue along the success path once the work item is created. For Create and wait for queue item, the processed result is available to the nodes after it as $vars.<nodeName>.output. If the queue operation fails, the error is available on the Error handle, as Error handling describes.
Common causes of problems
- The queue is not found: the queue name must match an existing queue exactly.
- The item data is not valid JSON: the item data must be a JSON object.
- The queue item stays unprocessed: no robot is available to process it.
- The workflow waits too long: the robot takes longer than expected to process the item.
Next steps
- Loop: going through a list of items in a workflow, which fits adding one work item per item.
- RPA Workflow: starting a process directly.
- Error handling: routing a failure to an error path.