In cases and processes

Once configured, an external plugin is used in the same places as embedded functionality. This page lists each surface and where to configure it.

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Process actions

A plugin action runs when a process reaches a service task. Actions are bound in the process modeler through a process link, exactly like embedded plugin actions:

1

Open the process in the modeler (Admin > Cases > case definition > Processes)

2

Select the service task and add a Plugins & Apps process link

3

Choose the external plugin configuration — external entries show the plugin name with its version, so it is always clear which version the process binds to

4

Choose the action, fill in its input, and optionally map the action's result

Action inputs accept value-resolver expressions (doc:, pv:, case:), which are resolved when the action runs. The optional output mapping writes parts of the action's result back to the case document or to process variables — no plugin-specific glue code needed.

Whether the action's input is a form depends on the plugin. A plugin that provides one shows its own fields here; a plugin that does not shows a single JSON text area, and the inputs must be entered as a JSON object. Ask the plugin's supplier for the property names and an example — the same situation as a plugin without a settings form.

Action properties as JSON

An action failure (including an unreachable integration) surfaces as a process error on the service task, like any other failing action.

Inside building blocks, an external action is linked by plugin and version; the concrete configuration is chosen per case definition that uses the block — the same pattern as embedded plugins.

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Task forms

A plugin can render the form for a user task. On a user task, the Plugins & Apps process link lists the plugin's forms; the completing user's input is submitted through Valtimo, which applies the values (for example doc: fields and process variables) and completes the task — the standard task-completion pipeline. Depending on the plugin, the form may also validate or transform the submission before the task completes, with validation errors shown on the form.

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Case tabs

A plugin screen can be a tab on the case detail page. Configure it under Admin > Cases > case definition > Case details > Tabs by creating a tab of type Plugins & Apps and selecting the plugin configuration (and, when the plugin offers more than one tab screen, which one). See Tabs for the general tab configuration flow.

The type is disabled — with a tooltip explaining why — when no activated external plugin offers a case tab screen, or when every offered tab has already been added.

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Case widgets

A plugin screen can also be a card on a widgets tab, next to the built-in widgets. In the widget tab editor, add a widget of type Plugins & Apps and select the configuration (and which widget screen, when the plugin offers several). The standard width, density, appearance, and display-condition options apply.

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Menu pages

A plugin can add a whole page to the navigation menu, configured in the menu management. The page's title and icon come from the plugin.

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Import and export

Case definition export and import treat external plugin references like embedded ones: the import wizard shows every referenced plugin configuration and lets you map each to a configuration in the target environment. An unmapped reference imports as dangling — the case definition works except for that binding — and is repaired later from the case definition's issues panel.

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Access control

What end users see of a plugin is governed by the standard access control rules, and everything a plugin screen does on behalf of a user is additionally limited to what that user is allowed to see and do. For case tabs and widgets the standard resources apply — see Tabs:

Resource type	Action	Effect
com.ritense.case.domain.CaseTab	view	Allows viewing a specific tab — including external plugin tabs — on the case detail page
com.ritense.case_.domain.tab.CaseWidgetTabWidget	view	Allows viewing a specific widget — including external plugin widgets — on a widgets tab