4.1

8 (Optional) If you decide that the attribute should be an input or output parameter rather than an attribute,
right-click the attribute and select Move as INPUT/OUTPUT parameter to change the attribute into a
parameter.
You defined an attribute for the workflow.
What to do next
You can define the workflow's input and output parameters.
Define Workflow Parameters
Input and output parameters allow you to pass information and data into and out of the workflow.
You define a workflow's parameters in the workflow editor. The input parameters are the data upon which
the workflow acts that the user provides when they run the workflow. The output parameters are the data the
workflow returns when it completes.
Prerequisites
You must have created a workflow and opened the workflow editor for that workflow.
Procedure
1 Click the appropriate tab in the workflow editor.
n
Click Inputs to create input parameters.
n
Click Outputs to create output parameters.
2 Right-click in the parameters tab and select Add Parameter.
A new parameter appears in the attributes list, with String as its default type.
3 Click the parameter name to change it.
The default name is arg_in_<X> for input parameters and arg_out_<X> for output parameters, where
<X> is a number.
4 Click the parameter type value to change it from String to a different value from a list of possible values.
5 Add a description of the parameter in the Description text box.
6 (Optional) If you later decide that the parameter should be an attribute rather than a parameter, right-click
the parameter and select Move as attribute to change the parameter into an attribute.
You have defined an input or output parameter for the workflow.
What to do next
After you define the workflow's parameters, build the workflow schema.
Attribute and Parameter Naming Restrictions
You can use OGNL expressions to determine input parameters dynamically when a workflow runs. The
Orchestrator OGNL parser uses certain keywords during OGNL processing that you cannot use in workflow
attribute or parameter names.
Using a reserved OGNL keyword as a prefix to an attribute name does not break OGNL processing. For
example, you can name a parameter trueParameter. Reserved keywords are not case-sensitive.
IMPORTANT The use of OGNL expressions in workflow presentations is deprecated as of Orchestrator 4.1.
Using OGNL expressions in workflow presentations is not supported in releases of Orchestrator later than 4.1.
You cannot use the following keywords in workflow attribute and parameter names.
vCenter Orchestrator Developer's Guide
20 VMware, Inc.