StateMachine Activity Designer

Applies to: yesVisual Studio noVisual Studio for Mac

Note

This article applies to Visual Studio 2017. If you're looking for the latest Visual Studio documentation, see Visual Studio documentation. We recommend upgrading to the latest version of Visual Studio. Download it here

The StateMachine activity contains a collection of states and models workflows using the familiar state machine paradigm.

Using the StateMachine Activity Designer

To add a StateMachine activity, drag the StateMachine activity designer from the State Machine section of the Toolbox and drop it on to the Workflow Designer surface. To add a child state to this StateMachine activity, drag a State or FinalState from the Toolbox and drop it onto the StateMachine.

StateMachine Activity Properties in the Workflow Designer

The following table shows the StateMachine properties that can be set using the workflow designer and describes how they are used in the designer. These properties can be edited in the property grid and some can be edited on the designer surface.

Property Name Required Usage
DisplayName False Specifies the friendly name of the StateMachine activity designer in the header. The default value is StateMachine. The value can be edited in the property grid or directly on the header of the activity designer. The DisplayName is used in the breadcrumb navigation that is displayed at the top of the workflow designer.

Although the DisplayName is not strictly required, it is a best practice to use one.

See also