Tool
User Guide — Defining the Tools a Pipeline Can Use
| Last updated: September 2026
1. Overview
A tool is a building block a pipeline can use to do a piece of work. The Tool screen is where tools are defined, along with how they behave and which tools can follow which. It has two tabs: Tool and Tool Successor.
WHERE TO FIND IT — Tool is under Process → Config. Use the two tabs to switch between the tool list and the tool ordering.
2. Tool — The List of Tools
The Tool tab lists the tools that exist. Each row describes one tool.
| Column | What it means |
|---|---|
| Name | The tool's name. |
| ToolContentName / ToolComponentName / ToolContentPrimaryKeyName | The technical pieces that make up the tool. |
| CanStartPipeline | Whether a pipeline can begin with this tool. |
| CanHavePredecessor | Whether the tool can have a step before it. |
| CanHaveSuccessor | Whether the tool can have a step after it. |
| IsCircularReference | Whether the tool may refer back to itself. |
| ToolIcon | The icon shown for the tool. |
| Updated By / Updated Date | Who last changed it, and when. |
Adding a tool: click the + button and fill in its details.
Each tool row also has three actions — Layers, System Process, and Delete (which removes the tool). The first two open small windows for setting the tool up, and are worth a closer look.
2.1 The Layers Button
The Layers button opens a window listing the domain layers this tool applies to — the pipeline layers where the tool is available to be used.
- Each row shows a Layer (along with who last updated it and when).
- Add a layer with the + button: the Add Layer window opens, where you pick a Layer from the list and save. The tool then applies to that layer.
- Remove a layer with the delete icon on its row.
A TOOL IS ONLY AVAILABLE ON THE LAYERS YOU LIST — Adding layers here is what makes the tool usable in those parts of a pipeline. If a tool isn't showing up where you expect, check that its layer is listed.
2.2 The System Process Button
The System Process button opens a window linking the system process this tool runs. A tool on its own is just a definition — the actual work it does comes from a system process (see the System Process guide).
- Each row shows a Process Name (along with who last updated it and when).
- Add a process with the + button: the Add System Process window opens, where you pick a Process Name from the list of system processes and save.
- Remove a linked process with the delete icon on its row.
THIS IS WHERE A TOOL GETS ITS BEHAVIOUR — Linking a System Process here is what gives the tool something to do. The processes you can choose from are the ones set up on the System Process screen, so define the process there first.
3. Tool Successor — The Order of Tools
The Tool Successor tab sets which tool can follow which in a pipeline.
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Tool Name | The tool. |
| Successor Name | The tool that can come after it. |
| Successor Multiplicity | How many of that successor are allowed. |
Add a pairing with the + button and remove one with the delete icon.
DEFINE THE TOOL, THEN ITS CONNECTIONS — Create a tool on the Tool tab first, set its layers and system process, then use Tool Successor to say what can follow it. The CanHavePredecessor / CanHaveSuccessor flags control whether those connections are allowed at all.
4. Quick Reference
| I want to… | Do this |
|---|---|
| See the tools | Process → Config → Tool → Tool tab |
| Add a tool | Tool tab → + |
| Set which layers a tool applies to | Tool row → Layers → + → pick a Layer |
| Link the process a tool runs | Tool row → System Process → + → pick a Process Name |
| Set which tool can follow which | Tool Successor tab → + |
| Remove a tool or a successor link | Click the delete icon on its row |
Source: OnCoor Process Management product documentation, written for end users. For the latest screens and options, always refer to the in-app interface.