Generate Documentation - BPMN/Activity Diagram - Sort elements by"step by step"

[marku]

Hi
I was build Activity Diagram or BPMN Diagram. I Want generate Documentation with Diagram and list of elements (by the own template). - ok, that's  was simple.
But in the list of elements I can't sort element's by "step by step": "Start proces"->"step first"-> "step second"->"..."->"End proces"
Elements in list are sort by date or by name- when I add before name number:1,2,3 is ok, untill I don't have more than 9: In there I have: 1, 10, 11, 12, 2,...
Is any solution to sort object on the list in document by "step by step" or Alias, Tag, etc?

[Geert Bellekens]

Marku,

Sort "step by step" only goes as far as the first gateway.
How do you propose to sort if you have two alternative paths?
And what to do if those paths join again, or go back, or...

What I'm trying to say is that there is no way to sort the activities in a BPMN diagram in a logical way.
After considering ordering based on the location on the diagram (from left to right, then from top to bottom or something like that) most clients eventually settled for alphabetical order as that is the easiest to work with (find an activity in the list)

Geert

[marku]

I'm too fast write
Ofcourse - it's easy only to first gateway. But sometimes much easy will be when default path, Sparx can generate "step by step" and other steps will by group (path 1, path 2....(with own "step by step")
Like in Use Case: Can genereate document with default path (step by step) and alternative path
Thats exactly what I will wishing in BPMN or other diagrams

At now I must manually sort all steps

[Geert Bellekens]

Still not. There are too many variations possible in a BPMN diagram to make al algorithm that will sort the elements in a "logical" order.
What will you do when you have a complex diagram with lot's of gateways?
List each and every possible path?
How should an algorithm decide which is the "main" path and which are the alternatives?
It simply can't be done.

For use cases it sort of works because the possible paths are limited by design. (one main path and alternate and exceptions paths only divert from main path)

Geert

[marku]

That's not easy but we have computer and program
Even something more user friendly will be great (I hate manually sort list of Activity (currently I add number of step in Alias, and by them sort in default document)
I agree with your arguments but "always can dream"