The Filesystem adapter gives you access to the filesystem in service context. You can read and write files (even incrementally), and read and create directories.

Find below a table listing some common tasks you can use the Filesystem adapter for, and which action to use for which task.

Task	Action	Mode	Important Parameter	Remarks
Write a complete file in one action.	write			If the file exists, it will be overwritten. If the file does not exist, it will be created.
Replace part of a file.	write		position	Writes the data to the file beginning at the specified position. If the file does not exists you will get the exception FSADM/8 (see Catching Errors).
Append data to a file.	append	append		If the file exists, the given data will be appended. If the file does not exist, it will be created.
Write a complete file line by line.	append	overwrite		Use mode overwrite for all appends. If the file exists, it will be overwritten. If the file does not exist, it will be created. overwrite will only be applied to the first append. All subsequent appends (e.g. in a loop) automatically get mode append.
Copy a complete file.	copy			Copy a file in one action. Using copy you can even copy huge files because it does not load the complete file into memory.
Move a file to a new location.	rename		newName	Provide the new path of the file through the newName parameter.
Delete a file.	remove			If the specified file does not exist, no error will be reported.
Manipulate a file and process the file further (e.g. moving it).	write or append close further processing			Before processing the file further (e.g. moving it), close the file. Otherwise it may be locked.

Adding a Filesystem Adapter Operation to a Diagram

Expand the path to the Filesystem adapter in the service panel (Base Types/Bridge Base/Base Components/Add Ons/FileSystem).

You can drag out operations from the data model to any diagram:

The example on the left shows how to add a Filesystem adapter operation to a BPMN execution diagram.

Configuring the Filesystem Adapter Operation

Once an operation has been added to a diagram, it needs to be configured as a Filesystem adapter.


	Click Add Stereotype to define the selected operation as to be a File System adapter.
	Select File System Adapter from the list of available adapter stereotypes. Click Save.
	The Attributes panel shows the added adapter stereotype. Now you still need to configure the adapter. Expand the stereotype by clicking the arrow on the right.
	To configure a Filesystem adapter, you have the following options: alias: A Filesystem adapter is configured via its alias. For more information see below. mode: This option is only relevant for append operations. Refer to Filesystem Adapter Reference for further information. The adapter option action derives from the used operation. Do not configure this.
	You can select an existing alias from a drop-down list by clicking the text Select alias. If you want to remove an added alias, click the corresponding icon on the right side or select None from the drop-down list:
	You can also create and add a new alias by clicking the corresponding icon. Refer to Aliases for more information on how to create a new alias.
	A dialog opens where you can choose an alias stereotype: DirectoryAlias FileAlias Select the desired alias stereotype an click Save.
	In the following dialog, name and configure the new alias. Refer to Filesystem Adapter Reference for more information on the configuration options of this adapter. Click Save to create and add the new alias.