Key Terms and Concepts

Swimlane uses a variety of terms throughout this documentation and the platform itself. The table below contains high-level definitions of some of the key terms and concepts you will encounter using Swimlane.

Term	Definition
Action	A single task within workflow, manually defined to respond to a conditional decision point.
Administrator	An account created to enable access to the Swimlane UI or API. The initial administrator role in Swimlane has access to all roles, groups, permissions, applications, reports, records, etc. The administrator role and permissions can be narrowed to meet business needs.
Applet	A preconfigured set of fields and layout specifications for Swimlane. Applets are appended to an existing application form layout and are designed to allow users to easily update and expand their existing applications.
Applet Builder	A form layout designer in Swimlane for configuring applets.
Application	A user-defined template for collecting, storing, and organizing your data. All automated activities and decisions are driven by how your application stores data. You also manage workflow from within applications.
Application Builder	A form layout in Swimlane for configuring applications.
Assets	Reusable, structured, and product-specific objects that contribute to the success of Swimlane tasks by handling secure authentication and configuration specifications for external systems.
Card	A report or html object that is associated with a dashboard. You can have multiple cards on a single dashboard.
Charts	A visual, graphic representation of record and application data.
Dashboard	A visual display of records, reports, and charts associated with the applications in the workspace. A workspace can have multiple dashboards.
Default Dashboard	The dashboard available to a user upon log in. The default is administrator-defined.
Export Template	A user-defined template for exporting record data.
Field	A value, or series of values, stored in an application.
Group	A collection of defined users.
Record	A single entry within an application. In Swimlane terminology individual cases, events, alarms, alerts, etc. are generalized as application records.
Parent Record
Report	A consolidated list of records.
Role	A user-defined set of user and/or group permissions.
Task	An action or series of actions that consists of input, configuration details, output, and triggers. Tasks in Swimlane can be very complex and can contain multiple input and output variables.
Trigger	A rule within a task that specifies what will initiate an action or additional task.
User	An account created to enable access to the Swimlane UI or API. The user role differs from the administrator role in Swimlane and typically has limited access to administrator role functionality.
Workflow	A series of conditional decision points and resulting actions that define, designate, and visually represent the way an organization processes tasks.
Workflow Condition	Decision-points in the business processes programmed into workflow.
Workspace	A customizable area within the Swimlane platform where you can organize and access the Swimlane tools and features you use on a regular basis. Workspaces can include applications, dashboards, records, reports, and charts.

The option to "Allow Parent Records to be Retained" means you can prevent these primary records from being deleted, even if their associated records are being removed during a cleanup process.

A Parent Record is the main or primary record in a group of related records. It acts as the foundation that connects to other associated records. For example, in a case management system, a case might be the parent record, while the tasks linked to it are the related records.