Both edit the same artifacts in the same Process Center, but they are different programs with different scopes:
| Web Process Designer (browser) | Desktop Process Designer (Eclipse, Windows) |
|---|
| Availability | BPM 8.5.6+ (limited), 8.6+ (most artifacts), BAW 20+ default; the only designer on CP4BA (in Business Automation Studio) and SaaS | BPM 7.5 - 8.6, BAW 18-20; deprecated, removed from CP4BA |
| Artifacts | BPDs, client-side human services, service flows, coach views, business objects, teams, EPVs, external services, decisions, case types, UI themes | Everything, including heritage human services, heritage coaches, legacy integration services, tracking groups, some server file / theme editors that came to the web later |
| Debug / playback | Playback in a new tab, service flow debugger with step over | Inspector with breakpoints in server-side flows, heritage coach preview |
| Install | none - a URL | Windows installer, 32-bit Java, matching Process Center version required |
| Concurrency | Same repository locking as desktop; better change history views | Same |
Today: use the web designer for all new work (it is the only one on CP4BA); keep a desktop designer only to maintain heritage human services / heritage coaches on old traditional versions, and convert those when you can. Integration Designer (BPEL, mediation, adapters) is a separate Eclipse tool for BAW Advanced and is unaffected by this choice.
References