Workflow stuck in started stage in sharepoint 2013

Question

Workflow stuck in started stage in sharepoint 2013

ameneh maleki 46

I have a large sharepoint list (with about 34000 Items), I set a workflow on this list that change filed value and workflow set started automatically when an item in a list is changed.

But workflow doesn’t work correctly for some of items in a list and stuck in started stage.

I should mention that users in this list update large items via excel sheet view simultaneously.

I’m very appreciated if anyone can help me.

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Answer 1

Yanli Jiang - MSFT 31,601 Microsoft External Staff

Hi @ameneh maleki ,

It's possible that the workflow is getting stuck due to the large number of items in the list and the simultaneous updates being made by users via Excel sheet view. One workaround could be to increase the workflow timeout duration. You can do this by following these steps:

Open the affected workflow in Microsoft SharePoint Designer 2013.
On the Workflow Settings page for the workflow, click on the "Change the default timeout for this workflow" link.
Increase the timeout duration to a higher value, such as 1 hour or more.
Save the workflow, and then publish it to the SharePoint website.
Run the workflow again.

This should give the workflow enough time to complete without getting stuck. Additionally, you can try to optimize the workflow by reducing the number of actions being performed or breaking it down into smaller workflows.

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ameneh maleki 46 Reputation points

2024-03-05T10:10:16.3333333+00:00

Thanks Yanli Jiang

Thanks for your reply. This is my workflow setting page. I can’t find “Change the default timeout for this workflow” link.

Could you please show me where it is?
Yanli Jiang - MSFT 31,601 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2024-03-08T09:41:57.5966667+00:00
Ok, please try the follow steps:

Check if the workflow is designed to handle large lists. If not, consider optimizing the workflow design to handle large lists.

Check if the workflow is designed to handle simultaneous updates to list items. If not, consider optimizing the workflow design to handle simultaneous updates.

Check if the workflow is designed to handle long-running operations. If not, consider optimizing the workflow design to handle long-running operations.

Check if the workflow is designed to handle errors gracefully. If not, consider optimizing the workflow design to handle errors gracefully.

If the above steps do not resolve the issue, you can try the following:

Check if there are any errors in the workflow history. If there are, resolve the errors and try running the workflow again.

Check if there are any errors in the ULS logs. If there are, resolve the errors and try running the workflow again.
Yanli Jiang - MSFT 31,601 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2024-03-14T05:55:59.5433333+00:00

Hi @ameneh maleki ,

This issue has idled for a long time, is there any progress? If there is any update, please feel free to post there.
Yanli Jiang - MSFT 31,601 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2024-03-19T08:21:01.9233333+00:00

Hi @ameneh maleki ,

Would you please provide us with an update on the status of your issue?

Any progress is welcome.

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Workflow stuck in started stage in sharepoint 2013

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