Walkthrough: Creating a Workflow with a Task and an Approval

  • Article

Applies To: Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Feature Pack, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012

In Microsoft Dynamics AX, you can add tasks and approvals to a workflow that you defined in the AOT. In this walkthrough, you will create and add a task and an approval to the MyWorkflowType that was created for the CustTable form. This walkthrough builds on the Walkthrough: Creating a Workflow Type and the Walkthrough: Adding Workflow to an Existing Form.

This walkthrough illustrates the following tasks:

  • Create a workflow task.

  • Add a workflow task to a workflow type.

  • Create a workflow approval.

  • Configure the workflow approval outcomes.

  • Add a workflow approval to a workflow type.

  • Create a workflow configuration.

Prerequisites

To complete this walkthrough, you will need:

To create a workflow task

  1. In the AOT, expand the Workflow node.

  2. Right-click the Tasks node, and then click Add-Ins > Task wizard. The Workflow wizard is displayed. This wizard will help you create a new workflow task.

  3. Click Next.

  4. Set the following values for the wizard.

    Value

    Input

    Name

    Enter MyWorkflowTask.

    Workflow document

    Choose MyWorkflowTypeDocument.

    Document preview field group

    Choose AutoSummary.

    Document menu item

    Choose CustTable.

    Document web menu item

    Choose EPCustTableInfo.

  5. Click Both to generate menu items for both the Microsoft Dynamics AX client and Enterprise Portal.

  6. Click Next.

  7. Next, you will add the Complete outcome to the task. In the Name field, enter MyTaskOutcomeComplete. For the Type, choose Complete. Click Add.

  8. Now that the workflow task as at least one outcome, click Next. A list of all of the resources that will be created for the workflow task is displayed.

  9. Click Finish to create the resources. The wizard will create classes, menu items, web menu items, the task, and a project that contains all of the items.

  10. A dialog box will be displayed that indicates the status. Click OK. The project that contains the workflow type resources is displayed.

After a workflow task with an outcome is created, you can add the workflow task to the Supported Elements node of a workflow type. For more information, see Creating Workflow Tasks, Automated Tasks, and Approvals.

To add a task to a workflow type

  1. Expand the Workflow Types node, and then expand the MyWorkflowType node.

  2. Within the Workflow node, expand the Tasks node. Drag the MyWorkflowTask node onto the Supported Elements node in the MyWorkflowType node.

  3. In the AOT, right-click MyWorkflowType, and then click Save.

Next, you will create a workflow approval with two outcomes and then add it to the workflow type.

To create a workflow approval

  1. In the AOT, expand the Workflow node.

  2. Right-click the Approvals node, and then click Add-Ins > Approval wizard. The Workflow wizard is displayed. This wizard will help you create a new workflow approval.

  3. Click Next.

  4. Set the following values for the wizard.

    Value

    Input

    Name

    Enter MyWorkflowApproval.

    Workflow document

    Choose MyWorkflowTypeDocument.

    Document preview field group

    Choose AutoSummary.

    Document menu item

    Choose CustTable.

    Document web menu item

    Choose EPCustTableInfo.

  5. Click Both to generate menu items for both the Microsoft Dynamics AX client and Enterprise Portal.

  6. Click Next. A list of all of the resources that will be created for the workflow approval is displayed.

  7. Click Finish to create the resources. The wizard will create classes, menu items, web menu items, the approval, and a project that contains all of the items.

  8. A dialog box will be displayed that indicates the status. Click OK. The project that contains the workflow type resources is displayed.

To simplify this walkthrough, only the Approve and Deny outcomes are enabled.

To configure the approval outcomes

  1. Expand MyWorkflowApproval, and then expand Outcomes. Right-click the Approve outcome and then click Properties.

  2. In the Properties sheet, verify the following properties:

    Property

    Value

    Enabled

    Yes

    ActionMenuItem

    MyWorkflowApprovalApprove

  3. In the Outcomes node, right-click the Deny outcome, and then click Properties.

  4. In the Properties sheet, verify the following properties:

    Property

    Value

    Enabled

    Yes

    ActionMenuItem

    MyWorkflowApprovalDeny

  5. In the Outcomes node, set the Enabled property for RequestChange and Reject to No. By setting this property to No, the action buttons in the user interface for Request Change and Return will not be shown.

  6. In the AOT, right-click MyWorkflowApproval, and then click Save.

After a workflow approval with outcomes is created, you can add the approval to the Supported Elements node of a workflow type. For more information, see Creating Workflow Tasks, Automated Tasks, and Approvals.

To add an approval to a workflow type

  1. Expand the Workflow Types node, and then expand the MyWorkflowType node.

  2. Within the Workflow node, expand the Approvals node. Drag the MyWorkflowApproval node onto the Supported Elements node of the MyWorkflowType node.

  3. In the AOT, right-click MyWorkflowType, and then click Save.

To view the approval and the task in the configuration user interface, you must create a new configuration.

Note

To update metadata changes in the client, you must close and restart Microsoft Dynamics AX before continuing.

To create a configuration

  1. In Microsoft Dynamics AX, click Accounts receivable > Setup > Accounts receivable workflows. The Accounts receivable workflows list is displayed.

  2. In the Accounts receivable workflows list, click New. The Create workflow form is displayed.

  3. On the Create workflow form, select MyWorkflowType, and then click Create workflow. The workflow configuration form is displayed.

  4. In the action pane, click Properties. The Properties form is displayed.

  5. In the Properties form, click Basic Settings. In the Submission instructions text box, enter My workflow submit instructions., and then click Close.

  6. In the workflow configuration window, drag a MyWorkflowTask task from the Workflow elements onto the workflow in between the Start and End nodes.

  7. Right-click the MyWorkflowTaskTask 1 node, and select Properties. The Properties form opens.

  8. In the Work item subject textbox of the Basic Settings pane, enter My subject..

  9. In the Work item instructions textbox of the Basic Settings pane, enter My workflow instructions..

  10. In the Assignment type tab of the Assignment pane, select Workflow user. Then, from the Workflow user tab, select Work item owner.

  11. Click Close to exit the Properties form.

  12. In the workflow configuration window, drag a MyWorkflowApproval approval from the Workflow elements onto the workflow in between the Start and End nodes.

  13. Double-click the MyWorkflowApprovalApproval 1 node. Then, right-click on Step 1 and select Properties. The Properties window opens.

  14. Repeat steps 8 – 11.

  15. In the workflow breadcrumb bar, click Workflow to go to the top level of the workflow.

  16. In the Workflow Editor, drag a line from Start to MyWorkflowTaskTask 1. Then, drag a line from MyWorkflowTaskTask 1 to MyWorkflowApprovalApproval 1. Finally, drag a line from MyWorkflowApprovalApproval 1 to End.

  17. Click Save and close to exit the workflow designer form. Enter Workflow Walkthrough in the Version notes field and click OK.

  18. The Activate workflow – MyWorkflowType dialog appears. In the Activate workflow – MyWorkflowType dialog, select Activate the new version and click OK.

  19. In the Accounts receivable workflows list, select the MyWorkflowTemplate configuration that you just created, and then click Set as default to use this workflow configuration as the default workflow configuration.

  20. Display the Accounts receivable area page.

  21. Click Customers > All customers.

  22. Double-click one of the customers in the list. The Customers form is displayed.

  23. The workflow toolbar is displayed at the top of the CustTable form.

    Note

    Since the canSubmitToWorkflow method on the CustTable form always returns true, the workflow toolbar and the Submit button are always displayed. You can test the remaining sections of this workflow after the workflow is submitted and processed by changing the canSubmitToWorkflow method to always return false.

Next Steps

After you complete Walkthrough: Creating a Workflow Type, Walkthrough: Adding Workflow to an Existing Form, and Walkthrough: Creating a Workflow with a Task and an Approval, you have the foundation for a basic workflow. Now you can add automated tasks to the workflow. For more information, see Walkthrough: Adding an Automated Task to a Workflow.

You can simulate server data flow for the workflow process by using the Tutorial_WorkflowProcessor form located in the Forms node in the AOT.

See also

Walkthrough: Creating a Workflow Type

Walkthrough: Adding Workflow to an Existing Form

Walkthrough: Adding an Automated Task to a Workflow

Requirements for Enabling Workflow in an Application Module

Creating Workflow Tasks, Automated Tasks, and Approvals

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