Workflow Events
There are seven types of events that can be used in your workflow process. Each state can be assigned only one Enter, Exit, and Create event but can be assigned multiple Delete, Change, Expiry, and Receive events.
The following table lists the available workflow events and descriptions of when they are triggered:
| Event | Description |
|---|---|
| Create | Triggered when a new item is created in the folder. |
| Enter | Triggered when transitioning into a given state. The Enter event also starts the clock ticking for the Expiry action. |
| Exit | Triggered when transitioning out of a given state. |
| Delete | Triggered when an item is deleted. |
| Change | Triggered when an item is changed. The Change event can be used to create a state transition. |
| Receive | Triggered when an e-mail item, which is an update to an existing item participating in the workflow process, is received in the folder. The Receive event can be used to create a state transition. |
| Expiry | Triggered when the time defined for the Enter event has elapsed. Expiry is a time-based event. The time between the Enter event and the Expiry event is designated in days, hours, or minutes. Fifteen minutes is the minimum duration. |
Change, Expiry, and Receive events can be used to create state transitions. A single state can have multiple transitions; for example, from a state called CreateOrder, you can have up to three transitions to a state called OrderCanceled; one created with Change, a second with Receive, and a third with Expiry. In the following example, the transition event-type icons are displayed on the diagram.
Workflow Diagram with Transitions
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As you can see in the previous illustration, the CreateOrder state has three Change events; one on the CreateOrder itself and two used to create state transitions. From CreateOrder, there are three transitions to the OrderCanceled state; one made with the Change event, a second with Expiry, and the third with Receive. The transition created with the Change event could be used to cancel the order if a field in the item is marked as canceled. The transition using the Expiry event could be used to cancel an item if it remains in the CreateOrder state for a certain length of time. The third transition, made using the Receive event, could be used if an e-mail notification is sent canceling the order.
See Also
Workflow Applications | Event Order | Choosing Workflow Events | Workflow Event Symbols