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Exchange Server and Public Folders

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This content is no longer actively maintained. It is provided as is, for anyone who may still be using these technologies, with no warranties or claims of accuracy with regard to the most recent product version or service release.

Workflow Designer for Microsoft® Exchange 2000 Server makes it possible for developers to create and to modify workflow processes for Exchange folders. Behind the scenes, the Workflow Designer uses Collaboration Data Objects (CDO) Workflow Objects for Microsoft Exchange. CDO is a set of COM components that integrates seamlessly with the Microsoft® ActiveX® Data Objects (ADO) 2.5 component.

When you create a workflow process, the Workflow Designer creates a set of rules for the selected folder and its association with an event sink. The set of rules is called a process definition, the association is called an event registration, and the event sink is the CDO Workflow Event Sink.

The CDO Workflow Event Sink is the interface between the Exchange 2000 Web Store process and the workflow engine. It is registered automatically as a COM+ application package when you install Exchange.

The association between your folder and the event sink makes it possible for the Exchange Web store to notify the event sink when an event occurs in your folder. The event sink in turn calls the workflow engine to handle the work item's transition.

The workflow engine controls the state changes to documents in your workflow folder. It runs in response to certain system and Web store events and encapsulates the logic for advancing the state of your workflow documents. This makes it possible for you to control the status of documents you are tracking or guiding.

The engine relies on a table of events, called the action table, to evaluate and execute transitions for documents saved in the workflow-enabled folder. The Workflow Designer for Exchange Server creates the action table for you based on the states and events which you create in the workflow diagram.

When you define a workflow process using the Workflow Designer, the events you create determine how the system will respond. When you add script to these events, you can customize the response further.

The Workflow Designer for Exchange Server makes it possible to create a workflow process. It performs many basic tasks for you, such as creating the action table and adding events and scripts based on values you enter in the designer. However, creating a full-blown application requires you to understand CDO Workflow Objects and how to use the ADO 2.5 component for Exchange.

To find more information about workflow and Exchange 2000 Server, refer to the Microsoft® Developer Network (MSDN®) Library at http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp. The MSDN Library contains the Exchange 2000 Server SDK, which includes in-depth information about the following Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server (Platform SDK) topics:

  • Concepts and Architecture
  • Programming Tasks
  • Reference

See Also

Workflow Applications Architecture for Exchange Server | Workflow Applications | Application User Interface | Workflow Scripting | Overview of CDO