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Creating a Template for a Workflow Application for SQL Server

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This content is no longer actively maintained.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.

Templates make it easy to share and distribute the workflow applications you create. Each template contains all of the information required to create a complete instance of the workflow application, including the workflow process, the database, and the Web site.

To save a workflow application as a template

  1. Open the Workflow Manager for SQL Server.

  2. On the Workflow Applications tab, click Create Template.

  3. Click Next, select Workflow Project, and specify the server that hosts the database for the application you want to include in the template.

  4. Click Connect, and select the application you want to save as a template.

  5. Specify a name and title for the new template, and enter version information and a description if desired. After completing the wizard, you can view this information in the Workflow Manager on the Templates tab.

  6. Specify any additional files you want to include in the template.

    For example, you might want to include a Help file or other non-database or Web-related files that support your application but are not part of the database, workflow, or Web site.

  7. Specify what data from tables you want included in the template. By default, all data in the tables is included in the template. If you clear the check box next to a table, then table schema is still stored in the template, but the data is removed.

    Note   For each main table selected to be included in the template, all associated detail and lookup tables are included also. You cannot include the data from a main table and exclude the data from a lookup table that is related to the main table or one of its detail tables.

  8. Click Next to accept the default option that excludes current users of the application from the template. To include existing users in the template, select the Include current users in the template option.

    **Tip   **Include the users only if this template will be used to create new applications for the same users as those specified for the selected application. For security reasons, you should exclude the users if you plan on providing this template to a different set of users.

  9. Select one or both of the options for saving the template.

    • Save Template on Server puts the template directly on the target server, so an instance of it can be created without having to be imported from a file first. Select the server where you want to save the template from the server list. If you do not see the server in the list, click Refresh. After you have selected the server, click Connect to make sure the server is running. If the server is running, you will get a Connection Successful message.
    • Save Template to File creates a .tpl file that can be distributed to other servers that have Workflow Services for SQL Server installed.

  10. Click Finish. The wizard backs up the database, truncates any specified tables, removes database users if desired, and stores the backed-up database information in the modTemplates table. It also enumerates all of the files in your Web site and stores them in the table.

    Note   This process might take a few minutes.

See Also

Developing Workflow Applications for SQL Server | Creating Templates | Template Contents | Saving a Template to a Server | Testing a Template