Design Tab (Workflow Process Pane)
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Displays the workflow diagram and the actions related to the selected state in the workflow diagram. You use this tab to design your workflow process for the team solution.
The Design tab is divided into three working sections: the workflow diagram area, the Actions list, and the Action name and script procedure area.
The workflow diagram area displays a graphical view of the workflow process states and actions. The workflow diagram shows a node for each workflow state and a line for each transition action. The diagram shows only the actions that move between states, including transition actions, create actions, and delete actions. The actions that occur within a state (enter, exit, change, and time-out) are not shown in the diagram.
When you select a state in the diagram, its properties are displayed in the Actions list. This section of the pane displays all actions associated with the currently selected state.
When you select an action in the Actions list, its properties are displayed in the lower part of the Workflow Process pane. The information displayed includes the action name, which you can change, and the validation and action script procedures that associate code with workflow actions. You can also designate whether it is permissible to perform an action while offline.
To create your business rules, you can add script to the workflow process. Adding script to the workflow process makes it possible for you to create conditional transitions, automatic user notifications, and action validations.
Access Workflow Designer tools help you add script to workflow actions. After you have created a workflow process, you can add script to workflow actions using the Design and Shared Script tabs on the Workflow Process pane.
For each workflow action on the Active state, script procedures are run whenever an action is performed. The validation script procedure is the first event to be triggered. Next, if the validation is successful (returns True), action script procedures are triggered. The validation script procedure is always a function. The return value of this function determines whether the action or transition is permitted.
To change the default script procedure, you can click the drop-down arrow and select an alternate procedure stored in the shared script module.
Options
Workflow Diagram
The workflow diagram displays your workflow process as a graphical series of states with actions that link them together. States are represented as boxes in the diagram, and the actions that transition from state to state are shown as lines with arrows. There are two special states, the start and end states, that represent the creation and deletion of items, respectively.
Note Not all actions are shown in the diagram. Only those actions that link states appear. The Actions list provides the complete list of actions for the selected state.
You can right-click anywhere on the workflow diagram’s background to:
Add a new state to the workflow process. When you select a state, the Actions list displays all actions associated with it.
Expand or shrink the workflow diagram. You can expand the diagram up to 200 percent or shrink it to 10 percent of the original.
Arrange, center, or print the diagram.
You can right-click an object in the workflow diagram to:
Display the Add Action dialog box where you can add an action to the selected state.
Display the Add State dialog box where you can add a new state to the workflow process.
Rename the selected workflow diagram object.
Delete the selected workflow diagram object.
Zoom to the selected workflow object. The object expands to fill the whole pane.
Arrange the selection within all of the objects so you can view the whole workflow process.
You can select a state or action in the diagram to see the actions and script information associated with the object.
Double-click an action in the diagram to go to the associated script in the Shared Script tab.
Actions for: <state>
Displays a list of actions associated with the selected state in the Workflow Diagram pane.
Note Only transition actions are shown in the workflow diagram. The Actions pane provides the complete list of actions for the selected state.
You can select an action in the workflow diagram or Actions list to view its properties in the pane below the Actions pane. You can change the validation and action script procedures associated with the action.
If you right-click anywhere in the pane, you can add or delete actions.
To see the script associated with an action, double-click that action in the Actions pane. This opens the Shared Script tab and shows the code associated with the action.
For a description of the symbol used in the Actions list, see Workflow Action Symbols.
Action name
For convenience, you can give each action a friendly name by typing one in the Action name box. This is the name that appears in the workflow diagram.
Validation script procedure
Select a validation script procedure to perform custom validation for the selected action. This procedure returns True to make it possible for the action to proceed; otherwise, it returns False.
Action script procedure
Enter an action script procedure to perform custom behavior for the selected action. This procedure will only be called if the validation procedures for all actions involved in the database operation return True.
This action can be performed offline.
When this option is selected, users can perform the action offline. This can be beneficial when you have workflow script that depends on network resources and could fail when used offline.
Where to go from here
| For information about | See |
| Defining a table hierarchy for your solution database | Setting up a Table Hierarchy |
| Adding a workflow process to your solution | Building a Workflow Process |
| Changing how the diagram looks and printing the diagram | Viewing and Printing the Workflow |
| Working with the workflow states | Adding and Modifying States in a Workflow |
| Working with actions associated with workflow states | Adding and Modifying Actions for States |