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Workflow Process Wizard

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This content is no longer actively maintained.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.

The Workflow Process wizard walks through the steps of creating the initial workflow for a main or detail user table.

When you add workflow to a table, the wizard creates a workflow column in that table. The workflow column is used to track the status of an item as it moves through the workflow process. This column is linked to a lookup table (also created by the wizard), which stores the values identifying the workflow status. Once identified, the lookup table values are referred to as "states" in the workflow process.

You can also choose to use an existing column in your table as the state column. This is convenient if you are adding workflow to an existing solution and already have designated a field to handle the status of a record.

Launch the Workflow Process wizard in the Access Workflow Designer. From the Edit menu, point to Insert, and then Workflow Process. Or, in the Object List, right-click the Workflow Processes node and select New Workflow Process.

The Workflow Process wizard includes a series of pages for creating publications.

  • User Table page is used to identify the main or detail table to be used to create the new workflow process. If user table has not been designated, you can launch the Main Table Selection wizard from this page.

  • Workflow Column page is used to specify whether to create a new state column in the table or to use an existing column. If you choose an existing column, you must select a workflow column in your table and a keyword column in the already existing lookup table. For details, see "Workflow Schema Guidelines" in in the Access Workflow Designer Developer's Guide.

  • Workflow States page is used to create the lookup keyword (the friendly name for the state, such as Active, Resolved, and Closed) and to adjust the order of the states in the process. The order of the workflow states is used to create the default state transitions.

For information about finding specific tools and wizards, see Accessing Access Workflow Designer Tools.