Managing Configurations

The following chapter describes how to create and edit workflow configurations.

Starting Workflow Designer

Workflow Designer uses the active connection of DocuWare Desktop Apps to your DocuWare system (from DocuWare Version 6.9). When you start Workflow Designer, you should thus proceed differently depending on whether there is already an active connection.

1. If there is an active connection: Open the Windows start menu and click on All Programs > DocuWare Workflow Designer or double-click on the Workflow Designer icon on your desktop. The Workflow Designer starts.

2. If there is no active connection: First open the DocuWare Desktop Apps tray menu and click on Edit connections and then on Establish a default connection in the new dialog. Or open the main menu in your DocuWare Client and click on Connect Desktop Apps. Then start the Workflow Designer as described in 1.

Home Page: Overview

The Workflow Designer home page, Overview, is the starting point for creating and editing workflow configurations. It is divided into three areas: The top area contains the navigation bar and the menu. All created workflows are listed in a table in the center. The lower area gives detailed information on each workflow selected in the list above.

Navigation bar

Use the navigation bar tabs to switch between the overview of all workflows and the flow diagram views of the individual workflow. The Overview page is always shown with a separate tab. The page of an individual workflow is then only listed with a tab if it has been opened, either by double-clicking on its list entry or by selecting it in the list and clicking Edit. The number after the workflow name shows how many tasks are listed on the tab.

Use the Publish function to make the workflow available to authorized users.

Workflow list and details

If you select a workflow in the workflow list at the top, its details are displayed in the area below. The most important details about the relevant workflow are presented in a list on the left. In the center is a table with two modes that you can switch between by tab: Versions and Active instances. The Versions mode is displayed by default. A miniature preview of the selected workflow is displayed on the right.

• Versions: All versions of a workflow configuration that have ever been saved are listed on this tab. This list is a kind of workflow development history.
  A version copy can be useful if, for instance, you have developed and published a workflow, but it does not work as you would like.
  The read mode can be useful if, for instance, you want to check how the process was set up at an earlier time. Read mode will then be displayed on the tab in the Overview workflow. Only the current workflow version will be opened in edit mode.

• Active instances: This tab displays all active instances of a workflow configuration and lets you know which activity is currently being edited.

Permissions

There are two permissions for the workflow configuration: Designer and Controller.

• Designer

  The designer is authorized to edit, delete, and publish workflow configurations, retract their publication, and debug the workflow to rectify errors in it.

  For the function Create new workflow and Copy, you need the Design workflows function right, which is granted in the DocuWare configuration > User Administration under User x > Function profiles.

• Controller

  In Workflow Designer, the controller can open the workflow versions in read mode. Older workflow versions can be opened in the list of versions from the context menu of the version concerned.

  In the DocuWare Client, controllers have a particular task list for the workflows for which they have Controller permission. The list has exactly the same name as the workflow and can be found under Tasks > Monitor tasks.

  In the DocuWare Client, controllers see all tasks of all users who have been assigned tasks in a workflow instance. This means that if a task has been assigned to several users, they also see this multiple times, as this is the only way they can assign it from one user to another. A controller also sees whether, in the workflow task list of a user, a task has progressed to Read status, i.e. whether it is being processed. If a document is deleted in a workflow, the task itself in the workflow will also automatically be deleted. In addition, a controller can end a workflow instance by selecting Stop workflow from the context menu of the relevant workflow version. This will be noted in the workflow history.

  The user who created the workflow has the Designer and Controller permissions by default.

Additionally, users assigned to the roles of Workflow Designer, Workflow Controller and Workflow System User require the View All Users functional right to ensure that the workflows work properly.

Exporting and Importing Workflows

If, for example, you use a workflow in one department that, if modified, is also suitable for another area with its own file cabinet, transfer the workflow to this file cabinet and adapt it.

The selected file cabinet can belong to your organization or be in another system. The import is possible as a new workflow or as a new version. It is essential that the source and selected file cabinets match for an import.

You need rights as an organization administrator for workflow export. When exporting, all workflows in the current system are exported to the WorkflowExport_<organization name>_<current date>.wfe file.

1. In the Workflow Designer overview, select the workflow you want to export, click Export, and save it to the file system.

2. To import the workflow into another system, first switch the connection in the Desktop Apps.

3. Then start Workflow Designer again. In the overview, click Import and select the workflow from the file system. Confirm with OK.

   Before the actual import, the system checks whether the file cabinet fields of the source file cabinet, which are used in the workflow, are also present in the selected file cabinet. To do this, the system compares the database name and data type of the field. If all of the required fields were found in the selected file cabinet, the import is completed and the workflow is opened with the same layout and with all of the activities, variables, and task list configuration. The places where the workflow configuration needs to be checked, adjusted, or recreated are highlighted and listed.

   For the configuration to work, all data and parameters coming from external sources must be checked manually and edited if necessary. This applies regardless of whether or not they exist identically in the target system. Settings and parameters include other file cabinets and their fields, select lists, external databases and their tables and columns, Web Services, users, roles, substitution rules, form configurations, templates, and fill areas.

4. You publish the imported and checked workflow.

Creating a Workflow Configuration

Click New in the toolbar on the Overview page to create a new workflow. The Create new workflow dialog opens with two pages: General and Trigger.

General

Name

Enter a unique name that is only used once for the workflow here. The name is displayed in the workflow as well as in the task list of the Web Client for the tab of the workflow.

Description (optional)

The description is only visible in the Workflow Designer.

File cabinet

Each workflow must be assigned to a DocuWare file cabinet.

Workflow user

User name

Specify a DocuWare user here with whom the automatic activities will be performed, e.g. the organization administrator. Make sure that the user has all the necessary access rights to the file cabinet and documents.

Password

The password of the user stored here is requested for security reasons when exiting the dialog after confirming with OK. The password is not saved.

Triggers

There are two types of triggers to start a workflow:

• document-based events, i.e. the filing of a new document and/or the change of index data

• according to a schedule with certain conditions for index data

A workflow instance is generated each time a workflow is run. For example, if you store ten documents with the same trigger conditions, ten instances will be started. As soon as the workflow reaches its end, the instance is also ended. Instances which are running remain unaffected by changes to the workflow configuration.

Document-based events: If a workflow is to be executed on the basis of document-based events, define the conditions for this here.

For a workflow to be executed, a particular event must first occur. This can be a new document being stored in the document pool, for example, and/or index data for an existing document being modified. Secondly, a document must have certain index values for a trigger condition to be met.

Start new workflow

Enable one or both start activities that are to trigger the workflow:

• For new documents
  A workflow is started with each new document that is stored.

• If the index entries for the document have been modified
  A workflow is started each time an index entry is modified for the document.

In addition, you can link the triggering of the workflow to the condition that the document was created by merge form. However, this is only possible if at least one of the two previous conditions is also fulfilled, i.e. storage of a document or the change of index data.
A workflow is started, for example, when a document is stored that has been created with DocuWare Forms using a merge form with fill areas and as a fillable PDF. All DocuWare Forms configurations and all merge forms for which the logged in user has the Use permission are displayed. By activating this option, you create the basis for the insertion areas to be displayed during a data assignment. Only empty insertion areas can be filled.

Depending on the selection, either one or both additional condition settings will be displayed.

If all/one of the following conditions are met before index modification:

If all/one of the following trigger conditions are met after index modification:

1. Choose an index or system field on the left.

2. Choose an operator in the middle.

3. On the right, either choose a value from a provided dropdown list or enter a value directly in the field.

Schedule: If a workflow is to be run according to a certain schedule in connection with certain index data, define this here.

A workflow can be run:

• daily or on specific days

• weekly or during specific weeks

• monthly or during specific months

Each of the options offers different additional settings.

In addition, define which conditions the index data must meet so that the workflow is run according to the schedule defined above.

Workflow instances can only be started for up to 100 documents per scheduled start in order to ensure optimal performance of the DocuWare system. You can change this number by opening the file
C:\Program Files (x86)\DocuWare\Background Process Server\DocuWare.BackgroundProcessService.LongLiving.GenericProcess.x86.exe.config
and changing the value ("100") in the following line:
<add key="ScheduledWorkflowMaxDocumentCount" value="100" />

Saving settings and editing the workflow configuration further

Click OK to save the settings. The workflow page with the flow diagram view will open. Here, you can edit the workflow.

Editing the Workflow Configuration

The following chapter describes how to edit a workflow configuration and how to define and compile the individual steps of a workflow.

Workflow flow diagram view

The flow diagram view of a workflow provides you with all the functions for its editing. The navigation bar is located in the upper area. In the sidebar on the left you can see the tabs of the Activities, Variables and Validations tabs. The large area on the right displays the flowchart of the workflow.

Designing a workflow is done by dragging and dropping activities from the left pane into the flowchart view.

Hint for testing: In the dialog Enter output values you can specify the index values that should be present when starting the workflow test run, that is, test index data you can use to simulate the presence of a document. In addition, you can find all existing variables in this list if they are present.

If you save and close the dialog with OK, a new area appears under the flow diagram for the test. You can control the test using the various outputs of a workflow on the left. On the right you see a table log of the workflow tasks.

Automatic Validation

While you're designing a workflow, the individual steps are automatically validated. If there are errors, you are shown the result in the left toolbar under Validations.

Structuring Task Lists in the DocuWare Client

Specify the structure of the workflow task list in the DocuWare Client here.

The functions available to you in the workflow task list essentially depend on the result list settings of the file cabinet. These are inherited by the workflow task list accordingly.

In order to control functions for the task list, you must first enable them for the result list of the relevant file cabinet in the DocuWare Configuration under File cabinets > Dialogs > Result > Results list.

In the Workflow Designer, you can then select the result list from which the functions are inherited in the task list settings for each workflow. You can simply mouseover the link to see which functions have been enabled for the selected result list. If required, you can additionally activate specific workflow functions for the task list there.

The Workflow Tasks dialog is divided into two areas: All data is compiled in a tabular list at the top. The column headings of the task list are displayed in a preview at the bottom.

System Variables and Global Variables

In the workflow, you use global variables and system variables. You define global variables yourself, while system variables are set.

System variables

System variables are parameters that are automatically set by the DocuWare system and updated depending on the variable.
Examples: The "last decision user" is automatically the user who made the last decision. "Document URL" or "Organization GUID" are system variables that remain unchanged.

Global variables

Global variables are placeholders for specific values throughout the workflow.
Example: If the customer number has been entered in the workflow task form for an invoice, the customer name is read out from an external database and written into a workflow global variable. The name can then be used again in another workflow step.
Global variables can also be displayed in Web Client in the list of tasks.

To create global variables, open an existing workflow configuration and click on Variables in the left-hand sidebar.

Give the variable a unique name that makes it easy to identify the variable later when configuring the workflow, e.g. "MyOrderNumber"

Select the variable type from the dropdown list:

• Text: The maximum text length is 255 characters.

• Integer or Decimal number: For a decimal number, also specify the number of decimal places.

• Date or DateTime: Select this option for a date type variable.

• Keyword: Several values can be stored in this variable, e.g. several order numbers. However, it is not possible to select individual values from this variable during assignment—unlike User, Role, and Substitution rule, which can be used as list variables.

• User of a group, Role, and Substitution rule: Role and Substitution rule contain several values—the users. The User of a group variable can contain one or more values.
  For all three variables, the List variable option is available. If it is activated, individual users can be selected from the respective list in a later step.

You can edit a variable in the variable list even if it is already used in the workflow. The variable does not have to be removed from the configurations first. When the variable name is changed, it is replaced automatically wherever it occurs in the workflow, including in free SQL commands like data assignments.

Hyphens can be entered, but they are automatically stored internally as a double underscore. When the global variable is selected, it will be displayed in the list accordingly with double underscore.