Setting up a new workflow

The first step in setting up a workflow is to create the workflow instance, or the primary action of the workflow. Then you design and create the process with the properly ordered actions. You either set the properties and attributes for actions as you place them on the canvas, or you can wait until you've finished laying out the entire process.

After completing the workflow layout, you need to either create a form to trigger it or assign an event listener to the workflow, as well as any field mappings, if applicable.

To set up a new workflow

1. In the navigation pane, click the Process tab and open the Workflows panel.
2. Right-click Workflows (or the folder where you want the new workflow to reside) and click New folder.
3. Type a name for the folder and press Enter.
4. Right-click the new folder and click New workflow.
5. Type a name for the new workflow and press Enter.
6. Double-click the new workflow to display its editing canvas.
7. From the Actions toolbox, drag and drop the first action onto the canvas.
8. Click, drag, and release to draw an arrow from the workflow icon to the first action.
9. Drag any subsequent actions onto the canvas.
10. Draw arrows between each action to define their order in the workflow.
11. Click on each action and set its corresponding properties in the Properties toolbox. See Adding workflow participants.
12. When you are finished defining the workflow, click Save on the toolbar.

Tips

• Workflows always reside within a folder or subfolder. You can create multiple levels of folders and subfolders to organize your workflows.
• To select an action on the canvas, click its icon. When an action is selected, a green frame outlines its icon on the canvas. If you do not see the green frame, you may need to click the action again to give it focus so you can define its attributes.
• To move an action to a different position on the canvas, click the action to select it. Then place the mouse pointer just outside the green frame that outlines the icon and drag it to a new position on the canvas.
• To nest a workflow inside another, drag the "child" workflow to the canvas of the "parent", as you would do with any other action. Then click on the action or result you want to launch the child workflow, and draw a directional arrow to the child workflow.
• As your workflow continues to grow, you can use the Layout diagram, Zoom, or Fit diagram to screen buttons on the toolbar to refresh the view. This can make it easier to see the entire process, or to zoom in or out on parts of it.
• If you copy and paste an action, the pasted action will stack on top of the source action. Use the Layout diagram button to unstack the actions.
• Click the Check workflow for errors button to validate your workflow.