Workflow Logic Widgets

Workflow Logic Widgets

This is a high level overview of the types of Workflow Logic Widgets available. Click on the name of the widget to get details and examples.

Return to About Workflow Conductor Widgets

See also an Alphabetical List of Workflow Conductor Widgets.

Workflow Settings

Workflow Settings

sa08WorkflowSettings.jpgThe Workflow Settings in Conductor Studio allows you to set properties for the entire workflow.

Workflow Title (Required): Enter a name for the workflow. This name is displayed wherever this workflow is referenced within SharePoint.

Workflow Description: This is an optional setting that allows you to add a short description of the workflow. It is displayed in Conductor Studio, and also in the list of workflows for a list or library.

Start Options: Select a start option for the workflow, from the list of workflow start options available in SharePoint. The default is Allow this workflow to be manually started by an authenticated user with Edit Items Permissions.

NOTES:

  • The Start options Start this workflow when a new item is created and Start this workflow when an item is changed cannot be used if a workflow initialization form exists for the workflow. See Workflow Forms for more information.
  • The option Start this workflow to approve publishing a major version of an item is not available for Simple Publishing workflows. It is only available for Solution Deployment workflows. If the list or library is not configured to use major and minor versioning, this start option will be disabled, as seen in the screen shot below.
    StartOptions.png
  • Start options only apply to workflows published to the list, site, or site collection; they do not apply to workflows published as site workflows.

Icon-WarningIMPORTANT: After entering or updating any of the settings listed above, click Apply to save your changes.


sa08WorkflowSettingsWF.jpgWorkflow Forms: You can create a workflow initialization form that collects additional information from the user when a workflow is started. Data collected via this form is stored in parameters that can later be used by the workflow using a Workflow Variable lookup. For more information about creating a workflow initialization form, see Create a new workflow initialization form.

This is an optional workflow setting.

NOTE: You can access the initialization Form Builder from the Workflow Conductor Studio ribbon also.
init form in menu1.png


sa08WorkflowVars.jpgWorkflow Variables: Variables store data while the workflow is running. They can be accessed and manipulated by widgets, and some widgets may require that a variable be created to store results. The contents of workflow variables are accessed using a lookup when the workflow runs.

To create a variable, click Add Variable to open the Workflow Variables form. Enter a Name for the variable, select a data Type, and optionally define a Default Value. Click Add to add the new variable to the workflow. Be sure to click Save Changes to save the variables you add. If you later want to delete a variable, return to the Workflow Variables form and click the button next to the variable.

NOTE: You can access the Workflow Variables form from the Workflow Conductor Studio ribbon also.
init form in menu1.png

sa08WorkflowVarsCreateLink.jpgWorkflow variables can also be added directly from widgets that use variables, using the Create new variable link. This link opens the Workflow Variables form.

Icon-WarningIMPORTANT: After adding, updating, or deleting variables using the Workflow Variables Form, always click Save Changes in the Workflow Variables form or your changes will not be saved.

Workflow Versioning

Workflow Versioning

After you deploy a workflow, you may want to make a change to it and deploy a new version. As long as you saved the workflow as a workflow template when you created it in Conductor Studio, you can update the template, save it, and publish a new version at any time. When you edit a template, you are not editing the actual workflow.

You are prompted several times during the workflow creation process to save your workflow template. Simply click Save when you are prompted to do so and give the template a name. This template is what you will use to create a new version of the workflow.

NOTE: Workflow templates are saved in the Conductor database and can be accessed by clicking Open in the Workflow Conductor Studio ribbon.

Workflow versioning is handled differently depending on how the workflow was deployed. Click on the link below that applies to the workflow deployment method configured in the Workflow Conductor Control Panel to learn how to create a new version of workflows deployed using that method:

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Versioning for Simple Publishing Workflows

To create a new version of a workflow published using a Simple Publishing option (i.e., Publish to List, Publish to Site, Publish to Site Collection, or Publish as Site Workflow), follow these steps:

Step Action Result
1. Open Workflow Conductor Studio from the list ribbon of the list where the workflow runs. In Conductor Studio, go to Workflow > Open and open the workflow template used to publish the workflow the first time.
2. Make the required changes to the workflow and save the changes. When the Save dialog appears, be sure to check Overwrite existing files so the existing template is updated with your changes.

save workflow.png

NOTE: This saves changes to the template, but doesn’t impact the currently running workflow.

3.

Publish the updated template. Workflow Conductor Studio detects that there is already a published workflow with the same name and will ask if you want to overwrite it.

Select Publish to publish the new version and overwrite the old one.

wf exists as published.png

Instances of the old workflow version that are in progress will continue to run until they are complete. New instances of the workflow will run as the new workflow version.

NOTES:

  1. Simple Publishing workflows cannot overwrite Solution Deployment workflows. However, Simple Publishing workflows can overwrite other Simple Publishing workflows of the same type. The table below shows which Simple Publishing workflows can be overwritten.
  2. If you check the option to automatically associate the workflow with the current list when you publish the new version to the site or site collection, the copy of the workflow of the same name that is associated to the list where Studio was started will be updated with the new workflow version. Workflows of the same name associated to other lists in the site (or other sites) will not be updated. If you do not check the auto-associate option, the existing workflow association for the current list will continue to use the old workflow version, but any new associations you add will use the new workflow version.
4.

If you click Workflow Settings from the list ribbon, you will see the version history of workflows.

Clicking the Remove a workflow link will allow you to remove the old versions, if desired.

wf settings showing versions.png
5.

On the Remove a workflow page, you will see that only the most recently published version of the workflow is marked Allow. The older versions are marked No New Instances.

To remove an old version, mark the Remove button and click OK.

remove workflows1.png

NOTES:

  1. Always make sure that there are no workflows in progress before removing an old version. Removing a workflow will terminate any in progress workflows. To be safe, always mark workflows with No new instances and wait for in progress workflows to complete before removing a workflow.
  2. You can remove a workflow from a SharePoint list and still have the template available in the Workflow Conductor Template Gallery.

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Versioning for Solution Deployment Workflows

The Solution Deployment method deploys workflows as farm solutions. If you want to deploy a new version of a workflow solution, you have two options:

  1. Deploy the new version with a different name.
    If you do not need to use the same workflow name, edit the workflow template and give the workflow a new name. Deploy the workflow with the new name. You can disable the old version to prevent users from starting new instances of it and remove the old workflow when you don’t need it anymore.

  2. Remove the old version before deploying the new version.
    If you want to use the same name for the new workflow version, you must first retract and remove the existing workflow solution. Instances of the workflow that are in progress will be terminated when the workflow is removed.

For more information, read KB.12500 – HOWTO: Deploy a New Version of a Workflow Conductor Workflow Solution in the Bamboo Knowledge Base.

NOTE: Solution Deployment workflows can overwrite Simple Publishing workflows of the same name directly from Conductor Studio. You do not need to remove the existing published workflow before deploying the new workflow solution.

Workflow Conductor Studio: workflow diagram pane

Workflow Conductor Studio: workflow diagram pane

Overview of the Workflow Conductor Studio

WFDiagramPane.pngThe center section of Conductor Studio is the workflow diagram pane, where widgets are dropped to create the workflow path.

To add a widget to a workflow, drag it from the widget pane to the workflow diagram pane and drop it to the desired location in the workflow.

Widgets can be dropped before or after any other widget, and in some cases they can even be dropped inside another widget. When a workflow runs, widgets are executed from top to bottom. While some workflows may be a straight sequence of a few steps, certain widgets can be used to create workflows with more complex paths (for example, the Conditional Branch widget).

Rel4StudioShortcutMenu.jpg

  1. If you see a red warning icon on the upper right corner of the widget, this indicates that the properties option of the widget needs attention. This option is available beginning with Release 4.0; prior to that release, you do not see a warning icon and need to manually check the widget properties to ensure it is ready for use.

  2. Right-click on the widget to view the menu where the Properties option is located.

  3. Actions you can take with widgets:

To copy, cut, paste or delete a widget, right-click it in the workflow diagram pane and select the option from the shortcut menu.

  • Copy and Cut copies the widget to the clipboard retaining any properties you have already configured for the widget.
  • Paste a widget that you cut or copied by right-clicking in the desired location in the studio dialog and select Paste. (The Paste option is disabled if the properties are not completed.)
  • Delete removes a widget from the workflow studio.

See Also:

Create a New Workflow Initialization Form

Create a New Workflow Initialization Form

If you need to collect information from a user in an initialization form when a workflow is started, add a Workflow Initialization Form to your workflow in Conductor Studio. The Workflow Form is made up of one or more fields. Each field is stored in a workflow parameter, which can be used by the widgets in the workflow. Workflow parameters, like workflow variables, appear in the lookup list for Workflow Variables.

NOTE: Workflows with an initialization form must be configured with a manual Start Option to allow users the opportunity to complete the required form fields. When workflows start automatically, users don’t see the initialization form.

To create a new initialization form, follow these steps:

Step Action Result
1. In the Workflow Conductor Studio, click the Add Field button in the Workflow Settings tab.

sa08WorkflowSettingsForms.jpg

initform option in SFC sutdio menu.jpg Alternatively, click the Init Form option in the Variables section of the main menu.

The Form Builder is displayed. The Form Builder allows you to add fields to the initialization form presented to the user when the workflow starts. It also allows you to edit, delete, or rearrange fields once the initialization form is created.

blank form builder.jpg

2.

To add a field to the initialization form, click Add. The Forms Settings dialog appears.

Enter the Field Name and Description.

NOTES:

  1. Field names cannot include special characters. Spaces are OK.
  2. The field name will be displayed to end users on the form; it will also be the name for an associated variable created for the workflow.

Select the Information Type for the new field. Depending on your choice of type, other information may be needed. See Information Types used on Workflow Initialization Forms for more information.

Requiring values for fields on the Initialization Form is a new feature in Workflow Conductor R3.5. Previous releases did not include this feature.

r35FormSettings.jpg
3. Click Finish to save your field. The Form Settings dialog will close.
4. Repeat steps 2-3 to add more fields, as needed.
5.

To re-arrange the order of the Input Fields (parameters) on the form, highlight one and click Move Up or Move Down. The field will move one position with each click.

To delete/remove a field, highlight it and click Remove.

highlight field to move position.png
6. When finished adding or re-arranging fields, click Close to save and close the Initialization Form.

The next time you open the Initialization Form, you will see the information you entered previously.

NOTE: There can be only one Initialization Form per workflow.

6. When your form is complete, click Close to close the Form Builder. Your form will be saved.

See Using the Workflow Initialization Form or Modify a Workflow Initialization Form for more information.

Can I reuse a workflow somewhere else?

Can I reuse a workflow somewhere else?Can I reuse a workflow somewhere else?

Yes. If Workflow Conductor is configured to use the Solution Deployment method (the default for Workflow Conductor 1.6 and earlier), workflow solutions are deployed as features at the farm level, activated at the site collection level, and automatically associated with a particular list. A workflow can be activated on a different site collection or associated with a different list using standard SharePoint settings.

If Workflow Conductor is configured to use the Simple Publishing method (the default for Workflow Conductor 2.0 and higher), workflows published to the site or site collection can be associated with a different list. Workflows published to a specific list can be associated only with that list.

Workflows can also be saved as templates that can be reopened, edited, and deployed or published to a different location. Templates can be exported and imported into other SharePoint farms where Workflow Conductor is installed. If you associate a workflow to a different site and widget properties in your workflow are configured with specific list or site names, your workflow will still work if a list or site with the same name exists in the new location.

Workflow Conductor Studio: ribbon menus

Workflow Conductor Studio: ribbon menus

Overview of the Workflow Conductor Studio

Menus in the Workflow Conductor Studio Ribbon

With SharePoint 2010, Microsoft introduced the concept of a fluid ribbon which changes based on what you are doing within a list or library. Prior to the ribbon interface in SharePoint 2007, list and library activities are conducted in menu options. The options within the ribbon are very similar even though the look has changed a little with the ribbon. We include both images below.

Item Description
Workflow:

Workflow.jpg

  • New: Starts a new workflow. If you have a workflow already in progress, you will be prompted to save it.
  • Open: Opens the Conductor Studio template gallery, where workflow templates are stored. See the Workflow Conductor Templates section for more information.
  • Save: Saves the workflow you are currently building.
  • Print: Prints the workflow diagram pane.
  • Import/Export: Imports or exports workflows to an .xoml file. XOML files can be used to transfer workflows between instances of Workflow Conductor.
Settings

Beginning with Release 4.0, you will find the Workflow Settings in the ribbon; the options remain the same:
Settings.png
Releases prior to 4.0
Variables.jpg

  • Settings: Prior to WFC 4.0, the settings was a tab and has now moved into the ribbon menu.
  • Init Form: Click Init Form to create or edit a workflow initialization form. See Workflow Forms or Modify a Workflow Initialization Form for more information.
  • Variables: Click Variables to create or edit workflow variables.
Deploy/Publish:

Captions.jpg

Publish.jpg
Allows you to deploy the current workflow to the farm, list, site, site collection, or as a site workflow, depending on the workflow deployment method configured in the Workflow Conductor Control Panel. If you have not yet saved your workflow, you will be prompted to do so.

View:

View.jpg
View allows you to zoom in or out in the workflow diagram pane.

  • Zoom In/Zoom Out: Increases or decreases the size of the workflow diagram pane.
  • View Standard: Returns the workflow diagram pane to the default size (100%).
Help:

Help.jpg

  • Help: Displays a link to the Online Documentation.
  • Troubleshoot: Checks that Workflow Conductor is properly configured.
  • About: Displays version information for Workflow Conductor.
Close:

Close.jpg

Closes Conductor Studio and returns to the list or library.

See Also:

Workflow Conductor Template Versions

Workflow Conductor Template Versions

After you deploy a workflow, you may want to make a change to it and deploy a new version. As long as you saved the workflow as a workflow template when you created it in Conductor Studio, you can update the template and create a new version at any time.

You are prompted several times during the workflow creation process to save your workflow template. Simply click Save when you are prompted to do so and give the template a name. This template is what you will use to create a new version of the workflow.

NOTE: Workflow templates are saved in the Conductor database and can be accessed by clicking Workflow > Open in Conductor Studio. When you edit a template, you are not editing the actual workflow. You can delete a workflow from SharePoint and still have the template in the Conductor database.

Workflow versioning is handled differently depending on how the workflow was deployed. Click on the link below that applies to the workflow deployment method configured in the Workflow Conductor Control Panel to learn how to create a new version of workflows deployed using that method:

Overview of Workflow Conductor Templates

Overview of Workflow Conductor Templates

Return to Workflow Conductor

open option on menu R4.jpgWhenever you save a workflow in the Workflow Conductor Studio, you create a template. Templates are accessed via the Workflow Conductor Template Gallery which is displayed when you click Open in the Workflow Conductor Studio ribbon (shown here).

By default, a workflow you save is a template only you can see and it is displayed in the My Templates tab of the Workflow Conductor Template Gallery (shown below). There are three other tabs in the gallery that you may see: Shared Templates, Featured Templates and Manage Templates.

WF Template Gallery - just top.jpg

You can choose to share a template you create with other workflow designers. Template managers can decide to feature templates created by any designer. They are the only users who see the Manage Templates tab.

Icon-WarningIMPORTANT: Templates become associated workflows once they are published or deployed. They can be published or deployed to a list or library, a site, or a site collection. They can also be used to create a Site Workflow.

Workflow templates are stored in the Workflow Conductor content database. Workflow template uniqueness is defined by

  • the template name and
  • the designer OR the status (i.e., Shared, Featured).

existing shared template with the same name.jpgYou can name your template anything, even if other designers have templates with the same name. A workflow called Send Email created by Tom is different than one saved as Send Email by Joan. If Tom shares his Send Email template, Joan will see an error (shown here) if she tries to share hers.

Tom won’t be able to re-share his template unless he removes the original shared template from the Shared Templates tab. Any designer can decide to share their template, but only the designer who shared the template or a template manager can remove a shared template.

Icon-WarningIMPORTANT: Saving or editing a workflow template does not affect any associated workflows published or deployed from it.

What can you do with a template?
Save it Save a partially finished workflow and finish it later. See Saving workflow templates for details.
Find it Use the filtering and sorting features of the Template Gallery to find the template you need. To determine which template was used to publish a workflow, see How to determine who published a workflow and when.
Edit it To save time, modify an existing workflow template, save it with a new name, and publish it to a new list. See Saving workflow templates for more information.
Share it

Only the workflow designer (and template managers) can see templates that he/she creates. Allow other designers to use your templates by sharing them. Other designers will not be able to modify the shared template, but they can open it and save it with a different name. This will save time over creating a workflow from scratch.

Icon-Tip If you work on a team with multiple workflow designers, it is good to share your template before publishing it.

Feature it Template managers can choose to feature templates. Featured templates can be opened just like shared templates, but because template managers control the Featured Templates tab, these templates are more secure. See Featured workflow templates for details.
Export it Export a template to store it on your PC and transfer it to another SharePoint farm. See Exporting or Importing workflow templates for more information.
Delete it If a template is no longer needed, you can delete it. See Deleting workflow templates for details.
Manage it Templates are managed by template managers from the Templates tab of the Workflow Conductor Template Gallery or by any SharePoint Administrator with access to the Manage Templates page of the Workflow Conductor Control Panel in SharePoint Central Administration.

Where to find the Workflow Settings

Where to find the Workflow Settings

Overview of the Workflow Conductor Studio

The Ribbon contains general settings for the workflow, including workflow start options, workflow variables and optional fields to be completed when the workflow is started.

Ribbon.png Workflow Settings: Beginning with WFC 4.0, you will find the Settings menu located in the Ribbon. Prior to that release, it was a tab on the right side of the workflow studio.

Init Form: Use the form to collect information workflow parameters, which can be used by the widgets in the workflow.

VariablesStore information to be used in the workflow later.

See Also:

How to Use the Widget Pane

How to Use the Widget Pane

Overview of the Workflow Conductor Studio

WidgetToolpane.pngWidget_Pane.pngThe widget pane is the left section of Conductor Studio, which contains a list of the widgets used to design a workflow. These are divided into several categories based on the type of action a widget performs.

To expand a category and view the widgets in it, click on the category name.

To add a widget to a workflow, drag it from the widget pane to the workflow diagram pane. As you drag the widget to the diagram pane, you will see anchors around the widget appear.

As shown in this quick video demonstration, when you move the widget close to an anchor point, the dialog shows a blue dot in a dotted box on the area where it will appear if you drop it there.

Given the number of widgets that Bamboo includes within Workflow Conductor, starting with Release 4.0, we offer a search box so you can quickly find a widget by typing its name. You’ll notice the interface with this release looks a little different, but all of your widgets are still grouped in the same categories.

See Also:

Workflow Association in MOSS or WSSv3

Workflow Association in MOSS or WSSv3

Once you deploy a workflow or publish it to a list, it is automatically associated with the list or library where you created it. Depending on how your workflow was deployed or published, it may also be available to associate to other lists or libraries in the site or site collection. If your workflow configuration is generic enough, you may not need to modify the workflow at all for it to run with other lists.

Icon-Tip To see how to associate a workflow in SP2013/SP2010, see Associating a site workflow with a specific list.

To associate an existing workflow with a different list or library:

Step Action Result
1. In the list or library, click the Settings menu, and then click Document Library Settings or List Settings. sa08ListSettings.jpg
2. In the Permissions and Management section, click Workflow settings. sa08ListSettingsWFSettings.jpg
3. In the Change Workflow Settings page, click Add a workflow.

sa08AssociateWorkflow.jpg

NOTE: If you have never previously added a workflow to this list or library, you will bypass this screen.

4.

Select the workflow from the Workflow list. The following Conductor workflows are displayed in the list of available workflows:

  • Workflows deployed using the Solution Deployment method that are activated as a feature in the site collection.
  • Simple Publishing workflows published to the same list, the site, or the site collection.
sa08AddWorkflowSettings.jpg
5. Give the workflow a name unique to this list (this does not have to match the workflow name), select the Task and History lists the workflow will use (if you don’t want to use the default), define your desired Start Options, and click OK. Your workflow is now associated to the current list or library and is listed as an available workflow for list items.

See Also:

Field Lookup

Field Lookup

Using Lookups in Workflow Studio

SA08ExternalLookup.jpgField Lookups (formerly “External Lookups”) are similar to Current Item Field lookups, but they allow designers to specify fields from other items, not just the one the workflow was started on. The other item could be in another list on the same site, in other lists in a different site, or even in a list on a site in another site collection.

To configure a Field Lookup, click lookup icon.png to open the Add Lookup – Webpage Dialog and then perform these simple steps:

Step Action
1.

First, select the Site Collection, a Site in that site collection, and a List in that site where the item you want to lookup resides.

NOTE: If you are building a site workflow, use specific site collection/site/list references instead of the “Current” site collection/site/list.

2. Next, select a field in that list to return (the Lookup Field). If the lookup field you select is a SharePoint Person or Group column, you can also choose how to display the user information when the lookup is expanded.

See Notes below.

3.

Finally, specify the item in the list to use, since the workflow does not know about it like it knows the “current” item. Select a Filter Field in the list that you want to use as a matching (or “key”) field, and specify the value that the filter field must have in order for the item to be a match. You can either type something explicitly in the Equals field, or you can insert a lookup to some other value, such as a matching property in the current item.

NOTE: Display options for Person or Group columns are not available if you insert a lookup from the User Lookup form (sa08userlookupbutton.jpg). This is because widget properties that use the User Lookup form require the information to be in a specific format, which Conductor sets automatically.

As an example, this screenshot shows a Conditional Branch Widget configured only to perform an action if the current item is newer than an item with the same Name in a list called Published Documents. A Field Lookup retrieves the Created date field from a list where the Name of the list item matches the Name of the current item.
sa08ExternalLookupEx.jpg

NOTE: If the Field Lookup returns more than one item when the widget runs, the first matching item found is used.

Icon-Tip You can use a lookup in place of an actual Site Collection, Site, List, or Field name by selecting the –Other [Site Collection/Site/List/Field]– option. Once you use a lookup for one Field Lookup form field, all other form fields subordinate to that will require a lookup or explicitly-entered value. Since lookup values are not known until the workflow runs, Workflow Conductor will fill in the actual values then.

sa08ExternalLookupEx2.jpgAs another example, this shows a Field Lookup configured to retrieve the Created by column value from a list and list item that are created during the workflow. Since the list name and the list item ID are both workflow variables and not known until the workflow runs, lookups or specific values are used to populate these values.

NOTE: The display format for the Created by field cannot be set; Workflow Conductor will not know it is a Person or Group field until the workflow runs.

Notes:

  • When specifying criteria for a Field Lookup that is a SharePoint Person or Group column configured to allow multiple values, the SharePoint column values must be listed in the exact order specified in the lookup criteria. For example: If the criteria is a Person or Group column matching User1; User2, SharePoint column values entered as User2; User1 will not match.

  • When specifying criteria for a Field Lookup that is a SharePoint Choice column configured to allow multiple values, you cannot select the values like you can for single Choice columns. You must enter them as text or a lookup to text in the format Value1, Value2 (the space after the comma is required). The values must be entered in the same order they appear in the SharePoint column.

See also:

Widget URL References

Widget URL References

URL references are special references that allow you to include a hyperlink in an e-mail body with a different display name than the URL (e.g., Bamboo instead of http://www.bamboosolutions.com). URL references are supported in task e-mail templates, in the Send Email widget Body property, and in the Request Approval Widget and Request Feedback Task Description properties.

URL references must be typed into the e-mail Body or Task Description rich text field, and must be in the following format:

[_URL(http://url.com), _Text(Text to display)]

Both the _URL and the _Text properties of the URL reference support lookups as all or part of the property. Below are some examples of valid URL references. Lookups are noted in purple; you can insert a lookup anywhere you see the lookup icon (Icon-Search) or the Add Lookup (Button-AddLookup) button.

Availability of specific lookups will vary between Conductor Studio and the e-mail template editor.

Hyperlink to specific URL
[_URL(http://www.bamboosolutions.com) ,_Text(Bamboo)]Bamboo

Hyperlink to document
(Click here for more information)
[_URL({Reference:List URL (Absolute)}/{CurrentItem:Name}) ,_Text({CurrentItem:Name})] Sample Document

Hyperlink to item DispForm.aspx page

[_URL({Reference:Item URL}) ,_Text({CurrentItem:Name}) Properties] Sample Document Properties

Hyperlink to SharePoint Workflow Status page
[_URL({Reference:Workflow Status URL}) ,_Text(Click to view workflow status)] Click to view workflow status

See also:

Where are workflows stored in SharePoint?

Where are workflows stored in SharePoint?

After you create a workflow, you may want to locate the .XOML files associated with it perhaps to copy it and store in another site.

  • Open SharePoint Designer on the site collection and navigate to the All Files folder.

  • Within that folder resides a sub-folder called “WorkflowsConductor”.

  • When you click on that folder, you’ll see all the workflows you’ve created both from Workflow Conductor and workflows you create from SharePoint out of the box.

Where to locate PowerShell scripts from the Run PowerShell Widget in Workflow Conductor

Where to locate PowerShell scripts from the Run PowerShell Widget in Workflow Conductor

After you create a workflow, you may want to locate the .XOML files associated with it perhaps to copy it and store in another site. If you have installed Workflow Conductor, you can view the scripts by opening the workflow template in WFC studio. If you have removed the product and need to recover the contents of a PowerShell widget (the script), the workflows are stored in the content database the same way out-of-the-box SharePoint workflows are stored.

  • Open SharePoint Designer on the site collection and navigate to the All Files folder.

  • Within that folder resides a sub-folder called “WorkflowsConductor”.

  • When you click on that folder, you’ll see all the workflows you’ve created both from Workflow Conductor and workflows you create from SharePoint out of the box.

  • Choose the Workflow Conductor workflow you want to recover the PowerShell script from and you will see 3 files

  • Export the .xoml file to your desktop (You can’t edit it in SP Designer)

  • Open the .xoml file in a text editor such as Notepad

  • Search for “PowerShellScript=”

    • The text after that is the contents of your PowerShell script
  • It is in HTML, you will need to convert it to plain text. You can do that with this website.

Then you’ll see the script as you pasted it.

Current Item Field Lookup

Current Item Field Lookup

Using Lookups in Workflow Studio

Add Lookup dialog.pngCurrent Item Field lookups allow the workflow designer to assign the value of a field in the current item to a widget property. The current item is the item that triggered the workflow. To specify a field, select it in the list and click Add.

display user as.png
If the field you select is a SharePoint Person or Group column, you can also choose how to display the user information when the lookup is expanded.

Icon-WarningIMPORTANT: Current Item Field lookups are not valid for site workflows.

sa08CurrentItemEx.jpgAfter choosing a field and clicking Add, a {CurrentItem:Field} placeholder is inserted into the widget property. When a widget using a Current Item Field lookup is reached during a workflow, Conductor retrieves the field from the item the workflow was started on and replaces the lookup with the current value for that field.

For example, if you set the To: property of a Send Email widget to use the Modified By field of the current item, the widget would send an e-mail to the user who most recently modified the item.

NOTE: Display options for Person or Group columns are not available if you insert a lookup from the User Lookup form (Icon-UserLookup), as you would in the example described above. This is because widget properties that use the User Lookup form require the information to be in a specific format, which Conductor sets automatically.

See also:

What is a Widget?

What is a Widget?

widgets.jpgWidgets are what we call the customized activities that we built for Workflow Conductor. They are modular bits of functionality that act as building blocks for creating custom workflows.

For more information about using widgets to build a workflow, see How to Use Workflow Conductor Widgets.

What is a reusable workflow?

What is a reusable workflow?

Within the Workflow Conductor, a reusable workflow is a published workflow that can be re-used without opening the Workflow Conductor Studio. It is not a workflow template, as any template can be re-used to publish a workflow to a list.

Since the Workflow Conductor is available only to site Designers or designated Workflow Designers, it is useful for others to be able to associate a Workflow Conductor workflow with a list.

A Workflow Conductor workflow is reusable if it has been published to a site or site collection.

See Associating a site workflow with a specific list for more information.

Wait for Field Change Widget

Wait for Field Change Widget

The Wait for Field Change widget pauses the workflow until the value of a field in the current item or an item in another list meets a defined condition.

sa08LimitationIcon.jpg Widget Limitations:

  • When waiting for a SharePoint Person or Group column configured to allow multiple values, the SharePoint column values must be listed in the exact order specified in the widget. For example: If the widget is waiting for the Person or Group column to change to User1; User2, SharePoint column values entered as User2; User1 will not match.
  • When waiting for a SharePoint Choice column configured to allow multiple values, you cannot select the values in the widget like you can for single Choice columns. You must enter them as text or a lookup to text in the format Value1, Value2 (the space after the comma is required). The values must be entered in the same order they appear in the SharePoint column.

Widget Properties:

Column Description
Wait for Field (Required) Click the sa08EllipsisIcon.jpg button to select a field and desired condition. You can monitor a field in the current item, or a field in an item in another list in the current site, site collection, or another site or site collection. See the sections below for instructions to configure the widget for each case.
To monitor a field in the current item:
Select Select Current Item Fields (the default).
Field Select a field in the current item to monitor.
Operation

Specify a condition for the field. Available choices vary by field type, and include:

  • Equal To
  • Not Equal To
  • Contains
  • Does Not Contain
  • Greater Than
  • Less Than
Value Specify a value that the selected field must match in order for the workflow to proceed.
To monitor a field in another item:
Select Select External List Lookup. To monitor an item in another list in the current site, select a list in the List box. To monitor an item in a list in another site or site collection, make the desired selections in the Site Collection and Site boxes and then select a List.
Field Select a field to monitor.
Filter Field/Equals To identify the specific item in the list that you want to monitor, select a Filter Field and enter a match criteria in the Equals box, either by typing one or by adding a lookup using the Add Lookup icon (add lookup button). If more than one item matches the criteria, the first item returned is monitored.
Operation

Specify a condition for the field. Available choices vary by field type, and include:

  • Equal To
  • Not Equal To
  • Contains
  • Does Not Contain
  • Greater Than
  • Less Than
Value Specify a value that the selected field must match in order for the workflow to proceed.
Loop every N Minutes When monitoring for changes to items in a list other than the current list, Conductor must periodically check the item for changes. Enter a number of minutes between checks. A value of 0 will check the item at the next Workflow timer job interval.
Click Apply to save the widget settings.

Example of Wait for Field Change

Return to Workflow Logic Widgets List

See Also:

What are lookups and why would I use them?

What are lookups and why would I use them?

A lookup is a placeholder for a value that is not known until the workflow runs. Lookups can be used in many widget properties instead of defining a specific value.

When a widget uses a lookup, it retrieves the value stored in that location when the workflow runs (more specifically, when that widget runs). This allows a workflow to use a current value for an item so it can behave dynamically based on real-time data.

For more information about using Lookups, see Using Lookups in Workflow Studio.

Versioning for Simple Publishing Workflows

Versioning for Simple Publishing Workflows

To create a new version of a workflow published using a Simple Publishing option (Publish to List, Publish to Site, Publish to Site Collection, or Publish as Site Workflow):

  1. In Conductor Studio, go to Workflow > Open and open the workflow template.
  2. Edit the workflow template and save it with the same name.
  3. Publish the updated template.
  4. Conductor will detect that there is already a published workflow with the same name and will ask if you want to overwrite it. Select the Overwrite option to publish the new version.

Instances of the old workflow version that are in progress will continue to run until they are complete. New instances of the workflow will run as the new workflow version.

NOTE: Simple Publishing workflows cannot overwrite Solution Deployment workflows. However, Simple Publishing workflows can overwrite other Simple Publishing workflows. The table below shows which Simple Publishing workflows can be overwritten.

New workflows… Can overwrite existing workflows of the same name…
Published to List Published to List
Published to Site Published to List or Site*
Published to Site Collection Published to Site Collection*
Published as Site Workflow Published as Site Workflow

* If you check the option to automatically associate the workflow with the current list when you publish the new workflow version, the copy of the workflow of the same name that is associated to the list where Studio was started will be updated with the new workflow version. Workflows of the same name associated to other lists in the site (or other sites) will not be updated. If you do not check the auto-associate option, the existing workflow association for the current list will continue to use the old workflow version, but any new associations you add will use the new workflow version.

Using the Workflow Start Feature

Using the Workflow Start Feature

Applies to

  • Workflow Conductor R3.5 or newer
  • SharePoint 2010 and SharePoint 2013

Overview

The Workflow Start Feature allows custom workflow start buttons to be added to the item ribbons within SharePoint lists/libraries. The workflow buttons will display configurable names and launch any desired workflow associated with the current item. Users simply highlight an item in the list and click the button to start the workflow on the selected item.

Configuring the Workflow Start Feature

Step Action
1.

WF Start Feature.jpgOn the site where you wish to use the Workflow Start Feature, navigate to Site Actions > Site Settings > Site Actions: Manage Site Features. On the Features page, locate the Workflow Start Feature (it’s usually at the bottom of the list).

WF Start Feature a.jpg

Click Activate to activate the Workflow Start Feature for the site.

NOTES:

  1. This is a site feature, not a site collection feature.
  2. If you don’t see the Workflow Start Feature listed on the Manage Site Features page, check to make sure that the Bamboo.StartWorkFlow.wsp solution is deployed to your web app and the Bamboo.StartWorkFlow.wsp site collection feature is activated for your site collection.
2.

configurinh WF button.jpg
Activating the site feature creates a new list called Workflow Configuration List in the site. Configure a new item ribbon button by adding an item to this list. Find a description of the columns below:

  • Ribbon Section Name: Enter a name for the section of the ribbon that will contain the workflow button. This is a required field.
  • Workflow Button Name: Enter a name for the button that will be displayed in the ribbon. This is a required field.
  • Tooltip Title: Enter the tooltip title that will appear when the end user hovers the cursor over the button. The Tooltip has a title that appears with bold text and a description that appears with normal text. See the screen shot shown in Step 3 below.
  • Tooltip Description: Enter the text that will appear in a tooltip for the button. A tooltip appears when the end user hovers over the button with the cursor.
  • Associated Workflow: Choose the list and the workflow that will be associated with the button for items in that list.
3.

wf button with tool tip title and description.jpgOnce an item is added to the Workflow Configuration List, a button will appear in the item ribbon for the appropriate list. It will be grayed out unless an item is selected in the list.

The button shown here is the one configured in Step 2 above. Notice the tooltip that appears to end users when they hover over the button; the Tooltip Title and Tooltip Description is displayed.

NOTE: There is no configuration option for the icon that is displayed. It is the same for all workflow buttons.

4. To start the workflow, select an item in the list and click the button.

Using the Template Gallery

Using the Template Gallery

Overview of Workflow Conductor Templates

open option on menu R4.jpgAccess the Template Gallery by clicking Open on the Workflow Conductor Studio main menu.

The Workflow Templates dialog appears. The contents of this dialog will vary for each logged in workflow designer.

template gallery with four tabs.jpg

For more information about each area of the gallery, see the table below:

Area Description
Filtering/Sorting Access the menu associated with any of the header columns to sort or filter the list using the contents of that column. To filter on a particular string (i.e., task) enter the string in the Filters box as shown below. The list of templates will be filtered as you enter text.

filtering task R4.jpg
Bottom Border
bottom border of gallery.jpg

1. Use the Page Control to navigate from one page to the next in order to see all available templates. Click the Refresh icon (refresh icon R.jpg) to refresh the display. Refreshing is most useful on the Shared, Featured and Manage template tabs since content on those tabs can be updated by other users.

2. The note on the bottom right corner will show you how many templates are available on the current tab and displayed on the current page.

3. The note in the bottom band of the gallery tells you how many templates in total are available on the farm. For template managers, this is the number of templates displayed on the Manage Templates page.

My Templates

This tab is displayed by default when the Template Gallery opens (see screen shot above). It lists all the templates created by the logged in user. Sometimes, several pages of templates can be displayed.

Click the + in the Sharing column to share the template.

Click the X in the Delete column to delete the template. Acknowledge the warning message (shown below), and the template will be deleted.

delete warning R4.jpg

Icon-WarningIMPORTANT: Once a template is deleted, it is gone for good.

Shared Templates

shared temp tab.jpg

The Shared Templates tab shows all the templates that have been shared. The Created By column indicates who shared the template and the Last Edited columns shows when it was shared.

If you are the user who shared the template or a template manager, an X appears in the Sharing column. Clicking the X for a particular template will display a confirmation message (shown below). Clicking OK will delete the shared template.

delete shared template.jpg

Icon-WarningIMPORTANT: Once a shared template is deleted, it is gone for good. However, the original template may be in the original designers My Templates tab, although it may no longer be exactly the same as the deleted shared template.

Featured Templates

featured templ2.jpg

The Featured Templates tab shows all the templates that have been featured. No information about the original designer or the date last edited is shown, but it can be found by template managers from the Manage Templates tab (see below). It is not possible to remove any featured templates from this list through this interface.

Add or remove templates from the Featured Templates list via SharePoint Central Administration and the Template Management page of the Workflow Conductor Control Panel.

Manage Templates

Manage Templates.jpg

The Manage Templates tab is displayed only for template managers. It shows all the templates available on the farm.

Overview of symbols and collumns:

  • A + will appear in The Shared column if the template is shared.
  • A + will appear in the Featured column if the template is featured.
  • The user shown in the Created By column is the user who created, shared, or featured the template.
  • The date shown in the Last Edited column is the date and time the template was saved, shared, or featured.

Using Lookups in Workflow Studio

Using Lookups in Workflow Studio

Using Workflow Conductor Widgets

R4 Lookup dialog with num1.jpgWhen you configure a Workflow Conductor widget, most widget properties can be defined either by typing or choosing a specific value, or by using a lookup. A lookup is a placeholder for a value that is not known until the workflow runs.

Lookups can be used in many widget properties instead of defining a specific value. When a widget uses a lookup, it retrieves the value stored in that location when the workflow runs (more specifically, when that widget runs). This allows a workflow to use a current value for an item so it can behave dynamically based on real-time data. Using a lookup in place of an actual value makes your workflow more flexible and reusable.

You can insert a lookup anywhere you see the lookup icon (Icon-Search) or the Add Lookup (R4 Add Lookup button.jpg) button. When you click the icon or button, the Add Lookup form is displayed. The Add Lookup form allows you to select from various lookups, references, and variables available in the workflow, item, list, site, and even other lists and sites in this site collection or other site collections.

Click on a topic below which describes each type of lookup and gives examples of how to use them.

  1. Current Item Field
  2. Field Lookup (formerly “External Lookup”)
  3. Easy Reference
  4. Workflow Variables

User Interaction Widgets

User Interaction Widgets

This is a high level overview of the types of User Interaction Widgets available. Click on the name of the widget to get details and examples.

Return to About Workflow Conductor Widgets

See also an Alphabetical List of Workflow Conductor Widgets.

User & Group Management Widgets

User & Group Management Widgets

This is a high level overview of the types of User and Group Management Widgets available. Click on the name of the widget to get details and examples.

Return to About Workflow Conductor Widgets

See also an Alphabetical List of Workflow Conductor Widgets.

Update AD Account Widget

Update AD Account Widget

SA08UpdateADAccount.jpg
The Update AD Account widget updates one or more Active Directory account properties for an AD user account.

  • Update an account in a pre-configured LDAP path or enter a custom LDAP path (if allowed).
  • Select from a list of users in the specified LDAP path or enter a user account using text, lookups, or workflow variables.
  • Updates to account properties can be entered using text, lookups, or workflow variables.
  • This widget runs with the permissions of the user configured with the LDAP path.

Return to User & Group Management Widgets

See Also:

Update Item Widget

Update Item Widget

The Update Item widget updates one or more fields for an item in a list or library.

Widget Properties:

Column Description
Item (Required)

Click the Icon-Ellipsis button to select fields to update:

  • Select item:

  • Select Current Item (the default) to update the item the workflow was started on.

  • Select External List Lookup to update an item in another list in the site, site collection, or another site in another site collection:

    • To update an item in another list in the current site, select a list in the List box. To update an item to a list in another site or site collection, make the desired selections in the u and Site boxes and then select from the List of available lists and libraries.
    • To identify the item in the library that you want to update, select a Filter Field and enter a match criteria in the Equals box, either by typing one or by adding a lookup using the Add Lookup icon (Icon-Search). If more than one item matches the criteria, the first item returned is updated.
  • Fields to update

  • Available fields in the list or library are added to the form when you select a list or library.

  • To specify a new value for a field, check the box in front of the field name and enter a value using one of the following methods:

    • Choose a field value (for Choice and Yes/No fields)
    • Enter text in the field text box
    • Add a lookup using the Add Lookup icon (Icon-Search)
  • To remove a field from the list of fields to update, uncheck the checkbox in front of the field name.

Run As This widget can run with the permissions of the workflow initiator, the workflow designer, or another user. Select the option in the Run As property that best matches your requirement. For more information, see the Common Widget Properties topic.
Click Apply to save the widget settings.

Examples Using Update Item Widget

Return to Lists and Items Widgets

See Also:

Update User Info

Update User Info

SA08UpdateUserInfo.jpgThe Update User Info widget updates one or more user profile properties for a SharePoint user in the site collection. The widget has the following features and options:

  • Updates to user profile properties can be entered using text, lookups, or workflow variables.
  • Update all standard SharePoint user profile properties.
  • Update properties for any user in the site collection.
  • Run this widget with alternate credentials.

Return to User & Group Management Widgets

See Also:

Easy Reference Lookup List

Easy Reference Lookup List

Using Lookups in Workflow Studio

Easy Ref.pngThe Easy Reference lookup list contains common values related to the workflow and the SharePoint environment. Just like the other lookup types, Conductor retrieves Easy Reference lookups when the workflow reaches the widget. An example of an Easy Reference lookup is the workflow initiator, which would appear as {Reference:Initiator} in the widget property field.

Icon-WarningIMPORTANT: Item and List Easy References are not valid for site workflows.

A list of Easy Reference lookups is provided in the table below:

Easy Reference Name Description
Current Date The date at that point in the workflow.
Example: 2/5/2014
Current Time The time at that point in the workflow.
Example: 1:52 PM
Current Item Document URL 3, 4, 5 The full URL for the document that the workflow was started on.
Example: http://conductor2010/sites/corp/Shared Documents/Q2Roadmap.docx
Current Item Title 3, 4 The title of the list item or document.
Example: Q2Roadmap.docx
Current Task Assigned By 3, 4 The display name of the user who started the workflow.
Example: Mary Smith
Current Task Comments 3, 4 The comments or feedback entered in the task form Description field when a task is reassigned or a change is requested.
Example: Please revise section 2.
Current Task Description 3, 4 The description entered in the Task Description field of the widget properties.
Example: Projected Roadmap for Second Quarter 2014
Current Task Due Date 3, 4 The date that is entered in the Due Date field or calculated by the Days Until Due field in the widget properties.
Example: 12/19/2014
Current Task Start Date 3, 4 The date that the current task in the workflow was assigned.
Example: 12/16/2014
Current Task Title 3, 4 The title of the current task that is entered in the Task Title field of the widget properties, or the default task title assigned by Workflow Conductor.
Example: Please Review Q2Roadmap.docx
Current Task URL 3, 4 The item URL of the current workflow task.
Example: http://conductor2010/sites/corp/Shared Documents/Workflow20Tasks/DispForm.aspx?ID=3
Date and Time Started 1 The date and time the workflow was started.
Example: 10/5/2010 1:52 PM
Initiator The account name of the user who started the workflow.
Example: DOMAINmjones
Initiator Display Name The display name of the user who started the workflow.
Example:Mary Jones
Initiator Manager The account name of the manager (configured in Active Directory) of the user who started the workflow.
Example: DOMAINjsmith
Initiator Manager Display Name The display name of the manager (configured in Active Directory) of the user who started the workflow.
Example: John Smith
Item URL The full URL to the DispForm.aspx for the current item.
Example: http://conductor2007/sites/corp/hr/Shared20Documents/Forms/DispForm.aspx?ID=1
Item URL (Relative) 1 The relative URL to the DispForm.aspx for the current item.
Example: /sites/corp/hr/Shared20Documents/Forms/DispForm.aspx?ID=1
Item has attachment Returns True or False
List ID The GUID of the current list.
Example: 4fda55e8-e11b-46a3-acd0-ad83e5f082f4
List Name The Name of the current list, as configured in List Settings > Title, description, and navigation.
Example: Shared Documents
List URL (Absolute) 1 The full URL to the current list.
Example: http://conductor2007/sites/corp/hr/Shared20Documents
List URL (Relative) 1 The relative URL to the current list.
Example: /sites/corp/hr/Shared20Documents
Site Collection URL (Absolute) 1 The full URL to the root of the current site collection.
Example: http://conductor2013/sites/corp
Site Collection URL (Relative) 1 The relative URL to the root of the current site collection.
Example: /sites/corp
Site Name The Title of the current site, as configured in Site Settings > Title, description, and icon.
Example: Human Resources
Site URL 1 The full URL to the current site.
Example: http://conductor2013/sites/corp/hr
Start Date The date the workflow was started.
Example: 10/5/2010
Start Time 2 The time the workflow was started.
Example: 1:52 PM
Workflow Description 1 The workflow Description, as configured in Conductor Studio.
Example: A list of all Easy Reference lookups
Workflow History List URL http://conductor2007/sites/corp/hr/Lists/
Workflow20History.
Example: http://conductor2007/sites/corp/hr/Lists/
Workflow20History
Workflow History List Name 1 The Name of the workflow history list.
Example:Workflow History
Workflow Instance ID The ID of the current instance of the workflow.
Example: cda85707-bda3-4e1d-b188-cdf7a6806756
Workflow Name 1 The workflow Title, as configured in Conductor Studio.
Example: Sample – Easy Reference List
Workflow Status URL The full URL to the SharePoint Workflow Status page for the current workflow instance.
Example: http://conductor2007/sites/corp/hr/_layouts/WrkStat.aspx?WorkflowInstanceID=
cda85707-bda3-4e1d-b188-cdf7a6806756
Workflow Task List Name 1 The Name of the workflow task list.
Example: Workflow Tasks
Workflow Task List URL 1 The full URL to the workflow task list.
Example: http://conductor2013/sites/corp/hr/Lists/
Workflow20Tasks
Workflow Title The Name assigned to the workflow when it is associated to the list, as configured in List Settings > Workflow settings.
Example: Easy Reference List

1 Added or updated in Workflow Conductor 1.5
2 Added or updated in Workflow Conductor 1.5.1
3 Added or updated in Workflow Conductor 2.1
4 This Easy Reference is only available for the email subjects or bodies in the Request Approval, Request Feedback, Collect Data From User, and Custom User Task form widgets.
5 This Easy Reference is only available for items within a document library.

See also:

Subscribe User to Alert

Subscribe User to Alert

The Subscribe User to Alert widget subscribes one or more users to alerts for a specific list or item. This widget provides the same features provided by the SharePoint Set alert on this list and Set alert on this item options.

Widget Properties:

Column Description
Send Alert To (Required)

Enter a user or users to send the alert to, using one of the methods below. The alert will automatically be sent to the email address associated with the user (the email address cannot be customized in the widget).

  • Type a SharePoint or Active Directory display name or account name for the user and click the Check User icon (Icon-Checkmark).
  • Click the Lookup User icon (Icon-UserLookup) to search for a SharePoint or Active Directory user in the User Lookup form.
  • Enter a lookup to user data using the Add Lookup button (Button-AddLookup) in the User Lookup form.
Alert Settings (Required)
  • Alert Type: Select List to create an alert for changes to any item in the list, or Item to create an alert for a specific list item.
    • Select the list or item to alert on:
      • Select Current List or Current Item to create the alert on the list or item the workflow is started on.
      • Select Other List or Other Item to create an alert for a different list or item. Select the site collection, site, and list where you want to create the alert. For item alerts, specify the item you want to alert on by defining filter criteria. You can create alerts on existing lists or items, or on lists or items created during the workflow by using lookups.
  • Alert Settings: Configure the specific alert options for this alert.
    • For list alerts, enter an alert title, select the types of changes to be alerted about, and select an alert frequency.
    • For item alerts, enter an alert title and select an alert frequency.
Run As This widget can run with the permissions of the workflow initiator, the workflow designer, or another user. Select the option in the Run As property that best matches your requirement. For more information, see the Common Widget Properties topic.
Click Apply to save the widget settings.

Example Using Subscribe User Alert

Return to User & Group Management Widgets

See Also:

Start Another Workflow Widget

Start Another Workflow Widget

The Start Another Workflow widget starts another workflow from within the current workflow. The new workflow runs independently of the current workflow. Start Another Workflow provides the ability to design more complex workflows using reusable modules.

NOTE: The current workflow continues with the next widget as soon as the new workflow is started. The current workflow is not paused.

Widget Properties:

Column Description
Workflow Name (Required)

Click the Icon-Ellipsis button to select a workflow:

  • Select workflow location:
    • Select Current Item (the default) to start a workflow associated to the current list on the current item.
    • To start a workflow on another item in the current list or on an item in another list, select External List and make the desired selections in the Site Collection, Site, and List boxes. To identify the item in the list that you want to start the workflow on, choose Select Item in the Item box and enter match criteria in the Where and Equal boxes. If more than one item is matched, the workflow is started on the first item returned.
  • Select Workflow: Select a workflow from the list of workflows associated to the list you selected above. If the selected workflow is configured with a workflow initialization form, you are prompted to provide values for the form fields to pass to the workflow (see an example here). The values can be typed in the property box, or you can add a lookup using the Add Lookup icon (Button-AddLookup).

NOTE: Start Another Workflow cannot start site workflows. It can only start workflows currently associated to a list.

Run As This widget can run with the permissions of the workflow initiator, the workflow designer, or another user. Select the option in the Run As property that best matches your requirement. For more information, see General Widget Properties.
Click Apply to save the widget settings.

Example of Start Another Workflow

Return to Workflow Logic Widgets List

See Also:

Sharing workflow templates

Sharing workflow templates

Overview of Workflow Conductor Templates

add to shared from save dialog.jpgBy default, a saved workflow template can only be accessed by the designer who saved it, or by a template manager.

To make a template available to other workflow designers, click Add to Shared in the Save workflow as a template dialog box and the click Save to save the template.

When you share a template, a copy of the template is added to the Shared Templates tab of the template gallery. Any workflow designer can open the shared copy of the template.

Any workflow designer can share a template, if a template with the same name hasn’t already been shared.

Icon-WarningIMPORTANT: If you previously shared a template, clicking the Add to Shared box in the Save workflow as template dialog will overwrite the copy you shared.

share via the templates gallery.jpgTo share a template after it has been saved, open the template gallery and click the Sharing icon (sharing icon R4.jpg) for the template in the My Templates tab. A confirmation message is presented. Clicking OK on the message completes the copy.

Opening a template shared by another designer and modifying it, saves the updated copy of the template to your My Templates tab. The original shared template is not affected.

Icon-WarningIMPORTANT: It is not possible to overwrite a shared template when sharing from the Workflow Templates gallery, even you were the designer who originally shared it. You will see the message below.

existing shared.jpg
You must remove the shared template before sharing another with the same name from Workflow Templates.

remove from shared.jpgTo remove a template from the Shared Templates list, click the Delete icon (delete icon R4.jpg) for the template in the Shared Templates tab.

You can only delete a shared template if you are the designer who originally shared it, or if you are a template manager.

See Also:

Set Variable Widget

Set Variable Widget

Variables store data while the workflow is running. They can be accessed and manipulated by widgets, and some widgets may require that a variable be created to store results. The contents of workflow variables are accessed using a lookup when the workflow runs.

To create a variable, click Add Variable to open the Workflow Variables form. Enter a Name for the variable, select a data Type, and optionally define a Default Value. Click Add to add the new variable to the workflow. If you later want to delete a variable, return to the Workflow Variables form and click the button next to the variable.

Workflow variables can also be added directly from widgets that use variables, using the Create new variable link. This link is a shortcut to the Workflow Variables form.

NOTE: After adding, updating, or deleting variables using the Workflow Variables Form, always click Save Changes.

The Set Variable widget sets the value of an existing workflow variable.

Widget Properties:

Column Description
Select Variable (Required) Select an existing workflow variable from the list. Create variables in the Workflow Settings tab in the settings pane, or click the Create new variable link next to the variable list.
Set Value (Required) Enter a Value for the variable by typing text in the property field or by clicking the Add Lookup icon (Button-AddLookup) to add a lookup. Some variable types will have additional ways to enter values. For example, a Date/Time variable will activate the Calendar icon (Icon-Calendar), which you can use to select a date.
Click Apply to save the widget settings.

Example of Set Variable Widget

Return to Workflow Logic Widgets List

See also:

Set Field Value

Set Field Value

The Set Field Value widget sets the value of a single field in the current item or an item in another list or library in the current site.

Widget Properties:

Column Description
Field and Value (Required)

Click to open the Set Field Value form where you can select a field to update.

  • Select source item:

    • Select Current Item (the default) to set a field value in the current item.

    • To set a field value in a different item in the current list or an item in another list, site, or site collection, select External List Lookup and make the desired selections in the Site Collection, Site, and List boxes. To identify the item in the list that you want to copy, select a Filter Field and enter a match criteria in the Equals box, either by typing one or by adding a lookup using the Add Lookup (Add Lookup Icon) icon. If more than one item is matched, the first item returned is selected as the item to update.

  • Field: Select a field to update from the field list.
    Value: Enter a Value for the field by typing text in the property or by adding a lookup using the Add Lookup (Add Lookup Icon) icon.

Click Apply to save the widget settings.

Example Using Set Field Value Widget

Return to Lists and Items Widgets

See Also:

Set Item Permissions

Set Item Permissions

SA08SiteItemPermissions.jpg
The Set Item Permissions widget sets or changes permissions for an item in a SharePoint list or library. The widget has the following features and options:

  • Set permissions on the current item or on any item in any site collection.
  • Configure an item to inherit permissions from its parent list or set custom permissions.
  • Provides an option to clear existing item permissions before setting new custom permissions.
  • Supports the standard SharePoint permissions sets Full Control, Design, Contribute, Read, and View Only.
  • To assign more than one permission set to an item, use multiple Set Item Permission widgets.
  • Run this widget with alternate credentials.

Return to Lists and Items Widgets

See Also:

Set Site Permissions

Set Site Permissions

SA08SetSitePermissions.jpg
The Set Site Permissions widget changes user permissions for any site in any site collection in the Web application. The widget has the following features and options:

  • Choose to set permissions for a site in the existing site list or specify a site URL with a lookup or workflow variable.
  • Reset a site to inherit permissions from its parent site or set custom permissions.
  • Provides an option to clear existing site permissions before setting new custom permissions.
  • Supports the standard SharePoint permissions sets Full Control, Design, Contribute, Read, and View Only.
  • To assign more than one permission set to a site, use multiple Set Site Permission widgets.
  • Set permissions on sites in other site collections.
  • Run this widget with alternate credentials.

Return to Site Management Widgets

See Also:

Set Approval Status

Set Approval Status

The Set Approval Status widget sets the Approval Status field in a list or library to one of a pre-defined set of choices. If the Approval Status field does not exist, the widget will create it.

NOTE: This widget must run as a user with the Design level or above on the list. If the workflow initiator does not have this permission level, configure the Run As property to use an account that does.

Widget Properties:

Column Description
Item (Required)

Click the Icon-Ellipsis button to select an item to set the approval status for:

  • Select Current Item (the default) to update the Approval Status column for the item the workflow was started on.
  • Select External List Lookup to update the Approval Status for an item in another list or library in the site, site collection, or another site in another site collection:
    • To set the Approval Status for an item in a list in the current site, select a list in the List box. To discard check out for an item in a list in another site or site collection, make the desired selections in the Site Collection and Site boxes and then select a library from the List of available libraries.
    • To identify the item in the list or library that you want to set Approval Status for, select a Filter Field and enter a match criteria in the Equals box, either by typing one or by adding a lookup using the Add Lookup icon (Button-AddLookup). If more than one item matches the criteria, Approval Status is updated for the first item returned.
Approval Status

Select the new value for the Approval Status field. Select the value from the choices Approved, Rejected, Pending, Draft, or Scheduled. If the Approval Status field does not exist, it is created when the widget runs.

NOTE: If you want to set the Approval Status to something other than the pre-defined set of choices, or if you want to update a field named something other than “Approval Status”, use the Update Item widget or Set Field Value widget.

Comments Enter text or a combination of text and lookups to write a comment to the Approver Comments field for the Item. If the Approver Comments field does not exist, it is created when the widget runs.
Click Apply to save the widget settings.

Example Using Set Approval Status Widget

Return to Lists and Items Widgets

See Also:

Send Email Widget

Send Email Widget

The Send Email widget sends a custom e-mail to a user or group of users. Lookups are supported in all message properties.

Icon-Warning Widget Limitation: If a recipient property is a lookup to another SharePoint column, the following SharePoint column type and data format limitations apply for the lookup value:

  • For Person or Group columns, person or group data can be displayed using any user information field, as long as that field has data. For example: Users displayed as Name, Account, Work e-mail, User name, etc., can all be used as recipients. Multiple entries are supported for Person or Group columns.
  • For Single line of text columns, the value must be an account name (DOMAINUsername), SharePoint group name, or e-mail address. Multiple entries are supported for Single line of text columns, separated by semicolons (;).
  • Calculated columns are supported with the same format limitations as Single line of text columns.
  • A lookup to a Choice column with the option Checkboxes (allow multiple selections) selected will only work if a single entry is checked.
  • Lookups to SharePoint Lookup columns are not supported.

Widget Properties:

Column Description
From Enter a single From address, using any of the methods listed below. This property defines the e-mail account that the e-mail appears to have come from and where replies are sent. If you do not enter a From address in the widget, the From address configured in Central Administration > Workflow Conductor Control Panel > System Settings will be used instead.
To (Required) Enter one or more To recipients, using any of the methods listed below. This property defines the user or users in the To field of an e-mail message.
CC Enter one or more recipients, using any of the methods listed below. This property defines users in the CC (carbon copy) field of an e-mail message. Addresses in the CC field of an e-mail are visible to recipients.
BCC

Enter one or more recipients, using any of the methods listed below. This property defines users in the BCC (blind carbon copy) field of an e-mail message. Addresses in the BCC field of an e-mail are not visible to recipients.

  • Send Email widget address properties (From, To, CC, and BCC) can all be entered using any one, or a combination of, the methods listed below. Separate multiple addresses in a property with a semicolon (;).
    • Type a display name or account name for a SharePoint or Active Directory user or SharePoint group* and click the Check User icon (Icon-Checkmark).
    • Click the Lookup User icon (Icon-UserLookup) to search for a SharePoint or Active Directory user or SharePoint group* in the User Lookup form.
    • Enter a lookup to e-mail address, user, or group* data using the Add Lookup button Button-AddLookup in the User Lookup form.
    • Type an e-mail address user@domain.com.

      * Groups in a recipient property (To, CC, and BCC) will be expanded to send an e-mail to each user in the group. SharePoint groups are only valid for recipient addresses and cannot be used as a From address.

Subject (Required) Enter a Subject line for the e-mail by typing text in the property field or by clicking the Icon-Ellipsis button to open the text editor. Add lookups to the Subject using the Add Lookup button in the text editor.
Body Enter text for the Body of the e-mail by typing text in the property field or by clicking the Icon-Ellipsis button to open the rich text editor. Add lookups and text formatting to the Body text using the rich text editor. To add a hyperlink in the e-mail body that has a display name different from the URL (e.g., Bamboo instead of http://www.bamboosolutions.com), enter the hyperlink in the following format, including the surrounding brackets ([]): [URL(http://url.com) ,_Text(Text to display)]See Lookups and Variables for more information.
Priority Select a priority setting for the message. Available options are Normal (default), Low, and Urgent, or Set Using Lookup, which can lookup to a field containing a value of “Normal”, “Low”, or “Urgent”.
Allow Attachment

Select Yes to add an attachment to the e-mail message. In the Attach Items box, click the Icon-Ellipsis button to select an item that contains a file to attach.

  • If the item you select is in a document library, the document will be attached.
  • If the item you select is a list item, any attachments attached to that list item will be attached to the e-mail.
Click Apply to save the widget settings.

Example of Send E-mail

Return to User Interaction Widgets List

See Also:

Saving workflow templates

Saving workflow templates

Overview of Workflow Conductor Templates

To save a workflow template, follow these steps:

Step Action
1. Save option on menu R4.jpgClick the Save button in the Workflow Conductor ribbon.
2.

save template R4.jpgIn the window that appears, enter a Workflow Name and an optional Description. If you’ve already given the workflow a name and description, they will be displayed.

If the workflow template already exists (and was created by you), click Overwrite existing files.

If desired, check the Add to Shared box to share the template with other workflow designers.

cannot overwrite an existing workflow.jpg

If you fail to check the overwrite box and you were the designer of a template with the same name, a warning will appear.

Icon-WarningIMPORTANT: Workflow uniqueness is defined by the template name and the designer or status (i.e., Shared, Featured). Therefore, if a workflow called Send Email created by Tom Jones exists, Joan Brown can save a template called Send Email as well. Multiple templates with the same name cannot be shared.

3. cannot save without a name.jpgIf you forget to name your workflow template before attempting to save it, the Workflow Name box will be highlighted in red as shown. You cannot save a template without a name.
4. save before publishing R4.jpgYou may try to Publish your workflow before saving the template. If so, you will be prompted with the message shown. We strongly recommend that you save the template before publishing.

pub without saving R4.jpgIf you click No to the prompt, deciding not to save the template before publishing, a warning message will be presented. You can choose to proceed to publish without saving, however it is not advisable.

Sample Request Feedback Workflow and Tasks

Sample Request Feedback Workflow and Tasks

SA08RequestFeedbackWidgetEx1.jpgThe screenshot here shows a configured Request Feedback widget with the following properties:

  1. One Reviewer name is a Lookup to the workflow initiator.
  2. One Reviewer is a SharePoint group, which will NOT be expanded – only one task will be assigned for the group.
    All Reviewers must respond for the feedback task to be complete.
  3. The Task Description includes lookups to the list item Name and a workflow initialization form variable. This description will be included in the body of the task notification e-mail, which uses default text configured in the global E-mail Settings.
  4. The Task Due Date will be set to a due date collected in a workflow initialization form variable.
  5. Reassignment and Request Change are allowed.

SA08ReqFbkEx1-InitForm.jpgWhen this workflow runs, the workflow initiator is prompted to enter a Due Date for the task using a workflow initialization form configured with the workflow. For details on configuring workflow initialization forms, see the Workflow Forms section.

SA08ReqFbkEx1-TasksA.jpgAfter the workflow initiator enters a Due Date, the workflow starts by assigning tasks to the workflow initiator and the SharePoint group, as shown here.

sa08taskassignemail.jpgIn this example, e-mail notifications are sent to each person or group assigned a task.

SA08ReqFbkEx1-taskform.jpg

Each reviewer now has the option to complete the review task and provide comments in the task form.

In this form, a reviewer has the following options:

  1. Enter comments (optional).
  2. Click Send Feedback.
  3. Reassign the task to another user using Reassign Task (see the Reassign Task topic for more details).
  4. Create a new task for the item using Request Change (see the Request Change topic for more details).
  5. Cancel and do nothing at this time.


Run Parallel Widget

Run Parallel Widget

The Run Parallel widget branches a workflow into two or more parallel paths, allowing a sequence of widgets in each path to run concurrently. The Run Parallel widget acts a container for other widgets. Simply drag and drop other widgets into any branch in the desired order of execution.

Widget Properties:

Column Description
Number of Branches

Select from two up to five parallel paths. The Run Parallel widget has no additional properties beyond the common properties that all widgets share.

It is simply a container for other widgets.

NOTE: This feature Requires Workflow Conductor version 3.5 or later. Earlier versions are limited to two parallel paths per widget, but can be nested for additional branching.

Example Using Run Parallel Widget

Return to Workflow Logic Widgets List

See Also:

Run PowerShell Script

Run PowerShell ScriptThis widget is not available in Workflow Conductor for SharePoint 2007.

SA08RunPowerShellScript.jpgThe Run PowerShell Script widget runs a Windows PowerShell script. The widget has the following features and options:

  • Supports the use of lookups and workflow variables in the PowerShell script.
  • Save script output to a workflow variable for use later in the workflow.
  • The script will be run with the permissions of the user account configured in the widget.
  • The widget will execute the script in the context of WebAppool account.

NOTE: In a SharePoint environment with multiple Web front-end servers, the script will be executed on the server where the workflow instance is currently running.

Return to External Data Widgets

See Also:

Running Conductor Workflows on List Items

Running Conductor Workflows on List Items

You can run workflows on individual list items or from a SharePoint site, depending on how the workflow was published. Most workflows are run on list items. All workflows deployed as solutions or published to the list, site, or site collection are started on individual list items.

Workflows created and deployed with Workflow Conductor Studio are automatically associated with the list or library where you launched Conductor Studio, and are started just like any other SharePoint workflow. Workflow start options can be configured when the workflow is designed, and can be changed after the workflow is deployed. If the workflow was configured to start automatically when an item is created, changed, or published, the workflow will start when one of those actions takes place.

If the workflow is configured to allow it to be manually started, you can start it as follows:

Step Action Result
1.

In the list or library where the workflow is associated, start the workflow using any of these methods:

  • Choose Workflows from a list item shortcut menu
  • Click the Workflows button in the Documents or Items tab of the Tools ribbon
  • Click the Workflows button while viewing the properties for an item
sa08_2010StartWFfromItemMenu.jpg
You can also run a workflow from the List Ribbon.
sa08_2010StartWFfromRibbon.jpg
2. A list of all workflows available for the list or library is displayed, and includes Workflow Conductor workflows and any available SharePoint workflows. Select the workflow you want to run. sa08_2010ChooseWorkflow.jpg
3. If the workflow you choose has an initialization form associated with it, the form is also displayed. Enter any required information and click Start Workflow to start the workflow. sa08_2010WorkflowForm.jpg
Users with workflow Designer permissions have additional options to start the workflow in Simulation Mode and to override widget Logging Level settings.

Workflows published as site workflows are started in the SharePoint site, not on list items.

See Also:

Running Site Workflows

Running Site Workflows

If the workflow was published as a site workflow (instead of to the list, site, or site collection), it is started from the All Site Content page of the site. Site workflows do not run on individual list items, though they may reference specific lists or items.

To start a site workflow:

Step Action Result
1.

In the site where the workflow is associated, click the gear icon, then select Site Contents.

If using SharePoint 2010, click the All Site Content link in the Quick Launch menu, or go to Site Actions > View All Site Content.

sp2013 site contents.png

Gear icon menu in SP2013.

sa08_2010_ViewAllSiteContent-menu.jpg

sa08_2010_ViewAllSiteContent-link.jpg

2. Click the Site Workflows link in the content page start site workflow.png

Site Workflows link in SP2013

sa08_2010_siteworkflowstart.jpg

Site Workflows link in SP2010

3. A list of all workflows available for the site is displayed, and includes Workflow Conductor workflows and any available SharePoint workflows. Select the workflow you want to run. sa08_2010ChooseSiteWorkflow.jpg
4. If the workflow you choose has a Workflow Initialization Form associated with it, the form is also displayed. Enter any required information and click Start Workflow to start the workflow. Users with workflow Designer permissions have additional options to start the workflow in Simulation Mode and to override widget Workflow Conductor Studio Logging Level settings.

See Also:

Retracting and removing a solution from the Web application

Retracting and removing a solution from the Web application

If you are certain the workflow solution will no longer be used anywhere, you can completely remove it from the Web application. This will terminate any running instances of the workflow. The workflow will no longer be available as a feature in the site collection and it cannot be associated to any list or library.

SiteAdmin
You must be a member of the Farm Administrators SharePoint group to perform these procedures. The table below contains steps for either SharePoint 2007 or SharePoint 2010 although at times the steps are identical for each version and platform.

Step For Workflow Conductor 1.0 or 1.1 and 1.5 for SharePoint 2007 Workflow Conductor 1.5
for SharePoint 2010
1. Go to Settings > Associated Workflows in each list or library the workflow is associated with. Click the Associated Workflows button in the List/Library tab of the Tools ribbon in each list or library the workflow is associated with.
sa08_2010ToolsAssociatedWFs.jpg
2. Locate the workflow you want to remove in the workflow list and click the Delete link.
SA08_kb12458_06.jpg
Locate the workflow you want to remove in the workflow list and click the Delete link.
sa08_2010WorkflowAssociations.jpg
3.

Workflow Conductor 1.0 or 1.1:
In the Central Administration Web application, go to the Operations tab.

Workflow Conductor 1.5:
In the Central Administration Web application, go to the Workflow Conductor Control Panel tab.

In the Central Administration Web application, click the Workflow Conductor category name.
sa08_kb12500_03.jpg
4.

Workflow Conductor 1.0 or 1.1:
In the Global Configuration section, click Solution Management.

Workflow Conductor 1.5:
In the Workflow Conductor Control Panel, click Workflow Solution Management.

In the Workflow Conductor Control Panel, click Workflow Solution Management.
5. Locate the workflow in the solution list and click on its name to view the Solution Properties.
sa08CPSolutionMgmt.jpg
6. In the Solution Properties page, click Retract Solution.
SA08_kb12500_01.jpg
7. Select a time to retract the solution, and then click OK. The Solution Management page will refresh.
8. Locate the workflow in the solution list again. Verify its Status has updated to Not Deployed.
sa08CPSolutionMgmt-WFStatus.jpg
Click the solution name to return to the Solution Properties page.
9. In the Solution Properties page, click Remove Solution.
SA08_kb12500_02.jpg
10. Confirm that you want to remove the solution. The Solution Management page will refresh and the workflow will no longer be listed.

After you have removed the existing solution, you can deploy a new version of the workflow with the same name as the old version.

See Also:

Request Approval Widget

Request Approval Widget

The Request Approval widget assigns one or more users or groups a task to review and approve an item in a list or library, and then branches the workflow based on whether the item is approved or rejected. Assigned approval tasks are completed using a Workflow Conductor task form.

Icon-Warning Widget Limitation: If the Approver property is a lookup to another SharePoint column, the following SharePoint column type and data format limitations apply for the lookup value:

  • For Person or Group columns, person or group data can be displayed using any user information field, as long as that field has data. For example: Users displayed as Name, Account, Work e-mail, User name, etc., can all be used as approvers. Multiple entries are supported for Person or Group columns.
  • For Single line of text columns, the value must be an account name (DOMAINUsername) or SharePoint group name (e-mail addresses are not supported). Multiple entries are supported for Single line of text columns, separated by semicolons (;).
  • Calculated columns are supported with the same format limitations as Single line of text columns.
  • A lookup to a Choice column with the option Checkboxes (allow multiple selections) selected will only work if a single entry is checked.
  • Lookups to SharePoint Lookup columns are not supported.

Widget Properties:

Column Description
Select Item (Required)

Select the item on which the approval process will be run. This can be run on the item from which the workflow was started (default behavior), or on a different item in the same list or a different list.

  • Leave the default selection of Current Item to run the approval process against the item from which the workflow was started.

  • Change the item selection to External List Lookup to run the approval process on a different item in the same list or in a different list. When using this option, select the Site Collection, Site, and List where the item you want to run the approval on is stored. These can either be explicitly defined through dropdown selections, or the values for these can be dynamically pulled from a lookup. Next, provide a field and field value that will be used to find which item in the list will be used.

Approvers (Required)

Enter one or more users or groups who need to approve or reject the item. Each approver is assigned a task when the widget runs. Approver names can be entered using any of the following methods:

  • Type a SharePoint or Active Directory display name or account name for a user or group and click the Check User icon (Icon-Checkmark). Separate multiple users with a semicolon (;).

  • Click the Lookup User icon (Icon-UserLookup) to search for a SharePoint or Active Directory user or group in the User Lookup form.

  • Enter a lookup to user or group data using the Add Lookup button (Button-AddLookup) in the User Lookup form.
Expand Groups

If a SharePoint group is entered in the Approvers property, the Expand Groups setting determines whether a single task is assigned to the entire group or if a separate task is assigned to each member of the group:

  • Select Yes to assign each user in the group a task, as if each name was entered individually in the Approvers property.
  • Select No to assign one task to the entire group. Only one user in the group needs to complete the task.

    NOTE: The owner of the group is considered a member of the group and is also assigned a task. The only exception is when the owner is the default system account, which will not be assigned a task.

Approval Type

Select the number of approvals required for an item to follow the Approved path:

  • All Approvals Required: All users and groups who were assigned approval tasks must approve the item for the workflow to follow the Approved path. If any user or group rejects the item, the workflow follows the Rejected path. The widget is finished when all approvers approve the item or when one approver rejects it.
  • One Approval Required: Only one user or group must approve the item for the workflow to follow the Approved path. Any rejections that occur before an approval are ignored. Any incomplete tasks will be marked Completed as soon as one user or group approves the item. If all assigned users and groups reject the item, the workflow will follow the Rejected path. The widget is finished as soon as one approver approves the item or when all approvers reject it.
  • Multiple Approvals Required: Allows you to specify how many users or groups must approve an item for the workflow to follow the Approved path. If the specified number of approvers approves the item, the workflow follows the Approved path. Any incomplete tasks will be marked Completed as soon as the required number of approvals has been reached. If all approvers respond and the required number of approvals has not been reached, the workflow follows the Rejected path. The widget is finished as soon as the required number of approvers approves the item or when all approvers respond.
Send Task Assignment Emails

Select an option to determine if the widget will send notification e-mails to approvers:

  • Select Yes to send an e-mail to approvers when a task is assigned.
  • Select No to assign the task without sending task assignment e-mail.
Send Status Emails to Initiator

Select an option to determine if the widget will send notification e-mails to the workflow initiator:

  • Select Yes to send an e-mail to workflow initiators when all tasks are completed.
    Select No to allow tasks to be completed without notification email being sent to the workflow initiator.
Task Name Enter a custom task name for the approver task (e.g., “Approve Expense Report”). This task name is how the task is displayed in SharePoint and Microsoft Office Workflow Task forms. If you do not enter a Task Name, a default name of “Please Approve ItemName” is assigned when the widget runs. The task name, and other task properties, can be referenced in notification e-mails using the Current Task Easy Reference.
Task Description Enter an optional task description for the approver task (e.g., “Please review and approve this expense report.”). This task description is displayed in task forms. To add a hyperlink in the task description that has a display name different from the URL (e.g., Bamboo instead of http://www.bamboosolutions.com), enter the hyperlink in the following format, including the surrounding brackets ([ ]): [_URL(http://url.com) ,_Text(Text to display)] (see Lookups and Variables for more information). The task description, and other task properties, can be referenced in notification e-mails using the Current Task Easy Reference.
Notification Subject/Body Customize the subject and body for the notification e-mail sent for the original Request Approval task. Default text can be specified in the Request Approval Task Notification sections of the Workflow Conductor Control Panel E-mail Settings.
Send Reminder:

Send a reminder email to task assignees some number of days before a task’s due date is reached.

NOTE: This feature requires Workflow Conductor version 3.5 or later.

Days Before Due Date (Required if Send Reminder=Yes) This parameter appears when Send Reminder is set to Yes. Enter the number of days prior to the Due Date that the reminder email should be sent. This can be set explicitly, or the value can be set dynamically at runtime using a lookup.
Reminder Subject/Body: Customize the subject and body for the reminder notification e-mail sent to task assignees prior to the task Due Date. Default text can be specified in the Request Approval sections of the Workflow Conductor Control Panel E-mail Settings.
Escalate Overdue:

Reassign a task to a specified person if it passes the task Due Date without being completed.

NOTE: This feature requires Workflow Conductor version 3.5 or later.

Escalate To (Required if Escalate Overdue=Yes):

This parameter appears if Escalate Overdue is set to Yes. Enter a single SharePoint or Active Directory user to escalate the task to, using one of the following methods:

  • Type a display name or account name for a SharePoint or Active Directory user or SharePoint group* and click the Check User icon (Icon-Checkmark).
  • Click the Lookup User icon (Icon-UserLookup) to search for a SharePoint or Active Directory user or SharePoint group* in the User Lookup form.
  • Enter a lookup to user data using the Add Lookup button (Button-AddLookup) in the User Lookup form.

    NOTE: Groups will be expanded to send an escalation notification e-mail to each user in the group. A single task exists for the group. The task is marked Completed when any member of the group submits the task form.

Escalation Subject/Body: Customize the subject and body for the reminder notification e-mail sent to task assignees prior to the task Due Date. Default text can be specified in the Request Approval section of the Workflow Conductor Control Panel E-mail Settings.
Days Until Due Enter the number of days until the task is due. You can enter a specific number or use a lookup. The number of days is added to the current date at the time the widget is run to determine the Due Date for each approver task. The calculated task Due Date is included in the task notification e-mail. If you do not enter a Days Until Due value, the Due Date property will be used, if there is one, or the task Due Date will be empty.
Due Date

Enter a Due Date for the task. You can enter a specific date using the calendar control or use a lookup. Unlike the Days Until Due property, this property sets a specific Due Date for the task. This is useful in situations where a particular deadline must be met. The task Due Date is included in the task notification e-mail. If you do not enter a Due Date, the value in the Days Until Due property will be used, if there is one, or the task Due Date will be empty.

NOTE: If both the Due Date and Days Until Due properties are defined, the task Due Date field will be set to the earlier of the two dates. If neither is defined, the task Due Date field will be blank.

Allow Reassignment
  • Select Yes to allow approvers to delegate their task to another user. If reassignment is allowed, a Reassign Task button is displayed at the bottom of the task form. See the Reassign Task topic for more details about this option.
  • Select No if you do not want approvers to be able to delegate tasks to other users.

    icon-video2 See a Video example of a workflow that allows re-assignment.

Allow Request Change
  • Select Yes to allow approvers to create a new task for the item that must be completed before the approver task is completed. If change requests are allowed, a Request Change button is displayed at the bottom of the task form. See the Request Change topic for more details about this option.
  • Select No if you do not want approvers to be able to create new tasks using the task form.
Save Comments To Each approver has the opportunity to enter comments when completing an approval task. You can view task comments in the completed task. If the Send Email property is sent to Yes, a summary of all comments is e-mailed to the workflow initiator when the widget is finished running. You can also store the comments in a workflow variable for use later in the workflow. To assign a workflow variable, select a Text data type variable from the Save Comments To list. Create variables in the Workflow Settings tab in the settings pane, or click the Create new variable link next to the variable list. If multiple approvers enter comments, each comment is appended to the workflow variable.
Allow Attachment Allow an attachment to be included in the task notification email. The attached item can be the item on which the workflow was started (default behavior), or on a different item in the same list or in a different list.
Item to Attach (Required if Allow Attachment=Yes)

Select which item will be attached to the email:

  • Leave the default selection of Current Item to attach the item on which the workflow was started to the task notification email.
  • Change the item selection to External List Lookup to a different item in the same document library or in a different document library. When using this option, select the Site Collection, Site, and Document Library where the item you want to attach is stored. These can either be explicitly defined through dropdown selections, or the values for these can be dynamically pulled from a lookup. Next, provide a field and field value that will be used to find which item in the list will be used.
Click Apply to save the widget settings.

Examples of Request Approval Widget

Return to User Interaction Widgets List

See Also:

Request Change

Request Change

sa08allowrequestchgprop.jpgRequest Change is an option reviewers and approvers have when completing Request Feedback and Request Approval tasks, and is not a separate widget. This option allows a reviewer or approver to create a new task for another user or group that must be completed before the original review or approval task. The Request Change option is available if the Allow Request Change property for the Request Feedback or Request Approval Widget is set to Yes, as shown here. If this property is set to Yes, a Request Change button is displayed at the bottom of the feedback or approval task form.

To create a Request Change task for another user or group, edit a Request Feedback or Request Approval task assigned to you:

Step Action Result
1. Click the Request Change button at the bottom of the review or approval task form. sa08requestchange.jpg
2. Enter a single user or group in the Assign Task To box, enter a due date in the Due Date* box (if the task needs one), and enter a Description for the task.

sa08changerequest.jpg

NOTE: The earliest Due Date is always used. Forexample, if the reviewer or approver assigns a Due Date that is earlier than the Due Date in the original task, the workflow uses the new Due Date. However, if the reviewer or approver assigns a Due Date that is later than the Due Date in the original task, then the workflow uses the Due Date in the original task.

3. Click Submit to assign the Request Change task.

sa08changereqtask.jpg

After you click Submit in the Request Change form, several things happen:

  • A new task is created for the user or group you entered in the Assign Task To box.
  • If the Send Email property in the Request Feedback or Request Approval Widget is set to Yes, the new user or group is sent a notification e-mail. You can customize the content of this e-mail in the Request Feedback or Request Approval widget Request Change Subject/Body properties. Default text is specified in the Request Approval or Request Feedback Task Change Request sections of the Workflow Conductor Control Panel E-mail Settings.
  • The original task status is updated to Completed.
  • The Outcome field for the original task and the Description field for the new task show the Request Change details.

sa08changereqtaskcomplete.jpg

  • When the user or group assigned to the Request Change task completes the task, you are assigned a copy of your original review or approval task to complete.