Workflow templates

Each communication template has a corresponding workflow template which determines the workflow the communications will follow, e.g. for reviews and notifications.

When a communication template is created, it has a default workflow template. This can be edited in the Workflow Designer, which opens in a new window.

Workflow templates can be saved in the Workflow Designer to be used with other communication templates.

View workflow templates

Note See Contract financial mapping for information specific to mapping templates.

See Workflow activity types for more information about the activities which can be added to a workflow.

Routing workflow templates

1. Navigate to the Communication Templates page in the Best Practice Library or on the Contract Configuration page (see Communication templates).

2. Click the drop-down arrow for the communication template, and select View Routing Workflow Template from the menu.

3. The Workflow Designer opens in a new window. Sign in to CONNECT if required.

   The routing workflow template is displayed as read-only.

Notification workflow templates

4. Navigate to the Communication Templates page in the Best Practice Library or on the Contract Configuration page (see Communication templates).

5. Click the drop-down arrow for the communication template, and select View Notification Workflow Template from the menu.

6. The Workflow Designer opens in a new window. Sign in to CONNECT if required.

   The notification workflow template is displayed as read-only.

Edit workflow templates

Note See Contract financial mapping in the Admin help for information specific to mapping templates.

Workflow templates can be edited by users with the following contract roles:

• Contract Owner

• Contract Administrator

• Contract Process Owner

• Company Representative

Routing workflow templates

7. Navigate to the Communication Templates page in the Best Practice Library or on the Contract Configuration page (see Communication templates).

8. Click the drop-down arrow for the template you want to edit, and select Edit Routing Workflow Template from the menu.

9. The Workflow Designer opens in a new window. Sign in to CONNECT if required.

   The routing workflow template is displayed as editable.

10. Activities can be added to the workflow by dragging them from the toolbox on the left-hand side of the Designer into the correct position in the Workflow Steps area.

    See Workflow activity types more information about the activities which can be added to a workflow.

    To remove an activity from the Workflow Steps area, right-click on its header and select Delete.

    To move an activity to a different position in the workflow, drag it to the new location between the two arrows.

    Warning If a red alert appears next to an item in the workflow, it is invalid and the workflow will not run. Because this alert is displayed at all invalid levels, you may need to trace through the workflow steps to find the attribute or activity which is invalid.

11. When the workflow is complete, click Save from the File menu.

    The template is checked for validation errors. If it is invalid, communications cannot be created from the communication template which uses this routing workflow template.

Notification workflow templates

12. Navigate to the Communication Templates page in the Best Practice Library or on the Contract Configuration page (see Communication templates).

13. Click the drop-down arrow for the template you want to edit, and select Edit Notification Workflow Template from the menu.

14. The Workflow Designer opens in a new window. Sign in to CONNECT if required.

    The notification workflow template is displayed as editable.

15. If necessary, double-click the Notification Workflow area.

    

16. Double-click any of the communication states to update them. Activities can be added by dragging them from the toolbox on the left-hand side of the Designer into the correct position in the workflow.

    See Workflow activity types for more information about the activities which can be added to a workflow.

    To remove an activity from the workflow, right-click on its header and select Delete.

    To move an activity to a different position in the workflow, drag it to the new location between the two arrows.

    Warning If a red alert appears next to an item in the workflow, it is invalid and the workflow will not run. Because this alert is displayed at all invalid levels, you may need to trace through the workflow steps to find the attribute or activity which is invalid.

17. Click the Notification Workflow breadcrumb to update further communication state workflows.

18. When the workflow is complete, click Save from the File menu.

    The template is checked for validation errors. If it is invalid:

    • Communications cannot created from the communication template which uses this notification workflow template.

    • The state cannot be changed for communications created with the communication template which uses this notification workflow template.

Tips

• Field values must be valid Visual Basic (VB) expressions.

• Text must be enclosed in quotation marks, e.g. "Notification"

• Numeric values should not be enclosed in double quotation marks, e.g. 10

• You can include variable names in field values. Click Variables at the bottom of the screen to see a list, and type the name of the appropriate variable into the field; following the name, type a . to display a list of attributes. Double-click the attribute on the list to add it to the VB expression in the field, e.g. Contract.Name

• Use & to concatenate separate strings of text and variable names, e.g. "Notification for " & Contract.Name

• Use Environment.NewLine to include a paragraph break in a block of text, e.g. the Review Guidelines field for a Review activity.

• Custom fields can be included as:

  • Contract.CustomFields.Item("Custom Field 1").FieldType

  • Communication.CustomFields.Item("Custom Field 1").FieldType

    where Custom Field 1 is the name of the custom field and FieldType is the type of field. Possible field types are:

  • Text - Small Text Field, Full Width Text Field, Comments Box

  • Number - Number

  • Date - Date

  • DateAndTime - Date and Time

  • YesOrNo - Yes or No

  • PickListSelectedOption - the option from a PickList

  • Currency - Currency

Save and load workflow templates

You can save routing and notification workflow templates and mapping templates to be reused.

Workflow templates are saved as XAML (eXtensible Application Markup Language).

Save a workflow template for reuse

19. In the Workflow Designer, make any required changes to the workflow template.

20. From the File menu, select Save As.

21. Browse to the location you want to save the file, and enter a File name including a file extension such as .txt.

    Note A file extension is not automatically added; however, the file is saved as XAML.

22. Click Save.

    The file is saved.

Load a workflow template

23. In the Workflow Designer, from the File menu, select Load.

24. Browse to the location of the workflow template file and select it.

    Note The file must be valid XAML (eXtensible Application Markup Language).

25. Click Open.

    The file is opened in the Workflow Designer.