Workflows

In the “Workflows” section, you can create new and configure workflows. For this purpose, a graphic workflow designer that can be used to assemble workflows according to Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) is at your disposal. Furthermore, you can export, edit, rename, export and delete existing workflows. And you can import workflows.

2. Enter an identifier for the workflow in the “Identifier” field. 
3. Enter names for the different locales.
   1. Click on the   button in the “Name” field. Then you will be directed to another slider that features individual input fields for the different locales.
   2. Enter the localized names in the respective input fields.
   3. Click on the  BACK button to get back to the previous slider.

Configure workflows

This section explains how to configure a workflow using the example of a workflow with a single task that is assigned to newly created products. Via the workflow task it is checked whether a plain text is maintained for the respective products. If that is the case, the first status traffic light turns green and the workflow is completed.

1. Choose a workflow from the workflow directory.
   Possibly use the text search to filter the list of workflows by a search term.
2. Move the mouse cursor over the workflow. As you do so, a menu bar with different buttons appears.
3. Click on the button to activate the editing mode.

4. Set a start event:
   1. In the tool bar, click on the button and place the start event in the workspace.
   2. Double-click on the start event and enter an identifier in the input field that appears below the start event.

5. Add a task:
   1. In the tool bar, click on the button place the task in the workspace.
   2. Double-click on the task and enter an identifier in the input field that appears below the task.
6. Add an end event. To to so, click on the button in the tool bar and place the end event in the workspace.

7. Connect the start event to the task:
   1. Double-click on the start event.
   2. In the tool bar, click on the button.
   3. Click on the task to establish the connection.
8. Connect the task to the end event:
   1. Double-click on the task.
   2. In the tool bar, click on the button.
   3. Click on the end event to establish the connection.
9. Click on the SAVE button to save your input.

Fear each connection, you can specify a message. When the following task is assigned to a particular product, the message is written on the attribute Message “(IPIM_TASKS_MESSAGE)”. And for the respective task, the message is shown on the dashboard of the “Product details” app. It can be called up via the button.

1. Click on the start event.
2. Activate the “Config” tab.
3. In the “Attribute” field, enter a keyword. In this example, the key word effects that the first task of the workflow is assigned to newly created products. The keyword for this purpose can be specifed via the property workflow.newproduct (in this example it is “NEWPROD”)*.
4. Possibly enter a description in the “Description” field.
5. Click on the SAVE button to save your input.

1. Click on the connection.
2. Activate the “Config” tab.
3. From the “User role” menu, select the workflow role of the following task.
4. Via the “Mailing” menu, possibly specify which notification is sent. Notifications can be specified in the “Notifications” area of the “System setup” section in iPIM CC.

Configure the task

In this step, the task is configured. On the one hand, a JavaScript rule is specified as the prerequisite. The JavaScript rule checks whether plain texts are maintained. Additionally, an effect is specified. The effect is that the first status traffic light turns green if a plain text is maintained for the respective products.

3. From the “Workbox” menu, select the appropriate workbox role.

1. Activate the “Prerequisites” tab.
2. Click on the CREATE button to generate a new prerequisite.
3. Click on the button to expand the corresponding input fields.

4. From the “Javascript rule” menu, select the appropriate JavaScript rule*.
5. Specify the error message that is shown if a user tries to finish the task though the specified prerequisite is not fulfilled. To do so, click on the button in the “Message” field and enter the multilingual messages in the input fields of the dialog box that appears afterwards.

*The screenshot on the right-hand side shows a JavasScript rule that checks if plain texts are maintained for the respective products.

1. Activate the “Effects” tab.
2. Click on the CREATE button to generate a new prerequisite.
3. Click on the button to expand the corresponding input fields.

4. From the “Attribute” menu, select the attribute whose attribute value is modified once the task was finished successfully. In this case it is the first status traffic light “Article.Status1”.
5. In the “New value” field, enter the new value for the attribute resp. select it from the menu.
6. Enter the multilingual descriptions for the effect. To do so, click on the button in the “Name” field and enter the multilingual names in the input fields of the dialog box that appears afterwards.

After finishing the task successfully, the workflow described above proceeds to the end point and is finished. In a workflow that has multiple tasks, the workflow proceeds to the next task once a task was finished until it eventuelly reaches the endpoint.

1. Choose a workflow from the workflow directory.
   Possibly use the text search to filter the list of workflows by a search term.
2. Move the mouse cursor over the workflow. As you do, a menu bar with several buttons appears.
3. Click on the button to activate the editing mode.
4. Make the desired changes.
5. Click on the SAVE button to save your changes.

1. Choose a workflow from the workflow directory.
   Possibly use the text search to filter the list of workflows by a search term.
2. Move the mouse cursor over the workflow. As you do, a menu bar with several buttons appears.
3. Click on “ Rename” button to call up the corresponding dialog box.
4. Possibly modify the identifiers.
5. Possibly modify the multilingual names.
6. Click on the SAVE button to save your changes.

1. Choose a workflow from the workflow directory.
   Possibly use the text search to filter the list of workflows by a search term.
2. Move the mouse cursor over the workflow. As you do, a menu bar with several buttons appears.
3. Click on the button to show the corresponding submenu.

1. Click on thebutton in the lower left corner of the “Workflow processes” card.
2. Click on the “ Import” to call up the corresponding dialog box.

1. Drag the import file over the drop area and drop it there. Or click on the “ Browse files” button to call up the import file via the file manager. Following this, the file is loaded into the cache and the file name is shown below the drop area.
2. Click on the IMPORT button to finalise the import.

1. Choose a workflow from the workflow directory.
   Possibly use the text search to filter the list of workflows by a search term.
2. Move the mouse cursor over the workflow. As you do, a menu bar with several buttons appears.
3. Click on the button. Following this, the button appears.
4. Click on the button to confirm the deleting.

FAQ

What can you do in the “Workflows” section?

In the “Workflows” section, you can create new and configure workflows according to project-specific requirements. Furthermore, existing workflows can be edited, renamed, exported, imported and deleted here.

Which tool is used to assemble workflows, and according to which notation?

A graphic workflow designer is at your disposal for assembling workflows, which can be used to assemble workflows according to Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN).

What basic elements does a simple workflow consist of?

A simple workflow consists of a start event, at least one task and an end event, which are connected to each other via connections. In a workflow that has multiple tasks, the workflow proceeds to the next task once a task was finished until it eventually reaches the end event.

Can users specify a message for a connection?

Yes, for each connection, you can specify a message. When the following task is assigned to a particular product, the message is written on the attribute Message “(IPIM_TASKS_MESSAGE)” and is shown on the dashboard of the “Product details” app for the respective task.

How do you specify which newly created products the first task of a workflow is automatically assigned to?

In the “Attribute” field of the start event, you enter a keyword, which can be specified via the property workflow.newproduct. Newly created products to which this keyword is assigned are then automatically assigned the first task of the workflow.

Is there an alternative to a specified keyword for triggering a workflow for a product?

Yes, alternatively to a specified keyword, you can also enter the identifier of an attribute. Once a value is set for the attribute, the workflow is triggered and the respective product is passed to the workflow.

Where can the notifications selectable via the “Mailing” menu be specified?

Notifications can be specified in the “Notifications” area of the “System setup” section in iPIM CC.

What happens if a user tries to finish a task even though the specified prerequisite is not fulfilled?

In this case, the error message specified in the “Message” field of the prerequisite is shown, which prevents the task from being finished as long as the prerequisite is not fulfilled.

What happens to the workflow once a task has been finished successfully?

After finishing the task successfully, the workflow proceeds to the end point and is finished. In a workflow that has multiple tasks, the workflow proceeds to the next task once a task was finished until it eventually reaches the endpoint.