There are four different methods you can use to start workflows, which is referred to as initiation. The first three are available options within the user interface during workflow creation, and the fourth is available from within Information Management Policy settings. Each workflow can be set up to use one or multiple methods of initiation.

When a workflow is set up to be started manually, it uses an initiation form. The person who makes the workflow can create predefined fields to be filled out by the person who manually starts the workflow (the initiator). When workflows are automatically initiated on creation or on change, there is no prompt to fill out a form.

Steps in a workflow define the order in which processes are supposed to happen. Each step can contain conditions and actions. Arrange the steps in the order in which the process should take place.

Conditions can be thought of as rules. According to conditions that are set up, specified actions take place. Conditions are not a required component in a workflow. Actions without conditions in front of them will take place every time the workflow is initiated.

If the first condition is not met, then the next condition is checked. This type of logic requires an Else-If branch. When a condition is reached, and that condition is true, then its actions take place. If you've ever created rules in Microsoft Outlook, then the basic concept is similar.

Each time a workflow is created, it is associated with something in SharePoint. To associate a workflow is to attach it to something. Lists, libraries, content types, and even sites are all things that workflows can be associated with.

Approval workflows are the most commonly used types of workflows in SharePoint, which is a good reason to have a useful base template. The out-of-the-box workflow called "Approval—SharePoint 2010" is easy to set up and is applicable in basic scenarios, such as when a document needs to be approved by a list of people.

The following table describes the fields to fill out when setting up an approval workflow:

The Disposition Approval workflow is meant to be used in order to ensure that SharePoint does not become cluttered with documents that are no longer needed. The disposition approval process entails simply choosing whether a document should be deleted or not. If a document is to be deleted, optionally select a checkbox to indicate if a copy of the item's metadata should be retained in the audit log.

The collect feedback workflow is very similar to the approval workflow. The main difference is that this workflow is not meant to act as a document approval process. Typically, the feedback process would happen in the earlier draft stages of a document's lifecycle. Start this workflow when feedback from multiple individuals or groups is desired.

When this workflow is added to a list or library, the only aspect of the interface that is different from that of the approval workflow, is the fact that there are no options to End on First Rejection or Enable Content Approval. Assign this workflow to reviewers in parallel, so that they can all review the document simultaneously. Workflow participants will have the opportunity to type feedback comments in the tasks that are assigned to them, and will not see Approve and Reject buttons.

The Three-State workflow is a bit more complex than the approval and collect feedback workflows. This workflow entails three stages, and the ability to further customize the way that tasks are assigned and emails are sent. A choice column with at least three choices must exist in the list or library with which this workflow is utilized.

When this workflow is added to a list or library, there is a plethora of settings to fill in. Each of the three states of the workflow consists of settings for tasks, due dates, and emails.

The Collect Signatures workflow can only be initiated from within Microsoft Word or Excel. It collects official signatures on documents, and once they are added, any document changes will render them invalid.

The Web Analytics workflows are the only out-of-the-box site-level workflows. All of the other workflows are meant to be associated with a list or library. Web analytics are numbers that tell the metrics related to site visits and searches. If you are interested in how popular a site is, or how people are finding it, web analytics are a great way stay informed. Some of the types of metrics for alerts and reports are listed here:

The two kinds of workflows are web analytics alerts and web analytics reports.

Web Analytics Alerts

The web analytics alerts allow you to define thresholds. When the threshold is reached, an email alert is sent. Pick a scope of the whole site collection or just the current site, and select a metric and comparison. The conditions to choose from are shown in Figure 5-7.

Figure 5-7. FIGURE 5-7

Notice that there are options to look at the absolute value of a metric, view a comparison of a day or week before, or receive a list of daily new items that exist in the web analytics report, such as any new top referrers.

The first thing to get familiar with is the workflow design interface. Open a SharePoint site in SharePoint Designer 2010, and click Workflows in the left navigation's Site Objects section. The contextual Ribbon contains options for new workflows, editing workflow properties, and workflow management. The main content section of the page displays a list of the existing workflows on the site. By default, the out-of-the-box workflows, such as Approval and Collect Feedback, are already listed. The workflow Ribbon is shown in Figure 5-8.

Figure 5-8. FIGURE 5-8

For existing workflows, there are several configuration options within that workflow's settings page. Figure 5-9 shows the contextual Ribbon options.

Figure 5-9. FIGURE 5-9

The options on the main content section of the page differ depending on the type of workflow.

Workflow Information

The workflow information is basic data such as the name and description of the workflow. Some of these basics will vary according to the type of workflow. Simply click on the name or description to edit them. Figure 5-10 shows an example of the Workflow Information section for a list workflow.

Figure 5-10. FIGURE 5-10

• Name: Descriptive naming of workflows is important not only for you as the workflow's creator but also for the workflow initiator as well. The name should give you a quick indication of what the workflow does and what it is associated with. For workflows that automatically run when items are created or changed, the end users won't see the names. As the administrator, you will see the list of workflow names when administrating the workflows. In the preceding example, the workflow has been named "Create Announcements," since it runs each time a new announcement is created.

• Description: When workflows are manually initiated, this description will be displayed to end users along with the workflow name. Describe to the user why they would run this workflow.

• Type: This is the workflow type, such as List Workflow, Site Workflow, or Reusable Workflow.

• Associated List: List workflows will display the name of the associated list.

• Content Type: Reusable workflows will display the name of the content type that they are associated with.

The Workflow Editor is the meat and potatoes of the workflow. This is where most of your work is done. Figure 5-11 shows the Ribbon commands available, which will now be explained.

Figure 5-11. FIGURE 5-11

There are several conditions available, depending on which type of workflow is being created. Multiple conditions can be selected, and the workflow can be set up to look at ALL or ANY of them. As shown in Figure 5-12, when conditions are set, the "and" link can be toggled to "or."

Figure 5-12. FIGURE 5-12

The following table contains a list of conditions, with their descriptions, along with the types of workflows in which they are available. There are additional conditions related to item permissions, which are covered separately in the section that follows, called "Impersonation Step."

Whether or not any conditions exist in a workflow, actions are the activities that happen when a workflow is triggered. In this section, each action will be described, with some examples included. There are additional actions related to item permissions, which are covered separately in the section that follows, called "Impersonation Step."

Task Actions

The assignment of tasks plays a huge role in many workflows; therefore, there are several different methods that can be used to assign tasks from within the Workflow Designer. The first three task actions are compared in the following table. For each of these actions that will take place, the workflow waits until the task or tasks are completed before moving on to the next action. Each task that is created will contain a Complete Task button for the assignee to click.

ACTION	RETURNS TASK ID AS VARIABLE	ASSIGN TO MULTIPLE GROUPS AND USERS	DESCRIPTION
Assign a Form to a Group	No	Yes	Define task title and fields for the assignee to fill out.
Assign a To-do Item	No	Yes	Define a task title.
Collect Data from a User	Yes	No	Define task title and fields to be filled out.

Figure 5-14 shows the interface in Assign a Form to a Group and Assign a To-do Item when multiple users are selected for task assignment. The person who created the current item, the person who modified the current item, and the SharePoint group called Approvers will all be assigned tasks to complete. On the left side of the screen, users who have never visited the site will not be listed, but they can still be added by manually typing their names in the Type a Name or E-mail Address box.

Figure 5-14. FIGURE 5-14

New to SharePoint 2010 are three customizable task processes that exist as actions in a workflow. These processes are workflows within a workflow, each with its own custom interface to set up task process options. Read more about the Task Process Designer in the section called "Workflow Tasks and History."

• Start Approval Process: This action is designed as a standard approval workflow, which can be customized according to your business requirements. The assignees will approve or reject the item that is assigned to them.

• Start Feedback Process: This process is the basis for the out-of-the-box "Collect Feedback" workflow. The only task outcome is for the assignee to mark the task as Completed.

• Start Custom Task Process: This action contains a blank template of some standard task workflow steps.

In SharePoint Designer workflows, impersonation steps are created when workflows need to write to lists or libraries that the person running the workflow does not necessarily have access to. Impersonation steps run as the person who created the workflow, which is typically a site manager/owner who has a higher level of permissions than most other site users. By default, when a new workflow is created, there is a single step called "Step 1," and when the cursor is placed inside of step 1, notice that the Impersonation Step button in the ribbon is grayed out. Click the cursor outside of Step 1, so that the orange blinking line shows below it, as seen in Figure 5-15, and notice that the Impersonation Step button is not disabled anymore.

Figure 5-15. FIGURE 5-15

Click the Impersonation Step button to add this type of step to the workflow. The following table shows a list of impersonation workflow conditions.

Figure 5-16 shows an impersonation condition.

Figure 5-16. FIGURE 5-16

Impersonation Steps also contain a set of actions that do not exist in non-impersonation steps. The following are the impersonation actions, which are located in the List Actions section.

In the previous version of the product, there was a commonly asked question about starting workflows. "Why does it take so many clicks to initiate a workflow? Can't I just click a button there on the item?" This issue has been addressed in SharePoint 2010, with the ability to create Custom Actions in SharePoint Designer 2010. This is not done from within the workflows, but from within the Lists and Libraries.

In SharePoint Designer, click Lists & Libraries on the left, and click the name of a list. Click inside of the Custom Actions section at the bottom right. A new Custom Actions section of the Ribbon will appear. The Custom Actions button is a drop-down box, shown in Figure 5-17.

Figure 5-17. FIGURE 5-17

Click the name of the location that you would like this new button to appear. After the name and description have been typed, choose the Initiate Workflow option, and pick the name of a workflow from the drop-down box. Only workflows that are associated with the list will be displayed here.

Variables and parameters are values that are used within a workflow. Parameters are values that are filled in on an initiation form by a user when the workflow is being manually started. Variables are values that exist within the workflow only while it is running, and were defined earlier in the chapter in the section called "Variables." As you work through the next example, the meaning of a variable will become more clear within the context of the workflow.

Emails are one of the most common actions in workflows, and are also heavily customizable. The interface for workflow email creation has been changed a lot from the previous version of the product. There is already an easy alternative, which is to create alerts on all SharePoint lists and libraries. Sometimes these canned alerts are not enough. Create workflow emails when they need to be more specific and customized.

TRY IT OUT: Creating a Workflow Email

In the previous Try It Out, you created a workflow in order to calculate a total and set information in a field. In this Try It Out, you will add on to the "Create Store Order" workflow by adding an email action to let the recipient know the details of his or her order, and that it was received.

1. In SharePoint Designer 2010, open the workflow that was created in the previous Try It Out section. Click Edit Workflow.

2. Inside of Step 1, put the cursor directly under the last action, and add a new Action to Send an Email.

3. Click the text "these users" to bring up the Define E-mail Message interface.

4. Click the address book icon next to the To box, choose "User who created current item," click the Add button and click OK.

5. Click the ellipsis button next to the Subject box. This lets you create a string that combines free-form text with values from the form.

6. Fill in the String Builder as shown in Figure 5-26. The Add or Change Lookup button at the bottom of the String Builder is used to insert the Store Item text into the string. Click OK on both dialog boxes.

   

   Figure 5-26. FIGURE 5-26

7. The body of the email can contain some "Thank You" text, and optionally details about the order, such as the item, price, quantity, and total. Use the Add or Change lookup button to add each field's value.

8. The Price is the tricky field, since that value is a lookup to an item in another list. Figure 5-27 shows an example of the email message, with the Price lookup interface displayed. See the earlier note that explains the concept of creating lookups to other lists.

   

   Figure 5-27. FIGURE 5-27

9. The last thing to add to the email is a link for the email recipient to open the order in SharePoint. Put the cursor at the end of the email, and click the hyperlink icon to insert a hyperlink.

10. For the Text to display, type: Click to view order.

11. For the address, the URL cannot be a relative URL, and must be absolute. SharePoint 2010 has new values that can be inserted, called "Workflow Context." Figure 5-28 shows how to insert the workflow context field called "Current Item URL." Click OK and then click OK again to save the email.

12. Click to select the Email action, and click the Advanced Properties button. In the BCC box, add your own name. This will allow you to receive a blind copy of each email. Click OK.

13. In the workflow, after the email action, add another Log to History List action, with the message "Confirmation email has been sent."

Test the workflow by creating a new order in the Store Orders list. You will receive the email about the item you ordered, with a link that takes you back to that list item.

Figure 5-28. FIGURE 5-28

So far in this chapter, you may have noticed that the use of tasks in SharePoint workflows is substantial. Assigning tasks to workflow participants gives you the ability to allocate accountability to individuals. Knowing that you can rely on workflows not only to assign tasks as part of defined business processes but also to automatically follow up with individuals, allows you to become more efficient in your day-to-day work.

When tasks are assigned using workflow actions, they look a bit different from tasks that are normally created in a SharePoint task list. This is because workflows automatically add new content types to task lists, and they also make use of InfoPath as a custom form interface.

There is a new feature in SharePoint Server 2010 called the Task Process Designer. It is basically like inserting a workflow inside of any workflow that you create. This mini-workflow not only contains conditions and actions that take place regarding task assignment in the workflow, but it also has easy interfaces to create additional task form fields and outcomes.

When these task processes are used, the associated tasks perform follow-up actions by automatically sending reminder emails to assignees when due dates arrive. This is one of many functionalities that are built into these processes.

TRY IT OUT: Creating Task Processes

In the previous Try It Out, a workflow was created and set up to run when new items are ordered in a store. The last action that was added was an email notification to the person who ordered the item. Next, tasks must be assigned so that the order gets shipped out. In this example, the Processor Group is a SharePoint group containing those in charge of processing the order, and the Shipper Group contains those in charge of shipping it out. In this Try It Out, you'll learn how to use the new Task Process Designer to assign tasks.

1. Create two new SharePoint groups on the site, called Processor Group and Shipper Group.

2. Open the previously created workflow called "Create Store Order" in SharePoint Designer.

3. Click Edit Workflow.

4. Immediately below the last action in the workflow, insert a new action called Start Feedback Process.

5. Click on the word Feedback in the action, which will take you to the Task Process Designer.

6. Click the Name box in the Task Information section, and change the name to "New Order Placed."

7. In the Outcomes section on the right, there is one outcome called Completed. There are three columns in this section, called Sequence, Name, and Task Form Button. Click on the value in the Task Form Button column, and change it to say "Mark Completed."

8. Click the Save button, and click Return to the workflow.

9. In the same action in the workflow, click the blue link "these users." This lets you define who will be assigned the tasks.

10. For the participants, select the Processor Group and then the Shipper Group. Use the Add button to move each group to the right. These are SharePoint groups on the site. For testing purposes, it is okay to insert two individuals' names instead of groups here. Leave the order as "One at a time (serial)."

11. Click the ellipsis icon next to the title box, to elicit the String Builder.

12. The task title should be "New Store Order;" use the Add or Change Lookup button to insert the ID field from the current item. This ID field is unique to each order that is placed.

13. In the Instructions box, type "Please perform your role in the new order process."

14. Set the Duration per Task to 3 days. This screen is shown in Figure 5-29. Click OK.

15. Save the workflow, and click Publish.

    

    Figure 5-29. FIGURE 5-29

Try it out now by adding a new item to the Store Items list. A few seconds after you create the new item, a task will be created. In the Store Items list, click the In Progress link in the Create Store Order column. In the Tasks section of the Workflow Status page, click the title of the task that was created. The task is shown in Figure 5-30.

Figure 5-30. FIGURE 5-30

Notice that the button at the bottom of the task is called "Mark Completed," which was modified by you in the Outcomes section of the Task Process Designer. Site users who are not administrators, and who are not involved in this workflow will not see these tasks at all.

On every SharePoint site, there is a built-in list called "Workflow History." All workflows that run on the site are logged in this list, which also includes all errors. Knowing that there is a history log and where it lives gives you a good basis of understanding when it comes to workflow status screens and troubleshooting. The location of the workflow history list is:

http://your_site_url/lists/workflow%20history

This list is automatically sorted in ascending by Date Occurred order, but just as with any list, you can create your own views for sorting and filtering purposes. The data in the workflow history does seem a bit cryptic, since it makes use of unique IDs for lists and workflows, but it is a good reference sometimes.

SharePoint workflows can now be visualized on Workflow Status pages, using Visio Premium 2010 and Visio Services in SharePoint Server 2010 Enterprise. Workflow flowcharts can also be created by business process owners in Visio, imported into SharePoint Designer, and published as a functioning workflow. Lastly, existing SharePoint workflows can be exported out of SharePoint Designer and imported to be viewed in Visio 2010 Premium.

This tight integration between SharePoint and Visio allows you to bring the business users into the world of workflow creation. Now, the requirements-gathering process can be made a bit easier because end users or project managers can bring you a diagram of the envisioned process. You, as the workflow's creator, can import their diagram straight into SharePoint!

Now this new Manager Approval is associated with every library that uses the Document content type, which is the default content type for all document libraries. Click the drop-down box on any document on the site, choose Workflows, and click Manager Approval. On the initiation screen, click the Start button. This workflow looks up the initiator's Manager, and assigns a task to that person. This task is created in the default Tasks list on the site.

WORKFLOW DESCRIPTIVE TEXT

When workflows are created in Visio, text can be added to each action, as workflow documentation. In Step 6 of the previous Try It Out, you added descriptive text to each shape in the diagram. Notice that after the workflow has been imported into Visio, this text is displayed in gray above each action in the workflow, as shown in Figure 5-32.

Figure 5-32. FIGURE 5-32

In the workflow's settings, if you select the box next to Show workflow visualization on status page, this diagram will also contain the descriptive text. These descriptions cannot be added from within SharePoint Designer.

A part of the Microsoft Office Suite of applications, InfoPath is used for the creation and filling out of forms. The ability for business users to easily create and customize their own forms is very powerful. With InfoPath, no programming knowledge is required, and the interface and form publishing processes are simple and familiar. Within workflows, InfoPath is most commonly used in tasks and initiation forms.

The Workflow Settings page in SharePoint Designer has a section called Forms. Click a form name here to open it in InfoPath, modify it, and publish it back to the workflow. For example, modify a default plain initiation form to add a nice title, colors, and some descriptive text to it.

Another way that workflows are integrated with Office is within the new Back Stage view that exists in Office 2010. This screen is seen when you click the File button at the top left. When a document library has workflows that are configured to be manually initiated, they can be started from within their native Office application. In Office, click the File menu, and click the Save & Send tab on the left side. In the Workflows section, click the name of the workflow you would like to start, and click the Start Workflow button on the right. When the initiation form pops up, click Start.

When a workflow is in progress and after it has completed, there is a workflow status screen that can be viewed. Each time a new workflow is run for the first time on a list or library, a new column is automatically added to the default view of the list. The column name is the name of the workflow. This column contains status text of the workflow, such as In Progress or Completed. This status text is a link to the Workflow Status page for that workflow, specific to that list item. The following are the sections of the workflow status screen.

In the Creating Custom Workflow Solutions section of this chapter, you learned how to edit workflows within SharePoint Designer 2010. There are also some edits that can be made from within the browser when reusable workflows are used. In a document library, in the Library tab of the Ribbon, click the Workflow Settings button. The settings of reusable workflows, such as "Approval—SharePoint 2010," can be modified from this screen by clicking their names.

Workflows can easily be deleted from within SharePoint Designer by selecting the name of the workflow and clicking the delete button. This removes it from all lists and libraries that it is associated with, which was not the case in SharePoint 2007.

Go to a SharePoint list with a workflow, such as the Store Orders list that was created in a previous Try It Out. In the List Settings, click Workflow Settings. This screen is shown in Figure 5-33.

Figure 5-33. FIGURE 5-33

Notice that there are many different versions listed of the same workflow. Each time it was modified and published, a new version was placed in this list. The Workflows in Progress column shows you that a couple of these workflows are currently running. When you click the Remove a workflow link, you can safely remove any of the workflows that are previous versions and are not currently running. The only workflows to be careful about are the ones that are currently in progress. In this example, go back to the list and sort the Create Store Order column to see those items. Click the In Progress link to see each workflow's status page. If you have determined that it is okay, click Terminate this workflow now.

To temporarily unpublish a workflow without deleting it, remove it from the list on the Workflow Settings screen in the browser. The next time you click the Publish button in SharePoint Designer, the workflow will be associated with the list again.

When it comes to Site Workflows, go to Site Settings, and click Workflow Settings. The list of Site Workflows will be shown here, with the same type of interface for adding or removing workflows.