In Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011, Workflows and Dialogs are called Processes.
- Workflow: An automated asynchronous process that is triggered by CRM events, or an asynchronous process that is initially triggered by user input, and then runs in the background to completion without interacting with the user.
- Dialog: A synchronous process that requires the user's input via a wizard-like web interface from the beginning to completion.
A detailed comparison of Workflows and Dialogs is available in the SDK, at: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg309471.aspx. A summary is provided below.
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Workflows |
Dialogs |
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Can either be started by a user or be automated. |
Must be started by a user. |
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Are asynchronous processes, and do not require user input to run to completion. These processes run in the background. |
Are synchronous processes, and require user input to run to completion. When you run these processes, a wizard-like interface is presented to you so that you can make appropriate selections to run the processes. |
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The entity that stores the details about a running workflow is |
The entity that stores information generated by a running dialog is the |
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Both Windows Workflow Foundation 4 and Windows Workflow Foundation 3.5 custom activities are supported. |
Only Windows Workflow Foundation 4 custom activities are supported. |
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Triggers are supported for workflows. For a list of supported triggers, see Supported Types, Triggers, and Entities for Processes (Workflows and Dialogs), at: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg328562.aspx. |
Triggers are not supported for dialogs. |
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Workflows that are created or updated outside of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, by creating or updating the underlying XAML file, are supported in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. For information about these custom XAML workflows, see Custom XAML Workflows, at: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg309458.aspx. |
Dialogs that are created or updated outside of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, by creating or updating the underlying XAML file, are not supported in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. |