About launching a workflow

Launching a workflow begins the process specified in the workflow definition. To launch a workflow, a user must have appropriate access rights:

In addition the user must have Create access to the workflow roster.

Any user with appropriate access rights can launch a workflow in one of the following ways:

Manually launch from a workflow definition file or from a document

Launching from a document

To launch from a document, the document (or the document class to which it belongs) must be associated with a workflow definition. For information on associating a document or document class with a workflow definition, see one of the following:

If a selected document or document class to which the document belongs is associated with multiple workflow definitions, you can select the workflow definition to launch from the list of links. If the workflow definition has an initiating attachment, the selected document is automatically assigned to the attachment.

 

Launching from a workflow definition

A user logged on to an object store or Content Services library can launch a workflow from a workflow definition file under the following conditions:

When you launch from a workflow definition, you can choose one of the following:

Considerations for systems with multiple isolated regions (FileNet Web Services and Open Client)

In a system where multiple isolated regions are defined, if a user logs on to a Content Services library, then launches a workflow from a workflow definition file, the workflow will launch in the default isolated region. In order to launch a workflow definition in a non-default isolated region, the user can first log on to eProcess and select a specific isolated region on the logon page, and then open a Content Services library and select a workflow definition to launch.

NOTE A workflow definition file has a property that stores the isolated region and workspace where the workflow definition was most recently transferred. If the same workflow definition is frequently launched in different isolated regions, it must be transferred to the appropriate isolated region each time that a different region is selected, updating this property with the current region and workspace. To avoid proliferating unused workspaces in Process Services, you can have a separate workflow definition in the library—one for each isolated region.

Automatically launch a workflow

NOTE   In defining a workflow subscription or link, you select a specific version of the workflow definition (the current version) that will be launched. If that workflow definition is subsequently modified to a newer version, the subscription/link will continue to launch the version you specified, not the newer version.

Launch from Process Designer

The workflow author can launch a workflow directly from Process Designer. This provides a convenient way to test a workflow definition during the design process. For further information, see Launch a workflow from Process Designer in the Process Designer online Help.