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:
- For Workplace, the user must have View Properties access to the workflow definition file or document used to launch the workflow.
- For FileNet Web Services or Open Client, the user must have Viewer access to the workflow definition file or document used to launch the workflow.
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
- In Workplace, complete the following steps:
- Locate the appropriate workflow definition file or document in
the object store.
- From the Information page, select Launch.
See Manually launch a workflow in the Workplace Help under
Tasks.
- In FileNet Web Services
or Open Client,
complete the following steps:
- Locate the appropriate workflow definition or linked
document in a Content Services library.
- Select Launch workflow from the
toolbar.
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:
- For Workplace, see Workflow subscriptions in Concepts: event actions and subscriptions.
- For FileNet Web Services or Open Client, see the online Help for Linker.
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:
- If a workflow definition has already been transferred to the Process Engine database, a user who can select the workflow definition file (View Properties/Viewer access) can launch an instance of the workflow.
- If the workflow definition has not been transferred to the Process Engine database, it must be transferred prior to launch. See About transferring a workflow for additional information.
- For Workplace, an administrative user must transfer the workflow definition.
- For FileNet Web Services or Open Client, a user with View Properties/Viewer access to the workflow definition file can issue a Launch command which automatically initiates a transfer. Note that the transfer process validates the workflow definition including checking that every queue defined in the workflow definition exists in the isolated region, and that the user has Query access to every work queue defined in the workflow definition.
When you launch from a workflow definition, you can choose one of the
following:
- Start the process specified in the selected workflow definition.
If the selected workflow definition has not been
linked with another workflow definition, this will be the only option
available. If the selected workflow definition has an initiating attachment,
there will be no target for that attachment.
- Choose another workflow definition that is linked to the select workflow
definition file.
In this case, the second workflow will run and,
if that workflow has an initiating attachment, the originally selected
workflow will be the target for that attachment.
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
- For Workplace: A workflow subscription defined
for a class (document, folder, or custom object) can automatically launch
a workflow based on actions such as adding a custom object to the class
or checking in a new version of a document in the class. A workflow
subscription can also be defined on an individual document, folder,
or custom object. The actions that can trigger automatic launch differ
depending on whether the subscription is defined on a document, folder,
custom object, or class. For example, to launch a workflow automatically
each time a document is checked in, you can assign a subscription to
the document's class. Similarly, to launch a workflow automatically
each time an object is added or removed from a specific folder, you
can assign a subscription to the folder's class. For further information
on defining a workflow subscription, see Workflow subscriptions
in Workplace online Help Concepts: event actions and subscriptions.
- For FileNet Web Services or Open Client: In the Link definition that associates a workflow
definition with a document class or document, an administrative user can specify
that a workflow will launch automatically when a document belonging to a specific
document class is added or checked into the library, or when a version of
a specific document is checked in. See the online Help for Linker for additional
information.
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.