Workflow properties - data fields

In the Workflow Properties dialog box, define all data fields that will be used in any step in the workflow. When you subsequently define each step, you indicate which data fields are parameters for that step, and what access the user will have to modify the values. See About workflow fields for general information on data fields.

The Data Fields table displays all data fields in the workflow definition—data fields inherited from a base workflow and data fields created in the current workflow.

An Inherited symbol indicates items inherited from a base workflow. You can change the value or description of an inherited data field, but you cannot delete the field.
An Overridden symbol indicates inherited items that have been modified in the current workflow definition. See About workflow inheritance for general information about inheritance. See Workflow Preferences - Workflow to hide inherited items.

To define a data field

  1. If the Workflow Properties dialog box is not open, select the Action menu, then select Workflow Properties and display the Data Fields tab.
  2. Enter a name for the field. See Naming conventions for additional information regarding valid names. See Coordinating data field and exposed field names for information on using existing data fields.
  3. Select the data type of the field: Boolean, Float, Integer, String, Time. See Data types for additional information. If the field is an array, select the array version of the type indicated by brackets [].
  4. In the Expression field, accept the default value or specify an initial value for the field. String fields may be blank; all other types required an initial value. The value must match the data type and meet the requirements for expressions. The initial value cannot reference other data fields. Note that for assignments of certain values to float and integer data fields, the system does an implicit conversion.

    For time fields, you can use the default systemtime, or you can enter a specific date and time. For example, to enter the date June 5, 2003, you would enter the following expression:

    stringtotime("June 5, 2003", "month dd, yyyy")

    See String functions, stringtotime and Date/Time masks for additional information.

    For an array, double-click in Value to specify the initial value of each item in the array. See Edit array fields.

  5. Specify how values will be merged if this field is used in an AND-split. See Field merging example for additional information.
  6. In Description, you can optionally enter authoring-related information about the data field for future reference. Any text you enter will display when you select the data field as a parameter for a step in the workflow. You can change the description of each parameter at each step.

    NOTE   The description that displays for a step parameter is the description that exists when you select that data field as a parameter for the step. If you subsequently change the description for a data field in the Workflow Properties dialog box, the description does not change at each step where the data field is used as a parameter. (To update the description at the step, you can remove the parameter and re-add it.)

To specify the steps in the workflow where the selected data field will be used

Click Field Usage, and select the appropriate steps. See Field Usage for additional information.

To use fields that are exposed on work queues, rosters, and event logs

Click Exposed Data Fields. See Using exposed fields for additional information.

To modify or delete a data field

  • To rename the selected data field, select the field name and modify it.
  • To copy the selected data field, click Copy.
  • To delete the selected data field, click Delete.

NOTES 

  • If you change the name of a data field or you delete a data field, the change is updated in all steps where the data field is used as a parameter. However, the change is not reflected in expressions where the data field is used.
  • You cannot rename or delete inherited data fields.
  • You can delete a field which overrides an inherited field; in this case the inherited field is reactivated.

 

TIP To take advantage of exposed data fields, the names and types of the data fields that the workflow author defines in Process Designer must match the names and types of the fields created in Process Configuration Console, including case. The workflow author, workflow administrator, and, where applicable, application developer typically work together to determine what fields are needed and how they will be used.

You can optionally define data fields that will be populated with property values from the document that automatically launches the workflow. For further information, see the following topic:

  • For Workplace or Workplace XT, see Set property mapping in the online help for the Workflow Subscription Wizard.