Activities
An Activity specific step in a process. It will be the user interface for that step (web form or a screen), for example, the Leave Application (screen interface or web form) will be the first Activity in the Leave Requisition process. The Leave Application Authorization will be the second step or Activity in the Leave Requisition process. One Process can have multiple activities.
Next Activities are triggered by users by completing the information required in the web form and then submitting by clicking on the relevant action option. Activities have notification and escalation rules associated with them.
Properties
An activity has the following properties:
Attributes
Standard Time:
The time, in minutes, that this activity is supposed to take to perform.
Behavior
Allow Parameterization:
A Boolean value that instructs the activity to scan the query string for object values when loading for the first time.
This feature is handy when launching WorkFlow from external applications.
It only applies to First Activities.
A typical example will be when calling an activity from a third-party program using a standard link. If this property is set to True for the activity you are calling, you can specify the link to be:
www.xmpro.com/myProcessItem.aspx?g=1&id=1 &objectname=value&objectname=value
It is important to note that you need to call the object names using its exact names.
Auto Load Next:
A Boolean value that specifies whether the next activity of the same process should be loaded automatically from the user's task list in the WorkFlow once the previous one is complete.
Event Create:
This property specifies who can access the activity.
When an activity is called from a previous activity's trigger, the activity is routed to the role or role group specified in the Event Create property of the activity that is being called.
Hyperlink:
Defines the URL for a custom page that would be loaded instead of the Activity.
Index:
This is a unique number you assign to the activity. This number will determine the sequence of activities in the tree view of the WorkFlow Designer. The activities will be arranged top to bottom, smallest to biggest index number.
Note: Only when Visio is not used. This is also the number that you will use a unique identifier in the activity's name.
Inherit Values:
A Boolean value that specifies whether Inherit Values should be switched on or not.
If Inherit Values is set to True, and an activity gets called more than once in the same process, the activity will remember and display the values entered by the user the previous time the activity occurred in the process.
JavaScript File Name:
This value specifies the JavaScript file name to use for the current activity to hold the custom client-side event handlers. Note that the file must be placed in the “/scripts/custom” subfolder of the site.
Object Groups:
Assign a control to belong to an object group. Objects assigned to an Object Group will be displayed in a grid/table.
Render Style:
This value specifies the rendering style to be used for the activity.
Stylesheet:
This property stores the path to a custom xsl stylesheet that should be used for this activity. This path is relative to the Transform\custom directory on the IIS server.
Note that if this property is omitted, the activity will use the default stylesheet, also called XMPro Fast Forms.
This is an advanced feature, and should not be used if you are not comfortable with the xsl technology. Most of the activity customization should be done through the CSS stylesheets.
Note: If you want to create your own stylesheet, make a copy of the Activity.xslt stylesheet, make your changes, and save it.
Trigger Style:
Specifies the rendering style to be used for trigger buttons or action item buttons in the activity.
Content Definition
Language:
VBNet or CSharp. Scripting, if required, will be in this language.
Managed Activity:
Add this activity’s script in this property. Only used for VBNet and CSharp managed code.
Dynamic Allocation
Allocate To:
Dynamic allocation for a given process definition. The user can, at runtime, decide to which Activity the process should route to.
System:
XMPro Dynamic allocation for a given process definition. (Save or Return)
Escalation
Notification Interval:
This property specifies the frequency between notifications. It is measured in hours.
Notification Number:
This property specifies how many notifications should be sent before the activity gets escalated.
Identification
Description:
This property specifies a short description for the activity.
The value in this property will be displayed on the menus in the WorkFlow.
If the activity has a Creation Type of First Activity, the activity's description will be displayed when the user chooses a menu option in the Process menu.
If the activity has any other Creation Type, the activity's description will be displayed when the user chooses a menu option in the Tasks menu.
If the activity has a Creation Type of First Activity, and the Description starts with "Report: " followed by the description, the activity will be displayed when the user chooses a menu option in the Report menu.
If Description and Dynamic Description is specified for an activity, the Dynamic Description will override the Description.
Dynamic Description:
This property allows you to give the activity a more dynamic description. This includes retrieving values for the description out of a data source.
You can only specify a Dynamic Description for activities that do not have a Creation Type of First Activity.
If you are standing on this property and you press F4 on the keyboard, the script window will open.
If Description and Dynamic Description is specified for an activity, the Dynamic Description will override the Description.
ID:
A numerical value which uniquely identifies this activity. This property is automatically assigned and used internally by XMPro.
Name:
This property specifies the name of this activity. This name should be unique in the site.
A naming convention is used to name activities. In the activity name, you should show three things:
The process the activity forms part of.
A unique number for the activity. (This number is usually the same number assigned to the activity in the Index property.)
A logical description for the activity.
If you have a Leave Requisition process, and the first activity in the process is a leave form the user has to complete, you will typically name the activity LR10Form. The name cannot have spaces, i.e. "LR10Form" is valid, "LR10 Form" is not.
Parent:
This property specifies the ID of the process to which this activity belongs.
Notification
Notification Type:
Use this property to specify which type of notifications should be send. Options are:
E-mail
Text Message
Notify New:
This property specifies whether a notification should be sent to the user when it is routed to his/her Tasks.
Note: The Notification Service is not needed for this notification as it is sent by the WorkFlow.
Notify Outstanding:
If an activity is triggered with a due date, and the user that has to respond to the activity has not done so by the due date, the Notification Service will send an email to remind the user on the due date.
This property is not applicable to First Activities. Note: The Notification Service is needed for this notification.
Tracking
Allow Tracking:
A Boolean value that specifies whether this activity can be tracked or not.
If this property is set to True, the user starting the process can track the process in the Tracking menu in the WorkFlow. The activity can also be seen in the history of the next activity when the user accesses it using the Tasks menu.
Allow Value Tracking:
A Boolean value that specifies whether this activity's values can be tracked or not.
If this property is set to False and the Allow Tracking property is set to True, the user starting the process can track the process in the Tracking menu in the WorkFlow, but the user cannot click on the activity in the tracking to see the values entered in that activity. The same applies to the history displayed when an outstanding activity is accessed from the Tasks menu.
Display History:
A Boolean value that specifies whether this activity will display the history of the process when the user accesses it from the Tasks menu in the WorkFlow.
The Event Create Property
The Event Create property of an activity specifies who must do, or who can access an activity.
What you choose in the Creation Type property, will determine what you can choose in the Creation Value property.
User
Choose a role.
This activity will be routed to the role that is specified.
Group
Choose a business group
This activity will be routed to all the roles in the business group as configured. One role in this business group must assign the activity to them self. When this happens, the activity will be taken out of the Task list of the other roles in the group.
Note: When using Group Member Split as the Creation Type, it will create numerous instances of the one activity, and all the roles must complete the activity.
First Activity
Choose a business group.
This activity is the only activity that can start a process. It will appear in the Process menu of the roles in the specified role group.
Note: that it is always a business group that can start a process.
Report To
No creation value is required.
This activity will be routed to the role that is specified in the Report To property of the role that completed the activity that called this activity.
This Creation Type is typically used for approval activities.
Reply To
No creation value is required.
This activity will be routed to the role that completed the activity which happened before the activity that called this activity.
Object Value
Choose an object that stores a value specifying a user.
This activity will be routed to the user specified in the object. It is typically used with a reference label or an employee lookup.
Note: that the object you specify must store a valid user in the format "FirstName LastName".
Role Object Value
Choose an object that stores a value specifying a role.
This activity will be routed to the role specified in the object. Note: that the object you choose must store a valid role's Description.
Same As
Choose an activity upstream in the workflow.
This activity will be routed to the role that completed the specified activity.
Originator
No creation value is required.
This activity will be routed to the role that did the First Activity in the process. (The role that started the process.)
Dynamic Group
Choose an object that stores a value specifying a business group's name.
This activity will be routed to the role group specified in the object.
It is typically used with a reference label or a team select.
Group Member Split
Choose a role group.
This activity will be routed to all the roles in the business group as configured. It will create numerous instances of the one activity, and all the roles must complete the activity.
Note: When using Group as the Creation Type, one role in this role group must assign the activity to him or herself. When this happens, the activity will be taken out of the Tasks of the other roles in the role group.
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