Using the Advanced Workflow Interface

This topic provides you with basic information about how to use the Workflow Process Designer interface. For information on building an end-to-end advanced workflow for your business processes, see Building Advanced Workflows.

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Advanced Workflow interface

The Workflow Process Designer is the interface within an application or questionnaire that you use to create and build advanced workflows.

Workflow interface

The interface is made up of the following elements:

 

 

 Name

Description

1

Modeler Toolbox

Select the nodes and transitions to add to your workflow process.

2

Advanced Workflow Grid

Build your workflow process.

3

Properties Panel

Displays information based upon your selection.

  • To display the Process Properties panel, click anywhere on the advanced workflow grid. Use this panel to define which records to enroll into your workflow and display the process ID and version number.
  • To display the Node Properties panel, select a node. Use this panel to define settings for the selected node. The available configuration settings depend on the type of node you select.
  • To display the Transition Properties panel, select a transition. Use this panel to define the settings for the selected transition.

4

Advanced Workflow Toolbar

Save or revert changes, save or print an image of your process, maximize the designer, activate a bulk update jobs, and activate or deactivate your workflow.

Add a node

  1. From the menu, click Admin menu > Application Builder > Applications.
  2. Click the Advanced Workflow tab.
  3. In the Modeler Toolbox, select the node type that you want to add.
  4. Double-click in the grid where you want to place the node.
  5. Complete the Node Properties section. For more information on configuring specific node types, see Step 2 of Building Workflows.

Draw a transition

  1. From the menu, click Admin menu > Application Builder > Applications.
  2. Click the Advanced Workflow tab.
  3. In the grid, click and drag an arrow from 1 node to another. Draw the transition starting from the highlighted circle, which appears when you hover over the node, to the destination node.
  4. Complete the Transition Properties section:
    1. In the Type field, change the transition type if applicable.

      By default, most transitions have a default type of Successful, meaning that if the previous node is completed successfully, the transition is followed. You can also set transitions coming from a Send Notification or Update Content node to Always Complete, meaning that the transition is followed regardless of whether the node was completed successfully. For example, you may not want to stop a workflow job if a notification fails to send, in which case you would set the transition to Always Complete. Finally, you can use the Error transition type if you plan to create an error path. For more information, see "Create error paths" in Troubleshooting Advanced Workflows.

    2. In the Name field, enter a name that reflects the transition that is occurring in your business process.

      Note: To assist in troubleshooting, choose a unique name that reflects the stage in your business process that the node represents.

    3. In the Looping transition field, select Yes if the transition loops back to a previous node in the process. For more information, see "Step 3: Create a looping transition" in Building Advanced Workflows.
    4. For User Action and Evaluate Content nodes, configure rules and permissions as applicable. See Building Advanced Workflows for more information.

Change the viewable area of the grid

  1. Click anywhere in the grid.
  2. Do any of the following:
    • Zoom in or out:
      • Using keyboard shortcuts:
        • To zoom in, click Ctrl+Plus Sign (+)
        • To zoom out, click Ctrl+Minus Sign (-)
      • Use the scroll option on your mouse or touch pad.
    • To move the viewable area to the right, press → (or press End to jump all the way to the right).
    • To move the viewable area to the left, press ← (or press Home to jump all the way to the left).
    • To move the viewable area up, press ↑ (or press PageUp to jump all the way to the top).
    • To move the viewable area down, press ↓ (or press PageDown to jump all the way to the bottom).
    • To move the viewable area in any direction, click and drag the grid.

Maximize or restore the Workflow Process Designer

  1. From the top row of the Workflow Process Designer, click Ellipsis.

  2. Select Maximize Designer or Restore Designer.

    Note: To quickly restore the designer, click Shift+ESC.

Move elements in the grid

  1. To move the entire process, click the grid, click Ctrl+A to select all of the elements in the advanced workflow, hover over the top section of a node (a 4-arrow cursor appears) and then drag them to the preferred position.
  2. To move a single node or transition, click the transition or the top section of the node (a 4-arrow cursor appears) and drag the node or transition into the preferred position.

Delete elements from the workflow

Note: Delete existing nodes and transitions before you add new ones.

  1. Select the node or transition that you want to delete.

    Note: You can also press Ctrl+A to select everything in the diagram, or press Shift to select multiple nodes and transitions.

  2. On your keyboard, press Delete.
  3. Click Yes to confirm that you want to delete the selected content.

Important: Content enrolled in an existing version of the advanced workflow may fail if changes are made to the advanced workflow design. Archer cannot process workflow content in its currently enrolled version when rules and permissions in that version are deleted. This includes any rules and permissions associated with other actions. For example:

  • Clearing the User Initiated check box
  • Clearing the Enable Workflow Auditing check box
  • Deleting a rule or permission on a transition leaving a User Action Node
  • Deleting the transition leaving a User Action Node
  • Deleting an entire User Action Node
  • Deleting a rule from an Evaluate Content Node.
  • Deleting an Evaluate Content node.

For items enrolled in an existing workflow, Archer recommends to do one of the following:

  • Let the items finish their current advanced workflow path.

  • Use the Job Troubleshooting tool to update existing workflow jobs and move any jobs in progress to new workflows.

Save workflow with a comment

Adding a comment when you save changes to a workflow can help you determine which version of a workflow to roll back to, if necessary.

  1. From the top row of the Workflow Process Designer, click drop-down menu to the right of Save Workflow.
  2. Click Save with Comment.
  3. Enter your comment, and click Save.

    4. Note: You are limited to 64 characters.

Revert unsaved changes

When you click Revert, the Workflow Process Designer reverts your diagram to the most recently saved version and discards any unsaved changes.

  1. From the top row of the Workflow Process Designer, click Ellipsis.
  2. Click Revert.
  3. Do 1 of the following:
    • Click Yes to save all but the most recent change.
    • Click No to revert all changes.
    • Click Cancel to stop revert.

Rollback to an earlier version

Note: Rules on the Evaluate Content node do not carry over after a rollback completes.

  1. From the top row of the Workflow Process Designer, click Ellipsis.
  2. Click Rollback.
  3. Select the version that you want to roll back to.
  4. Click Rollback.
  5. When prompted, confirm that you want to continue.

Bulk update jobs

The bulk update jobs feature gives you the ability to update existing advanced workflow jobs to reflect changes made to the advanced workflow process. This feature updates jobs with error or active status, completed jobs are unchanged.

Rules:

  • Node IDs determine updates to the job.

  • If the current node exists after running Bulk Update Jobs, the job resumes from the current node.

  • Node attributes update with the attributes from the process, such as fields in an Update Content node.

  • Existing nodes pick up new transitions when added, including those from Action transition buttons on the record page

  • Transition attributes update with the attributes from the process, such as permissions and rules.

  • When the current node is deleted, then during Bulk Update Jobs the process finds the last completed node in the completion path and resumes from there. If there are no completed nodes, then the process resumes from the Start node.

  • Nodes added prior to a current node receive the Skipped status. If a node receives the Skipped status, the workflow receives the Completed status.

Note: It is recommended to use the bulk update jobs feature when there are no pending unsaved changes.

  1. From the top row of the Workflow Process Designer, click Ellipsis.
  2. Click Bulk Update Jobs.

    3. Note: Only 1 update can run at a time. If an existing update is currently running, a warning dialog box is displayed.

  3. If the workflow has changed since the last save, a dialog window appears with 3 options to continue. Do 1 of the following:
    • Click Yes to save.
    • Click No to continue without saving.

      Note: The Workflow Process Designer does not revert unsaved changes. The unsaved changes remain on the screen until the user reverts or navigates away from the Workflow Process Designer.

    • Click Cancel to abort the update.
  4. A warning appears indicating the number of affected jobs that are not running the current version of the advanced workflow process. If you understand the risks, select the checkbox and click OK to bring up the Status window.

    Note: If there are no jobs on the current version, a dialog box appears indicating no work needs to be done. Close the window to return to the Workflow Process Designer.

  5. The Status window appears with a progress bar to track the progress of the update. Do 1 of the following:
    • Click Details to get a detailed report about the update.
    • Click Close to close the Status window.
    • Navigate away from the Status window.

    Note: You cannot return to the Status window once you close it or navigate away from it.

Note: View your bulk action history for details on your update. Click the Export button to download the Bulk Update Jobs Detailed report listing record details. The details on the update are stored for 365 days after creation.

Print or save an image of the workflow

  1. From the top row of the Workflow Process Designer, click Ellipsis.
  2. Click Print/Save Image.
  3. Do 1 of the following:
    • To print your workflow, select the display settings you want to use, and click Print.
    • To save an image of your workflow, right-click the image, and click Save As. Enter a name for the image and choose a location, and click Save.

Keyboard shortcuts

If you are using a Mac, use the Command key instead of the Control key as the modifier.

The following table describes available keyboard shortcuts.

Key

Description

← ↑ ↓ → (arrow keys)

Moves the viewable area 1 square at a time, in the direction of the selected arrow.

Ctrl+Plus Sign (+)

Zooms in on the entire diagram.

Ctrl+Minus Sign (-)

Zooms out on the entire diagram.

Ctrl+0

Resets zoom to the original size.

Ctrl+A

Selects all objects (nodes and transitions).

Del

Deletes selected objects.

Home

Moves the viewable area to the left.

End

Moves the viewable area to the right.

PageUp (Ctrl+Home)

Moves the viewable area up.

PageDown (Ctrl+End)

Moves the viewable area down.

Shift-Z

Invokes "zoom to fit"; repeat to return to original position.