This guide describes all of the screens in the WorkflowGen User Portal and provides a complete list of related operating rules. It's an important resource in understanding how the software behaves under various situations. The guide also includes a list of possible errors along with their explanations.

Overview

Help is available for processes and actions within processes by clicking next to the process descriptions, or by clicking the Help button in the headers of request or action information forms.

When selecting help at the process level, the help text will describe the purpose of the overall process. Selecting help for a given action in the process will display help for that particular action, rather than for the entire process.

Help screen

The contents of the Help screen are defined by the process designer and will appear as a blank window unless it has been created. The Diagram screen displays the graphical view of the process to authorized participants.

Help form

Views screen

This page displays all of the views you've saved.

To add a view to the My favorites list on the Dashboard, click the star outline. You can then open the view from either the My favorites or My views expandable lists. To remove a view from your favorites, click the star again.

Search filters

List

You can sort the list descending or ascending by any of the elements by clicking on the corresponding column header.

Editing a view

Click Edit to change the view's description, choose whether to include the view as a link available on the Dashboard, and share the view with other process participants.

Getting the link to a view

Click Links to display the view's URLs and HTML code, which you can use to embed the view in an external page.

Importing a view

To import a view, click the Import button above the list, select the view's previously exported .xml definition file, then click Import.

Exporting a view

To export a view, check the checkbox to the left of the view's name, then click the Export button that appears above the list.

Deleting a view

To delete a view, check the checkbox to the left of the view's name, then click the Delete button that appears above the list.

User calling card

Requests screen

This page displays ongoing and closed requests launched by the user.

The WorkflowGen User Portal is a web application that allows users to:

• Launch and follow up on requests

• Perform and follow up on actions

• Assign actions

Delegations screen

This screen displays participant delegations on active or archived processes. Delegations cannot be added to processes that are under construction or in test.

A user can associate a delegatee with each process participant role displayed in this list. Delegations can be done for an unlimited period of time (if no date range is entered) or for a specific period of time (if a date range is entered).

Two types of delegations are possible: a global delegation of all the user’s roles to a person by selecting All processes and All participants, or a delegation on a role-by-role basis by selecting individual delegatees for each process participant role. Note that a role-based delegation can override the global delegation for that specific role and vice-versa.

Search filter

List of delegations

Adding a delegation

To add a new delegation, click the New delegation button. From the drop-down lists, choose All processes and All participants or a specific process and participant. Then, click on the icon to select and define the delegatee. The new delegation will automatically be saved after selecting a delegated user. At any time before choosing a delegate, you can cancel the new delegation by clicking on the Cancel button on the right side of the row.

You can specify the Begin and End dates, or leave them empty for an unlimited delegation period. They will be saved automatically.

Notifying the delegated user of a delegation

To send or resend a notification of a delegation to the delegatee, click the icon next to the delegatee's name in the specific delegation row.

Changing to another delegated user

To change the delegated user of a delegation, click the icon, then filter and select a user from the list.

Deleting a delegation

To delete one or more delegations, check the checkbox to the left of the specific delegation row, then click the Delete button that appears above the list.

Refreshing the delegation list

To refresh the delegation list, click the Refresh link above the list.

New request screen

This screen lets you view all the processes you have access to and launch new requests.

To add a process to the My favorites list on your Dashboard, click the star outline. You can then open the process from either the My favorites or New request lists on your Dashboard. To remove a process from your favorites, click the star again.

Assignments screen

This page displays the actions for the user to assign or actions already assigned.

Request information form screen

Click the request number or the description in the requests list, or click in the request form left menu, to display the request information form.

User view

Administrator view

Request information

Action lists

Action lists include:

• My actions to do

• My team actions to do

• List of actions to assign to a person

• Other actions to be done by someone else

Action history

Comments panel

Click in the top right corner of the screen to open a slide-out panel where request participants can post free-form comments. Here, you can:

• View, refresh, and sort the comments list by date posted or author in ascending or descending order

• Post a new comment

• Delete an existing comment of which you're the author or administrator/supervisor

• Subscribe to the comments list RSS feeds

The associated users of each process participant can have read, read/write, or no permissions given to them by the process administrator.

WorkflowGen Administrators, process administrators, and supervisors have read/write permissions by default.

Launching a request

A process can be launched if its status is active. Only process managers, process supervisors, and WorkflowGen administrators can launch processes in test mode, and they can only launch those for which they are requesters. A process cannot start if its definition is invalid. A process can be started by any user associated with the requester participant.

Cancelling a request

An ongoing request can be cancelled by the requester if no action assigned to another user is running, or if the user is the process manager, process supervisor, or a WorkflowGen Administrator.

Deleting a request

A request can only be deleted:

• If it's in test mode,

• By a user if the first open action is assigned to them,

• By a WorkflowGen Administrator, or

• By the process manager or supervisor if Allow process managers and supervisors to delete requests has been enabled in the Administration Module

Action information form screen

Click the request number or the description in the actions list, or click in the request form left menu, to open the action information form.

Action information

* Displayed only if the action was cancelled by the system due to an action execution error.

Comments panel

A slide-out panel on the right allows the participants of the request to post free-form comments.

User operations and access permissions are the same as in the .

Processing a self-service action

An action assigned in Self-service mode can be accepted without being launched if it has not already started and if the user is part of the team. In this case, the action will move from the team list to the user’s to-do list.

Assigning an action

If the user is the requester, a current and unassigned action can be assigned by the Manual by the coordinator assignment method.

If the user is the action initiator, a current and unassigned action can be assigned by the Manual by the action initiator assignment method.

If the user is the action initiator, a current and unassigned action can be assigned in case of error assignment by the Automatic to the person assignment method.

The list of users that can be assigned can be empty if the number of users exceeds the limit (this can be changed in the Administration Module). In this case, you have to filter the list. The filter is applied to last names, first names, and user names.

Reassigning an action

If the user is the process manager, a process supervisor, or a WorkflowGen administrator, the action can be reassigned.

If the user is the process coordinator and the action assignment method is performed manually by the coordinator, the action can be reassigned.

Cancelling the assignment of an action

The user can cancel the assignment of an action if the action was assigned in Self-service mode.

The user can also cancel the assignment of an action if the action was assigned to him or her by the initiator.

Managers (administrators, process managers, and process supervisors) can cancel the assignment of a self-service action in Manager mode.

Launching an action

An action with the Self-service assignment method can be launched by a participant if the action has not been accepted or assigned.

An action that has not been started and whose assignment method is Self-service can be launched by a participant of the process if they have accepted it initially.

Cancelling a running action

A running action can be cancelled if the user is the action assignee, or if the user is a process manager, a process supervisor, or a WorkflowGen administrator, and if an Action cancellation or Default exception transition has been defined by the process designer in the process for this action.

Closing a running action

A manual action has to be explicitly closed by the user assigned to the action, or by a process manager, a process supervisor, or a WorkflowGen administrator.

In all other cases, the system closes the action automatically according to its type:

• An action using an application is automatically closed when the application sends the result back to WorkflowGen.

• An embedded sub-process action is automatically closed when the sub-request has been closed.

• An independent sub-process action is automatically closed when the sub-request has been launched.

• A synchronization action is automatically closed once it is launched or once the pause delay is over.

Restarting a timed out system action

You can restart a system action that is in time out by clicking the Restart action button. This option is only available to administrators and process managers in administration mode, and does not support asynchronous (e.g. Web Proc Async) or aborted system actions.

The default timeout delay is 600 seconds (10 minutes). This is configured in the EngineServiceSystemActivitiesTimeOut parameter; see the table in the appendix in the .

Team actions screen

This page displays your team actions to do and the team actions you've closed. These are actions that have been defined with the Self-service assignment method.

Search filter

Team action list

* For closed team actions.

You can sort the list descending or ascending by any of the elements (columns) by clicking on the column header.

Search screen

The Search screen allows searches to be conducted on user-accessible requests and actions. The search criteria can be saved as a view so that the user can quickly display the search results without having to repeatedly fill out the search form (see Save as view for more information).

By default, only requests initiated by the user and actions performed by the user will be listed in the search. This applies to all user types, including process supervisors, managers, and administrators.

In Supervisor mode, more search options are available, and the search will be performed for all activities of the processes the user supervises (see the section below for more information).

By checking Customizable report (under Advanced view in the Display section), the search results will be displayed in a customizable format, which gives the user control of how the results are organized.

By checking Display approval buttons, Quick approval buttons will appear next to validation actions if Quick approval has been enabled. This option is only available when searching in User mode.

Search form

Click Requests to search requests or Actions to search actions. The search form is in User mode by default and includes the following search filters:

1. Available when filtering by process or in single-process search mode.

2. Available when filtering by process or in single-process search mode; available in multi-process mode if common process data has been set up by your WorkflowGen Administrator.

3. Available when filtering in single-process mode.

Supervisor mode

In Supervisor mode, the following additional search filters are available:

Search results

Request list

Action list

Save as view

The current search results can be saved as a view by clicking the Save as view button displayed above the search results. See the section for information on how to use views, and the section to find out how to turn saved views into pop-up panels on your Dashboard.

Dashboard screen

This Dashboard displays all of the options available to you based on your profile. Custom links can be made available as extra options on the Dashboard.

Actions screen

This page displays actions to do and actions closed by the user.

Default

Notifications are sent as described below.

Security

Incorrect request

Process flow errors

Action launch errors

Sub-request launch errors

Errors while ending an action

License errors

Advanced view errors

Overview

With Advanced view you can view search results in a customizable format. This allows you to view targeted information by filtering and organizing the information to suit your needs. You can also save views, use the Quick approval feature to validate requests, and create and customize charts.

You can access it by clicking the Advanced view button located at the top right of the Search results screen.

Advanced view has several dynamic features:

• Adjust column width

• Group by column

• Sort by column

• Edit columns

Adjust column widths

To adjust the column width, place the cursor in between two columns at the header level until the bi-directional arrow appears, then slide left or right to adjust the column size.

Group by column

To group the search results by the data in a particular column, drag and drop a column header onto the bar directly above the column headers. You can also hover the mouse over the column header, then click the pencil icon that appears on the right and choose Group by this column from the drop-down panel.

The search results will now be grouped by the data in that column.

You can continue to do this for multiple columns, according to how you want to group the information.

To ungroup a column, click the x next to the column name in the header.

Sort by column

To sort the search results in ascending or descending order, you can either click a column header, or hover the mouse over a header and click the pencil icon on the right side of the column header to open a drop-down panel where you can then choose to add or remove a sort. A triangle will appear in the header of the column by which the results have been sorted; click it to reverse the sort order.

Filter by column

To filter by column, hover over a column header and click the pencil icon that appears on the right to open a drop-down panel. In the Show rows where section, you can filter by combinations of keywords or number configurations, depending on whether you're filtering text or numeric information.

Edit column

To edit a column, click the Columns button above the search results grid. Here, you can hide a column by unchecking its heading, create a new column, or edit existing column information.

You can create a new column by clicking the New column button. This opens a new window that lets you fill in new information or edit existing information about a column.

You can enter or edit column information by using either the Formula tab or the JavaScript tab.

The Formula tab allows you to easily enter column information by clicking inside the Expression editor and entering information or selecting from the list of existing columns displayed.

Text written here must be entered either within quotation marks (" ") or correspond to a column name. Text strings are displayed in yellow and columns are as orange text with an orange border. Invalid text will appear in white underlined in red, indicating an error.

You can also select the format of the information that you enter by clicking the Format button. The default setting is Automatic, which detects the format of the information being entered (numeric, text, date, etc.). You can also choose from a number of other format selections. Hovering the mouse over any of the format selections displays several options, including a Custom option.

The JavaScript tab allows you to write JavaScript functions in order to calculate the values of your custom columns.

Footer information

You can add information in the footer of your column if that column contains numerical values (for example, list prices in dollars or another currency).

Hover the mouse over the column footer, then click it to open the Footer information window. From this window you can add various types of information, such as average, minimum and maximum values, etc.

When you check Groups in the Footer information window, the results will appear next to the grouped column data in the Search results list.

Export grid

You can export your search results by clicking the Export button located above the column grid. This allows you to export the search data as a downloadable file in a number of formats (Excel 2007 (XLSX), Excel (XLS), XML, CVS, HTML, JSON, TSV), or inside the Copy the following text box, where you can copy the content to another location by clicking the Show data button (not supported by XLSX format).

Save as view

Once you've organized the search data in a way that is most convenient to you, you might want to save this view for future reference. To do this, click the Save as view link located above the column grid. This displays a new window that allows you to create a new view or replace an existing one. You can also create a link to this view from your homepage, and share this view with other participants. This option is also available in Standard view.

Quick approval

In the search results list, validation actions for which Quick approval has been enabled will display buttons (such as Yes, No, or Modify, as defined in the process form) that let you easily and quickly handle multiple validation requests at once. (If you have actions other than validations, you can group the list by types of action by dragging the Action column header into the blue header bar; this way, all of your validation actions will appear together.)

Checking the Multi-selection box lets you select the same approval answer for all actions of the same process by clicking a single approval button. You can also do this without enabling this option by holding down the Alt key and clicking a single button. However, enabling this setting does not automatically submit any actions, so you still have to click the Submit button to complete the actions.

Once you've finished handling validation actions, click Submit. Click Reset to undo your selections (and delete your comments, if applicable).

You can also save this list as a view, which you can then access in the My views section on your Dashboard without having to perform a new search.

To take full advantage of the Quick approval feature, you can then display the saved view as a pop-up panel on your Dashboard (see ). Whenever you return to or reload your Dashboard, the list will refresh automatically, and you can handle your approvals directly in the pop-up panel using the buttons.

Charts

You can create charts (column, bar, line, pie) from Advanced view reports, save them as views, and share them with other users. You can also save the chart as a view and place it on your home page dashboard (see ).

Click the Chart button above the search results grid, then choose the type of chart and the value by which to calculate the chart (e.g. count, average, sum). Only the available options will be displayed in the drop-down menus.

If custom chart editing has been enabled in the Administration Module, the chart panel will prompt you to choose either Standard or Custom. (See below for information on how to use custom charts.)

Edit chart

Click the Chart button above the search results grid to open a panel with options to customize a standard chart (click Custom to edit a custom chart). Only the options available for the type of chart you’ve chosen will be displayed. For example, the Show percentage option is only available for pie charts.

Custom charts

The Custom charts feature lets you create customized charts with your data grid using JavaScript. You can create a chart with any chart library.

Data and objects

Enter your JavaScript code using the following variables:

• chartContainer: Draw your chart onto this div object.

• grid.getGroups(): This function returns a JSON containing a simplified version of the grid data. The JSON is sorted by group name and contains the following values:

  • count: This value indicates the number of rows contained in the group filter.

Default column IDs

For samples of custom chart JavaScript code, see the article in the .

Overview

The Analytics screen allows users to generate detailed reports of all the ongoing and closed requests. Users can obtain the following categories of reports:

• Activity analytics that provide views of the various requests and actions in real time or during a specified time period