Starting Workflows

Starting Workflows
Starting Workflows
Overview / Adobe Experience Manager / Adobe Experience Manager 6.0 / Administering / Operations and Monitoring / Administering
Workflows /
Start workflows using several methods:
• Manually from the Workflow Console.
• Automatically in response to node changes.
• Manually for acting on workflow packages.
Other methods are also available to page authors: How to apply workflows to DAM assets and Applying
Workflows to Pages.
STARTING A WORKFLOW FROM THE WORKFLOW CONSOLE
1.
2.
3.
4.
Open the Workflow console.
From the Models tab select the required workflow.
Click Start from the top navigation.
The Start Workflow dialog opens allowing you to enter the payload and an optional title and comment.
Specify the payload (includes pages, nodes, resources, and so on) to which the workflow is to be
applied. You can use the drop down menu to browse the repository when selecting:
5.
Click OK to start a workflow instance with the properties you configured. Now the workflow is running.
Once a page has been linked to a workflow it will be indicated in the Status column in the Websites console:
STARTING WORKFLOWS WHEN NODES CHANGE
The Workflow Launcher, provides one component to monitor all changes in the content repository and
launch workflows dependent on the location and resource type of the changed node.
Using the Launcher tab you can:
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•
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see the workflows already launched for specific nodes.
select a workflow to be launched when a certain node/node-type has been modified.
remove an existing workflow-to-node relationship.
A launcher can be created for any node. However, changes to certain nodes do not launch workflows.
Changes to nodes below the following paths do not cause workflows to launch:
• /var/audit
• /var/classes
• /var/eventing
• /var/linkchecker
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Created on 2014-11-11
Starting Workflows
•
•
•
•
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/var/mobile
/tmp
/etc/workflow/instances
Any workflow-inbox node located anywhere in the /home/users branch
/var/statistics (Exception: Changes to nodes below /var/statistics/tracking do cause workflows to
launch.)
Various definitions are included with the standard installation. These are used for digital asset management
and social collaboration tasks:
Adding a Launcher relationship
1.
On the Workflow page, click the Launcher tab.
2.
Click Add and configure the new workflow-to-node relationship as required:
•
Event Type: The event type that will launch the workflow:
• Created
• Modified
• Removed
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•
•
Notetype: The type of node that the workflow launcher applies to.
Path: The path that the workflow launcher applies to.
Conditions: Conditions for node values that, when evaluated, determine whether the worklow is
launched. For example, the following condition causes the workflow to launch when the node has a
property name with the value User:name==User
Workflow: The workflow to launch when the Event Type occurs on the Nodetype and/or Path under
the defined Condition.
Activate: Controls whether the workflow launcher is activated:
Select Enable to launch workflows when the configuration properties are satisfied.
Select Disable when the workflow should not execute when the configuration properties are
satisfied.
Run Mode(s): The type of server that the workflow launcher applies to. Select Author, Publish, or
Author&Publish.
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•
•
•
•
Removing a Launcher relationship
1. Open the Workflow tab.
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Starting Workflows
2. Select the Launcher tab.
3. Click on the entry you want to remove.
4. Click Remove.
Using Workflows for Batch Processing
Workflow packages are packages that can be passed to a workflow for processing.
A workflow package:
• contains links to a set of user-specified resources (such as pages, assets).
• holds package information such as the creation date, the user that created the package and a short
description.
• is defined using a specialized page template; such pages allow the user to specify the resources in the
package.
• can be used multiple times.
• can be changed by the user (add or remove resources) while the workflow instance is actually running.
CREATING A WORKFLOW PACKAGE
1.
2.
Open the Tools console. (http://localhost:4502/miscadmin#/etc)
Navigate to Workflow, then Workflow Packages in the left pane.
3.
4.
5.
Create a New Page...; assign a name of your choice and select the Workflow Package Template.
Open the new page.
For each resource add an instance of the Resource Definition component. Then either drag resources
from the content finder, or edit the component to select a resource.
USING THE WORKFLOW PACKAGE IN A WORKFLOW
After creating the workflow package page you can apply a workflow. This marks all resources as being
subject to the workflow (assets and pages). The workflow will only take action on the resources listed, not on
the definition page itself.
1. Open the workflow package page.
2. Select the Workflow tab from the sidekick.
3. Select the required workflow.
4. Click Start Workflow.
From the Workflow console you can see the workflow running, with the workflow package page as
Payload.
For example, if you:
• add new paragraphs to the Geometrixx Support and Product pages
• create a workflow package holding the Geometrixx Support and Product pages as resources
• apply the Publish Example workflow to this workflow package page
• Complete the Validate Content step
Both the Support and Product pages will be published by the same workflow instance.
NOTE
You must select a workflow that has been developed for use with workflow packages.
For example in Geometrixx, Publish Example, Request for Activation or Request for
Deactivation.
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All rights reserved.
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Starting Workflows
UPDATING A PACKAGE WHILE THE WORKFLOW IS RUNNING
Addtional resources can be added to a workflow package page even while a workflow is running:
1. Create a workflow package page.
2. Add resources to the page.
3. Start a workflow for the package.
Using the Websites console, confirm that the Status of the resources indicate they are in a workflow.
4. Edit the workflow package page to add new resources.
Using the Websites console, confirm that the Status of the new resources indicate that they are also in
the workflow.
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated.
All rights reserved.
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Created on 2014-11-11