EMC Documentum Work Ow Manager: User Guide P/N 300 007 241 A01

EMC® Documentum®
Workflow Manager
Version 6.5
User Guide
P/N 300007241 A01
EMC Corporation
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Copyright © 2003 ‑ 2008 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved.
Published July 2008
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Table of Contents
Preface ........................................................................................................................... 7
Chapter 1 Understanding Workflows ...................................................................... 9

Introducing Workflows ................................................................................ 9
Workflow Templates and Associated Objects ................................................ 12
Planning Workflow Activities ...................................................................... 13
Choosing Activities ................................................................................ 14
Choosing Performers .............................................................................. 14
When the Performer Is Determined ...................................................... 16
Using Aliases ..................................................................................... 17
Enabling Delegation and Extension.......................................................... 18
Setting Priority Values ............................................................................ 18
Defining Packages .................................................................................. 19
Setting Trigger Conditions ...................................................................... 20
Setting Up Notifications .......................................................................... 20
Defining Activity Transitions ................................................................... 21
Determining Transition Conditions ...................................................... 22
Chapter 2 The Workflow Manager Window ............................................................ 25

Workflow Manager Toolbar ......................................................................... 26
Activities Palette ......................................................................................... 27
Workflow Palette ........................................................................................ 28
Workflow Template Editor Pane .................................................................. 30
Aligning activities .................................................................................. 31
Snap to grid ........................................................................................... 32
Zooming in or out .................................................................................. 32
Navigator .................................................................................................. 33
Chapter 3 Working with Workflow Templates ........................................................ 35

Opening Existing Templates ........................................................................ 35
Creating Templates ..................................................................................... 36
Setting Template Properties ......................................................................... 38
Saving Templates........................................................................................ 39
Validating Templates .................................................................................. 41
Installing Templates .................................................................................... 41
Modifying Templates .................................................................................. 42
Printing Workflow Templates ...................................................................... 43
Setting page setup options ...................................................................... 44
Chapter 4 Working with Activities .......................................................................... 47

Selecting Performers ................................................................................... 48
Choosing manual performers .................................................................. 49
EMC Documentum Workflow Manager Version 6.5 User Guide 3

Table of Contents
Assign performer(s) now .................................................................... 51

Have performer(s) of <activity> determine performer(s) of
this activity ........................................................................................ 52
Define performer alias (performer(s) will be assigned when
workflow is underway) ....................................................................... 53
Choosing automatic performers............................................................... 55
Setting Activity Definitions ......................................................................... 56
Setting Activity Triggers ............................................................................. 56
Setting Notifications ................................................................................... 57
Setting Activity Transition Rules .................................................................. 58
Creating transition conditions ................................................................. 60
Changing Display Settings .......................................................................... 62
Chapter 5 Working with Flows and Packages ........................................................ 65

Creating Flows ........................................................................................... 66
Setting Package Requirements ..................................................................... 66
Changing Flow Display Settings .................................................................. 67
Chapter 6 Managing Running Workflows .............................................................. 69

Halting Workflows ..................................................................................... 69
Aborting Workflows ................................................................................... 70
Resuming Workflows.................................................................................. 70
4 EMC Documentum Workflow Manager Version 6.5 User Guide

Table of Contents
List of Figures
Figure 1. Workflows Formalize Business Processes ......................................................... 10

Figure 2. Components of a Workflow ............................................................................. 11
Figure 3. Workflow Manager ......................................................................................... 26
Figure 4. Template Showing Activity Status ................................................................... 69

Table of Contents
List of Tables
Table 1. Activity Performer Selection Categories ........................................................... 15

Preface
You use Workflow Manager to create workflows. A workflow formalizes a business process, enabling
users to repeatedly perform the business process.
For more information about workflow, including technical details about managing workflows through
the Documentum application programming interface, see Documentum Content Server Fundamentals.
Intended Audience
The manual assumes that you are familiar with Webtop. Webtop is a WDK‑based
application. A WDK‑based application is built on WDK (Web Development Kit)
functionality. A WDK‑based application lets you access an EMC Documentum
repository over the web. WDK functionality lets you access, edit, and manage content in
multiple repositories. WDK functionality lets you distribute content through automated
business processes, restrict access to content according to permission sets, and assign
version numbers to content to help keep track of revisions.
Revision History
The following changes have been made to this document.
Revision date Description

July 2008 Initial publication

Preface

Chapter 1
Understanding Workflows
You use Workflow Manager to create workflows. A workflow formalizes a business process, enabling
users to repeatedly perform the business process.
This chapter introduces the basic concepts of Documentum workflow. The following topics are
included:
• Introducing Workflows, page 9
• Workflow Templates and Associated Objects, page 12
• Planning Workflow Activities, page 13
For more information about workflow, including technical details about managing workflows through
the Documentum application programming interface, see Documentum Content Server Fundamentals.
Introducing Workflows
A workflow formalizes a business process such as an insurance claims process or
an engineering development process. After the business process is formalized in a
workflow definition, called a workflow template, users can use the template to repeatedly
perform the business process. Because a workflow’s template is separate from its runtime
instantiation, multiple workflows based on the same template can be run concurrently.
A workflow template consists of multiple activities linked together by flows. Activities
represent the tasks users must perform to process the documents being routed
through the workflow, such as reviewing a document, checking it into the repository,
or approving it. Flows are the links between the activities, specifying the sequence of
activities and the packages that are exchanged between them. Packages contain the object,
generally a document, passed between activities so that work can be performed on it.
See Workflow Templates and Associated Objects, page 12 for further details about these
workflow components.

Figure 1. Workflows Formalize Business Processes
Workflows can describe simple or complex business processes. You can create workflows
that have both serial segments, in which activities follow one another in a specified
sequence, and parallel segments, in which two or more activities happen concurrently.
You can also create a cyclical workflow, in which the completion of an activity restarts a
previously completed activity. The path that a document takes through the workflow can
differ depending on what happens along the way; for example, a purchase order could be
routed to different activities depending on whether the manager approves it or rejects it.
You can create a workflow template that can be used in many contexts. This is done by
including activities whose performers are identified by aliases instead of actual user
names. When aliases are used, the actual user is selected at runtime. For example, a
typical business process for new documents has four steps: authoring the document,
reviewing it, revising it, and publishing the document. The actual authors and reviewers
will be different people for different documents. Rather than creating a separate
workflow for each document with the author and reviewer names hard‑coded, you
create one workflow template with activity definitions that use aliases for the author
and reviewer names. Depending on how you design the workflow, the actual people
represented by the aliases can be chosen by the person who starts the workflow, by the
person who performs the previous activity, or automatically by the server when the
containing activity is started. For more information about using aliases in workflows,
refer to Using Aliases, page 17.
A workflow’s process definition is stored in a workflow template, implemented by
Documentum Content Server as a dm_process object. The definitions of individual
activities in a workflow are stored in dm_activity objects. Storing activity definitions and
workflow templates in separate objects allows activity definitions to be used in multiple
workflow templates. When you design a workflow, you can include existing activity
definitions in addition to creating any new activity definitions needed.

When you start a workflow, the server uses the workflow template (the dm_process
object) to create a runtime instance of the workflow (a dm_workflow object). When an
activity starts, the server creates one or more work items, which are tasks that the server
adds to the Inbox of the users who are the designated performers of the activity.
Figure 2, page 11 illustrates how the components of a workflow template and runtime
instance work together. For more details about the object‑level implementation of
workflow, see Documentum Content Server Fundamentals.
Figure 2. Components of a Workflow

Workflow Templates and Associated Objects

Documentum workflow definitions consist of a workflow template, a set of activity
definitions, and a set of flows connecting the activities.
The workflow template defines the structure of a business process. It is composed of
activity definitions and a set of attributes that define the flows connecting the activities.
Activities
Activities represent the tasks that comprise the business process. Workflows contain
three kinds of activities:
• Begin activities are the first activities in the workflow. A workflow template must
have one Begin activity.
• The End activity is the last activity in the workflow. A workflow template can have
only one End activity.
• Step activities are the intermediate activities between the beginning and the end. A
workflow template can have any number of Step activities.
An activity can be either manual or automatic. A manual activity is performed by a
person or multiple people. An automatic activity is performed by a script or program.
The attributes of an activity definition describe the characteristics of the activity,
including:
• The unique name of the activity
• How the activity is executed
• Who performs the work
• What starts the activity
• The transition behavior when the activity is completed
When the server starts an activity, it creates work items and adds them to the Inboxes
of the users identified as the performers of the activity. These work items contain the
packages that the user needs to work on and instructions about the required task. (More
technically, the server adds a queue item to the Inbox, linked to the work item. See
Documentum Content Server Fundamentals for details.)
Packages
Packages are the objects, usually documents, on which activities perform their work. You
define the packages for an activity when you configure the incoming and outgoing
flows for the activity.
Flows
Flows connect activities together, and enable the movement of packages, their properties,
and dependencies between the connected activities. A single flow can handle multiple
packages.

There are two types of flows: forward flows and reject flows. Forward flows advance
packages from an activity to the next activity in the normal workflow, for example
moving a package from the Edit activity to the Approve activity. Reject flows determine
what happens when the performer of an activity rejects the package being routed. They
direct packages in a backward loop, for example sending a package from the Approve
activity back to Edit.
All Step activities must have at least one flow coming in and one flow going out. A Begin
activity has at least one outward flow, but no incoming flow. An End activity must have
at least one incoming flow, but no outward flow.
Each flow in a workflow template has a unique name. The definition of a flow also
includes a set of attributes that define the packages that each activity can handle.
Planning Workflow Activities

Each time you create a workflow template, there are design decisions to make. You must
decide which activities to include and how to structure the workflow.
First, review the business process you want to automate and identify the sequence of
activities required to complete it. Choosing Activities, page 14 provides some guidance
for the decisions about activities.
For each activity in the workflow, you must make the following decisions:
• Is it a manual activity or an automatic activity?
• Who performs the activity?
Choosing Performers, page 14 describes this choice.
• For manual activities, can the user delegate or extend the activity?
Enabling Delegation and Extension, page 18 describes these choices.
• For automatic activities, what is its priority?
Setting Priority Values, page 18 discusses priority values for automatic activities.
• What packages does the activity accept and what packages does it send on to the
next activity or activities?
Defining Packages, page 19 gives some guidelines for this decision.
• When does the activity start?
Setting Trigger Conditions, page 20 provides information about this decision.
• Will this activity use warning timers?
Setting Up Notifications, page 20 discusses warning timers.

• What happens next in the workflow?

Defining Activity Transitions, page 21 describes the transition options.
Choosing Activities
Each workflow template must have one or more Begin activities and a single End
activity. The template can have any number of Step activities. The number of Step
activities you include depends solely on the structure of the workflow, which will
depend on its business purpose.
Each activity in a workflow must have a name that is unique within the workflow
template. The name is assigned when you add the activity to the workflow template.
Choose activity names that are descriptive of the work performed by the activity.
You can include any activity that you create or any activity for which you have at least
Relate permission.
You can use an activity definition more than once in a workflow. For example, suppose
you want all documents to receive two rounds of review. You might design a workflow
with the following activities: Write, Review1, Revise, Review2, and Publish. The
Review1 and Review2 activities can use the same activity definition.
However, if you use an activity multiple times in a workflow, you must structure the
workflow so that only one instance of the activity is active at any time. A workflow
cannot start an activity if a previous activity based on the same definition is still running.
Choosing Performers
An activity definition includes the information that lets Workflow Manager determine
who will perform the activity. Workflow Manager supports a wide range of choices for
a manual activity’s performer. For automatic activities, you must still identify a user
whose permissions will be used when running the script or program.
When a manual activity starts, the server adds a queue item to the Inbox of the user or
users designated as the performer of that activity.
Table 1, page 15 lists the categories from which you can choose a performer. Each
category is represented by an integer value. Only the first four options are available
for automatic activities.

Table 1. Activity Performer Selection Categories
User Category How Performers are Selected

0 Workflow’s initiator/supervisor The server selects the user designated at the
workflow supervisor when the activity starts. By
default, the user who starts the workflow is the
workflow supervisor.
1 Repository owner The server selects the user identified as the owner
of the active repository.
2 Previous activity’s performer The server selects the performer from the last
finished activity that satisfied the trigger condition
of the current activity. (See Setting Trigger
Conditions, page 20 for information about trigger
conditions.)
3 Specific user You select an actual user name when you create
the template.
4 All users in group You select a group name when you create the
template. At runtime, the server assigns a separate
item to each group member.
5 Single user from group (First to You select a group name when you create the
acquire the work item) template. At runtime, the server assigns a new
work item to every group member. When one
member of the group acquires the work item, the
work items are removed from all other group
member’s Inboxes.
6 Single user from group (Least You select a group name when you create the
amount of unfinished work template. At runtime, the server determines
items) which user in the selected group has the smallest
workload and assigns a new work item to that
user. Workload is measured as the number of
dormant and active work items.

User Category How Performers are Selected

8 Some users from a group You select a list of multiple users or aliases as the
performer of the activity. The server assigns a
work item to each of the users who are chosen as
performers.
9 Multiple sequential performers You select a list of multiple users or aliases as the
performer of the activity. The server assigns the
work item to the first user in the list of chosen
users. When that user completes the work item,
the server creates another work item for the next
user in the list of chosen users. This continues until
all chosen users have completed their work items.
Participants in a workflow have the option to mark themselves as unavailable for
workflow tasks. When the workflow runs, if the user selected as the performer is
unavailable, the workflow engine attempts to give the work item to the user’s delegated
user. See Enabling Delegation and Extension, page 18 for information about delegated
users.
For information about selecting performers for an activity in Workflow Manager, see
Selecting Performers, page 48. For details about creating activities whose performers
are selected at runtime, see When the Performer Is Determined, page 16 and Using
Aliases, page 17.
When the Performer Is Determined
When you create the activity, you must define the performer type, the user category. You
can also define the actual performer at that time or you can configure the activity so that
the actual performer is selected at runtime:
• By the workflow initiator when the workflow is started
• By the server, when the activity is started
• By the performer of a previous activity, when the previous activity completes
Defining the actual performer in an activity definition is the least flexible structure.
Allowing the performer of a previous activity to choose an activity’s performer is the
most flexible structure, since it lets decisions about performers be based on current
circumstances and business rules.
If you select category 0 (Workflow supervisor), 1 (Repository owner), or 2 (Previous
activity’s performer) as the user category, the actual user is defined by the category. For
example, an executing workflow has only one workflow supervisor and the repository in
which it runs has only one repository owner. It isn’t necessary to define the actual person
when you create the activity. The server determines it when the activity is started.

If you select category 3 (Specific user), you can provide a user name when you create
the activity to identify the actual person. To have the actual person selected when the
workflow runs, use an alias in place of a specific user name; see Using Aliases, page
17 for information about aliases. The alias can be resolved automatically by the server
using an alias set or by the performer of a previous activity. The same options apply to
categories 4, 5, or 6, except that you provide the name of a group instead of an individual
user. Provide a group name if you are choosing the actual group when you create the
activity; use an alias if you want the actual group selected at runtime.
For categories 8 and 9, you provide the names or aliases for a list of multiple users. Just
as with the other categories, you can choose the actual performers when you create the
activity, have the performer of a previous activity chose the performer, or use aliases
to have the performer chosen at runtime.
Using Aliases
An alias is a descriptive name for a category of user or group that you use in place of an
actual user or group name. At runtime, the server replaces the alias with the name of the
actual user or group who fits the category in that time and place. Using aliases in activity
definitions creates a flexible workflow template that can be used a variety of contexts.
For example, suppose you are creating a workflow for vacation requests. Each
department in your company has a different manager who must approve vacations.
Rather that create a different workflow template for every department, you want to
create one template for everyone to use. After all, the business process is the same for
every department. In place of specific performer names for the activities, you use an
alias, such as Manager. When the workflow runs, the server answers the question ʺWho
is the Manager of the workflow initiator?ʺ and sends a work item to that user.
The server resolves aliases at runtime by searching one or more alias sets to find the alias
and its associated actual value. An alias set is an object that defines a list of aliases and
their corresponding actual values. You create alias sets in Documentum Administrator;
see the Documentum Content Server Administration Guide for details. You can associate
alias sets with particular users, and in Workflow Manager you can identify a default
alias set for the workflow.
When you include an alias as the performer for an activity, you can specify that the
server resolve the alias at runtime by referring to the default alias set for the workflow,
to the alias set associated with the user who starts the workflow, to the alias set for the
performer of a previous activity, or to any other alias set you choose. You can also have
the server require the workflow initiator to manually provide values for the aliases when
the workflow starts; to require the workflow initiator to resolve the aliases, you define a
default alias set for the workflow template that contains the aliases but not the names to
which the aliases are mapped. See Choosing manual performers, page 49 for details.

Enabling Delegation and Extension

When you create a manual activity, you specify whether the user performing the activity
is able to delegate the activity to another performer or extend the activity by identifying
an additional performer.
With delegation, the original performer does not complete the activity. With extension,
both the original performer and the designated additional performer complete the
activity.
If delegation is allowed, it can occur automatically or manually.
• Automatic delegation occurs when the server checks the availability of an activity’s
performer or performers and determines that the person or persons is not available.
When this happens, the server automatically delegates the work to the users that
the original performer designated in the Workflow Availability dialog box. If there
is no user identified or that user is not available, the work item is either reassigned
to the workflow supervisor or returned to the original performer depending on a
configuration option set when the activity is created.
• Manual delegation occurs when the work item’s performer, the workflow supervisor,
or a superuser elects to delegate the work item.
If extension is allowed, when the original performers complete an activity’s work items,
they can identify a second round of performers for the activity. The server generates
new work items for the second round of performers. Only after the second round
of performers completes the work does the server evaluate the activity’s transition
condition and move to the next activity. The second round of performers do not have the
option to extend the activity any further.
See Selecting Performers, page 48 for information about setting these options.
Setting Priority Values

For automatic activities, you designate a priority value that determines the order in
which the server runs the activity relative to other actions in its queue. You can set a
priority value for manual activities as well, which is reflected in the performer’s Inbox.
When an automatic activity is started, the activity is placed on the execution queue for a
server facility that runs periodically. The server facility executes the activities in order of
priority. By default, it executes all queued automatic activities each time it is invoked,
but a system administrator can limit the number of activities handled each time the
facility runs. If the server configuration setting max_wf_jobs is set to a low number and
there are a large number of queued activities with high priority, a lower priority activity
may have to wait several invocations for execution.

In addition to priority settings Low, Medium, and High, Workflow Manager enables you
to set a Dynamic priority for an activity. Dynamic priority is when the priority of the
activity is set using custom code as the workflow runs rather than being set as part of
the workflow template. You should assign Dynamic priority only when your system
includes custom code to set the priority at runtime.
See Setting Activity Definitions, page 56 for information about setting the priority
of an activity.
Defining Packages
When you define a flow linking two activities, you need to specify what objects are
passed along the flow. An object, usually a document, passed between activities is called
a package. Each flow must have at least one package that it transports from one activity to
the next. The flow can include more than one package if necessary.
To define a package, you identify the document or other object to route, including which
repository version. You also have the option to choose the operation that the performer
of the activity receiving the package needs to perform.
There are three basic options for what an activity does with a package it receives:
• The activity can send on the package without change.
• The activity can send on the package with a new version of the object contained
within it.
• The activity can send a new package to the next activity.
In many workflows, the same package passes through all activities. For example, a
workflow for reviewing and approving purchase orders will pass the same purchase
order document as a package to all the necessary activities. In this case, each activity
passes along to the next activity the same package it received. In Workflow Manager,
you accomplish this scenario by configuring the flows leading into and out of the activity
so that they use the same package name, package type, and version.
In other cases, the work performed by an activity results in a new version of a document
from the incoming package. For example, a user might receive a document for review.
He or she checks out the document, adds comments or revisions, and checks in the
document. In this case, you want the activity to send the new version of the component
when it sends the package to the next activity. In Workflow Manager, you accomplish
this scenario by configuring the incoming and outgoing flows to use the same package
name and type, but a different version. You can specify the version using an actual
version number, such as 2.5, or a symbolic version label, such as Draft or CURRENT.
The work performed in some activities requires the activity to send on a package that is
entirely different from the package it received. For example, suppose an activity accepts a
personnel action notice. The performer (an HR employee) must file the notice, then send

a different form to the accounting department. In Workflow Manager, you accomplish

this scenario by using different package names for the incoming and outgoing flows.
For information about configuring flows and packages in Workflow Manager, see Setting
Package Requirements, page 66.
Setting Trigger Conditions

A trigger is a signal that the activity can begin. Trigger conditions define the starting
criteria for an activity. At runtime, the server does not start an activity until the activity’s
trigger condition is met. The trigger condition can optionally include a trigger event
that must occur before the activity starts.
If the activity has more than one incoming flow, you can specify how many of the
previous activities must complete before this activity starts. The trigger condition is the
minimum number of flows that must have delivered packages to the activity before the
activity starts. For example, if an activity has three incoming flows, you may decide that
the activity can start when two of the three have delivered their packages. The trigger
condition must be a value between one and the total number of incoming flows.
A trigger event is an event queued to the workflow. The event can be a system‑defined
event, such as dm_checkin, or you can make up an event name, such as promoted or
released. However, because you cannot register a workflow to receive event notifications,
the event must be explicitly queued to the workflow using the Documentum API. If you
include a trigger event in the starting condition, the server must find the event you
identify queued to the workflow before starting the activity. The same event can be used
as a trigger for multiple activities, however, the application must queue the event once
for each activity. See the chapter ʺTasks, Events, and Inboxesʺ in Documentum Content
Server Fundamentals for further details about defining and queuing events.
For information about setting an activity’s trigger conditions, see Setting Activity
Triggers, page 56.
Setting Up Notifications
When you configure an activity, you can set timers that send a message to the workflow
supervisor if work does not appear to be flowing as it should. For example, you might
want the workflow supervisor to receive a warning if the activity is not started within 12
hours of when the workflow started, or if the activity has not been completed 4 hours
after its start. When you create the activity, you would provide these values (12 and
4) as the timer settings.
Workflow Manager supports two kinds of warning timers for activities:

• A pre‑timer that alerts the workflow supervisor if an activity has not started within a
designated number of hours after the workflow starts
• A post‑timer that alerts the workflow supervisor if an activity has not completed
within a designated number of hours after the activity starts
The task of checking the warning timers and sending the notices to the workflow
supervisor is performed by the dm_WfmsTimer system administration tool. The
dm_WfmsTimer tool is installed with the system administration tool suite. It is not
installed in the active state. If you intend to use warning timers in workflows, make sure
that your system administrator activates this job. When it is active, it runs by default
once an hour. See the Content Server documentation for further information about
dm_WfmsTimer.
The workflow supervisor receives warning notifications in the form of an item in their
Inbox queue.
See Setting Notifications, page 57 for information on how to set notification timers.
Defining Activity Transitions

When an activity has multiple outgoing flows, you may want packages sent to all of
the following activities, or you may want packages sent to only some of the following
activities depending on the outcome of the activity. For example, you might give a
performer who reviews the design of a new form the choice of forwarding the design
to the next reviewer or sending it back to the designer for revision. You set up this
branching logic by creating flows from this activity to the two possible following
activities, then allowing the performer to choose which path to follow.
An activity’s transition type defines how following activities are selected when the
activity is complete. There are three types of transitions:
• Select all connected activities Packages are sent to all following activities linked to
this activity, including both forward flows and reject flows
• Let performer select the next activities The performer of this activity chooses which
following activities to send packages to at runtime
• Select next activities based on conditions Which activities receive packages is
determined at runtime by evaluating a set of transition conditions
If the activity is a group activity that is, if the performer category is 4 (All users in group)
or 8 (Some users from a group) you specify how many members of the group must
complete the task before the server considers the overall activity complete and forwards
packages to the following activities. For example, if five users receive a work item for an
activity, you can specify that the activity is complete when any three of them are done.
Alternatively, you can require that all five users complete the task.

If you let performers select the next activities, you can limit the number of following
activities the performer can select. For example, if an activity has three outgoing flows,
you can let the performer send packages to all three, or you can require the performer to
select just one or two of them.
If you let a group of performers select the next activities that is, if the performer category
is 4 or 8 and the transition option is Let performer select the next activity you also need to
advise the server about how to combine the performers’ selections. When a group selects
activities, it is possible that some performers might select forward activities while others
select reject activities. Which activities should the workflow engine start in this case?
All of the selected activities, just the reject activities, or just the forward activities? You
can also decide to complete the activity immediately whenever any performer selects a
reject activity or a forward activity.
If you choose an conditional transition type, you must define at least one transition
condition for that activity.
Determining Transition Conditions
Transition conditions enable you to define activities that route packages differently
depending on the results of the activity. A transition condition is a logical condition
and one or more associated flows. When an activity is complete at runtime, the server
evaluates the activity’s transition conditions to determine which following activities to
start as the next step in the workflow. It delivers packages to the activities associated
with the first transition condition that is TRUE. An activity can have multiple transition
conditions, although the server always selects just one the first TRUE one at runtime.
For example, you could define an activity that routes a document differently depending
on whether the performer checked in a new version of the document. The server uses the
following logic to determine where to send the document next:
If
(New version checked in) then Route to activity Evaluate Updates Else
Route to activity Continue Approval
Transition conditions must be Boolean expressions. They are typically used to check
attributes of the package’s components, the containing workflow, or the last completed
work item. If the transition condition includes a reference to a repeating attribute, the
attribute must have at least one value or the condition generates an error when evaluated.
When you use transition conditions, you always include an Else option. The Else option is
the action that the server takes if none of the transition conditions apply. The Else option
does not have a condition associated with it. An activity can only have one Else case.

For information about defining transition conditions for an activity, see Setting Activity
Transition Rules, page 58.


Chapter 2
The Workflow Manager Window
Workflow Manager is a graphical tool for laying out and defining your workflow. The Workflow
Manager window is divided into two major panes:
• The left pane is the workflow template editor, which displays a graphical representation of your
workflow template as you create it
• The right pane contains the Activities palette and Workflow palette, which display predefined
activities and workflows that you can add to the template
You can control the size of the two panes by positioning the mouse over the border between them and
dragging the border to a new position.
A pair of arrows appears between the two panes. To expand one of the panes to fill the window, click
the arrow pointing away from the pane you want to expand. To return the Workflow Manager
to its two‑pane view, click the arrow facing the other direction, which now appears at the edge
of the window.
A configurable toolbar appears across the top of the window, providing quick access to common
commands.
If the workflow is too large to display on the screen, you can use the Navigator to view the complete
workflow and specify which portion appears.

Figure 3. Workflow Manager
Workflow Manager Toolbar

Across the top of the window is a configurable toolbar that provides quick access to
common commands. To access a command from the toolbar, click the icon corresponding
to that command. To find out what command an icon corresponds to, hold the mouse
pointer over the icon without clicking it. A small box pops up showing the name of
the icon.
You control which icons appear in the toolbar using options on the View menu.
Workflow Manager offers four collections of toolbar icons:
• Standard toolbar icons provide access to commands from the File and Edit menus
• Workflow toolbar icons enable you to create flows and to display the properties of
workflow objects
• Alignment toolbar icons provide quick access to the options for aligning objects in
the graphical display of the workflow template
• Display toolbar icons enable you to zoom in and out on the workflow template editor
pane and to turn the snap to grid option on or off
By default, the toolbar displays all icons except for the alignment icons.

To select which icons appear in the Workflow Manager toolbar:

1. From the View menu, select Toolbars.
A submenu appears with the name of each available group of toolbar icons. The
groups currently appearing in the toolbar have a check mark next to their names.
2. Select the group you want to add or remove from the toolbar.
If you select an unchecked option, that group of icons is added to the Workflow
Manager toolbar. If you select a checked option, the check mark is removed and that
group of icons are removed from the toolbar.
Activities Palette
The Activities palette displays predefined activities that you can drag and drop on to
the workflow template editor, adding them to the template. You control which activities
appear on the palette by specifying search conditions. You can search for activities
using these conditions:
• The name of cabinet where the activity is located
• The owner of the activity
• The activity name
• The state that the activity is in
You also have the option to enter a Documentum Query Language (DQL) statement
that selects activities.
To specify the activities in the Activities palette:

1. Select the Activities tab in the right pane of the Workflow Manager window to
display the Activities palette.
2. Click the Change Palette button located at the bottom of the palette.
The Change Activity in Palette dialog box appears.
3. Select the method you want to use to specify which activities appear on the palette.
• Use activities in cabinet enables you to select activities based on their cabinet
location, owner, activity name, or definition state
• Use results from this query in the repository enables you to enter a DQL
statement that selects activities; skip to step 6 for this advanced option
4. If you selected Use activities in cabinet, use the drop‑down list to choose which
cabinet contains the activities you want to appear in the palette.
The default is All cabinets, which does not restrict the palette to activities in a single
cabinet. The remaining options are the names of cabinets that contain activities.

5. To further restrict the list of activities from the selected cabinet, fill in the appropriate
conditions:
• To display only activities owned by a particular user, select an operator from the
Owner’s name drop‑down list and enter a user name in the adjacent text box.
The operator specifies the relationship between the name of the activity owner
and the value that you enter in the text box.
• To display only activities with particular activity names, select an operator from
the Activity name drop‑down list and enter a name or partial name in the text
box.
• To display only activities with a particular definition state, select the state from
the Definition state is drop‑down list.
If you leave any of these fields blank, the list of activities will not be restricted based
on that criterion.
6. If you selected Use results from this query in the repository, enter a DQL query
in the adjacent text box.
The Activities palette will include all activities returned by the query.
7. Specify whether the selected activities replace or supplement the activities currently
displayed on the Activities palette.
• To replace the current list of activities with those selected in this dialog box,
select the Replace repository templates in palette check box.
• To add the selected activities to those already on the palette, do not select the
check box.
Note: The standard Workflow Manager activities remain on the palette regardless of
the option you choose. You can only replace user‑defined activities.
8. Click OK to close the dialog box.
The Activities palette displays the updated list of activities. A message box appears,
telling you how many activities were added or removed from the palette.
9. Click OK to close the message box.
Workflow Palette
The Workflow palette displays predefined workflow templates that you can drag and
drop on to the workflow template editor, adding their activities and flows to the new
workflow template. You control which workflow templates appear on the palette by
specifying search conditions. You can search for templates using these conditions:
• The name of cabinet where the workflow template is located
• The owner of the workflow template

• The workflow template name

• The state that the workflow template is in
You also have the option to enter a Documentum Query Language (DQL) statement
that selects workflow templates.
To specify the workflows in the Workflow palette:

1. Select the Workflow tab in the right pane of the Workflow Manager window to
display the Workflow palette.
2. Click the Change Palette button located at the bottom of the palette.
The Change Workflow in Palette dialog box appears.
3. Select the method you want to use to specify which workflow templates appear
on the palette.
• Use workflow templates in cabinet enables you to select workflow templates
based on their cabinet location, owner, name, or definition state
• Use results from this query in the repository enables you to enter a
Documentum Query Language (DQL) statement that selects workflow
templates; skip to step 6 for this advanced option
4. If you selected Use workflow templates in cabinet, use the drop‑down list to choose
which cabinet contains the templates you want to appear in the palette.
The default is All cabinets, which does not restrict the palette to templates in a single
cabinet. The remaining options are the names of cabinets that contain workflow
templates.
5. To further restrict the list of workflow templates from the selected cabinet, fill in the
appropriate conditions:
• To display only templates owned by a particular user, select an operator from
the Owner’s name drop‑down list and enter a user name in the adjacent text
box. The operator specifies the relationship between the name of the workflow
template owner and the value that you enter in the text box.
• To display only templates with particular names, select an operator from the
Workflow name drop‑down list and enter a name or partial name in the text box.
• To display only templates with a particular definition state, select the state from
the Definition state is drop‑down list.
If you leave any of these fields blank, the list of workflow templates will not be
restricted based on that criterion.
6. If you selected Use results from this query in the repository, enter a DQL query
in the adjacent text box.
The Workflow palette will include all workflow templates returned by the query.
7. Specify whether the selected workflow templates replace or supplement the
templates currently displayed on the Workflow palette.

• To replace the current list of workflow templates with those selected in this
dialog box, select the Replace repository templates in palette check box.
• To add the selected templates to those already on the palette, do not select the
check box.
Note: The standard Workflow Manager workflow templates remain on the palette
regardless of the option you choose. You can only replace user‑defined templates.
8. Click OK to close the dialog box.
The Workflow palette displays the updated list of workflow templates. A message
box appears, telling you how many templates were added or removed from the
palette.
9. Click OK to close the message box.
Workflow Template Editor Pane

The workflow template editor pane is the area where you layout the workflow. To define
a workflow, drag activities or other workflows from the palettes into the workflow
template editor, connect them with flows, then define the properties of the activities and
flows. See Creating Templates, page 36 for more information.
The procedures you follow to control the visual layout of a workflow are similar to
those in other graphical layout software.
• To add objects to the workflow template, drag an activity or workflow from the
palette and drop it in the workflow template editor pane. The object is added to the
template at the location where you release the mouse button.
• To move objects within the workflow template, select them and drag them to their
new location. When you move an activity that has flows connecting it to other
activities, the arrows representing the flows move along with the activity. Flows
cannot be moved on their own.
• To remove objects from the workflow template, select them and click the Delete
Selected Objects icon from the toolbar or select Delete from the Edit menu.
• To copy activities, select them and click the Copy icon from the toolbar or select
Copy from the Edit menu. To add the new copy to the template, click the Paste icon
from the toolbar or select Paste from the Edit menu.
• To see the actions that are available for a given object, select the object then right‑click
on it. A context menu appears at the location of the mouse cursor, showing the
available actions.
These actions require you to select the objects you want to act on.

To select one or more objects in the workflow template editor pane:

1. With the Select Objects icon in the toolbar selected, click the visual representation
of the object in the workflow template editor pane.
A set of black boxes appears around the object, indicating that it is selected. Clicking
the object a second time de‑selects it and removes the black boxes.
2. To select additional objects, hold down the Shift key as you click each of the objects.
If you do not hold down the Shift key, selecting one object automatically de‑selects
any previously selected objects.
3. To select all objects in the template, select Select All from the Edit menu.
Aligning activities
The Alignment options enable you to position workflow activities precisely. You can
align activities vertically or horizontally by their left or right edges, top or bottom edges,
or by their center points.
To align activities:
1. Select the activities you want to align.
You must have two or more activities selected to enable the Alignment options.
See Workflow Template Editor Pane, page 30 for information about how to select
activities.
2. If the alignment toolbar is active, click the icon corresponding to the alignment
option you want.
The available alignment options are:
• Align top edges
• Align vertical centers
• Align bottom edges
• Align left edges
• Align horizontal centers
• Align right edges

If you choose to align the top edges of your activities, the highest or topmost activity
determines the placement of the other activities; that is, the selected activities will
move up to be in alignment with the topmost activity. Similarly, if you choose to align
the bottom edges of your activities, the lowest or bottommost activity determines the
placement of the other activities. This is also true for left and right alignment.

3. If the alignment toolbar is not active, select Alignment from the Edit menu.
The Task Alignment dialog box displays.
4. Select the icon that represents the alignment you want.
5. Click OK.
Snap to grid
The snap to grid option provides added precision for aligning workflow activities and
flows.
When the snap to grid option is turned on, a grid appears in the background of the
workflow template editor. Each square in the grid measures a third of an inch. When
you move activities or flows in the editor, they will automatically align themselves with
the grid, making it easier to align objects with each other. Turning on snap to grid does
not effect the layout of existing objects in the template.
When the snap to grid option is turned off, the grid does not appear and objects are
placed exactly where you drop them. Turn the option off when you want to have fine
control over the position of the objects.
To turn on or off snap to grid:

1. Select Snap To Grid from the View menu or click the Snap to Grid icon in the
toolbar .
Zooming in or out
If the Display toolbar buttons are active, the current level of zooming appears in a box
between the Zoom In icon and the Zoom Out icon . Each time you click the Zoom
In or Zoom Out icon, Workflow Manager zooms in or out by one magnification level.
To zoom in or zoom out on a workflow template:

1. Expand the drop‑down list next to the Zoom In icon, or select Zoom from the View
menu.
2. Select one of the zoom levels:
• 200% (Highest magnification)
• 150%
• 100% (Normal viewing default)
• 75%

• 50%
• Last Toggles between the current zoom option and your previous zoom setting
• Width Sizes the workflow template so that its full width fits within the visual
dimensions of the workflow template editor pane
• Fit Magnifies or shrinks the appearance of your workflow template so that it fits
within the visible dimensions of the workflow template editor pane
Navigator
When you are defining a workflow template, the graphical representation can easily
grow beyond a size that can be displayed on the screen all at one time. The workflow
template editor automatically scrolls as you add objects and create a larger layout.
The Navigator enables you to control which portion of a large template appears on
the screen.
To navigate to the portion of a template to display on screen:

1. Select Navigator from the View menu, or click the Navigator icon in the toolbar .
The Navigator window appears in the right pane of the Workflow Manager window.
It displays a reduced representation of the current workflow template with a gray
box around the section currently displayed on the screen.
2. To change which area of the workflow template appears on screen, drag the gray box
in the Navigator window so that it is over the area you want to appear in the editor.
The editor pane scrolls to the selected location when you release the mouse button.


Chapter 3
Working with Workflow Templates
Workflow templates represent the business process through which a given object or set of objects
flows. They define the overall workflow from beginning to end. You create workflow templates in
Workflow Manager, then make them available for users to create individual workflow instances from.
There are three possible states for workflow templates: draft, validated, and installed. The current
state of the open template appears in the title bar of the Workflow Manager window.
A template in the draft state has not been validated since it was created or last modified. A template
in the validated state has passed the server’s validation checks, which ensure that the template is
correctly defined. A template in the installed state is ready for use in an active workflow.
This chapter explains how to create templates, validate them, and install them. The topics are:
• Opening Existing Templates, page 35
• Creating Templates, page 36
• Setting Template Properties, page 38
• Saving Templates, page 39
• Validating Templates, page 41
• Installing Templates, page 41
• Modifying Templates, page 42
• Printing Workflow Templates, page 43
Opening Existing Templates

You can open an existing template in order to review it, revise it, or save it under a new
name as a starting point for a new workflow.
Note: If you plan to revise a workflow template and want to save the updated template
as a new version in the repository, you must check out the workflow template before
opening it.

To open a workflow template in Workflow Manager:

1. From the File menu, select Open.
The Open Workflow Template dialog box appears.
2. Navigate to the workflow template by double‑clicking on cabinet and folder names
until the template name appears in the list box.
3. Double‑click the template name, or highlight it and click Open.
Creating Templates
The procedure below provides an overview of creating templates. Several of the steps
provide links to other topics where you can find more detail about the task described by
that step.
To create a workflow template:

1. Design the business process and the workflow that implements it.
For details about designing workflows, see Planning Workflow Activities, page 13.
2. From the File menu, select New.
If you have a template already open, Workflow Manager closes it. If the template has
unsaved changes, a message box appears asking if you want to save the changes.
The new template includes Initiate and End tasks.
Note: To create a template based on an existing template, open the existing
template and save it with a new name.
3. Set the template properties.
See Setting Template Properties, page 38 for details.
4. To add flows and activities from an existing template, select the existing template
and drag it on to the workflow template editor pane.
a. Click the Workflow tab in the right pane to display the Workflow palette.
b. Select the workflow template you want to serve as the basis for the new template.
If the template you want does not appear on the palette, see Workflow Palette,
page 28.
c. Drag the template on to the workflow template editor pane.
All activities and flows from the selected template appear in the editor pane.
However, the flow is not linked to the Initiate or End tasks.
5. Drag and drop activities from the Activities palette on to the workflow template
editor pane until you have one activity for each task in your workflow.

• To add a new activity that will be performed manually by a person, select the
default Activity that appears at the top of the Activities palette.
• To add a new automatic activity, select the default Auto‑Activity.
• To add a copy of an activity previously defined, select that activity from the
Activities palette. If the activity you want does not appear on the Activities
palette, see Activities Palette, page 27.
6. Connect each activity to the activity that precedes it in the logical flow.
The first activity in the workflow must be connected to the Initiate task, and the last
activity must be connected to the End task.
To connect two activities, select one of the flow icons described below, move your
mouse over the first activity until you see its selection box, then drag the mouse to
the second activity. Release the mouse button when you see the selection box for the
second activity. Workflow Manager draws a line between the activities.
You connect activities using one of three Create Flow icons in the Workflow Manager
toolbar:
• To connect activities in a forward movement of data, click either the Create
Single Segment Flow icon or the Create Multi‑Segment Flow icon . The
difference between the two is visual: one draws a straight line to represent the
flow between activities, the other draws a line consisting of multiple segments.
• To connect activities in a backward movement of data, click the Create Reject
Flow icon . Reject flows represent the path taken when the user of an activity
rejects the object being processed.
7. Configure each flow line, specifying the package that the workflow routes.
See Setting Package Requirements, page 66 for details about configuring flows. Do
not add a package to the flow connecting the final activity to the End task.
8. Configure each activity.
See Chapter 4, Working with Activities
for details about configuring activities.
9. Adjust the visual layout as necessary.
For information about the options available for laying out the workflow template
display, see Workflow Template Editor Pane, page 30.
10. Save the workflow template.
See Saving Templates, page 39.
11. Validate the workflow template.
See Validating Templates, page 41.
12. Install the workflow template.
See Installing Templates, page 41. Once you have installed the template, it is
available to users.

Setting Template Properties

You use the Template Properties dialog box to provide basic information about the
workflow you are creating. The original creator and current state of the workflow
template display at the top of the dialog box in display‑only fields.
To set workflow template properties:

1. From the File menu, select Template Properties, or click the Template Properties
icon on the toolbar .
2. To change the owner of the workflow template, click the Change button that appears
next to the owner name and select a user from the dialog box that appears.
You are the default owner of any templates you create. You can only change the
owner if you are a superuser. If you are not a superuser, the Change button is not
available.
3. Enter a description of the workflow template in the Description (subject) text box.
4. To change the default alias set for this workflow template, click the Change button
that appears next to the current alias set.
For more information about alias sets and how they are used in workflow, see Using
Aliases, page 17.
• To choose an existing alias set, check Choose from existing alias sets, select the
name of the alias set from the drop‑down list, and click OK.
• To create a new alias set, check Create new alias set, type the name and
description of the new alias set, and click OK.
• To remove the currently assigned default alias set, check Remove alias set.
5. Enter instructions for the performer in the Workflow template instructions (title)
box.
For example, you can give performers of all activities specific instructions relating
to tasks they are expected to perform.
6. Turn on or off the template audit trail setting by clicking the appropriate option.
For more information about auditing in Documentum, see the Documentum Content
Server API Reference Manual.
7. Specify whether Workflow Manager should ask whether to validate or install the
template when you save it.
Before a workflow template is available to users, it must be validated and installed.
If you select the Always show validate and install prompts after save check box,
Workflow Manager displays prompts whenever you save the template, asking
whether you want to validate and install the template. If the check box is not

selected, the prompts do not display, and you need to validate and install the
template as separate steps.
8. Click OK.
Saving Templates
When you have completed a workflow template, you must save it before you can validate
and install it. Saving the template copies your changes to the repository.
The process of saving differs depending on whether you are saving changes to an existing
template or saving a template with a new name. You can only save workflow templates
that are in a draft state or a validated state, and you must have at least Write permission
on the template. The current state of the template appears in the Workflow Manager title
bar. If the Save options are grayed out on the File menu, it may mean that the template
has been installed. You must uninstall it before you can make any changes to it.
To save a new workflow template or save an existing template with a new

name:
1. From File menu, select Save As.
The Save Workflow Template As dialog box appears.
Note: If the current workflow template has not been previously saved, selecting
Save has the same effect.
2. Enter a name for the workflow template.
3. To create a folder in which to store the template and its associated objects, make sure
the Create new folder for associated items check box is selected.
The check box is selected by default. Workflow Manager saves the template in a
folder with the same name as the template, located under the folder you select in
the next step.
If the check box is de‑selected, Workflow Manager saves the template directly in the
folder you select in the next step.
4. Navigate to the folder where you want to save the template by double‑clicking on
cabinets and directories in the Save in box until you have highlighted the folder
name.
The complete path to the folder appears in the gray text box at the bottom of the
dialog box.
5. Click OK.
If you have sufficient permissions on the selected folder, Workflow Manager saves
the template.

If installation and validation prompts are set to display, a dialog box appears asking
whether you want to validate the template. (Installation and validation prompts are
set on or off in the Template Properties dialog box; see Setting Template Properties,
page 38.)
6. Choose whether to validate the workflow template.
See Validating Templates, page 41 for more information about validating templates.
If you choose to validate the template, Workflow Manager attempts the validation.
If validation fails, a dialog box appears telling you so. Click the Details button to
see the error that prevented validation.
If the validation is successful, a dialog box appears asking whether you want to
install the template, making it available for use.
7. Choose whether to install the workflow template.
See Installing Templates, page 41 for more information about installing templates.
To save an updated workflow template:

1. From File menu, select Save.
If the current workflow template has been previously saved and is not checked out
of the repository, Workflow Manager updates the saved file.
If the workflow template has been checked out of the repository, a dialog box
appears asking if you want to save the changes to the current version or check in a
new version.
2. Click the Save button to save changes to the current version or the Check In button
to create a new version.
Either option removes the checked‑out status of the workflow template.
If installation and validation prompts are set to display, a dialog box appears asking
whether you want to validate the template. (Installation and validation prompts are
set on or off in the Template Properties dialog box; see Setting Template Properties,
page 38.)
3. Choose whether to validate the workflow template.
See Validating Templates, page 41 for more information about validating templates.
If you choose to validate the template, Workflow Manager attempts the validation.
If validation fails, a dialog box appears telling you so. Click the Details button to
see the error that prevented validation.
If the validation is successful, a dialog box appears asking whether you want to
install the template, making it available for use.
4. Choose whether to install the workflow template.
See Installing Templates, page 41 for more information about installing templates.

Validating Templates
Validating a template verifies that the process defined in the template meets system
requirements.
You can validate a template at any time by selecting Validate from the File menu. If
installation and validation prompts are set to display, a dialog box appears when you
save asking whether you want to validate the template. Installation and validation
prompts are set on or off in the Template Properties dialog box; see Setting Template
Properties, page 38.
If validation fails, a dialog box appears telling you so. Click the Details button to see
the error that prevented validation. If the validation is successful, a dialog box appears
asking whether you want to install the template, making it available for use.
Please note that any errors that occur will refer to activities by their names. If you label
activities with the performer name, you might want to temporarily change the display
setting to Name in order to locate the activity. See Changing Display Settings, page
62 for information about this display setting.
You can only validate if your open template is in the draft state and you have Write
permission, or your template is in run‑time mode and you have at least Relate permission.
Validating a workflow template verifies that:
• The referenced activities have unique names within the template
• There is at least one Begin activity and only one End activity
• There is a path through the workflow from each activity to the End activity
• All package definitions are valid
• All referenced objects exist as local objects
Installing Templates
A workflow template must be installed before it is available for use in an active
workflow. You can only install a template if it is in the validated state and you have
Write permission, or it is in run‑time mode and you have at least Relate permission. The
current state of the open template appears in the title bar of the Workflow Manager
window. If it is not validated, select Validate from the File menu. See Validating
Templates, page 41 for more information.
If you need to make changes to an installed template, you must uninstall it first. Any
active workflows based on the template are halted. After making the changes, validate
and install the template again.

When you reinstall, you can choose how you want to handle any workflows that
were halted when you uninstalled the template. You can choose to resume the halted
workflows at the point from which they were halted. Or, you can choose to abort
the workflows. Which option you choose depends on the changes you made to the
workflow. Perhaps you added an activity that you want to perform on all objects in the
workflow. In that case, you abort the workflows and then start each again. The default
behavior is to resume all halted workflows that reference that template.
To install a workflow template:

1. From the File menu, select Install.
If the Install option is grayed out, it means the template is currently installed.
If there are any halted workflows based on this workflow template, you are given the
option to resume or halt them. Click one of the following:
• Click Yes to resume the halted workflows.
If you resume a halted workflow that is based on a workflow template to which
you have made significant changes, incompatibilities between the old workflow
template and the changed workflow template may result in the workflow being
placed in an undefined state.
• Click No to abort the halted workflows.
To uninstall a workflow template:

1. From the File menu, select Uninstall.
You can only uninstall if the template is in the installed state and you have Write
permission, or the template is in run‑time mode and you have at least Relate
permission.
If any users are running workflows based on this template, a warning message
appears telling you there are active workflow instances.
2. If you see the warning message, click Yes to halt the workflows or No to cancel the
uninstall process.
3. Click Yes to confirm that you want to uninstall this workflow template and all of
its activities.
4. Click OK to clear the message box telling you that the process is complete.
Modifying Templates
You can change a workflow template by changing its process flow or activity definitions.
When you change a workflow template, you can either overwrite the existing template

with the changes or create a new version of the template. Any changes you make are
governed by object‑level permissions.
To make changes to a workflow template and save the changes without versioning,
you must uninstall the template. To uninstall a template requires Relate permission
on the template or sysadmin or superuser privileges. To save your changes requires
Write permission.
To create a new version of a workflow template, you must check out the template before
you begin modifying it. You must have at least Version permission on the template.
You can create a new version of a template without uninstalling the current version.
Versioning a workflow template has no impact on the running workflows based on the
previous version of the template.
When you save or check in your changes, the server sets the new version to the draft
state. The new version must be validated and installed before you can start a workflow
based on it.
See also Saving Templates, page 39.
Printing Workflow Templates

You can print a copy of the workflow template at any time.
To print a workflow template:

1. Open the workflow template you want to print.
2. Verify that the page setup options are as you want them.
See Setting page setup options, page 44 for information about these options.
3. Click the Print Template Layout icon in the toolbar, or select Print from the File menu.
The Print dialog box appears.
4. From the Name list, choose the name of the printer to which you want to print.
5. To change the properties of your printer, click Properties and update the settings.
Refer to the documentation for your printer for information about the printer
properties.
6. To print your workflow template to a file rather than to the printer, select the Print
to file check box.
7. To print more than one copy of the workflow template, enter the number of copies
you want from the Number of copies box.
Note: The controls in the Print range box are grayed out except for the All radio
button. You cannot print portions of the template, only the complete template.

8. Click OK.
If you elected to print to a file, the Print to File dialog box appears. Otherwise, the
workflow template is sent to the printer you selected.
9. In the Print to File dialog box, enter the name of the file to create, including the
full path.
Setting page setup options

The page setup options determine how the workflow template is printed. As you make
your selections the changes display in the right pane of the dialog box so that you can
preview your settings before printing your workflow.
To change page setup options:

1. From the File menu, choose Page Setup.
The Page Setup dialog box appears.
2. Choose the paper size for printed versions of the workflow template.
The Paper Format box offers six standard sizes. The dimensions for each format
display either in inches or in centimeters, depending on the unit of measurement
selected in the Margins field. The paper format options are:
• US Letter (8.5 x 11 inches)
• US Legal (8.5 x 14 inches)
• US Executive (7.25 x 10.5 inches)
• A3 (29.69 x 42.01 centimeters)
• A4 (21 x 29.7 centimeters)
• A5 (14.8 x 21 centimeters)
3. Specify whether to print pages in landscape or portrait orientation.
4. Enter the margins for the printed pages.
You can enter the measurement in inches or centimeters with up to two decimal
places, such as 1.25 inches or 4.44 centimeters.
5. Set the size of the workflow template printout.
The Printout Size options are:
• Actual size The printout will be the same size as the workflow template display
in Workflow Manager.
• Same as paper size The size of the workflow template will be adjusted so that it
fits on a single page of the size and orientation you specified in steps 2 and 3.

• Fit to The size of the workflow template will be adjusted so that it fits on a
specified number of pages across and down. If you select this option, you must
enter a number in each of the two adjacent text boxes.
6. Click OK to save the page setup options and exit from this dialog box, or click Print
to print the current template with these settings.


Chapter 4
Working with Activities
Activities are the tasks that comprise the workflow. Most of the configuration of the workflow relates
to configuring its activities. For information about planning the configuration of workflow activities,
see Planning Workflow Activities, page 13.
You configure activities using the Activity Inspector. You access the Activity Inspector by
double‑clicking on an activity in the workflow template editor pane, or by selecting one or more
activities and choosing Activity Inspector from the Tools menu. There is also an Activity Inspector
icon on the toolbar.
The Activity Inspector has several tabs, each corresponding to one aspect of activity configuration:
• The Performer tab enables you to select who performs the activity and what actions the
performers have available to them; see Selecting Performers, page 48 for details.
• The Definition tab sets the priority for automatic activities and lets you provide instructions for
manual performers; see Setting Activity Definitions, page 56.
• The Trigger tab settings determine when the activity starts; see Setting Activity Triggers, page 56.
• The Notification tab sets timers to warn the workflow supervisor if work bogs down; see Setting
Notifications, page 57.
• The Transition tab settings determine which activities come next in the workflow; see Setting
Activity Transition Rules, page 58.
• The Display tab controls how the activity appears in the visual display of the workflow template;
see Changing Display Settings, page 62.
The name of the activity you are configuring appears in the text box at the top of the Activity
Inspector. Each activity must have a unique name within the template. To change the activity name,
enter the new name in the text box, replacing the previous name. If more than one activity is selected,
arrow buttons appear on either side of the text box, enabling you to scroll through the selected
activities. The settings you make apply to the activity whose name appears in the box, unless you
select the Apply to all selected option.
When multiple activities are selected, each tab in the Activity Inspector displays one or more check
boxes labeled Apply to all selected. When this check box is selected, Workflow Manager applies the
associated settings that is, those settings that appear to the right of the check box to all selected
activities, not just the one whose name appears in the text box at the top. For example, you can select

multiple activities and choose the same performer for all of them at once. Any settings for which
the check box is not selected apply only to the current activity.
Selecting Performers
The first task when defining an activity is to specify who performs the activity.
Activities can be performed manually by an individual, group, or alias that you identify,
or automatically by a workflow method. For manual tasks, you can select specific
performers or allow the workflow participants to choose performers. For automatic tasks
you must specify a user whose permissions the automatic task takes on.
To select performers for an activity:

1. In the Activity Inspector, select the Performer tab.
2. In the box labeled The activity’s work is performed, select manual or automatic
performers.
• To choose a manual performer, select By one or more manual performers.
• To choose an automatic performer, select Automatically on behalf of a
performer.
3. Click the Select Performer button to display the wizard for selecting the performer
for this activity.
• To choose one or more manual performers, see Choosing manual performers,
page 49.
• To choose the user whose permissions are used for an automatic activity, see
Choosing automatic performers, page 55.
4. If you selected one or more manual performers, choose what actions the performer
can or must perform.
• To enable the performer to pass the task to another user or group, select Delegate
the activity’s work to someone else. When you select this option, you must
also specify where the task is sent if the user to whom the performer delegates
it is also unavailable. The task can be forwarded to the workflow supervisor
or returned to the original performer.
• To enable the performer to choose another user or group to also perform this
task, select Have someone else repeat the activity’s work.
• To require that the performer sign off when the activity is complete, select
Performer’s sign‑off required when finished.
For details about the delegation and extension options, see Enabling Delegation
and Extension, page 18.
5. If you selected an automatic activity, set the execution parameters.

a. Choose the action to automatically perform from the Execute this method
automatically drop‑down list. The actions in the drop‑down list are workflow
methods.
Note: To make a custom method available here, the attribute a_special_app
must be set. a_special_app is a dm_sysobject attribute reserved for use by
Documentum products. This attribute must have the value Workflow. See the
Content Server documentation for details.
b. To save an execution log when the automatic method runs, select Yes for Save
Execution Results.
c. Specify how long the workflow server tries to run this method before quitting.
Enter a number of seconds in the Method times out in box.
d. Decide whether the workflow will stop or continue if the workflow method
encounters problems. Selecting Stop Execution causes the task to be placed in a
paused state and be reassigned to the workflow supervisor. Selecting Continue
Execution causes the task to be placed in an acquired state and forces the
completion of the task.
Note: We recommend choosing Stop execution for any automatic activity that
has other activities following it.
6. Click Apply to save your updates without closing the Activity Inspector, or click OK
to save your updates and close the Activity Inspector.
Choosing manual performers

The steps required to choose manual performers for an activity depends on two key
factors:
• Whether there is a single performer for the activity or multiple performers
• Whether you identify the actual users now, as part of the template, or use aliases
For details about the options for choosing manual performers, see Choosing Performers,
page 14.
To choose one or more manual performers for an activity:

1. On the Activity Inspector’s Performer tab, select By one or more manual performers
and click the Select Performer button.
The Select Performer dialog box appears.
2. From the drop‑down list, choose the user or group that will perform this activity.
You can choose a specific user or group, or you can choose an option that determines
the specific user when the workflow runs. The options are:

• Workflow supervisor The activity will be performed by the workflow supervisor,

which by default is the user who starts the workflow
• Repository owner The activity will be performed by the user who owns the
repository
• Previous activity’s performer The activity will be performed by the same user
who performed the previous activity in the workflow
• Specific user The activity will be performed by a user specifically chosen
• All users in group The activity will be performed by all of the members of
a specific group
• Single user from group The activity will be performed by a single member of
a specific group
• Some users from a group The activity will be performed by some members of
a specific group, but not all
• Multiple sequential performers The activity will be performed by multiple
users one after the other
The rest of the procedure differs depending on the option you choose. If you chose
any options other than the first three, a box labeled Define Performer(s) appears on
the screen. You select an option in this box to specify how the specific performers
of this activity will be selected.
If you chose any of the first three options, the specific user will be determined when
the workflow runs. Click Finish and ignore the rest of this procedure.
3. If you chose Multiple sequential performers, specify whether each performer of this
activity has the right to reject the package they receive and return it to the performer
who preceded them in the sequence.
Sequential performers do not have this option by default. To grant them the option,
click the check box immediately below the Select Performer(s) box.
4. If you chose Single user from group, specify which user in the selected group will
perform the activity.
You will select the group in the next step. To specify which single user from that
group will perform the activity, choose one of the options from the Select User
From Group By box:
• First to acquire the work item When the preceding activity completes, a work
item is added to the Inbox of every user in the group. The first user who acquires
the work item from their Inbox is the performer; the work items are removed
from the other user’s Inboxes.
• Least amount of unfinished work items When the preceding activity completes,
a work item is added to the Inbox of the user who has the smallest number of
unfinished tasks in his or her Inbox.
5. Specify whether you will choose the performers for this activity now or have them
determined dynamically when the workflow is underway.

Choose an option from the Define Performer(s) box:

• Assign performer(s) now You will select the specific user or group as part of
the workflow template
• Have performer(s) of activity <activity name> determine the performer for this
activity <activity name> The performer(s) of the preceding activity will select
the performer(s) of this activity when the workflow is run. If this activity has
multiple preceding activities, select from the drop‑down list which activity’s
performer selects the performer for this activity.
• Define performer alias (performer(s) will be assigned when workflow is
underway) The performer of this activity will be determined by an alias set. You
will specify which alias set is used in the next steps. This option is not available
if you selected Some users from a group or Multiple sequential performers.
6. Click Next to continue.
The steps required to complete this procedure depend on the option you chose.
• Assign performer(s) now, page 51
• Have performer(s) of <activity> determine performer(s) of this activity, page 52
• Define performer alias (performer(s) will be assigned when workflow is
underway), page 53
Assign performer(s) now
• If you selected Single user on the previous screen, highlight the name of a group
or <All users> in the Groups list box, then select the performer of this activity from
the users in the selected group from the Users in Group list box. After selecting a
user, click Finish.
• If you selected All users in group or Single user from group on the previous screen,
select a group from the Groups list box, then click Finish.
• If you selected Some users from a group or Multiple sequential performers, you
can designate multiple users, groups, or alias names to perform the activity. See the
procedure in the topic Have performer(s) of <activity> determine performer(s) of this
activity, page 52 for details about the options that appear when you click Next.
Note: Because you chose Assign users now, the server will select all users in the list
you build as performers, not use the list to provide a selection list to the performer
of a previous activity as described in the topic Have performer(s) of <activity>
determine performer(s) of this activity, page 52.

Have performer(s) of <activity> determine performer(s) of this

activity
This feature is also known as dynamic performer selection. This option gives the performer
of one activity the ability to choose which users will perform the next activity in the
workflow. At runtime, the performer of the activity can choose one or more users from
the group you specify.
If you selected Some users from a group or Multiple sequential performers, you can
designate a combination of multiple users, groups, or alias names from which the
performer of the previous activity can choose at runtime. If you selected any of the
other performer types, no further definition of the performer is necessary. This page
does not appear.
For more information about aliases and alias sets, see Using Aliases, page 17.
To select users and groups:

1. Select one or more of the options for selecting users.
If you select more than one option, the dialog pages for each option appear in
sequential order. The options are:
• Specific users and/or groups You will select the user and group names now.
• Performer alias(es) which will be resolved by the workflow initiator You will
select alias sets and aliases for which the workflow initiator will provide specific
user and group names when starting the workflow.
• Performer alias(es) which will be resolved at run‑time from the alias set
You will select the alias sets and aliases that the server will use at runtime to
determine the actual users and groups.
2. Click Next.
3. If you chose Specific users and/or groups, select the names of the groups or users
who can perform this activity.
a. Highlight the user or group name in the list on the left and click Add to add
it to the Selection List on the right.
b. Repeat step a for each user or group you want to add.
c. When the Selection List includes all the users and groups you want, click Next
or Finish (depending on whether you chose other options at step 1).
4. If you chose Performer alias(es) which will be resolved by the workflow initiator
and have not yet defined a default alias set for this workflow, choose one.
• To choose an existing alias set, click Choose from existing alias sets and select
an alias set from the drop‑down list. The list includes alias sets in the repository
to which you are currently connected and on which you have Write permission.

• To choose a new alias set, click Create new alias set and enter a name and
description for the alias set. The server will create a new alias set using the
information you enter on this page and the next.
Click Next when you have identified the alias set.
5. If you chose Performer alias(es) which will be resolved by the workflow initiator,
identify one or more aliases for which the workflow initiator needs to enter values
for when starting the workflow.
a. Specify whether you will Create a new performer alias or Use an existing,
undefined performer alias. An existing, undefined alias is an alias that appears
in the alias set but does not have a specific user name assigned to it in the alias set.
b. To create a new performer alias, enter a name and description for the alias, then
click Add to add it to the Selection List.
c. To use an existing performer alias, select the appropriate alias from the Existing
performer alias drop‑down list, then click Add to add it to the Selection List.
Optionally, you can modify the description of the alias so that its purpose is
clear to the workflow initiator.
d. When the Selection List includes all the aliases you want, click Next or Finish
(depending on whether you chose the final option at step 1).
6. If you chose Performer alias(es) which will be resolved at run‑time from the alias
set, select the aliases that the server will resolve from selected alias sets.
a. Select an alias set from the Alias Set list, then a specific alias from the list below it.
b. Click Add to add the alias to the Selection List.
c. Repeat steps a and b for each alias you want to include.
7. Click Finish.
Define performer alias (performer(s) will be assigned when

workflow is underway)
When you select this option, you need to specify which alias set and alias the workflow
server will use at runtime to determine the actual person to perform this activity. First
you choose an alias set, then identify a specific alias within that set.
For more information about aliases and alias sets, see Using Aliases, page 17.
To identify the alias set and alias for the performer:

1. Select which alias set to use to resolve the alias.
The options are:

• Default alias set (workflow initiator will resolve when workflow is started)
The server refers to the alias set defined as the default for this workflow. The
default alias set is defined on the Template Properties dialog box; if no alias set
has been selected, you will have a chance to set it on the next page.
• Specific alias set The server refers to the alias set whose name you select from
the adjacent drop‑down list. The list includes alias sets in the repository to which
you are currently connected and on which you have Write permission.
• Alias set of document in package The server refers to the alias set assigned to a
document in a package that this activity receives. Select which package’s alias set
to use from the adjacent drop‑down list. If you choose <Any>, the server will
scan through the alias sets of all packages until it finds the first match to the
specific alias you will identify at step 4.
• Alias set of previous performer The server refers to the alias set assigned to the
performer of the previous activity. Use this option, for example, if this activity
needs to be performed by the Manager of the previous activity’s performer. If,
at runtime, the previous performer does not have an associated alias set, the
server will use the alias set belonging to the previous performer’s group. If
the group does not have an alias either, the failed activity task is sent to the
workflow supervisor.
2. Click Next.
If you chose Default alias set but have not yet selected a default alias set for this
workflow, you need to choose an alias set.
If you chose one of the other options or have already set the workflow’s default
alias set, clicking Next takes you to a page where you can choose the specific alias
within that set. Skip step 3.
3. If you have not yet defined a default alias set for this workflow, choose one.
• To choose an existing alias set, click Choose from existing alias sets and select
an alias set from the drop‑down list. The list includes alias sets in the repository
to which you are currently connected and on which you have Write permission.
• To choose a new alias set, click Create new alias set and enter a name and
description for the alias set. The server will create a new alias set using the
information you enter on this page and the next.
Click Next when you have identified the alias set.
4. Identify the specific alias within the selected alias set.
If you chose a specific alias set at step 2, the Performer Alias drop‑down list includes
the aliases defined in that alias set.
If you chose an alias set that will be selected at run time, such as the previous
performer’s alias set, the Performer Alias drop‑down list is empty. Type the name
of the alias in the box, making sure that the name exactly matches the name in the
alias set that the server will find. If at runtime the server does not find a match

between the performer alias and the available aliases in the alias set, the activity task
is returned to the workflow supervisor along with a notification.
5. Click Finish.
Choosing automatic performers

The performer for automatic activities must resolve to single user. This requirement
limits your choices for automatic activities to the following user categories:
• The workflow supervisor (the workflow initiator by default)
• The repository owner
• The performer of the previous activity
• A particular user
If you select any of the first three, the server determines the actual user at runtime.
To choose the user whose security access is used for an automatic activity:
1. On the Activity Inspector’s Performer tab, select Automatically on behalf of a
performer and click the Select Performer button.
The Select Performer dialog box appears.
2. Choose which user’s security access will be used by the automatic activity:
• Workflow supervisor The automatic activity will use the permissions of the
workflow supervisor, which by default is the user who starts the workflow.
• Repository owner The automatic activity will use the permissions of the
repository owner.
• Previous activity’s performer The automatic activity will use the permissions of
the user who performed the previous activity in the workflow.
• Specific user The automatic activity will use the permissions of a user you
choose in the next step.
3. If you chose Specific user, select the user whose permissions will be used.
a. Click the Choose button to display the Select User dialog box.
b. In the Groups list box, highlight the name of a group or <All users>. The users
in the selected group appear in the Users in Group list box.
c. Select the user from the Users in Group list box. The user name appears in
the Selection text box.
d. Click OK.
The selected user name appears in the User text box.
4. Click Finish.

The selected user name appears in the text box next to the Select Performer button.
Setting Activity Definitions

The Activity Inspector’s Definition tab enables you to set the priority of automatic
activities and to provide instructions for the performers of manual activities.
To set activity options:

1. In the Activity Inspector, select the Definition tab.
2. Select a priority level from the Priority drop‑down list.
The priority value designates the execution priority of an automatic activity. The
value is ignored for manual activities. For more information, see Setting Priority
Values, page 18.
Dynamic priority is when the priority of the activity is set using custom code as the
workflow runs rather than being set as part of the workflow template. You should
assign Dynamic priority only when your system includes custom code to set the
priority at runtime.
3. Enter a description of the activity in the Description (subject) text box.
4. Enter any instructions you want to include for the performer of this activity in the
Instructions for performer (title) field.
Setting Activity Triggers

A trigger is a signal that the activity can begin. Use the Trigger tab to describe the
conditions that trigger the activity and send the package to the performer’s Inbox.
If the activity has more than one incoming flow, you can specify how many of the
previous activities must complete before this activity starts. The trigger condition is the
minimum number of input ports that must have accepted packages for this activity
begins. For example, if an activity has three input ports, you may decide that the activity
can start when two of the three have accepted packages.
For more information about activity triggers, see Setting Trigger Conditions, page 20.
To set when an activity is triggered:

1. In the Activity Inspector, select the Trigger tab.

2. Specify how many of the activities input flows must have been completed before
this activity starts.
• To start this activity only when all preceding activities are complete, check All
input flows are selected.
• To start this activity when some number of its preceding activities are complete,
check This number of input flows selected and enter the number of preceding
activities that must be complete before the activity runs. The total number of
input flows for this activity is shown next to the text box.
When an activity has only one input flow, these options are not different.
3. To ensure a specific action occurs before the selected activity is run, check the And
when this event arrives check box and enter an event name in the adjacent text box.
The event can be a system‑defined event, such as dm_checkin, or you can make
up an event name, such as promoted or released. If you include a trigger event in
the starting condition, the server must find the event you identify queued to the
workflow before starting the activity. See the chapter ʺTasks, Events, and Inboxesʺ
in Documentum Content Server Fundamentals for further details about defining and
queuing events using the Documentum API.
4. To enable the activity to be run more than once in the same workflow, check the This
activity can run more than once in a workflow check box.
A repeatable activity is an activity that can be used more than once in a particular
workflow. By default, activities are defined as repeatable activities. Activities with
multiple performers performing sequentially cannot be repeatable. (Choosing
Performers, page 14 describes the user categories for performers.)
If you use an activity multiple times in a workflow, you must structure the workflow
so that only one instance of the activity will be active at any time. The server cannot
start an activity if a previous activity based on the same definition is still running.
Setting Notifications
Workflow Manager supports two kinds of warning timers for activities:
• A pre‑timer that alerts the workflow supervisor if an activity has not started within a
designated number of hours after the workflow starts
• A post‑timer that alerts the workflow supervisor if an activity has not completed
within a designated number of hours after the activity starts
The task of checking the warning timers and sending the notices to the workflow
supervisor is performed by the dm_WfmsTimer system administration tool. The
dm_WfmsTimer tool is installed with the system administration tool suite. It is not

installed in the active state. If you intend to use warning timers in workflows, make sure
that your system administrator activates this job. When it is active, it runs by default
once an hour. See the Content Server documentation for further information about
dm_WfmsTimer.
To specify when the workflow supervisor is notified:

1. In the Activity Inspector, select the Notification tab.
2. To notify a supervisor when a task fails to start after a specific number of days or
hours, check the The activity does not trigger within check box, and enter a number
of days or hours in the adjacent text boxes.
3. To notify a supervisor when a task is incomplete after a specific number of days or
hours, check the The activity’s work is not finished check box, and enter a number
of days or hours in the adjacent text boxes.
Setting Activity Transition Rules

Transition rules determine which activities are next in the workflow. When an activity
has multiple outgoing flows, you may want packages sent to all of the following
activities, or you may want packages sent to only some of the following activities
depending on the outcome of the activity. For example, you might give a performer
who reviews the design of a new form the choice of forwarding the design to the next
reviewer or to send it back to the designer for revision. You set up this branching logic
by creating flows from this activity to the two possible following activities, then allowing
the performer to choose which path to follow.
If an activity has only one outgoing flow, there is no need to set a transition condition.
The Transition tab is grayed out with the Select all connected activities option selected.
For more information about transitions, see Defining Activity Transitions, page 21.
To define the transition action:

1. In the Activity Inspector, select the Transition tab.
2. Determine how the activity chooses which following activities to send packages to:
• To send packages to all following activities connected to this one (including any
reject flows), choose Select all connected activities.
• To let the performer decide which activities are selected when the current activity
completes, choose Let the activity’s performer choose.

• To route packages to different activities based on a set of conditions, choose

Select next activities based on these conditions.
If you select the third option, skip to step 6.
Note: Skip to step 6 also if the current repository was created with or upgraded to
Content Server 5.2.5 SP1. For earlier repositories, the options described in steps
3 through 5 are not available.
3. If the activity is performed by multiple performers that is, if the performer category
is All users in group or Some users in a group specify how many performers must
complete the task:
• To require that all performers complete the task, select the All performers
complete the task radio button.
• To complete the activity when a certain number of performers complete the task,
select the [ ] performers complete the task radio button and enter the required
number of performers in the text box. If the number you enter is greater than the
number of performers who receive work items for this activity at runtime, the
server completes the activity when all performers complete the task.
If you chose Select all connected activities at step 2, skip to step 7.
4. If you let the performer select the next activities, specify the maximum number of
activities the performer can select using the Select at most [ ] activities drop‑down
list box.
The list box displays the total number of available next activities by default. You can
select any number between 1 and this maximum. At runtime, the server will not
allow the performer to select more than the specified number of activities.
5. If you let a group of performers select the next activities that is, if the performer
category is All users in group or Some users in a group and the transition option
is Let performer select the next activity specify when to forward packages to the
selected next activities.
• To start selected reject activities immediately, click the Any performer rejects
radio button. If any performer selects reject activities, the activities are started
without waiting for other responses; all other performers’ selections are ignored.
• To start selected forward activities immediately, click the Any performer
forwards radio button. If any performer selects forward activities, the activities
are started without waiting for other responses; all other performers’ selections
are ignored.

• To start the selected next activities only after the number of performers identified
in step 3 have completed the task, click the All performers complete the
task radio button. With this option, the server combines the selections of all
performers. If some users select forward activities and others select reject
activities, the server determines which activities to start based on the final set
of radio buttons on this tab.
— To start all of the activities selected by performers, both forward activities
and reject activities, click Start all selected activities.
— To start only the selected reject activities (if there are any), click Start only
reject activities. Forward activities are started only if all performers select
forward activities.
— To start only the selected forward activities (if there are any), click Start
only forward activities. Reject activities are started only if all performers
select reject activities.
6. Specify the conditions that the server uses to determine which activities receive
packages.
See Creating transition conditions, page 60 for information about creating transition
conditions.
Creating transition conditions

When you choose the Select next activities based on these conditions option, a table
appears showing the defined transition conditions. When you first define an activity,
the table is blank. Follow this procedure to add transition conditions for automatically
choosing the next activities in the workflow. For more information about transition
conditions, see Defining Activity Transitions, page 21.
To create a transition condition:

1. Decide whether to construct the condition using the Transition Condition Wizard or
to type the condition yourself.
To enter the condition yourself, de‑select the Use wizard to edit new or empty
conditions check box.
2. Double‑click a row in the table that begins with the word if.
If the check box was selected, the Transition Condition Wizard dialog box appears.
Otherwise, the Transition Condition Editor dialog box appears.

3. If you elected not to use the wizard, edit the condition in the Transition Condition
Editor.
a. Enter the condition in the Condition text box. The format of a condition is
object_type.attribute_name=ʺconditionʺ. You can include multiple conditions
connected by AND. See step 4 for information about the available objects.
b. Select the activities to which packages are routed when this condition is met.
c. Click OK and skip to step 14 of this procedure.
4. In the wizard dialog box, choose the object to which you want this condition to apply:
• The running workflow The condition will check attributes of the dm_workflow
object.
• The last completed work item for the activity The condition will check attributes
of the dmi_workitem object.
• This input package’s documents The condition will check attributes of the
dmi_package object that you select from the drop‑down list. If this option is
grayed out it is because no packages are attached to the activity.
5. Click Next.
The next page of the wizard appears, and your selection is added to the Condition
box at the top of the dialog box.
6. Choose the attribute whose value you want to use in the condition.
The drop‑down list includes the attributes for the object type you selected at step 4.
If a drop‑down list labeled Repeating attribute, choose or type an index appears, it
means that the attribute you chose is used in more than one place in the workflow.
Indicate which index value to use in this condition by selecting one of the four
options in the list, or by typing a valid index value.
7. Click Next.
The next page of the wizard appears, and the attribute information is added to the
Condition box at the top of the dialog box.
8. Specify the test you want to perform on the selected attribute.
Choose a logical comparison operator from the drop‑down list and enter a
comparison value in the text box. The data type for the selected attribute is shown
below the box.
9. Click Next.
The complete transition condition appears in the Condition text box.
10. Decide whether to add another clause to this condition.
• If you want the transition condition to include an additional clause, appended to
the condition you have just defined with an AND, select Add another clause
to this condition.

• If the transition condition is complete, select Go select next activities.

11. Click Next.
If you elected to add another clause, the wizard returns to the first page. Return
to step 4. Otherwise, continue.
12. Select the activities to which packages should be routed when the condition is met.
The list displays the names of the activities connected to this activity by flows. Select
one or more of them.
13. Click Finish.
The condition you constructed appears in the table.
14. To add another transition condition, click Add and double‑click the resulting new
row.
15. Repeat steps 4 through 13 to define the next condition.
16. When all of the specific transition conditions are defined, select the activities to
which packages are routed if none of the conditions are met.
a. Double‑click the row in the table that begins with the word else.
b. Select the activities to which packages should be routed when no conditions
are met. The list displays the names of the activities connected to this activity
by flows.
c. Click Finish.
17. Change the order of the conditions if necessary.
The server evaluates transition conditions in the order they appear in the table, and
routes packages based on the first condition that evaluates to TRUE. To change the
position of a condition in the table, highlight it and click one of the arrow buttons.
Changing Display Settings

The options on the Display tab control how the activity appears in the visual display of
the workflow template.
To change the display settings for an activity:

1. In the Activity Inspector, select the Display tab.
2. To change the graphic that represents the activity in the template, click the button
that appears to the right of the Image file box, navigate to the file containing the
graphic, and click Open.
The path to the selected file appears in the Image file box.

3. To change the size of the graphic representing the activity, select a percentage from
the Image Size drop‑down list.
The percentage is the percentage of the actual size of the graphic.
4. Set the font and style used to label the activity in the template.
a. Select a font from the Label Font list.
b. Select a point size from the Point Size drop‑down list.
c. To set the font style of the label, check or de‑select Bold and Italic.
5. Choose whether to label the activity with its activity Name or the Performer.
Please note that error messages, such as any that occur when you validate the
template, will refer to activities by their names. If you label activities with the
performer name, you might want to temporarily change this setting to Name in
order to locate the activity.


Chapter 5
Working with Flows and Packages
The flow lines that connect the activities in a workflow represent the flow of the document or
object that the workflow routes. Flows enable the movement of packages, their properties, and
dependencies between the connected activities. See Workflow Templates and Associated Objects,
page 12 for a description of flows. For each line, you need to identify what packages are sent to the
next activity; see Defining Packages, page 19 for more information.
Once you have added a flow to the template, you configure it using the Flow Inspector. You access the
Flow Inspector by double‑clicking on a flow in the workflow template editor pane, or by selecting one
or more flows and choosing Flow Inspector from the Tools menu. There is also a Flow Inspector
icon on the toolbar.
The Flow Inspector has two tabs, each corresponding to one aspect of flow configuration:
• The Packages tab enables you to specify what documents get passed along the flow; see Setting
Package Requirements, page 66 for details.
• The Display tab controls how the flow appears in the visual display of the workflow template;
see Changing Flow Display Settings, page 67.
The name of the flow you are configuring appears in the text box at the top of the Flow Inspector. If
more than one flow is selected, arrow buttons appear on either side of the text box, enabling you to
scroll through the selected flows. The settings you make apply to the flow whose name appears in the
box, unless you select the Apply to all selected option.
When multiple flows are selected, each tab in the Flow Inspector displays one or more check boxes
labeled Apply to all selected. When this check box is selected, Workflow Manager applies the
associated settings that is, those settings that appear to the right of the check box to all selected flows,
not just the one whose name appears in the text box at the top. For example, you can select multiple
flow and choose the same packages for all of them at once. Any settings for which the check box
is not selected apply only to the current flow.

Creating Flows
You connect activities using one of three Create Flow icons in the Workflow Manager
toolbar:
• To connect activities in a forward movement of data, click either the Create Single
Segment Flow icon or the Create Multi‑Segment Flow icon . The difference
between the two is visual: one draws a straight line to represent the flow between
activities, the other draws a line consisting of multiple segments.
• To connect activities in a backward movement of data, click the Create Reject Flow
icon . Reject flows represent the path taken when the user of an activity rejects the
object being processed.
See Workflow Templates and Associated Objects, page 12 for a description of the types
of flows.
Setting Package Requirements

When you define a flow linking two activities, you need to specify what objects are
passed along the flow. An object passed between activities is called a package. Each flow
must have at least one package, but can have more than one. For more information about
packages, see Defining Packages, page 19.
Note: Do not add a package to the flow connecting the final activity to the End task.
To set the packages for a flow:

1. In the Flow Inspector, select the Packages tab.
2. To add a new package that must be passed from the first activity to the next activity,
click Add New Package.
3. Enter the name of the package by double‑clicking in the Name column and entering
a name or selecting a name from the drop‑down list.
If you use the same name as a package from another flow, Workflow Manager
assumes you mean the same package. The package type must be the same for every
instance of the same‑named package.
4. Choose the object type of the object included in the package by double‑clicking in the
Package Type column and select the object type from the drop‑down list.
You can control which object types appear in the drop‑down list by right‑clicking in
the column and selecting an option from the pop‑up menu that appears:
• Show sysobject and subtypes
• Show document and subtypes

• Show Documentum types only

• Show all types
Refer to Documentum Content Server Reference for a description of object types.
5. To change which version of the object to route, double‑click in the Version column
and enter the version you want.
To specify the version, you can enter:
• A specific version number, for example, 2.5 or 3.0. If you enter a specific version
number, the package will always contain that version of the document.
• A symbolic version label, for example, Draft. The symbolic version label is case
sensitive, so be sure the version you enter matches the version of the object in
the repository.
• CURRENT, which is the default selection. If you select CURRENT, the package
will always contain the most current version of the object in the repository.
You can also select (Optional) from the drop‑down list. If you select (Optional), you
are making it optional to include an object in the package. This option enables users
to start workflows containing empty packages.
6. To choose an operation to be made available to the performer of this activity,
double‑click in the Operation at destination column and choose an operation from
the drop‑down list.
The list includes operations that are available for the selected object type in
Documentum Desktop. When you select an operation, a button appears in the Task
Manager so that the performer can easily perform that operation. If you do not
select an operation, the Task Manager displays buttons for locating the object in the
repository and for viewing properties.
7. To add another package to the flow, repeat steps 2 through 6.
8. To change the order of packages in the flow, highlight a package and click the arrow
buttons that appear below the table.
9. Click Apply to save your updates without closing the Flow Inspector, or click OK to
save your updates and close the Flow Inspector.
Changing Flow Display Settings

The options on the Display tab control how the flow appears in the visual display of
the workflow template.
To change the display settings for a flow:

1. In the Flow Inspector, select the Display tab.

2. Determine whether the flow line appears as a Single line straight between
the connected activities or as Multi‑segment lines with each segment running
horizontally or vertically.
Multi‑segmented lines in a flow are generally easier for users to follow.
3. Set the font and style used to display the names of the packages routed over the flow.
These settings are relevant only if you elect to display the package names in the
next step.
a. Select a font from the Label Font list.
b. Select a point size from the Point Size drop‑down list.
c. To set the font style of the label, check or de‑select Bold and Italic.
4. To label the flow with the names of the packages it routes, select the Show the names
of packages routed over this flow check box.
5. Click Apply to save your updates without closing the Flow Inspector, or click OK to
save your updates and close the Flow Inspector.

Chapter 6
Managing Running Workflows
When you participate in a running workflow, you can display Workflow Manager to view the status
of the workflow. When you select View Instance from Workflow Reporting, Workflow Manager
displays a representation of the workflow template with a status bar under each activity showing
its current status.
Figure 4. Template Showing Activity Status
The status of each activity is shown by the position and color of the box in the status bar:
Inactive
Failed
Halted
Active
Completed
If the workflow is based on a template you created, you can also use Workflow Manager to halt,
abort, or restart the workflow.
Halting Workflows
If you want to pause a running workflow without uninstalling its activities, you must
use the Halt command. When you halt a workflow, the server changes the state of all
dormant or acquired work items to D/A/P paused and changes the state of the workflow

to Halted. The running activities and current work items cannot change states and
new activities cannot start. For example, if a workflow is halted after a user acquires a
work item and the user completes the task and tries to mark the work item as finished,
the server will not accept the change. See Documentum Content Server Fundamentals for
information about these states.
Only the workflow supervisor or a user with superuser or sysadmin privileges can halt
a workflow. You cannot halt a workflow if any work items generated by automatic
activities are in the acquired state.
To halt a workflow:
1. Open a running workflow in Workflow Manager.
2. Select Halt from the Control menu.
To restart a halted workflow, select Resume.
Aborting Workflows
Aborting a workflow terminates the workflow.
You must be the workflow supervisor or a user with sysadmin or superuser privileges
to abort a workflow. You cannot abort a workflow if any automatic work items are in
the acquired state.
To abort a workflow:
1. Open a running workflow in Workflow Manager.
2. Select Abort from the Control menu.
Resuming Workflows
The Resume command is available only for workflows that have been halted.
Resuming a workflow returns any work items in the D/A/P paused state work items
to their previous state, changes the halted activity instances to the running state, and
changes the workflow’s state to running. See Documentum Content Server Fundamentals
for information about these states.
To resume a halted workflow:

1. Open a halted workflow in Workflow Manager.

2. Select Resume from the Control menu.


Index
A choosing
aborting workflows, 70 automatic performers, 55
activities manual performers, 49
aligning, 31 copying activities, 30
choosing which to include, 14 creating
copying, 30 flows, 66
described, 12 workflow templates, 36
moving, 30
pasting, 30 D
performers, choosing, 14
default alias set, 53
repeatable, 57
define performer alias, 53
selecting conditionally, 22
delegation, 18
transition types, 21
deleting objects, 30
trigger condition, 20
display settings
activities palette
changing, 62, 67
changing activities displayed on, 27
Display tab, 62, 67
Activity Inspector, 47
draft state, 35
alias sets
default, 53
specific, 53 E
aliases extension, 18
using in workflow, 17
aligning activities, 31
Apply to all selected option, 47, 65
F
assign performers now, 51 Flow Inspector, 65
automatic activities flows, 12, 65
priority values, 18 creating, 66
valid performers, 55
automatic performers G
choosing, 48, 55
grid, snap to, 32
tasks, 48
C H
halting workflows, 69
changing
activities displayed on activities
palette, 27 I
display settings, 62, 67 installed state, 35
workflow template properties, 38 installing workflow templates, 41
workflow templates displayed on
Workflow Palette, 28

Index
M T
manual activities tasks
aliases as performer, 17 automatic performers, 48
delegation, 18 manual performers, 48
extension, 18 Transition Condition Wizard, 60
valid performers, 14 transition conditions, 22
manual performers transition rules, 58
choosing, 48 to 49 Transition tab, 58
tasks, 48 transition types, for activities, 21
moving activities, 30 trigger conditions, 20
trigger events, 20
N
Notification tab, 20, 57 U
notifying supervisor, 20, 57 uninstalling workflow templates, 41
O V
objects validated state, 35
deleting, 30 validating workflow templates, 41
selecting, 31
W
P warning timers, 20, 57
packages, 12, 19 work items, 12
Packages tab, 66 Workflow Palette
page setup, 44 changing workflow templates
pasting activities, 30 displayed on, 28
performer aliases workflow templates
defining, 53 architecture, 12
Performer tab, 48 to 49, 55 changing properties, 38
performers creating, 36
automatic , 48, 55 described, 12
manual , 48 to 49 installing, 41
print preview, 44 printing , 43
printing workflow templates, 43 saving, 39
priority values, for activities, 18 states, 35
uninstalling , 41
validating, 41
R workflows, 9
resuming halted workflows, 70 aborting , 70
halting , 69
S packages, 12
resuming, 70
saving workflow templates, 39
Select Performer, 49, 55
selecting objects, 31 Z
snap to grid, 32 zoom options, 32
supervisor, notifying, 20, 57

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EMC® Documentum®

Chapter 1 Understanding Workﬂows ...................................................................... 9

Chapter 2 The Workﬂow Manager Window ............................................................ 25

Chapter 3 Working with Workﬂow Templates ........................................................ 35

Chapter 4 Working with Activities .......................................................................... 47

EMC Documentum Workﬂow Manager Version 6.5 User Guide 3

Assign performer(s) now .................................................................... 51

Chapter 5 Working with Flows and Packages ........................................................ 65

Chapter 6 Managing Running Workﬂows .............................................................. 69

4 EMC Documentum Workﬂow Manager Version 6.5 User Guide

Figure 1. Workﬂows Formalize Business Processes ......................................................... 10

EMC Documentum Workﬂow Manager Version 6.5 User Guide 5

Table 1. Activity Performer Selection Categories ........................................................... 15

6 EMC Documentum Workﬂow Manager Version 6.5 User Guide

Revision date Description

EMC Documentum Workﬂow Manager Version 6.5 User Guide 7

8 EMC Documentum Workﬂow Manager Version 6.5 User Guide

EMC Documentum Workﬂow Manager Version 6.5 User Guide 9

Figure 1. Workﬂows Formalize Business Processes

10 EMC Documentum Workﬂow Manager Version 6.5 User Guide

Figure 2. Components of a Workﬂow

EMC Documentum Workﬂow Manager Version 6.5 User Guide 11

Workﬂow Templates and Associated Objects

12 EMC Documentum Workﬂow Manager Version 6.5 User Guide

Planning Workﬂow Activities

EMC Documentum Workﬂow Manager Version 6.5 User Guide 13

• What happens next in the workﬂow?

14 EMC Documentum Workﬂow Manager Version 6.5 User Guide

Table 1. Activity Performer Selection Categories

User Category How Performers are Selected

EMC Documentum Workﬂow Manager Version 6.5 User Guide 15

User Category How Performers are Selected

When the Performer Is Determined

16 EMC Documentum Workﬂow Manager Version 6.5 User Guide

EMC Documentum Workﬂow Manager Version 6.5 User Guide 17

Enabling Delegation and Extension

Setting Priority Values

18 EMC Documentum Workﬂow Manager Version 6.5 User Guide

EMC Documentum Workﬂow Manager Version 6.5 User Guide 19

a different form to the accounting department. In Workﬂow Manager, you accomplish

Setting Trigger Conditions

20 EMC Documentum Workﬂow Manager Version 6.5 User Guide

Deﬁning Activity Transitions

EMC Documentum Workﬂow Manager Version 6.5 User Guide 21

Determining Transition Conditions

22 EMC Documentum Workﬂow Manager Version 6.5 User Guide

EMC Documentum Workﬂow Manager Version 6.5 User Guide 23

24 EMC Documentum Workﬂow Manager Version 6.5 User Guide

EMC Documentum Workﬂow Manager Version 6.5 User Guide 25

Figure 3. Workﬂow Manager

Workﬂow Manager Toolbar

26 EMC Documentum Workﬂow Manager Version 6.5 User Guide

To select which icons appear in the Workﬂow Manager toolbar:

To specify the activities in the Activities palette:

EMC Documentum Workﬂow Manager Version 6.5 User Guide 27

28 EMC Documentum Workﬂow Manager Version 6.5 User Guide

• The workﬂow template name

To specify the workﬂows in the Workﬂow palette:

EMC Documentum Workﬂow Manager Version 6.5 User Guide 29

Workﬂow Template Editor Pane

30 EMC Documentum Workﬂow Manager Version 6.5 User Guide

To select one or more objects in the workﬂow template editor pane:

• Align left edges