This topic describes the transition types you can add to an
application workflow or sub-workflow.
Regular
Regular transitions let users transition items from one state to
another.
Quick
Quick transitions transition items from one state to another without
showing a form to users. Outgoing transitions from decisions are automatically
configured as quick transitions, because the workflow logic, not the user,
determines the next state in the workflow.
Post
Post transitions lets users submit new items from the item they are
currently working with. Posted items receive a new Item ID and follow the
workflow of the project they are posted to. A link is created between the
original item and the new item.
Post transitions can perform the following
actions:
- Post a new item to another project using the same primary table.
- Post a new item to a project using a different primary table.
- Post a new item to an auxiliary table.
For field mapping details, refer to
Mapping Fields for Post, Publish,
Copy, or Subtask Transitions.
Post transitions can be executed manually by a user clicking a
transition button or automatically, by Web service calls in an orchestration
workflow. For information about using Web service calls to execute a Post
transition, see the orchestration use cases in the
SBM Composer
online help or the
SBM Orchestration Guide.
Note: You can use an action on a
Post transition action to cause a second
transition to execute after the workflow reaches the transition on which the
action is defined.
For details, see
Tutorial: Submitting Multiple Primary Items.
Subtask
A subtask is a primary item that is associated with
a principal task and that is displayed differently from the principal task.
Subtasks are typically used when a set of smaller tasks needs to be worked on
before a larger task, or principal task, can continue its process. A
Subtask transition lets users create a new primary
item in a specified project. You can specify that the new item be linked to the
source (original), or principal, item and that subtasks are transitioned
according to values in a specific
Binary/Trinary or
Single Selection field. For example, when all subtasks are
completed, the principal item could be transitioned to a completed state.
Subtask transitions are useful for setting up an entire set of new
tasks at once. For example, at the beginning of a large project, a user can
create a principal task and use a
Subtask transition to create subtasks from that
larger task.
After adding a
Subtask transition to your workflow, you can
define actions that transition subtasks and principal items.
For field mapping details, refer to
Mapping Fields for Post, Publish,
Copy, or Subtask Transitions.
Viewing Subtasks
Users who are granted the
View Principal and Subtasks privilege and who
selected the
Subtasks display preference can view the
Subtasks section if it is included on a form.
The
Subtasks section is visible only if an item is a
subtask of another item or has one or more subtasks associated with it. In
addition, users can access subtasks only in projects for which they have
"view" privileges.
Tip: Subtasks appear as links in the
Subtasks section. By default, these links
contain the Item ID and Title of the item. You can modify this display using
the value display format setting using the Property Editor for the primary
table used by the subtask workflow.
Copy
The
Copy transition lets users copy primary items
and place them in another location in the project hierarchy within the same
table.
Considerations
- When users click the
Copy transition button, instead of the
transition moving the item to the next state in the current project, a copy of
the item is created in the specified project.
- The project to which items will be copied must be set up to allow
new items to be submitted. Verify that
Allow New Items to be Submitted project
setting is selected in
SBM Application Administrator.
Then make sure that users who will execute the transition have privileges to
submit items into the project to which items will be copied.
- The project hierarchy does not open for users for those transitions
that are configured to copy to a specific project. If you select the
Select at Runtime option for the
Copy transition in
Application Administrator,
the project hierarchy is displayed for users to select the project to which to
copy an item.
- By default, the submitter for the copied item is the same user who
submitted the original item. To set the submitter for the copied item as the
user who executed the
Copy transition, in
Application Administrator,
allow overrides for the
Copy transition for the project you are
submitting the copied item into, and then set the default value for the
Submitter field to "Current User."
For additional field mapping details, refer to
Mapping Fields for Post, Publish,
Copy, or Subtask Transitions.
- Copy transitions always have a "To
State" of "Same."
- Ensure that
Copy transitions do not change the project,
state, or both in such a way as to make the item fall outside the workflow of
the target project. To avoid this, only allow copying of items between projects
that share inherited workflow properties. This lets all states and transitions
available to the source item's project to be available in the newly copied
item's final project.
- You can configure a project to only allow items to be submitted
from the
Copy transition, instead of being submitted
manually by users through a
Submit transition. To do so, in
SBM Composer, clear the
Default submit transition check box on the
Options tab of the Property Editor for the
Submit transition.
Copy transitions can be executed manually by a user clicking a
transition button; or automatically, by Web service calls in an orchestration
workflow. For information about using Web service calls to execute a Copy
transition, see the orchestration use cases in the
SBM Composer
online help or the
SBM Orchestration Guide.
Update
Update transitions are unusual in that they do
not move items from state to state. Instead,
Update transitions let users with the
appropriate privileges update data in an item at a particular state in the
workflow. You can set the "from" state for
Update transitions, but the "to" state
is always the same state. This transition is automatically included on the
Any item in new workflows, but you can disable
that default
Update transition and create others that are
available only for selected states.
Note: Update transitions are controlled by the "update" privileges in
the Item privilege category. Users who are granted these privileges can update
individual items using the
Update transition, or modify multiple items
using the Rich Editable Grid.
Delete
Delete transitions do not move items from state
to state. They let users with the appropriate privileges delete an item at a
particular state in the workflow. You can set the "from" state for
Delete transitions, but the "to" state
is always
Deleted. This transition is automatically
included on the
Any state in new workflows, but you can disable
that default
Delete transition and create others that are
available only for selected states or in particular sub-workflows.
Note: Field overrides and triggers do not
apply to custom
Delete transitions.
Publish
The
Publish transition lets users quickly publish
problems and resolutions pertaining to primary items to the legacy Knowledge
Base that is included with
SBM.
When users execute the
Publish transition, Submit forms for the
Problems and Resolutions tables automatically open. By default, the problem
contains the
Title and
Description from the item. Users can modify this
information and select other values for the problem and resolution, such as
which folder the problem will be stored in and its visibility.
Considerations
- The
Publish transition type is available for any
workflow, but problems can be posted only to the Problems table, and
resolutions can be posted only to the Resolutions table.
- Publish transitions are available only to users who have been
granted privileges to submit items into the Problems table. In addition, users
who have privileges to submit items into the Problems table but not the
Resolutions table will not receive a Submit form for the Resolutions table
after submitting a problem.
- Users who publish items to the Knowledge Base must be granted the
Add Items to Folders privilege for the folders
to which you want them to publish items. This privilege is granted in
SBM Application Administrator.
- You can choose to specify
Publish transitions as "quick
transitions," letting users bypass the Transition form for the workflow of
the original item and to immediately submit a problem to the Problems table.
- You can map additional fields for a
Publish transition.
External Post
External Post transitions let users transition
items from one state to another, as well as generate and send an e-mail message
to an external database requesting that the item be posted. You select the external
database to which you want the item to be added.
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