Workflow settings

Use the Edit Workflow dialog to create new workflows or edit existing workflows. The following is a reference for the settings in this dialog.

Workflow Properties tab

Use the settings on this tab to define basic properties for the workflow.

Item	Description
Workflow Name	The name of the workflow. This is the name that will display to users in the Workflow task pane and in other workflow-related dialogs.
Description	The description for the workflow. By default this description does not display to users in any dialogs, though it can be queried into reports.

Workflow Task Pane Options

Item	Description
Show plan file edit tasks in Workflow task pane	Specifies whether workflow tasks display in the Workflow task pane (either the built-in task pane or any custom task panes that use the User Workflow View command). By default, this is enabled for all workflows. You might disable this option if you want to force users to complete workflow tasks from within the plan file itself, when saving it. If you disable this option, then you must also enable the system configuration option to TiePlanFileSaveToWorkflowTaskSubmit, so that users can complete workflow tasks when saving. Note that tasks for review stages will continue to display in the task pane regardless, because the task pane is the only method for rejecting review tasks (on save you can only approve review tasks).
Sort workflow tasks by	Specifies the sort order of tasks in the Workflow task pane. Select one of the following: Plan item value (default): Tasks are sorted by the associated plan item code. For example, if the file group uses department as the plan code table, then tasks are sorted by associated department code. If codes are integer values, then they are sorted numerically. If codes are string values, they are sorted alphabetically. Note that numeric values stored as strings will sort numerically. Sort order is always ascending. Plan item description: Tasks are sorted by the associated plan item description. For example, if the file group uses department as the plan code table, then tasks are sorted by the associated descriptions for each plan code. This sort is alphabetical and ascending.

Item

Description

Show plan file edit tasks in Workflow task pane

Specifies whether workflow tasks display in the Workflow task pane (either the built-in task pane or any custom task panes that use the User Workflow View command). By default, this is enabled for all workflows.

You might disable this option if you want to force users to complete workflow tasks from within the plan file itself, when saving it. If you disable this option, then you must also enable the system configuration option to TiePlanFileSaveToWorkflowTaskSubmit, so that users can complete workflow tasks when saving. Note that tasks for review stages will continue to display in the task pane regardless, because the task pane is the only method for rejecting review tasks (on save you can only approve review tasks).

Sort workflow tasks by

Specifies the sort order of tasks in the Workflow task pane. Select one of the following:

Plan item value (default): Tasks are sorted by the associated plan item code. For example, if the file group uses department as the plan code table, then tasks are sorted by associated department code.

If codes are integer values, then they are sorted numerically. If codes are string values, they are sorted alphabetically. Note that numeric values stored as strings will sort numerically. Sort order is always ascending.
Plan item description: Tasks are sorted by the associated plan item description. For example, if the file group uses department as the plan code table, then tasks are sorted by the associated descriptions for each plan code. This sort is alphabetical and ascending.

Advanced Workflow Properties

Item	Description
Automatically start child plan file workflows when the parent workflow is started	Specifies whether the individual plan files in the workflow are started automatically when the workflow itself is started. This option is enabled by default for all workflows, and should be left enabled unless you are using a special configuration that requires disabling this option. You should clear this option if you are configuring a workflow for a "copy target" file group, and you want the plan file workflows to be started when the plan file is copied into the file group, not when the workflow is started. For more information, see Workflow design considerations. If you clear this option and you are not using the copy plan files action, then you would need to manually start each plan file as needed after the workflow has been started. NOTE: You should NOT disable this option for on-demand file groups. Enabling this option allows the plan files to be automatically started in the workflow as the plan codes are created.
Specify alternate workflow start stage	Specifies whether the workflow starts at the first stage or a different stage. By default, the workflow starts at the first stage. If desired, select the stage at which you want the workflow to start. You might do this if you want the workflow to start with a review stage, where the review stage is stage 2 and an edit stage is defined for stage 1. (Stage 1 should not be a review stage, because then there is no prior stage for the plan file to go to if it is rejected.)

Item

Description

Automatically start child plan file workflows when the parent workflow is started

Specifies whether the individual plan files in the workflow are started automatically when the workflow itself is started. This option is enabled by default for all workflows, and should be left enabled unless you are using a special configuration that requires disabling this option.

You should clear this option if you are configuring a workflow for a "copy target" file group, and you want the plan file workflows to be started when the plan file is copied into the file group, not when the workflow is started. For more information, see Workflow design considerations.

If you clear this option and you are not using the copy plan files action, then you would need to manually start each plan file as needed after the workflow has been started.

NOTE: You should NOT disable this option for on-demand file groups. Enabling this option allows the plan files to be automatically started in the workflow as the plan codes are created.

Specify alternate workflow start stage

Specifies whether the workflow starts at the first stage or a different stage. By default, the workflow starts at the first stage.

If desired, select the stage at which you want the workflow to start. You might do this if you want the workflow to start with a review stage, where the review stage is stage 2 and an edit stage is defined for stage 1. (Stage 1 should not be a review stage, because then there is no prior stage for the plan file to go to if it is rejected.)

Stages tab

Use this tab to define stages for the workflow. Stages are created in the left-hand pane. If you select a stage, the settings for that stage display in the right-hand pane, using sub-tabs.

Click Add Stage to add a new edit stage or a new review stage. Keep in mind that once a stage is created, you cannot change its type (meaning, you cannot change an edit stage to a review stage, and vice versa).
New stages are added to the end of the workflow. If you need to change the order of stages, select the stage that you want to move and then use the arrow buttons to move it up or down.

For more information, see Defining stages for a workflow.

Stage Properties

Use this sub-tab to define basic properties for the stage.

Item	Description
Stage Name	The name of the stage. This name will display to users in the Workflow task pane, and in other workflow-related dialogs.
Stage Description	The description for the stage. By default this description does not display to users in any dialogs, though it can be queried into reports.
Due Date	The date by which the stage must be completed. Any plan files that are still in this stage past this date will be considered overdue. The stage due date can be a specific date, or a relative date. For more information, see Defining the due date for a stage.
Allow reviewers in this stage to edit the plan file	Specifies whether reviewers in this stage can also edit the file. Applies to review stages only. If enabled (default), then reviewers will have read/write access to plan files, and can make edits in addition to reviewing. If not enabled, reviewers will have read-only access by default (unless a user has been assigned a higher level of rights in Security).
Validate plan file on submit	Specifies whether plan files must be validated and saved before the workflow task can be completed. This only applies when tasks are completed by using the Workflow task pane; if tasks are completed as part of a file save, then the validation occurs by default. If enabled (default), then plan files are validated for save errors and then saved before completing the task. If the validation fails then the task cannot be completed. If not enabled, then the workflow task is completed without performing any validation or save actions on the plan file. For review stages, this only applies if Allow reviewers in the stage to edit the plan file is enabled.
Specify a grouping column for this stage	If desired, you can specify a grouping column to group the tasks for this stage. This will cause the tasks to be displayed in groups in the Workflow task pane, and users have the option to complete the tasks as a group. For example, you can specify DEPT.Manager to group tasks by manager, or DEPT.Region to group tasks by region. To use this feature, select the check box and then select the grouping column from the drop-down list. You can select any grouping column in the plan code table. For more information, see Using groupings for a stage.
Open form-enabled plan files as spreadsheets	By default, form-enabled plan files are opened as forms from the Workflow task pane. If this option is enabled, then the plan file will be opened as a spreadsheet instead. The document link in the email notification (if applicable) will also honor this setting. You might use this option for a review stage, where finance users need to view information in the spreadsheet source file instead of only seeing what is displayed in the form view.

Assignments

Use this sub-tab to define stage ownership assignments for each plan file. For more information, see Defining ownership assignments for workflow stages.

Stage Notifications

Optional. Use this sub-tab if you want to define custom task notification details for this stage. If you leave this tab as-is, then the notification settings defined at the workflow level (on the Notification Settings tab) will apply to this stage. For more information, see Customizing workflow notification emails.

NOTE: Currently, you cannot enable or disable email notifications for workflow on a per-stage basis. Email notifications can only be managed at the workflow level.

Stage Administrators

Optional. Use this sub-tab if you want to assign stage administrators for this stage. For more information, see Assigning a stage administrator.

Stage Actions

Optional. Use this sub-tab if you want to perform an action when the workflow stage is completed. Currently the only available action is for copying plan files to another file group. For more information, see Setting up stage actions.

Notification Settings tab

Use this tab to define notification settings for the workflow. For more information, see Setting up notification options for a workflow and Customizing workflow notification emails.

Item	Description
Notification From Email Address	The email address used as the "from" address for workflow notification emails. By default, the "from" address is the default "from" address defined for Scheduler in the system configuration settings (for example, `noreply@axiomepm.com`). If desired, you can override this default and type in a different email address to be used for the workflow.
Generate notifications for workflow tasks	Specifies whether email notifications will be sent for workflow tasks. By default, this option is enabled. If you disable this option, then no email notifications will be sent to stage owners when they have a workflow task. The only way they will know about current workflow tasks is by using the Workflow task pane. NOTE: Clearing this option disables email notifications for all stages in the workflow. Currently, there is no ability to enable or disable notifications on a per-stage basis.
Notification Message	If desired, you can customize the subject line and the body text of email notifications for the workflow. This text is used for all email notifications in the workflow.
Notification Task Details	If desired, you can customize the task detail text to be included in email notifications. This text is used for all email notifications in the workflow, unless stage-specific text is defined for a particular stage.