AX1563

Changing the process initiator using Save Type 4

Using Save Type 4, you can change the recorded process initiator for a plan file in a plan file process. This may be necessary when you are using the process initiator as a step owner assignment or as the recipient of notifications, and the original process initiator for the plan file has left the organization (or should no longer be the process initiator for other reasons).

Save Type 4 depends on the placement of save-to-database tags within the sheet. There are three components:

• The primary SaveStructure2DB tag, which defines the locations of the save-to-database control row and control column, and specifies the system table that you want to update.
• Column tags in the save-to-database control row, to specify the columns holding the process properties.
• Row tags in the save-to-database control column, to specify the rows to include in the save process.

Save-to-database tag summary

Tag Type	Tag Syntax
Primary tag	[SaveStructure2DB; Axiom.ProcessInstances; CustomSaveTag=Name]
Row tags	[Save]
Column tags	ProcessInstanceID ProcessInitiatorName

Placing the primary save-to-database tag in the sheet

To define the save-to-database process, place the following tag in any cell in the sheet, within the first 500 rows:

The row containing this tag becomes the control row for the process, and the column containing this tag becomes the control column for the process.

You can also optionally use the custom save tag parameter. For example:

Placing the process property tags in the control row

Within the control row for the save-to-database process, specify the columns that define the process properties. These properties can be placed in any column, to either the right or the left of the SaveStructure2DB tag.

Column Tag	Description
ProcessInstanceID	The ID of the process instance for the plan file. Each plan file that is active in the process has a unique process instance ID.
ProcessInitiatorName	The login name of the process initiator.

All columns are required.

The control row must be dedicated to containing only valid column names for the Save Type 4 operation to the target table. Any invalid entries in the control row will cause an error when saving.

Indicating the rows to save

Within the control column for the save-to-database process, mark each row that you want to be processed with the appropriate row tag:

Row Tag

Description

[Save]

Updates the process initiator name with the name specified in the spreadsheet. NOTE: If you have defined a custom save tag in the SaveStructure2DB tag, then you must mark the rows with that tag instead of the default tag. For example, if your primary tag is [SaveStructure2DB; Axiom.ProcessInstances; CustomSaveTag=ChangeInitiator] then you would place the tag [ChangeInitiator] in the rows that you wanted to be saved.

Only rows that are marked with a valid tag are processed; all other rows are ignored, even if there is content in the property columns. If a row contains a valid tag but no content exists in the property columns, a save error will occur.

When the save occurs and the process initiator is changed for a process instance, if the instance has any active tasks that are currently assigned to the previous process initiator, those tasks will be automatically regenerated for the new process initiator.

NOTE: The row tag can be placed within a formula if desired. For example, you might want to use a formula to determine whether a particular row should be saved or deleted.

Populating the process properties in the spreadsheet

You can manually type the process properties within the spreadsheet, or you can use an Axiom query to populate the spreadsheet with the necessary process instance IDs. You can then assign user names as necessary, and then save the changes back to the database.

It is not possible to query the Axiom.ProcessInstances table directly. Instead, you must create a query to the plan code table for the process, and then include the Axiom.ProcessInstance.ProcessInstanceID column in the field definition. You can also include the Axiom.ProcessInstance.ProcessInitiatorName and Axiom.ProcessInstance.ProcessInitiatorID columns to bring in the current process initiator for the plan file. For more information on how to create this type of report, see Reporting on plan file processes.

The following screenshot shows an example of how a utility could be set up to change the process initiator. An Axiom query to the plan code table is being used to bring in the process instance IDs for the plan codes that need to be updated. The query is filtered to only bring in the codes and IDs where a certain user, Jane Doe, is the process initiator. (Note that the query must filter by the ProcessInitiatorID column, not the ProcessInitiatorName column.) The login name for the new initiator would then be added to the save column for ProcessInitiatorName (column G in this example). When the save-to-database is executed, the existing initiator user for the listed process instance IDs would be changed to the new initiator user.