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Datapolis Process System
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Introduction
What is Datapolis Process System?
First Steps
Installation Guide
Installation requirements
Installation
Installing Datapolis Process System
Licensing
Register on Partner Portal
Generate Trial License
Buy License
Activate License (with Internet acces)
Get Product Key
Activate License
Activate License (without Internet access)
Download License File
Upload License File to Farm
Attaching Licenses to Solutions
License Limitations
Client Access License
WFE Servers
Feature Activation
Repairing/Removing Datapolis Process System
System Settings
Workflow Auto Cleanup
IIS settings
Uninstall
Migration scenarios
Migrating from Workbox 2.3
Migration to dabatase
Advanced migration scenarios
Migration of SharePoint 2010 Web Application
Migrating from SharePoint 2010 to 2013 (splitting database scenario)
Migration of SharePoint 2013 Farm
Migrating of SharePoint 2013 Web Application
Restoring Web Application from farm backup (Sharepoint 2013)
Migration from Sharepoint 2013 to Sharepoint 2016
Migrations of Sharepoint 2016 Farm
User Guide
Creating Workflows
Before You Start – Permission Considerations
Workflow Types
List Workflow
Site Workflow
Reusable or Globally Reusable Workflow
Naming and adding workflow to solution
Workflow Designer
Logic of Datapolis Workflows
States
Adding State
State Properties
Field Permissions
Self-Timers
State Actions
Actions
Adding Action
Action Properties
Launch Form
Permissions
Conditions
Activities
Appearance
Decisions
Activities
Activities Configuration
Edit Items
Variables
Forms
Add/Edit Forms
Form Design
Form Implementation Types
Form Fields
Field Control Types
Form Fields Interactions
Display & Validation Conditions
Custom JavaScript
JavaScript Object Model
Custom Styles
Fields Permissions
Forms Management
Form Assignments
Forms Deployment
Workflow Initiation Form
Lookups and Functions
Permissions and Roles
Roles
Adding New Role
Assigning Roles to Actions
Assigning Roles to Item Fields
Checking Permission Settings
Workflow Properties
Workflow Validation
Procedures
Creating Procedures
Using Procedures
Applications (Shared Workflows)
Declare workflow as Application
Private Applications
Using application in workflow
Application Start Conditions
Application Usage and History
Saving workflow
Deploying Workflow
Workflow definition history
Export and Import Workflows
Documentation Generator
Size and Performance
Using Workflows
List Workflows
Start Workflow
Workflow Status
Launch Action
Action Launch Form
Bulk Action Launch
Performing Bulk Action Launch
Enabling Bulk Action Launch
Bulk action launch threshold
Workflow History
Simple History Page
Custom Add Item List Form
Site Workflows
Start Site Workflow
Launch Action
Site Workflow History
Advanced functions
Advanced Workflow Editing
Tasks Web Part
Substitutions
Site Templates
Site Solution Templates
Basic Scenario
Advanced Usage
Upload to farm and deploy
Licensing Solutions
Troubleshooting
Reports & Statistics
Statistics
Database
Administration
Central Administration
License management
Create Licensed Solution Template
DPS Activation on Web Applications
List of Deployed Datapolis Workflows
Logging configuration
Action Icons
Datapolis Workflows Edit Permissions
Datapolis Solutions Management
Datapolis Solution Templates Management
Performance Monitor
Performance Monitor Configuration
Workflow Instance Report
Average Times Report
Custom Report
System Settings
Manage substitutions
Site Settings
Manage Site and Reusable Workflows
List of Deployed Datapolis Workflows
Add/Remove Datapolis Workflow Editors
Add/Remove Datapolis Solution users
Manage Substitutions
Save Site as Solution Template
Additional Configuration
Control visibility of Close button
User membership data resolving
Datapolis Column Protector
Introduction
What is Datapolis Column Protector 2013 for?
Relations to permissions defined in workflow
Feature activation
Configuring
Limitations
Enabling Datapolis Column Protector 2013 for content type
Configuring permissions for columns
Administration page
Using administration page
List permission inheritance
Best practices
Troubleshooting
Tutorials
Form fields interaction
Javascript 'onchange' in form fields
Javascript validation of form fields
Calling REST Services
Parse Document Library XML File
Business Apps
Installation Guide
Technology details
Intallation requirements
Installation
Deployment
Troubleshooting
Smart Approval
Installation and deployment
Configuration
Using this Business App
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Home
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User Guide
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Using Workflows
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List Workflows
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Custom Add Item List Form
Custom Add Item List Form
By design, list workflows always require an item to be created on the list before any workflow could take over handling its lifecycle. For instance, a Leave Request Processing workflow would require an item representing said leave request to first be added to the list using the standard Add Item form, and only with that prerequisite fulfilled the workflow could begin its work, resulting in the request's approval or rejection. Because of the fact that two different mechanisms needed to be used (one - standard SharePoint list form, the other - Datapolis Workflow), it was harder to manage which fields a user should be allowed to change. Since adding an item is not part of the workflow, field visibility has to be set by customizing either the Add New Item form or the item's Content Type, or by using external tool like Datapolis Column Protector. Also, any visual customization like company branding would potentially need to be applied in two places, making later maintenance and changes that much harder.
To streamline the process, Datapolis Process System lets you design a Workflow Initiation Form and display it to the user when creating a new list item. For instance, this is what users may see after clicking the "New Item" button:
Please note the Datapolis Procecss System-style header and footer, indicating the form's origin.
Letting Datapolis Process System to create a custom Add Item form is a straightforward procedure. First, you need to go to the Settings form in Datapolis Workflow Designer and in the "Workflow initialization method" section untick the "When new item is created" option. This will cause the "Via list's New Item Form" option to become active. Check the box next to it - and you're done. You can also supply a custom page name in the textbox below, if the one proposed by the Designer does not suit you.
The next step is to design the form itself. You can find extensive information on the process in the
Workflow Initiation Form
and
Action Launch Forms
chapters. The general idea is to create a set of workflow variables that will hold the data received from the user. Using leave request as an example, let's consider the following fields users will need to fill in when registering a new request: Leave Start, Leave End, Leave Type and Comment. Since these will be the fields in our form, we should prepare four workflow variables, as shown on the illustration below:
Make sure the first two (Leave Start and Leave End) are of the "Date time" type; the other two should stay as the default "String" type.
More about workflow variables can be found in the
Variables
chapter.
With that done, we can now define the fields in our form. Double click on the Workflow Initial State on the workflow diagram, then click the "Initiation Form" button in the right pane.
Note the "Variables" and "Fields" sections. The "Variables" section contains all the variables defined within our workflow - currently we have only the four defined before. The "Fields" section is empty, meaning our form does not have any fields at the moment. To add a new field, simply move the "Leave Start" variable from the "Variables" to the "Fields" section. You can use the "+" icon next to the variable, or simply double click it. Do this for all variables.
What is left to do, besides fiddling with the settings of each of the fields (which won't be covered here; you can find more information in the
Action Launch Forms
chapter) is to process the data received from the user. Note that while the form does automatically create new list item, it does not fill its fields with provided values as the standard SharePoint form does. Instead, the form saves field values to workflow variables which can the be used within the workflow and processed accordingly to business requirements. Since in this example we don't plan on processing the data in any way, we'll just go ahead and save it to the list.
Double click the Initial Action on the workflow diagram, then open the "Activities" window. Next, drag-and-drop the "Edit Items" activity onto the diagram.
Now set the activity parameters accordingly, passing our workflow variables to individual fields of the new list item.
That's everything in Datapolis Workflow Designer. Deploy the workflow and Datapolis Procecess System will create the new form for the list. Now exit the Datapolis Workflow Designer and go back to the Datapolis Process system Settings page for the list. In the "List Workflows" section you will see the "Initiation form" column next to your workflow. By default, the newly created form will not be set as the default Add Item form for the list, meaning that when a user clicks the "New Item" button, they will be presented with the standard SharePoint list form. By checking the checkbox in the "Initiation form" column, you will set our custom form as the default Add Item form for the list. You can at any timme unassign the form as the default and reassign it again as need be, without redeploying the workflow.
Important:
There are several important things to note about setting up Workflow Initiation Form as the list's Add Item form. First of all, currently only generic lists are supported, while document libraries are not. Also, if a list has several content types, they will all share the same default list form, or, if they have their own forms defined, they will use them instead. Be also aware that only list workflows support this feature. Reusable workflows currently do not support custom Add Item forms.
Copyright © 2015 Datapolis All Rights Reserved.
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