A
workflow process consists of several components. Expand the apps@vd11 line by clicking on the plus
sign (+) inside the Navigator. You
will see three item types: PO Approval, PO Standard, and Standard. You will
also see a Hidden Item Types icon. Double-click on the Hidden Item
Types icon to display the same Show Item Types window
seen when you open a Workflow file. Expand the menu attached to PO Approval and
you will see the six components of the PO Approval. They are:
· Attributes
· Processes
· Notifications
· Functions
· Messages
· Lookup types
Item Types
Item
types categorize the items. Each activity in a workflow process must be
associated with an item type. To create a new item type, right-click on apps@vd11
and choose New Item Type. In this chapter, the right mouse button is assumed to
be the secondary button on your mouse. The Item Type Property window will
appear. Enter an internal name for the item type. Type the internal name using
uppercase letters. The name can include numeric characters, but cannot contain
spaces. You cannot update the internal name once the item type is defined.
The
internal name must be unique across the entire workflow process. The internal
name is used in Workflow Engine APIs. Enter a display name next. The display
name is what you use to refer to this item type in any activity. You have the
option of entering a description and a selector.
A selector is mandatory if your item type is associated with
more than one process. The selector returns the process that must be executed
in this multiple-process situation. Selector is a PL/SQL stored procedure.
Create a new item type called NEW_PO
with a display name of NEW PO Item Type
(see Figure 3).
Figure
3: Item Type Properties form
The
Role tab is designed to let you specify the role that will read, write, and/or
execute the item type. (Unfortunately, these security features are not
currently active, so you will need to test them in future versions.) Select the
Access tab. The red bar, shaded or crossed, represents the access level that
can edit objects in the Oracle Workflow Builder.
A
black vertical bar identifies your access level. You can select combinations of
the two options to preserve customizations and lock in at this access level, or
to generate different access levels. If both options are checked, you can see
that the three levels—Customization, Access, and Protection—are all at 100.
This means that only your current access level (100) can update objects. If
only the Preserve Customizations
option is checked, customization and access are both at level 100 while protection
is at level 1000. This means access levels 100 to 1000, equal to or higher than
your current access level, can update objects.
If
the Lock at this Access Level option
is checked, the customization level is at 0 and both access and protection levels
are at 100. This means that access levels 0 to 100, equal to or lower than your
current access level, can update objects. If neither option is checked, any
access level can update objects. Customization is at level 0 and protection is
at level 1000.
The
red bar will have a crossed pattern if Allow
modifications of customized objects is checked. To find this option,
execute the Help | About Oracle Workflow Builder menu command. If you checked Allow modifications of customized objects,
you can modify and save objects even if your access level is outside of the
customization and protection range. Check Allow
modifications of customized objects. You must exit the New Item Type
properties window to do this. Click OK
to save your definition.
Once
you have checked the box under the Help menu, open the Item Type properties
window again. Notice that you cannot change the internal name field anymore.
Click on the Access tab and check both the Preserve
Customizations option and the Lock at
this Access Level option (see Figure 4). Click on OK to save your changes.
Figure
4: Item Type Properties (Access Tab)
form
Attributes
All
items that have the same item type share the same set of attributes. Attributes
are information and properties regarding the item type. Each item will have its
own set of attribute values. Attributes are similar to global variables in that
they can be used by any activity in the workflow process. Workflow Engine APIs
allow you to get or set attribute values for an item.
Double-click
on the attribute to see the properties of the activity. If you want to add a
new attribute, right-click when your cursor is on the Attributes icon and choose New Attribute. Either way, the Attribute
Property window will appear and the item type will be displayed.
If
you are creating a new item attribute, enter an internal name for the item
attribute. The internal name must be uppercase and unique across the same item
type; the name cannot contain spaces. Next, enter a display name. The display
name will be used in a message or activity. You can then enter an optional
description.
Next,
select an attribute type. Valid types are:
· Text The attribute value is the text datatype. You can enter an
optional length for this attribute type.
· Number The attribute value is the number datatype. You can enter an
optional format mask for this attribute type.
· Date The attribute value is the date datatype. You can enter an
optional format mask for this attribute type.
· Lookup The attribute value is one of the values specified in a
lookup type. You must enter a lookup type for this attribute type.
· Form The attribute value is the internal function name used on an
Oracle Application form. You can enter optional function parameters for this
attribute type. This attribute type is only useful when using Oracle
Applications and the Notifications Viewer form. The Oracle Application form
will appear in the Notifications Viewer form. You can bring up the Oracle
Applications form from the Notifications Viewer form.
· URL The attribute value is a Universal Resources Locator (URL)
to a Web location. This attribute type is only useful if you have the
Notifications Web page. The URL will appear in the Notifications Web page.
Select it to bring up the Web site.
· Document The attribute value is an attached
document. The attribute value is in the format of a document management system
and the document name. In the current release, only the PL/SQL document is
supported. The PL/SQL document contains data inserted from a database.
· Role The attribute value is a role.
· Attribute The attribute value is the value of
another attribute’s value at runtime. This is called a reference attribute.
If
you enter an optional default value for your attribute, Oracle Workflow Builder
provides all of the necessary validation. For example, if you select Attribute
as the attribute type, you can only select a defined attribute within the
workflow process. If you select Lookup as the attribute type, you can only
select a lookup code that is valid for the selected lookup type
Selecting
the access level for attributes is the same as selecting the access level for
item types. Create a new attribute with an internal name of NEW_FLAG and a display name of NEW Flag. Choose attribute type Lookup
and lookup type Boolean. Choose True as the default value. You are not going to
use this attribute in your workflow process, but you are going to build on it
later. Click OK to save your work.
Figure
5: Attribute Properties form
Processes
Process
is a workflow progression. Before you can diagram a workflow process, you must
define a process activity. To do this, right-click on the Process icon and choose New Process. The Process Properties window
appears. Enter, in uppercase and with no spaces, a unique internal name for
your process. Also, enter a display name. The display name is the one that will
appear in your process diagram. You have the option of entering a description.
Select the result type for this process. Select None if no specified result
codes are necessary for the completion of the process.
The result type must be a lookup type. Transitions in the
workflow process diagram will differ depending on the result codes of the
lookup type. If you have the authority, you can click on Edit to view or edit the result type. Check Runnable if this process can be called from other workflow
processes or from Workflow Engine APIs. Create a process activity called NEW_PO_PROCESS.
A display name of NEW
PO Approval Process appears as an Approval result type. You have the option of
checking the Runnable box. Last,
select an icon to represent this process activity. Click on Browse to locate available icons (see
Figure-6).
Figure
6: Process Activity Properties form
Select the Details tab, where you can
select the error-handling process.
You can also specify
the maximum
time to wait for notification before a time-out occurs. Since this is a process
activity and not a notification activity, the time-out parameters are not
applicable. The effective date and version are for display only. If you save
your workflow process using the Save As
option, the effective date and the version number will be changed. Check Loop Reset to identify process activity
behavior if a loop condition occurs.
A loop condition occurs when the process
activity is revisited by the Oracle Workflow Engine. If Loop Reset is checked, the process activity will be reexecuted and
all of the subsequent processes will be reversed (see Figure -7). Click on OK to save your work.
Figure
7: Process Activity Properties (Details)
form
The
Roles and the Access tabs are the same as the item types and attributes. The
next section will demonstrate how to diagram a workflow process.
Notifications
Notifications
are messages sent to users. To set up a notification activity, you can either
(1) drag and drop a defined message into the notifications arm of the same item
type or (2) you can right-click on the Notification
icon and select New Notification. As in a process activity, you must specify an
internal name and a display name for a notification activity. Enter a unique
name—in uppercase and without spaces—for your process. The display name is the
one that will appear in your process diagram. Entering a description is
optional. Select the result type for this process. You can select None if no
specified result codes are necessary for the completion of the process. The
result type must be a lookup type. Transitions in the workflow process diagram
will differ depending on the result codes of the lookup type. Click on Edit to view or update the result type.
Since
this is a notification activity, you must select a message. If you use the
drag-and-drop message method, the message name will already be filled in. You
can click on Edit to view or update
the message. If the message you selected expects a response, a Function field
will appear. This is the response function. Next, you can check Expand Roles if you want to expand the
role to each individual user’s email instead of the role’s email. As a last
step, you must select an icon to represent this notification activity. Click on
Browse to locate available icons
(see Figure-8).
Create
a notification activity with the internal name of NEW_PO_APPROVE and a display name of NEW PO Approval by dragging and dropping the Approve PO message.
You do not have the Approve PO message yet. You can drag and drop the Approve
PO message from the PO Approval item type to your item type. Once you have
entered all of the data, click on OK
to save your work.
Figure
8: Notification Activity Properties form
Select
the Details tab. In the Detail form, you may select the error-handling process.
If you wish, you can also specify the allowable wait time for notifications
before declaring a time-out. Since this is a notification activity, the
time-out parameters are applicable. The effective date and version are display
only.
If you save your workflow process using the Save As option, the effective date and the version number will be
changed. Check Loop Reset to identify
the behavior you want the process activity to perform if a loop condition
occurs. Loop conditions occur when the process activity is being revisited by
the Oracle Workflow Engine. If Loop Reset
is checked, the process activity will be reexecuted and all of the
subsequent processes will be reversed. The Roles and the Access tabs correspond
to the attributes and process activities item types.
Functions
Functions are PL/SQL stored procedures
that can have Workflow Engine APIs. To create a new function, right-click on
the Functions icon and select New
Function. The Function Properties window will appear. Enter a unique internal
name in uppercase letters. The name should not contain spaces. Then enter a
display name for the function. The display name will appear in the process
diagram. You may enter a description. Next, enter the name of the PL/SQL stored
procedure in the format of package_name.procedure_name. Select the result type
for this process.
You can select None if no specified
result codes are necessary for the completion of the process. The result type
must be a lookup type. Various transitions in the workflow process diagram are
possible and will depend on different lookup type result codes. Click on Edit to view or update the result type.
You can then specify the cost of the activity. Depending on this cost and the
threshold of the Workflow Engine, this function activity may be deferred and
ultimately processed by the background process. As a last step, you must select
an icon to represent this function activity. You can also click on Browse to locate icons from your
desktop (see Figure-9). You do not need to create a function activity for this
exercise.
Figure
9: Function Activity Properties form
The
Details tab, the Roles tab, and the Access tab are identical to the ones
described in the previous sections.
Messages
Messages are templates used by a
notification activity. If you want to create new messages, right-click on New Message. At this time, you need not
create a new message. You have already created a message called Approve PO.
Double-click on the Approve PO
message to see its properties.
There is an internal name, a display
name, and a description. The internal name must be unique and typed in all
uppercase with no spaces. You may select a default priority for the message.
Valid values are from 1 to 99, with 1 designated as highest priority. Priority
selection is for informational purposes only; there is no functionality
attached to the assigned priority (see Figure-10).
Figure
10: Message Properties form
Select the Body tab to enter the
subject of the message and the body. You can assign message attributes to the
subject and body by adding an ampersand sign before the attributes’ internal
names (see Figure-11). The Roles tab and the Access tab are the same as
described in the previous sections.
Figure
11: Message Properties (Body) form
Notice
the plus sign (+) next to the Approve PO message in the Navigator. This
indicates that the Approve PO message has message attributes. Click on the plus
sign next to Approve PO to see all of the message attributes associated with
the Approve PO message. A message attribute may have Send or Respond options.
Send attributes are regular attributes.
Respond attributes are message attributes that
solicit responses in the notification message. Display names of the respond
attributes become prompts in the response section of the notification message.
Descriptions of the respond attributes are used to describe the expected
response. If the respond attribute is a lookup type, the user can respond by
selecting from a list of lookup codes. You can specify message attributes to get
their values from the item attributes. This is indicated by selecting Item
Attribute as the default value for the message attribute and selecting the
associated item attribute. To create a new message attribute, right-click on
Attribute
You
must enter a unique internal name typed in all uppercase and without spaces.
Next, enter a display name. A description name is optional. Then, select the
attribute type. The attribute type of the message attribute is the same as that
of the item attribute. Next, specify whether the source is Send or Respond. As
a last step, enter a default value, if applicable. You can get the default
value from an item attribute. (See Figure-12 for the properties of the Approval
Action message attribute of the Approve PO message.)
Figure
12: Message Attribute Properties form
Lookup Types
The
last components are the lookup types. Lookup types are lists of lookup codes
defined for use by activities. For example, you can find the Approval lookup
type in the Standard item type. If you want to create a new lookup type,
right-click on the Lookup Types icon
and choose New Lookup Type. Double-click to see the properties of the Approval
lookup type. You will see the internal name, the display name, and a
description for the lookup type.
The
Access tab is the same as described previously (see Figure-13). To add a new
lookup code, right-click on the Lookup
Types icon and choose New Lookup Code. A Lookup Code Properties window
appears. Type the internal name and the display name for the lookup code. You
can also add an optional description (see Figure-14). Once you have defined a
lookup code, it will show up as a separate icon under the Lookup Types icon.
Figure
13: Lookup Types Properties form
Figure
14: Lookup Code Properties form
1.
How many types of activities are available?
2.
What is a prerequisite for creating a notification activity?
3.
When will the time-out parameters apply?
4.
How can you find the lookup codes for a specific lookup type?
