Workflow Task List
The Workflow Task List page enables users to manage task list items that are assigned to them individually or as member of a group by Workflow model. The Task List allows the user to review the task item transaction information and take the appropriate action: approve or reject the task, delegate it to another user, or completely reassign the task to another user. Multiple tasks can be selected to process simultaneously.
Task List Description
Each request becomes a task that is assigned a task list description. The description helps approvers locate the individual request on the Workflow Task List page. The description is made up of the Model and Version and Pending Tasks. The model states which Web Form created the request. Each model may have one or multiple pending tasks. Tasks are presented to an approver after the requester clicks the Submit button on a Web Form.
All Pending Tasks
Each model's pending tasks are unique. Therefore, refer to each Web Form for details. All pending tasks are identified by the Model and Version.
Common attributes of pending tasks:
The approver may process all pending tasks as a group or select each task individually to approve, reject, or forward. A task may also be approved in the History section.
The selected task is formatted as bright blue, bold text with details for the task displayed in the Request Summary.
Tasks may be sorted and grouped according to user preference.
Request Summary
The request summary displays the content of a Web Form request. The information corresponds with the selected pending task (highlighted and bold in blue in the All Pending Tasks area).
From the dashboard, the Task List page can be accessed from the Task List component. Any tasks pending the user's approval appear in the Task List component; the Workflow model description is listed along with the number of pending approvals in parentheses.
At the page level, users can access the Task List from the Pending Tasks Approvals menu. Select Link to Task List.
Workflow Tasks Page Controls
Symbol | Description |
|---|---|
Header | |
Task Group Selector | Select the group of tasks to be displayed by assignment. Options listed depend on security permissions.
|
Workflow Model Selector | Select a Workflow model, based on the selected Task Group. Select an entry from the list to display task list items in the Workflow task cards. |
Expand Records or Collapse Records | Select to expand or collapse all listed task list items. |
Select and process all tasks | Toggles the selection of all listed task items for bulk processing. Action buttons appear on the page, and the action applies to all listed tasks: Approve, Reject, Hold, or Forward. |
In Office or Out Office | Select to toggle between In Office and Out of Office setting in Workflow. When a user ID is marked as Out of Office, no task list items are assigned until they change the toggle to In Office. The exception to the rule is when Workflow cannot identify another user to assign the task list item. When this occurs, it is necessary to assign it to a user ID even if the the toggle is set to Out of Office. |
Main Section | |
Search | When multiple task list items appear, a Search field displays to assist with locating specific items. As you enter characters, the list is refined to items that match your entry. Characters can be matched anywhere in the item name and are not case-sensitive. |
Show: Pending and Holds | Select or clear the Pending checkbox or Holds checkbox to refine the list of items displayed. Both are selected by default. |
Sort By | The Sort By option appears when multiple items are listed. Model-specific field names appear. Click the field name to change the sort to ascending or descending order. The sorting preferences applied will be saved and retained for the user. A new Clear Sort button is available. When selected, it will reset the task list back to the default view (without any sorting applied). |
Workflow Task Card | |
Task Card | The Task Card displays informational fields specific to the selected Workflow model. Click the card to expand or collapse it. When it is expanded, additional information displays in Details, Attachments, and History tabs. |
Hold (Hand) | Indicates the task list item is on hold. |
Selection Toggle | Click to toggle the item into an active or inactive state. When the toggle is active, action buttons appear: Approve, Reject, Hold, and Forward. You can select multiple items to perform a bulk action that applies to all selected items. The Hold button only appears when a single item is selected. |
Details Tab | Contains details from the actual table or Web Form record that has been assigned to the user or group. This tab can contain information from both the table record and any associated records that have been defined for the Workflow model. The information is loaded from the Workflow Instance record for the task item. Summary information is formatted using a style sheet. |
Attachments Tab | Contains details of any documents that have been attached to the task list item. Attachments must be set up in Workflow model properties, and the type of document must be available for attachment for this user or group. |
History Tab | This section contains a list of each activity executed within the Workflow model for the task list item currently selected. Each row is a particular activity that has either been acted upon already or is currently pending. The list represents the path the currently selected task list item has taken through the model in terms of approvals up to the current point. |
Link to Record | Display the record in the applicable mask. Display and functionality of this button are controlled in Workflow Designer, Model Properties, Tasklist tab, URL field. When you change the Link To Record URL in WF model properties, and change the version of the workflow model, you can experience an issue where all WF task list items use the old version instead of the version in which the task list item was created. If multiple URLs exist, all older records must be cleared for the new link to appear. |
Task List Actions | |
Approve | Approve the selected task list item. Select this option to open the Approve Task window. The number of selected tasks is listed in parentheses. If needed, enter a comment before you submit the approval. After you select the Submit button, the selected request is marked as approved (Success) and the request is marked for additional processing. When the Workflow engine processes the request, the item continues the processing path. |
Reject | Reject the selected task list item. Select this option to open the Reject Task window. The number of selected tasks is listed in parentheses. If needed, enter a comment before rejecting the item. After you select the Submit button, the selected request is marked as rejected (Not Accepted) and the request will be marked for additional processing. When the Workflow engine processes the request, it transfers processing to the Not Accepted (Rejected) Handler activity. |
Hold | Place the selected task list item on hold. Select this option to open the Hold Task window. The number of selected tasks is listed in parentheses. Optionally, click the email link to send an email to the task originator. A comment can be added before you submit the request. The Hold capability is only assigned to Workflow roles from the BusinessPlus System Administrator application. To move a task list activity off the hold status you must approve, reject, or delegate the item. |
Forward | The approver can forward the task list item for special approval that is an exception to the rule. Select this option to open the Forward Task window with the number of selected tasks listed in parentheses. Click Delegating to: or Reassigning to: to toggle between the options, then select a user from the second list. Eligible users are defined as Workflow-enabled in the BusinessPlus User Definition (Administrative Console). A comment can be added before you submit the request. The current Workflow activity status will be set to Obsolete since it is no longer valid. A new activity record is created for the selected user ID and the status is set to Delegate or Reassign. When the Workflow engine processes the request, the assigned user is assigned the forwarded task to perform a Task List Action. Reassignment: A reassignment is approved or rejected by the BusinessPlus ID that received the task list item. However, once the action is taken, the task does not return to the originator for an additional approval. Delegate: A forward that is a delegate returns to the originator if approved by the reassigned approver. If rejected, it does not return, and processing is captured by the rejection handler. |
Task List Forwarding Limit
A Workflow History record’s Activity ID is made up initially of the Activity ID. If the Task List item is a direct assignment, the Activity ID does not contain the qualifying row. If the item is a Many Condition, it contains the qualifying row.
Example: A1 or A1_0001
When a Task List item is forwarded (or reassigned or delegated), an identifier is added to the Activity ID. That way, the activity can be traced backward through the approval chain. A history record's Activity ID for a forwarded Task List item may look like this:
A1_0001:D1:D1 or A1_0001:D1:R1 or whatever the resulting forwarding was.
The Activity ID has a column length of 64 characters within the Workflow history table, so the maximum length will be reached after a number of forwards/reassignments. A Task List item can be forwarded a maximum of 19 times for a direct assignment, or 18 times for a Many Condition assignment. Once it has met the limit, the Forward button for the Task List item is disabled and the approver can no longer forward.
Alternatively, when an item is included in a list of selected Task List Items that has reached this limitation, the user is blocked to approve these items and informed which item is restricted from forwarding. Once this item is removed from the selected list, the approver can forward the remaining selected items that do not have this restriction.