Creating Workflows for Use in Event Rules

Similar to Commands, Workflows are used in Event Rules as Actions or triggers. When you create a Workflow, the Advanced Workflow Engine creates a file with an extension of .aml and saves it in EFT Server's AWE folder (by default, C:\Program Files\GlobalSCAPE\EFT Server Enterprise\AWE). The filename is the name of the workflow, prepended with an underscore and the name of the Site. For example, if you create a Workflow called FTP on a Site called Boston, the Workflow's filename is Boston_FTP.aml.

When a new Workflow is created, a message appears (prior to the Create a Workflow dialog box) informing you that the Advanced Workflow module is an optional module and that the 30-day trial begins when the first Workflow is created.

To create a Workflow

  1. In EFT Administrator, connect to EFT Server and click the Server tab.

  2. Do one of the following:

    3.  The Advanced Workflow pane appears.

  3. In the right pane, click New. The Create a Workflow dialog box appears.

  4. In the What do you want to call this workflow box, specify a name for the Workflow. When you add the Workflow to Event Rules, the name you specify here appears in the Rule.

  5. (Optional) Provide a description of the Workflow, then click OK. The Workflow Designer appears.

    6. The tree in the left pane lists the steps that you can add to the Workflow. The right pane displays the steps in the Workflow.

  6. Double-click or drag items from the Available Actions list to the Steps pane to create your Workflow. (Refer to these Examples.)

  7. Use the Run icon on the Debug toolbar to test the steps. You can run it all at once, run only a selected step, or a portion of the Workflow starting with a step other than the first step.

    8. The Output pane displays the result of each step. For example:

    Executing line 5

    Starting Input Box with message "What is your name?"...

    Creating message box "What is your name?"... >

    Populating variable "theUserName"...

    Finished Input Box "What is your name?".

    The step was okay.

  8. After you have created your Workflow, click Update and Close. The Workflow appears in the Advanced Workflow node of the Site tree and is ready to be used in Event Rules.

  9. (Optional) In the Advanced Options area, specify the number of seconds after which to terminate the Workflow if it fails to execute. The Terminate the process check box is selected by default. If you clear the check box, the process will run indefinitely, which is probably not the desired behavior.

  10. (Optional) Specify the level of debug logging in the Debug log level box, None, Minimal, Normal, or Verbose (None is the default). Click View log folder to view the logs created by this Workflow.

Your Workflow is now ready to insert into an Event Rule. Refer to Using Advanced Workflows in Event Rules for more information.