Workflow States

A workflow state is a stage or step in the workflow process. There is always a Start state, which you can rename but is always the first state the form's workflow initiates, and you use transitions to determine rules for flowing between states until it finally terminates with Finish.

Each workflow state leading up to Finish is a pause in the flow, waiting for an event - usually for a user to enter data into the form and submit to trigger any relevant transition from that state.

Using States in Design

Adding States

1. Drag and drop states into the workflow. For more information, refer to State Types.
2. Review and edit any relevant properties for the state in the Inspector.
3. Create any required transitions.
4. Save the project.

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Note

An alternative to drag and drop to create states is clicking the plus (+) context menu when hovering over an empty grid marker.

Once created, states can be moved around the canvas by clicking and dragging, then releasing on any available grid marker.

Deleting States

1. Click to select the state to delete.
2. In the Inspector Panel, click the More Options (...) button, and click Delete from the pull-out menu.
   Alternatively, once selected you can press 'delete' on the keyboard.
3. Confirm the deletion by clicking OK.

State Types

Workflows can incorporate the following types of states:

• Start
• Finish
• State
• Approval
• Event

Each of these state types are described in more detail below.

Start

Start is the initial state for all workflow projects, and, while it cannot be deleted, it may be renamed and otherwise behaves very similarly to a regular state. This is commonly used to initiate a process or request, capturing data from the requester.

Users who initiate a workflow form in this state are considered the workflow Creator.

Refer to State Properties for a list of properties in the Inspector for the Start state.

Finish

While not strictly a state, Finish represents the final termination of the workflow and is always present in a workflow. It has no properties and, as such, is not selectable in the canvas, and can only have inbound transitions. Once a workflow reaches this state, it cannot progress further and is therefore considered completed.

State

States are the most common building blocks for your workflow, allowing further data capture after the Start state is completed.

States share several properties with the Start state, with the addition of Observers. You can name these states appropriately, keeping in mind that, by default, state names may appear for end users in their task list. Unlike Start, normal states may be deleted if necessary.

Refer to State Properties for a list of properties in the Inspector for States.

Approval

Approvals are re-usable states that take the most common workflow patterns around reviewing and approving or rejecting workflows, and apply in a single step, simplifying what might otherwise be a complex structure to build and maintain.

When added to the workflow, the user can select an approval from the drop-down list of available approvals that have been configured in Manage.​ See Approvals.

Event

An external step in a workflow that needs to be actioned by a system outside of the SmartIQ platform via Cloud-to-Cloud Integration (C2I). Additionally, the workflow will only progress after the process has finished.

For more information, refer to Events.

State Properties

The following properties apply to both normal states as well as the Start state, except where indicated.

Approval Properties