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General information
Unlike the automations , which is described in the previous section of the User Guide, used for automating away repetitive work, the purpose of workflows is to support collaboration between users, by standardizing business processes. Therefore, workflows require user interaction in order to advance.
An example of such a standardized business process can be found below - both in a graphic form (flow mode) and a text form (text mode).This image shows . The screenshots show a basic request workflow, in flow mode, where the things being requested request could concern, for example, be the download of an asset, the approval of a newly self-signed up user, or the publishing of an asset.Flow mode, both in flow mode and in text mode.
Flow mode (a graphic representation of the workflow):
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Text mode : The image below shows a cut-out of the same workflow as the image above. This, however, shows the code behind.(the code behind the workflow):
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To access workflows, press the Settings button in the top right corner, and enter Workflows.
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Scenario | Configuration | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
There is no stage owner. | Set Stage Assignment Behavior to “Unassigned”.   | This option should be used for the stages where no users or groups should be assigned. An example of this could be that your task has reached an end state, e.g. a download request has been approved. No further action is needed here, and thus no one should be assigned. |
The stage owner is a user. | Set Stage Assignment Behavior to “Assign to a user”. In the new field below select the stage owner from the provided list.  | This option should be used for stages that should be assigned to a specific user. All the available users are presented in the drop-down list. |
The stage owner is a group. | Set Stage Assignment Behavior to “Assign to a group”. In the new field below select the stage owner from the provided list.  | This option should be used for stages that should be assigned to a specific group. All the available groups are presented in the drop-down list. |
The stage owner is the instance owner. | Set Stage Assignment Behavior to “Assign to the instance owner”.  | This option should be selected, if the stage needs to be assigned to the user who initiated the event. An example of this is, that you have an asset approval workflow, where the uploading user needs to fill in some metadata or input constraints before the approver is assigned. As uploading cannot be “constrained“, the first stage you create must be assigned to the instance owner, to ensure that (s)he fulfills the metadata/input constraints before sending it onwards. |
Current user or group remains as the stage owner. | Set Stage Assignment Behavior to “Keep current user or group”.  | Use this if you wish to retain the assignment set in the previous stage(s). |
The stage owner is assigned by what’s set in a metafield. | Set Assign from Metafield to the correct MasterItemReference type metadata field from the list.  | This option allows for more flexibility when assigning, as this gives the ability to assign users and groups based on a value set in a metafield. A use case could be a situation in which each asset has an owner who is responsible for what happens with this particular asset (like a photographer). Having the ability to link an asset with a user or group, allows for easy ownership assignment. Please note that “assign from metafield” only works, when there is only one asset in the task. If the “assign from metafield” fails because there are multiple due to a too high number of assets in the a task - or because the indicated metadata field is empty , - the automatic stage assignment will be the act as a fallback. This is why the user needs to configure both options. |
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Workflow administrators can access the tasks assigned to them in order to see all active and completed tasks as well as take actions.
End users will interact with the system in a different way. Typically, they’ll make requests, like for downloading an asset or signing up. They’ll be able to track the status of download requestsrequesting download, upload, or sign up. As these users typically do not have access to the task list, only certain tasks’ statuses are visible for them, download request being the only one.
Each task is defined by the workflow name, status and the created time and and date. The tasks can be sorted by type and creation date. It’s not necessary to reload the page to see the most current task list. The user can simply hit the refresh button in the upper right corner.
Tasks can be shown in a list form or and a card form:
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In order to simplify the process of working with tasks, the list is paginated and the user can select how many tasks should be visible on one page (between 12 and 200). If the infinite scroll is enabled for the system, the tasks will also load in infinite scroll.
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Task name (freetext search)
Quick filters
Status
Workflows
Assets
Created by (user)
Created by group
Assignee (user)
Assigned group
The Task details of the task are opened accessible in the right-side panel after clicking on it once.
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At In the top of the newly-opened panel there are basic information concerning the task (the name of the workflow and its current status), the option to delete the task - as well as a button that opens a drop down with available actions. In the lower part of the panel there are several tabs with additional content that the user can switch between:
Summary (who - Who created the task, the date of creation, promoted input constraints as well as a short summary of assets, attachments, and comments)
Details (information - Information concerning all input constraints, apart from attachments)
Assets (all - All assets the task concerns in either box view or list view)
Comments (used - Used for the direct communication between users involved in the same workflow and between users with with the task - also for high-level users who have access to other users' tasks )to communicate.
Attachments (attached - Attached files related to upload constraints)
Metadata - Metadata (metadata fields relevant to the task are displayed).
The tabs that do not contain any information are greyed out and cannot be accessed.
Transitioning the task
As described at the beginning of the page, some tasks are transitioned automatically upon clearing the required constraints. The most common type of transition, however, is the manual transition. In this case, the user assigned to the task needs to take an action, before the workflow can transition to the next stage.
The list of actions available for a particular tasks is shown upon clicking the Action button. The button is located in two different places:
in the task list view, in the last column
in the task detail view, in the upper right corner of the modal.
If there are no constraints attached to the selected action, the transition will be successful instantly.
If there are constraints attached to the action, the user needs to perform additional tasks, before the transition can occur. The task depends on the type of the constraint:
In case of input constraints, the user needs to fill in additional information in the form of text, date or selecting an option from the provided list
In case of upload constraint, the user needs to upload a file in a required format
In case of metadata constraints, the user needs to make sure that the provided metadata fields are filled in according to the requirements.
Multi-transition of tasks
It is possible to perform the transition of multiple tasks at the same time. The However, the tasks must meet the following conditions must be met:
The tasks must be in the same stateThe tasks must concern stage - in the same workflow.
The same user must have the ability to transition the taskseach task individually.
In order to To multi-transition the tasks, the user must first select all the relevant tasks either by clicking the empty checkmark checkmarks on the left side of the task, or via “drag and drop” method in the card view.
If the tasks fail to meet all any of the conditions, the multi-action button at the top of the task list will remain be inactive.
If all the conditions are met, clicking the newly activated multi-action button will result in the appearance of a new dialog, where the user will be guided through the transition process.
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