Workflow Management
Authorized tenant members can access the Workflow Management page. Depending on your permissions, you can create, share, run, pause, and delete workflows. For example, tenant admins can access all functionality on this page.
The Workflow Management page provides access to the Workflow Designer, where authorized tenant members can create and execute workflows. The Workflow Management page also provides a variety of sample workflows you can use in any way you like, for example to help you become acquainted with the capabilities of workflow management in Dispatcher Stratus .
The Workflow Management page appears when you select Workflows in the Navigation pane:
The screen is divided into several sections:
Note: You can adjust the widths of the Workflow List, Workflow Preview, and Activity Log panels to suit your needs. Hover over the space between the panels, and drag the purple bar that appears. The sections adjust accordingly, within certain boundaries. You can also hide the Workflow Preview, and Activity Log panels, if desired.
Workflow List
The Workflow List panel lists the workflows available to you. Workflows initially appear in the default workflow group, titled My Workflows. You can also create your own workflow groups in which to organize your workflows. When you create a new workflow, it becomes associated with the current workflow group. You can move a workflow into any available group.
The Workflow List panel provides information and options for each workflow, including the following:
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Workflow Status - Draft or valid.
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Share status - Displays the share status of the workflow. To run a workflow on a device, it must be shared with the device. Workflows can also be shared with users and user groups.
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Name - Workflows can be renamed only in the Workflow Designer.
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Actions - The Actions column provides the following actions for workflows:
- Play/Resume - Starts a selected workflow; resumes a paused workflow.
- Stop - Stops a running workflow. When resumed, the workflow and any files will begin processing from the beginning.
- Edit - Access the Workflow Designer to edit the workflow.
- Ellipsis - This button accesses a menu that provides the following options:
- Start/Resume - Starts a selected workflow; resumes a paused workflow.
- Stop - Stops a running workflow. When resumed, the workflow and any files will begin processing from the beginning.
- Pause - Pause the selected workflow. When resumed, the workflow will continue processing from its current place.
- Sharing - Accesses the Workflow Sharing window.
- Change Owner - Accesses the Change Workflow Owner window.
- Edit - Access the Workflow Designer to edit the workflow.
- Copy - Copy the selected workflow.
- Paste - Paste a copied workflow
- Delete - Delete the selected workflow
- Move - Move the selected workflow to a different workflow group.
- Export - Create a file containing the selected workflow that can be imported to another tenant.
- Activity Window - Open the Logs for the selected workflow.
- Attach to Feedback - Opens the Customer Feedback form and attaches the selected workflow.
Workflows display their current run status via a highlighted icon around the relevant button. Options include:
| Image | Icon | Description |
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Running | The workflow is currently running. |
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Paused | Execution of the workflow is currently paused. |
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Stopped | Execution of the workflow has been stopped. |
Context Menu
The header bar on the Workflow List panel includes a context menu on the right edge, indicated by the Three Dots icon. The menu includes the following options:
- New Workflow Group - Create a new workflow group for workflows.
- New Workflow - Open the Workflow Designer and create a new workflow in this workflow group.
- Expand/Collapse - Display/Do not display the workflows in this workflow group.
- Rename - The header bar of any custom workflow group includes an Edit icon, via which you can give the workflow group a new name.
- Delete - Custom workflow group include an option to delete the workflow group. Workflows will also be deleted.
- Shift - The header bar of any workflow group includes a Shift icon on the left edge, via which you can drag a workflow group up or down in the panel.
- Paste - Paste a copied workflow in this workflow group.
- Export - Create a file containing the workflow group and all workflows within, which can then be imported to another tenant.
Tool Bar
The Workflows toolbar appears above the Workflow List panel, displaying icons you use to manage your workflows. The icons include:
| Icon | Image | Description |
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Add | Open the Workflow Designer with a blank workflow canvas. |
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Play | Start the selected workflow. |
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Pause | Pause the selected workflow. When resumed, the workflow will continue processing from its current place. |
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Stop | Stop the selected workflow. When resumed, the workflow and any files will begin processing from the beginning. |
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Edit | Open the Workflow Designer to modify the selected workflow. |
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Copy | Copy the selected workflow. |
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Paste | Paste a copied workflow. |
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Delete | Delete the selected workflow. |
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Import | Upload a file containing workflows. |
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Export | Create a file containing the selected workflow that can be imported to another tenant. |
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Share | Share workflows with other users. |
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View Samples | Navigate to the Dispatcher Stratus Sample Workflows library. |
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Search | Search existing workflows. |
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Show/Hide Preview | Toggle a view of what the workflow looks like. |
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Show/Hide Logs | Toggle a display of the logs for the workflow. |
Naming/Renaming Folders
When you first create a folder, it is named “New Folder” by default. To give the folder a more meaningful name or rename an existing folder, click on the edit arrow on the folder’s title bar; then type a new folder name in the field that appears, as in the following illustration:
Save the new folder name by pressing the Enter key or by clicking anywhere else in the application.
Note: You cannot name or rename a folder with a name that is already in use. Folder names must be unique.
Expand/Collapse Folders
The folders in the Workflow List can expand and collapse in the same way as Windows Explorer folders so that you can see more or less of each folder’s contents.
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To expand a folder so that you can see its entire contents, click on the down arrow on a folder’s title bar.
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To collapse a folder so that its contents do not take up any room, click on the down arrow on a folder’s title bar.
Move Folders
You can move the folders around the Workflow List to suit your purposes. To manipulate the position of the folder within the Workflow List, do one of the following:
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Drag-and-drop the six dot icon in the upper left corner of the folder into the correct position using your mouse
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Click on the down arrow on the folder’s title bar; then choose the Shift option.
Selecting Multiple Workflows
To select more than one workflow, click on the workflows while pressing the Shift or Control key.
Using The Workflow Context Menu (With Multiple Workflows)
Right-clicking on one or more selected workflows (from the same or different folders) brings up a context menu. The options on this menu perform the same functions as the icons on the menu bar.
For example, to run several workflows at the same time, you could either select the workflows from the Workflow List; then click on the Start icon or right-click and choose the Start/Resume option on the menu that appears.
Before multiple workflows are run, each workflow is validated. If one workflow fails validation, all selected workflows in the Workflow List will stop processing as well.
Commands can be performed on multiple workflows, regardless of their status. If a workflow is already running and is in a group of workflows that has just been selected to run, the application will ignore the already-running workflow and continue executing the other selected workflows.
All commands will only act on those selected workflows for which it is appropriate to act. For example, if you select to start a combination of running and stopped workflows, the Run command will act only on the stopped workflows. Similarly, the “Pause” command will only act on the selected workflows that are appropriate to pause, skipping over the other selected workflows.
When stopping multiple workflows, a warning message will appear for each workflow if the workflow is currently processing files.
Exporting
Using the options on the main application screen, you can export individual workflows, multiple workflows across different folders, or entire folders. Multiple workflows and entire folders are now saved in one file. Naming conventions are as follows:
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If exporting an entire folder, the default name of the exported file is the name of the folder.
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If exporting multiple workflows from more than one folder, the default name of the exported file is My Workflows.
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If exporting a single workflow, the default name of the exported file is the name of the workflow.
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The file extension for all exported files is .wfxp.
Note: If a shortcut is used to access a network directory in a workflow that is exported, the directory will not be accessible when the workflow is imported again. The full network path is required to access the appropriate directory upon import so make sure that your exported workflow does not contain any shortcuts to network directories.
Exporting Workflows and Folders
To export workflow(s), do the following:
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To export workflows, select the appropriate workflow(s) from the same or different Folders; then either right-click and choose Export… from the menu that appears, or click on the Export Workflow icon on the toolbar.
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To export the entire contents of a folder, click on the down arrow on a Folder’s title bar; then choose the Export Folder option from the menu that appears. The Export Workflow(s) window will appear.
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To export all folders in the Workflow list, click on the down arrow on the Workflow List title bar; then choose the Export All option from the menu that appears.
Once you enable the options that you are interested in and select the Export button, the Export Workflow(s) window will appear. On the Export Workflow(s) window, specify a name and location for the exported workflow(s); then select the Save button. Note that if you change the name of the exported file on this window, the workflow will revert back to its original name when it is imported back into the application.
Importing Workflows
To import workflows back into the application, do one of the following:
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Double-click on an exported file. The Import Wizard will appear. If Dispatcher Stratus is not running, the application will automatically launch.
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Choose the Import Workflow icon from the toolbar menu. The Import Workflow window will appear. On that window, find the exported file that you would like imported; then select the Open button. The Import Wizard will appear.
You can import both *.wfx and *.wfxp files.
Workflow Preview
If you have the Show Preview option selected, the Workflow Preview will appear to the immediate right of the Workflow list, as in the following illustration:
Workflow Activity Log
If you have the Show Logs option selected, the Workflow Activity Log will appear to the right of the Workflow List.
Run a Valid Workflow
If you know the workflows in the list are valid, select a workflow and click the Play icon above or the Run icon next to it. When you do this, the workflow is read, validated, and then run. If the workflow is valid, the status of the workflow will change to Running. The Workflow Activity Log, in the right pane, will display the workflow steps as they are performed.
Note: If you run a workflow that generates a Job, then Stop the workflow, that job will still be available. However, since the workflow is no longer running, no new jobs will be accepted until the workflow is started again.
To run multiple workflows from the same or different Folders, select the workflows from the Workflow List; then click on the Start Workflow icon. All the workflows will be validated and then run. If one workflow fails validation, the rest of the workflows in the list will be stopped.
Edit a Workflow
If you select a stopped workflow in the list and click on the Edit icon, the Workflow Designer so you can make any changes required. Note that you cannot edit a workflow that is currently running; it must be stopped before it can be edited. For more information about editing a workflow, see Using the Workflow Designer.