A workflow must be in production to receive and respond to events. Multiple workflows can be in production, but a process can have only one workflow revision in production at a time.
When you have completed a workflow, you can put it into production. Once the workflow is in production, Workflow Automation immediately searches for matches among new events.
NOTE:
Once you put a workflow into production, it cannot return to being under construction. If you want to edit a workflow that is currently in production, you must clone it and create a new revision. For more information about cloning workflow revisions, see Cloning a Workflow Revision.
A process may have only one workflow revision in production at a time. If a revision is already in production, Workflow Automation automatically replaces it with the new revision.
When you put a workflow revision with abstract trigger revisions into production for the first time, Workflow Automation assigns the latest trigger revision according to the rule for the specified abstract revision. For more information about abstract trigger revisions, see Understanding Abstract Trigger Revisions.
Once you put a workflow revision into production, Workflow Automation does not automatically upgrade the Task activities in the workflow to use newer versions of their associated activity modules. You must manually deploy these updates. For more information about updating Task activities with the latest activity modules, see Deploying Activity Module Updates.
Workflow Automation automatically validates the revision’s workflow when you put it into production. If the workflow passes validation, Workflow Automation assigns a version number and puts the revision into production.
If you need to edit a workflow revision after putting it into production, you can clone it, creating an exact copy of the workflow in a new revision. The new workflow revision remains under construction until it is put into production.
To clone a workflow revision:
In the Navigation pane, click Processes.
In the left pane, select the process that contains the revision you want to clone.
In the Workflow Revisions list, select the revision you want to clone.
In the Workflow Revision Tasks list, click Clone Revision.
If you are cloning a workflow revision you built with a previous version of Workflow Automation, upgrade the workflow to use the latest versions of the activities. For more information about upgrading an older workflow, see Deploying Activity Module Updates.
In the Workflow Designer, make the appropriate changes.
On the Workflow tab, in the File group, click Save Workflow.
Close the Workflow Designer.
In the Workflow Revision Tasks list, click Check In Revision.
If you are finished making changes, put the revision into production.
You can manually take a workflow revision out of production at any time. For example, you might want to take a workflow revision out of production to prevent incoming events from initiating work items while you clone the workflow and customize the new workflow revision.
To take a workflow revision out of production:
In the Navigation pane, click Processes.
In the left pane, select the process that contains the workflow revision you want to take out of production.
In the Workflow Revisions list, select the workflow revision you want to take out of production.
In the Workflow Revision Tasks list, click Take Revision Out of Production.
You can export the workflow associated with a workflow revision to an .nxpr file to share across your organizational and geographical structure. The export file includes the workflow’s associated triggers, trigger event definitions, and custom work item attributes. Process Authors may import the .nxpr file to another process and modify the workflow to suit their needs. For more information about importing a workflow revision, see Importing a Workflow.
HINT:You can also export any business services referenced in the workflow.
To export a workflow:
In the Navigation pane, click Processes.
In the left pane, select the appropriate process.
In the Workflow Revisions list, select the revision associated with the workflow you want to export.
In the Workflow Revision Tasks list, click Export Workflow.
On the Export Workflow window, specify the location and file name, and then click Save.
Using the Import Workflow wizard, you can import a workflow revision into a process. The imported workflow displays in the Workflow Revisions list as the most recent revision.
NOTE:Process Authors create import files when they export a workflow to a file. For more information about exporting a workflow, see Exporting a Workflow.
To import a workflow revision into a process:
In the Navigation pane, click Processes.
In the left pane, select the process for which you want to import a workflow.
In the Workflow Revision Tasks list, click Import Workflow.
Complete the Import Workflow Wizard, and then click Finish.
Before you put a workflow into production, you can specify the custom properties it assigns to the work items it creates. For more information about putting a workflow into production, see Putting a Workflow Revision into Production.
To customize work item properties for a workflow:
In the Navigation pane, click Processes.
In the left pane, select the appropriate process.
In the Workflow Revisions list, select the workflow revision for which you want to create or modify custom work item properties.
In the Workflow Revision Tasks list, click View Revision Properties.
On the Workflow Revision Properties window, click the Work Item tab.
Under Properties, provide the appropriate information, and then click OK.
Before you put a workflow into production, you can assign custom attributes to the work items it creates. These attributes can be internal to the workflow or visible to users on the Operations Console.
NOTE:If a custom work item attribute with the same name is passed to the work item by a trigger, the value you assign here overrides the value from the trigger.
To customize work item attributes for a workflow:
In the Navigation pane, click Processes.
In the left pane, select the appropriate process.
In the Workflow Revisions list, select the workflow revision for which you want to create or modify custom work item attributes.
In the Workflow Revision Tasks list, click View Revision Properties.
On the Workflow Revision Properties window, click the Work Item tab.
If you want to create a custom work item attribute, complete the following steps:
Under Custom Work Item Attributes, click Add.
On the New Custom Work Item Attribute window, provide the appropriate information, and then click OK.
If you want to edit a custom work item attribute, complete the following steps:
Under Custom Work Item Attributes, select the attribute you want to edit, and then click Edit.
On the Edit Custom Work Item Attribute window, make the appropriate changes, and then click OK.
On the Workflow Revision Properties window, click OK.