A Start activity begins a workflow.

To create a workflow start activity:

1. Right-click on the workflow version and select Create Activity.
   You can also drag the Workflow Start activity from the Activities Palette into the Diagram Builder.
2. Enter the activity Name.
   The name displays in the workflow tree and in the workflow diagram builder. The activity name must be unique for the workflow.
3. Set the Type to Workflow Start.
4. (Optional) Under Additional Data, specify a SQL Query to read additional data. For more information, see item-level help.
5. (Optional) Under Deadline, configure Due On Type.
6. Under Layout, set the sequence.
   The sequence determines where the activity displays in the workflow tree. The sequence does not impact the order of the activities in the workflow execution chain.
7. Continue configuring the activity:
   • Configure Workflow Connections by clicking the context menu and selecting Create Connection. For more on workflow connections, see Adding a Workflow Connection.
   • Create an Activity Variable by clicking the context menu and selecting Create Activity Variable. For more on activity variables, see Defining an Activity Variable.
   • Create another activity connected to this activity by clicking Connect on any side of the existing activity and selecting the type for the new activity.
8. Click Show Messages to view and fix errors.
   The Show Messages icon indicates whether there are any workflow modeling or workflow configuration errors. When you click the icon, APEX displays the list of errors. You can click on an individual error to focus on that activity in the workflow. Note that you cannot save the workflow until you address any errors.
9. Click Save to save your changes.

An end activity ends a workflow or a workflow branch.

1. Right-click on the workflow version and select Create Activity.
   You can also drag the Workflow End activity from the Activities Palette into the Diagram Builder.
2. Enter the activity Name.
   The name displays in the workflow tree and in the workflow diagram builder. The activity name must be unique for the workflow.
3. Set the type to Workflow End.
4. Select the End State:
   • Completed - When the workflow reaches this activity, the workflow ends with the Completed state.
   • Terminated - When the workflow reaches this activity, the workflow ends with the Terminated state. This state indicates that something unexpected happened in the workflow.
5. (Optional) Under Additional Data, specify a SQL Query to read additional data. For more information, see item-level help.
6. (Optional) Under Deadline, configure Due On Type.
7. Under Layout, set the sequence.
   The sequence determines where the activity displays in the workflow tree. The sequence does not impact the order of the activities in the workflow execution chain.
8. Continue configuring the activity:
   • Duplicate the activity by clicking on the context menu and selecting Duplicate.
   • Configure Workflow Connections by clicking the context menu and selecting Create Connection. For more on workflow connections, see Adding a Workflow Connection.
   • Create an Activity Variable by clicking the context menu and selecting Create Activity Variable. For more on activity variables, see Defining an Activity Variable.
9. Click Show Messages to view and fix errors.
   The Show Messages icon indicates whether there are any workflow modeling or workflow configuration errors. When you click the icon, APEX displays the list of errors. You can click on an individual error to focus on that activity in the workflow. Note that you cannot save the workflow until you address any errors.
10. Click Save to save your changes.

A switch activity defines conditional branches in your workflow.

To create a workflow switch activity:

1. Right-click on the workflow version and select Create Activity.
   You can also drag the Switch activity from the Activities Palette into the Diagram Builder.
2. Enter the activity Name.
   The name displays in the workflow tree and in the workflow diagram builder. The activity name must be unique for the workflow.
3. Set the Type to Switch.
4. Select the switch type:
   • True False - For branches based on a true/false outcome of the switch condition. See Configuring a True False Switch.
   • Check Workflow Variable - For branches based on the value of a workflow variable. See Configuring a Check Workflow Variable Switch.
   • Case - For branches based on the value of a case expression. See Configuring a Case Switch.
   • If Elsif Else - For branches based on the evaluation of more complex conditional expressions. See Configuring an If Elsif Else Switch.
5. Fill in the remaining settings for the activity type.
6. (Optional) Under Additional Data, specify a SQL Query to read additional data. For more information, see item-level help.
7. (Optional) Under Deadline, configure Due On Type.
8. Under Layout, set the sequence.
   The sequence determines where the activity displays in the workflow tree. The sequence does not impact the order of the activities in the workflow execution chain.
9. Continue configuring the activity:
   • Duplicate the activity by clicking on the context menu and selecting Duplicate.
   • Configure Workflow Connections by clicking the context menu and selecting Create Connection. For more on workflow connections, see Adding a Workflow Connection.
   • Create an Activity Variable by clicking the context menu and selecting Create Activity Variable. For more on activity variables, see Defining an Activity Variable.
   • Create another activity connected to this activity by clicking Connect on any side of the existing activity and selecting the type for the new activity.
10. Click Show Messages to view and fix errors.
    The Show Messages icon indicates whether there are any workflow modeling or workflow configuration errors. When you click the icon, APEX displays the list of errors. You can click on an individual error to focus on that activity in the workflow. Note that you cannot save the workflow until you address any errors.
11. Click Save to save your changes.

• Configuring a True False Switch
  A True False switch is based on the result of a single condition that returns a boolean.
• Configuring a Check Workflow Variable Switch
  A Check Workflow Variable switch is based on the value of a workflow variable.
• Configuring a Case Switch
  A Case switch is based on the result of a computation.
• Configuring an If Elsif Else Switch
  An If Elsif Else switch is based on AND/OR comparisons between the conditions.

A Wait activity pauses workflow execution.

To create a workflow wait activity:

1. Right-click on the workflow version and select Create Activity.
   You can also drag the workflow Wait activity from the Activities Palette into the Diagram Builder.
2. Enter the activity Name.
   The name displays in the workflow tree and in the workflow diagram builder. The activity name must be unique for the workflow.
3. Set the type to Wait.
4. For Timeout Type, specify Static, SQL Query, Expression, or Function Body.
   For Static, use ISO Duration format values.
5. (Optional) Under Additional Data, specify a SQL Query to read additional data. For more information, see item-level help.
6. Under Layout, set the sequence.
   The sequence determines where the activity displays in the workflow tree. The sequence does not impact the order of the activities in the workflow execution chain.
7. Continue configuring the activity:
   • Duplicate the activity by clicking on the context menu and selecting Duplicate.
   • Configure Workflow Connections by clicking the context menu and selecting Create Connection. For more on workflow connections, see Adding a Workflow Connection.
   • Create an Activity Variable by clicking the context menu and selecting Create Activity Variable. For more on activity variables, see Defining an Activity Variable.
   • Create another activity connected to this activity by clicking Connect on any side of the existing activity and selecting the type for the new activity.
8. Click Show Messages to view and fix errors.
   The Show Messages icon indicates whether there are any workflow modeling or workflow configuration errors. When you click the icon, APEX displays the list of errors. You can click on an individual error to focus on that activity in the workflow. Note that you cannot save the workflow until you address any errors.
9. Click Save to save your changes.

A Human Task - Create activity creates a human task using an existing task definition.

To create a workflow human task activity:

1. Right-click on the workflow version and select Create Activity.
   You can also drag the Human Task - Create activity from the Activities Palette into the Diagram Builder.
2. Enter the activity Name.
   The name displays in the workflow tree and in the workflow diagram builder. The activity name must be unique for the workflow.
3. Set the Type to Human Task - Create.
4. Under Settings, set the Human Task properties:
   1. Definition - Select the Task Definition from the dropdown.
   2. Subject - Set the subject if you want to override the subject from the task definition.
   3. Priority - Set the priority if you want to override the priority from the task definition.
   4. (Approval tasks only) Initiator Can Complete - Set whether the initiator can also complete the task if you want to override this value from the task definition.
   5. Initiator Item - The ID of the user initiating the task. When not specified, this value defaults to the current logged-in user.
   6. Task ID Item - The page item where the ID of the newly created task instance can be stored.
   7. Details Primary Key Item - The workflow item (variable or parameter) pointing to the Primary Key for the system of records that the task definition uses.
   8. (Optional) Outcome - A workflow variable to store the task outcome.
   9. (Optional) Owner - A workflow variable to store the person who approved, rejected, or completed the task.

   Tip:

   When you create a Human Task activity, APEX creates two workflow variables: TASK_OUTCOME and APPROVER. In the activity settings, you can set the Outcome and Approver attributes to these variables. At runtime, after the task completes, the workflow variable TASK_OUTCOME is set to APPROVED or REJECTED based on the outcome of the task. Subsequent activities in the workflow can use these workflow variables. You can choose to ignore the outcome and approver details from the activity, delete the auto-generated workflow variables, and leave the corresponding task attributes empty.

   For example, a Switch activity that follows a Human Task activity can use the Check Workflow Variable type to look at TASK_OUTCOME, and branch the workflow based on TASK_OUTCOME = APPROVED and TASK_OUTCOME = REJECTED.

   Note that if there are subsequent Human Task activities in the workflow, these workflow variables are not automatically created again. You can choose to re-use the same workflow variables to store the task outcome and actual owner, or you can manually create new workflow variables if you want each Human Task activity outcome stored in a different workflow variable.

5. (Optional) Under Additional Data, specify a SQL Query to read additional data. For more information, see item-level help.
6. (Optional) Under Deadline, configure Due On Type.
7. Under Layout, set the sequence.
   The sequence determines where the activity displays in the workflow tree. The sequence does not impact the order of the activities in the workflow execution chain.
8. Continue configuring the activity:
   • Duplicate the activity by clicking on the context menu and selecting Duplicate.
   • Configure Workflow Connections by clicking the context menu and selecting Create Connection. For more on workflow connections, see Adding a Workflow Connection.
   • Create an Activity Variable by clicking the context menu and selecting Create Activity Variable. For more on activity variables, see Defining an Activity Variable.
   • Create another activity connected to this activity by clicking Connect on any side of the existing activity and selecting the type for the new activity.
9. Click Show Messages to view and fix errors.
   The Show Messages icon indicates whether there are any workflow modeling or workflow configuration errors. When you click the icon, APEX displays the list of errors. You can click on an individual error to focus on that activity in the workflow. Note that you cannot save the workflow until you address any errors.
10. Click Save to save your changes.

A custom process type plugin uses a custom plugin as an activity.

To configure the process type plug-in for workflow use:

1. Navigate to the Shared Components page:
   1. On the Workspace home page, click App Builder.
   2. Select an application.
   3. On the Application home page, click Shared Components.

      The Shared Components page appears.

2. Under Other Components, click Plug-ins.
3. Click the plug-in you want to edit.

   The Edit page appears.

4. In Supported For, enable Workflow Activities.

To configure the workflow to wait on this process and only progress after the process completes:

5. Under Standard Attributes, select Wait for Completion.
6. (Optional) In Callbacks, specify the Completion function for the process.
   When the process completes and calls back into the workflow using apex_workflow.continue_activity, the workflow engine executes the Completion function before continuing with the rest of the workflow activities. Refer to APEX_WORKFLOW in Oracle APEX API Reference to learn more about the continue_activity() API.
7. (Optional) In Callbacks, specify the Termination function for the process.
   Termination functions are useful if you want to free up resources held by your process if the workflow is terminated. You can only add a termination function if you have already selected Wait For Completion.

To add the custom process type plug-in to the workflow:

8. Right-click on the workflow version and select Create Activity.
9. Enter the activity Name.
   The name displays in the workflow tree and in the workflow diagram builder. The activity name must be unique for the workflow.
10. Set the Type to the name of your plug-in. Available custom process plug-ins display under the Application Components heading.
    You can also drag the custom process type plug-in activity from the Activities Palette into the Diagram Builder.
11. (Optional) Under Additional Data, specify a SQL Query to read additional data. For more information, see item-level help.
12. (Optional) Under Deadline, configure Due On Type.
13. Under Layout, set the sequence.
    The sequence determines where the activity displays in the workflow tree. The sequence does not impact the order of the activities in the workflow execution chain.
14. Continue configuring the activity:
    • Duplicate the activity by clicking on the context menu and selecting Duplicate.
    • Configure Workflow Connections by clicking the context menu and selecting Create Connection. For more on workflow connections, see Adding a Workflow Connection.
    • Create an Activity Variable by clicking the context menu and selecting Create Activity Variable. For more on activity variables, see Defining an Activity Variable.
    • Create another activity connected to this activity by clicking Connect on any side of the existing activity and selecting the type for the new activity.
15. Click Show Messages to view and fix errors.
    The Show Messages icon indicates whether there are any workflow modeling or workflow configuration errors. When you click the icon, APEX displays the list of errors. You can click on an individual error to focus on that activity in the workflow. Note that you cannot save the workflow until you address any errors.
16. Click Save to save your changes.

An invoke workflow activity calls another workflow in the same application.

To add an invoke workflow activity:

1. Right-click on the workflow version and select Create Activity.
   You can also drag the Invoke Workflow activity from the Activities Palette into the Diagram Builder.
2. Enter the activity Name.
   The name displays in the workflow tree and in the workflow diagram builder. The activity name must be unique for the workflow.
3. Set the Type to Invoke Workflow.
4. Under Settings, set the Invoke Workflow properties:
   1. Definition - Select the Workflow Definition from the dropdown.

      Note:

      A workflow cannot invoke itself or any of its caller workflows. This avoids cyclic dependency.
   2. Initiator Item - Provide an optional workflow variable or parameter that specifies the initiator of the invoked workflow.
      If Initiator Item is set, the initiator of the invoked workflow is the value of this item. Otherwise, the initiator of the invoked workflow is the initiator of the parent workflow.
   3. Details Primary Key Item - The workflow item (variable or parameter) pointing to the Primary Key for the system of records that the invoked workflow uses.
   4. Workflow ID Item - The workflow item where the ID of the newly invoked workflow instance is stored.
   5. Wait for Completion - Turn this switch On if the workflow waits for the invoked workflow instance to complete before progressing to the next activity. Turn this switch Off if the workflow progresses to the next activity without waiting for the invoked workflow instance to complete.
      This switch is turned on by default.
   6. Retry Point - Defines the point where an invoked workflow is retried if it faults. Resume retries the invoked workflow from the faulted activity. Start Over terminates the faulted instance of the invoked workflow and starts a new instance.
      Start Over is only applicable when the Retry operation is performed on the faulted parent workflow instance.

      Note:

      Retry Point is only applicable for invoked workflows with Wait for Completion set to On.
5. Set the values for the parameters of the invoked workflow:
   1. Under the Invoke Workflow activity, expand the Parameters region to display the parameters of the invoked workflow.
   2. Ignore Output - Specify whether the parameters for Out and In/Out should be ignored. By default, Ignore Output is turned on. If Ignore Output is turned off, then the value can only be set to an item (parameter, variable, or activity variable) of the current workflow.

   Note:

   If a workflow parameter is set to Required and its Value Type is set to null, using this workflow in an Invoke Workflow activity throws an exception when the Invoke Activity is executed at runtime.
6. (Optional) Under Additional Data, specify a SQL Query to read additional data. For more information, see item-level help.
7. (Optional) Under Deadline, configure Due On Type.
8. Under Layout, set the sequence.
   The sequence determines where the activity displays in the workflow tree. The sequence does not impact the order of the activities in the workflow execution chain.
9. Continue configuring the activity:
   • Duplicate the activity by clicking on the context menu and selecting Duplicate.
   • Configure Workflow Connections by clicking the context menu and selecting Create Connection. For more on workflow connections, see Adding a Workflow Connection.
   • Create an Activity Variable by clicking the context menu and selecting Create Activity Variable. For more on activity variables, see Defining an Activity Variable.
   • Create another activity connected to this activity by clicking Connect on any side of the existing activity and selecting the type for the new activity.
10. Click Show Messages to view and fix errors.
    The Show Messages icon indicates whether there are any workflow modeling or workflow configuration errors. When you click the icon, APEX displays the list of errors. You can click on an individual error to focus on that activity in the workflow. Note that you cannot save the workflow until you address any errors.
11. Click Save to save your changes.

Add an activity variable by right-clicking the activity in the workflow tree and selecting Create Activity Variable.

To add a workflow activity variable:

1. Right-click on the activity in the workflow tree and select Create Activity Variable.
2. Fill in the properties for the variable:
   1. Static ID - The unique name of the variable.
   2. Label - The user-friendly label for the variable.
   3. Data Type - Select from VARCHAR2, TIMESTAMP, TIMESTAMP WITH LOCAL TIME ZONE, TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE, NUMBER, BOOLEAN, and CLOB.
   4. Value Type - The type of value for the variable.
   5. Value Language - Language, if applicable.
   6. (Item only) Item - The workflow parameter, version variable, or activity variable.
   7. (Boolean only) Format Mask - If applicable, fill in the variable or parameter value used to determine the values.