1. Building Portals with Oracle WebCenter Portal
  2. Working with Content in a Portal
  3. Working with Workflow-Enabled Content

35 Working with Workflow-Enabled Content

Workflow defines a review process, which can be manual or automatic. Assign files to a workflow, view files in a workflow, and approve or reject a file in workflow.

Permissions:

To perform the tasks in this chapter, you must be a portal manager or a portal member with the portal-level permissions Basic Services: Edit Page Access and Structure, Documents: Administration, Documents: Create and Edit Documents, and Documents: View Documents (standard permissions) or Pages: Edit Pages, Documents: Administration, Documents: Create and Edit Documents, and Documents: View Documents (advanced permissions).

See About Roles and Permissions for a Portal.

Topics:

35.1 About Content Workflows

A workflow specifies how to route content for review and approval before it is released to the system. The workflow notifies approvers through mail messages when they have a file to review and approve.

Setting up workflows for a business process can provide several advantages:

  • Workflows provide good reporting metrics. They can produce an audit trail of who signed off on content at various points of the life cycle of the content.

  • Workflows help get the right information to the right person.

  • Designing a workflow requires you to examine and understand your business processes, helping you find areas for improvement.

Workflows on WebCenter Portal content are available only when the connected content repository is Content Server and your system administrator has completed the prerequisite configuration. For information, see Configuring Oracle WebCenter Content Server in Administering Oracle WebCenter Portal. Workflows are supported for all documents uploaded to a portal, however workflows are not supported in a Home portal.

When a file is assigned to a workflow, it must be approved or rejected by one or more assigned approvers. The Content Manager task flow and Content Presenter provide access to the workflow-enabled content. In the Content Manager task flow, any user with privileges to view the contents of a file that is assigned a workflow can view the file while it is in a workflow, showing the pending changes. Content Presenter allows you to view both the published version of a content item (not showing the pending changes), and the pending changed version while it is in workflow. REST APIs show only the published version of a file, and do not show the pending changes in unreleased versions of files that are in workflow.

Only workflow approvers can perform actions on a file in workflow (such as upload new version, edit, rename, delete, copy/cut/paste). Non-approvers can view the file, but cannot perform any actions on the file.

The following sections provide conceptual information about workflow on files in WebCenter Portal:

35.1.1 Understanding Workflow Types

Workflows are defined on Content Server. Content Server supports the following types of workflows:

  • A basic workflow defines the review process for specific content items, and must be initiated manually.

  • A criteria workflow is used for content that enters a workflow automatically based on metadata that matches predefined criteria.

See Also:

For more information about working with workflows in the Content Server user interface, see Using Workflows in Using Oracle WebCenter Content.

For information about configuring Content Server to enable the built-in workflows, see Enabling the WebCenterConfigure Component in Administering Oracle WebCenter Portal.

35.1.2 Understanding Workflow Steps

Steps define the process and the functionality of a workflow. Each workflow can include multiple review and notification steps with multiple reviewers to approve or reject the content at each step. For each step in a workflow, a set of users and a step type are defined.

Table 35-1 Workflow Steps

Step Type Description

Contribution

The initial step of a basic workflow. The workflow defines who the contributors are.

Auto-Contribution

The initial step of a criteria workflow. There are no predefined users involved in this step. The contributor who checks in a content item that enters the workflow process automatically becomes part of the workflow.

Review

Users can approve or reject the content; editing is not allowed.

Review/Edit Revision

Users can edit the content if necessary then approve or reject it, maintaining the revision.

Review/New Revision

Users can edit the content if necessary then approve or reject it, creating a new revision.

After a workflow is enabled, it goes through several specific stages. See also, Workflow Steps in Managing Oracle WebCenter Content

35.1.3 Understanding Workflow Process

For information about the workflow process, see Workflow Process in Managing Oracle WebCenter Content.

35.2 Creating a Workflow on Content Server

Workflows are used to set up a review process for individual documents that enter the workflow automatically when they match predefined criteria. System administrators define workflow criteria on Content Server. For information about setting up a workflow, see Managing Workflows in Managing Oracle WebCenter Content.

35.3 Assigning a File to a Workflow

To assign a file to a workflow:

  1. Add the Content Manager task flow to a page. For information, see Adding the Content Manager Task Flow to a Page.

  2. Navigate to the view mode of the portal.

  3. Upload the file that you want to assign to the workflow.

    1. In the Content Manager task flow, click Upload. Click Standard Check-In.

    2. Use the Browse button to specify the location of the file that you want to add to the workflow.

    3. In the Document Upload dialog, expand the Metadata section.

    4. Scroll down to the field based on which the workflow criterion is defined on Content Server.

    5. Specify the workflow criteria.

      You must specify the workflow criterion that was set during workflow creation on Content Server. For example, suppose the workflow criterion on the Content Server is defined on the Workflow Assignment field, and a file will enter a workflow when the value of Workflow Assignment is specified as CustomSingleUserApproval. To assign the file to this workflow, you need to type CustomSingleUserApproval in the Workflow Assignment field. For information about how to create a workflow on Content Server, see Managing Workflows in Managing Oracle WebCenter Content.

    6. If you want to add another file to the workflow, use Browse to specify the location of the file. Then, select the file in the Documents section. In the Metadata section, scroll down to the workflow criterion field and click the Copy icon next to the field. For example, click the Copy icon next to the Workflow Assignment field, as shown in Figure 35-1.

      Figure 35-1 Specifying the Workflow Criterion

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      Description of "Figure 35-1 Specifying the Workflow Criterion"

    7. Click Upload or Upload All.

      A message is displayed that the document has been submitted to the specified workflow for review.

      Figure 35-2 Message Showing Document Assigned to a Workflow

      Description of Figure 35-2 follows
      Description of "Figure 35-2 Message Showing Document Assigned to a Workflow"

35.4 Configuring the Content Manager to Display Workflow Files

To view the files that are assigned to a workflow:

  1. Add the Content Manager task flow to a page, as described in Adding the Content Manager Task Flow to a Page or navigate to the Content Manager task flow you want to configure.
  2. While you are in the Page Edit mode, select the task flow. This displays the Configure action. Click Configure.
  3. In the access selection area, click Browse, then select Browse from the list to display the Libraries page.
  4. From the Filter drop-down list, select System Libraries.

    Figure 35-3 Selecting System Libraries

    Description of Figure 35-3 follows
    Description of "Figure 35-3 Selecting System Libraries"
  5. Click the Content In Workflow link.

    Figure 35-4 Selecting Content In Workflow

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    Description of "Figure 35-4 Selecting Content In Workflow"
  6. Click Save.

35.5 Viewing Files in Workflow

You can view files in a workflow and the workflow details by using the Content Manager task flow or the Content Presenter task flow:

Note:

Only workflow approvers can perform actions on a file in a workflow (such as upload new version, edit, rename, delete, copy/cut/paste). Non-approvers can view the file, but cannot perform any actions on the file.

35.5.1 Viewing Workflow Files in the Content Manager Task Flow

To view a workflow file in the Content Manager task flow:

  1. Navigate to the portal page that contains the Content Manager task flow. Click the name of the file that you want to open.
  2. Click the Summary tab.

    The task flow displays a notification that the file is in workflow. If you are assigned as an approver of the workflow, you will see controls that allow you to approve, reject, or view workflow details of the file (Figure 35-5).

    Figure 35-5 Content Manager Showing a File in a Workflow

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    Description of "Figure 35-5 Content Manager Showing a File in a Workflow"
  3. To view further details about the workflow, if you are an approver, click View workflow details to display the workflow information (Figure 35-6).

    Figure 35-6 Workflow Information in Content Server

    Description of Figure 35-6 follows
    Description of "Figure 35-6 Workflow Information in Content Server"

    Note:

    To enable the availability of the workflow Details link in the preview pane, both of the following two requirements must be met:

    • You must access the WebCenter Portal application through Oracle HTTP Server (OHS) to expose Content Server and the WebCenter Portal application under the same host and port. For information about setting up OHS as the front-end to WebCenter Portal, see Configuring Oracle WebCenter Content Server in Administering Oracle WebCenter Portal.

    • WebCenter Portal must be connected to a Content Server repository, with the webContextRoot parameter set to a Content Server host name. For information on setting webContextRoot, see Creating a Connection to Oracle WebCenter Content Server in Administering Oracle WebCenter Portal. To set webContextRoot through WLST, see the createContentServerConnection and setContentServerConnection sections in WebCenter WLST Command Reference Reference.

    Clicking the View Workflow History link in the Workflow Details dialog shows the details of all workflow process for the selected file (Figure 35-7).

    Figure 35-7 Workflow History

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    Description of "Figure 35-7 Workflow History"
  4. If you are an approver or reviewer for the file, click Approve or Reject to indicate the result of your review of the file. These links are active only when the file is pending approval. If you reject the file, enter the justification for your rejection. For other ways to approve or reject a file, see Approving or Rejecting a File in Workflow.

35.5.2 Viewing Workflow Files in a Content Presenter Task Flow

You can view content items displayed in Content Presenter while they are in a workflow, including Site Studio contributor data files displayed in a Site Studio region template. As long as the content item has at some point had Released status in Content Server, you can display the content item in Content Presenter. Then, if a revision of the content item is pending in workflow, Content Presenter allows approvers for the content item to toggle between the published version and the version in workflow in the page editor or in-context edit (contributor) mode, and also provides links to approve or reject the item in workflow, and view additional details about the item.

To view a file in workflow in Content Presenter:

  1. Add a Content Presenter task flow to a page (see Adding a Content Presenter Task Flow to a Page), selecting a file that has been released from a workflow.
    If any changes are now made to the selected file, you can view the workflow state of the file in Content Presenter. For example, if a new version of the file is uploaded, you can review the changes and approve and reject the file using Content Presenter.
  2. To view the current workflow state of the file in Content Presenter, view the page in the page editor (Figure 35-8), or view the file in in-context edit (contributor) mode (Figure 35-9).

    Content Presenter displays workflow controls to show that the file is in workflow. The initial view of the file shows the published version of the file.

    Note:

    To view the page in the page editor, or view the file in in-context edit (contributor) mode, respectively, see:

    See also, Entering Contribution Mode in Using Portals in Oracle WebCenter Portal.

    Figure 35-8 Page Editor: Workflow Controls in Content Presenter

    Description of Figure 35-8 follows
    Description of "Figure 35-8 Page Editor: Workflow Controls in Content Presenter"

    Figure 35-9 In-Context Edit (Contributor) Mode: Workflow Controls in Content Presenter

    Description of Figure 35-9 follows
    Description of "Figure 35-9 In-Context Edit (Contributor) Mode: Workflow Controls in Content Presenter"
  3. To view further details about the workflow, click Details to display the workflow information in Content Server (including workflow name, steps performed, action performed, date of action, and who performed the action).

    Note:

    To enable the availability of the workflow Details link in the preview pane, both of the following two requirements must be met:

    • You must access the WebCenter Portal application through Oracle HTTP Server (OHS) to expose Content Server and the WebCenter Portal application under the same host and port. For information about setting up OHS as the front-end to WebCenter Portal, see Configuring Oracle WebCenter Content Server in Administering Oracle WebCenter Portal.

    • WebCenter Portal must be connected to a Content Server repository, with the webContextRoot parameter set to a Content Server host name. For information on setting webContextRoot, see Creating a Connection to Oracle WebCenter Content Server in Administering Oracle WebCenter Portal. To set webContextRoot through WLST, see createContentServerConnection and setContentServerConnection in WebCenter WLST Command Reference Reference.

  4. If you are a workflow approver, click Preview pending changes to preview the changes to the file, then Approve or Reject the changes in either the page editor (Figure 35-10), or in-context edit (contributor) mode (Figure 35-11). These links are active only when the file is pending approval. If you reject the file, enter the justification for your rejection. For other ways to approve or reject a file, see Approving or Rejecting a File in Workflow.

    Figure 35-10 Page Editor: Preview File in Workflow to Approve or Reject in Content Presenter

    Description of Figure 35-10 follows
    Description of "Figure 35-10 Page Editor: Preview File in Workflow to Approve or Reject in Content Presenter"

    Figure 35-11 In-Context Edit (Contributor) Mode: Preview File in Workflow to Approve or Reject in Content Presenter

    Description of Figure 35-11 follows
    Description of "Figure 35-11 In-Context Edit (Contributor) Mode: Preview File in Workflow to Approve or Reject in Content Presenter"

When a file in workflow is approved, it is released from workflow, and the workflow controls no longer display in Content Presenter. If you edit the file and make further changes, it will return to workflow and the workflow controls will display again.

When a file in workflow is rejected, it remains in workflow, returning to the contribution step. It must be updated by the file owner for the Approve and Reject controls to display.

35.6 Participating in a Workflow

The following sections describe how to work with a file through the workflow process:

35.6.1 Approving or Rejecting a File in Workflow

As an assigned approver for a workflow, you will need to review and either approve or reject a file to which you are assigned. A file is released from workflow when it is approved in accordance with its workflow type (see Understanding Workflow Types).

To approve or reject a file in a workflow:

  1. View the file for which you are an assigned approver, in either of the following ways:
  2. Open the file, and click the Summary tab.
  3. Click Approve or Reject to indicate the result of your review of the file. These links are active only when the file is pending approval. If you reject the file, enter the justification for rejection.

When a file in a workflow is approved, it is released from the workflow. If you edit the file and make further changes, it will return to the workflow.

When a file in a workflow is rejected, it remains in the workflow, but must be updated by the file owner for the Approve and Reject controls to display.

35.6.2 Working with a Rejected Revision

If a file in a workflow is rejected, it remains in the workflow and returns to the original submitter in the contribution workflow step. The contributor can then revise the file and save it. After saving, the file automatically moves back into the workflow approval step again to be approved or rejected by assigned approvers.

For information about editing a rejected file, see Working with a Rejected Revision in Using Oracle WebCenter Content.