Scott Gartner [
http://community.jboss.org/people/sgartner] created the discussion
"Need help with workflow in Alfresco"
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http://community.jboss.org/message/539315#539315
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Hello jBPM community,
I haven't had any luck getting help in the Alfresco forums, and I'm hoping for
more here. We are building an application based on Alfresco and jBPM and I have defined a
workflow, but I have either defined it wrong or am missing something or there are bugs in
Alfresco integration with jBPM and I need help figuring out which and fixing it. Here is
the problem:
I have an advanced workflow and I am trying to launch it from JavaScript. Here is the
code I'm using to start the workflow: {code} var nodeId = args.nodeid; var document
= search.findNode("workspace://SpacesStore/" + nodeId); var workflowAction =
actions.create("start-workflow"); workflowAction.parameters.workflowName =
"jbpm$nmwf:MyWorkflow";
workflowAction.parameters["bpm:workflowDescription"] = "Please edit: "
+ document.name; workflowAction.parameters["bpm:assignees"] =
[people.getPerson("admin"), people.getPerson("andyg")]; var futureDate
= new Date(); futureDate.setDate(futureDate.getDate() + 7);
workflowAction.parameters["bpm:workflowDueDate"] = futureDate;
workflowAction.execute(document); {code}
This runs fine and e-mail sent from the start node's default transition fires just
fine. However, when I go looking for the workflow in my task list it is not there, but it
is in my *completed* task list. The default transition (the only transition) from the
start node points at a task node which has four transitions.
There are 8 tasks and 22 transitions in the workflow. When I use the workflow console to
start the workflow and end the start task, it properly follows the default start node
transition to the next task. The new task shows up in "show tasks" but does not
show up in "show my tasks" (apparently because the task was marked completed for
some reason, though it is not in the "end" node). The task is:
{quote}task id: jbpm$111 , name: nmwf:submitInEditing , properties: 18{quote}
If I do "show transitions" it looks just as I would expect:
{quote} path: jbpm$62-@ , node: In Editing , active: true task id: jbpm$111 , name:
nmwf:submitInEditing, title: submitInEditing title , desc: submitInEditing description ,
properties: 18 transition id: Submit for Approval , title: Submit for Approval
transition id: Request Copyediting Review , title: Request Copyediting Review transition
id: Request Legal Review , title: Request Legal Review transition id: Request Review ,
title: Request Review {quote}
I don't want to post the entire workflow as it's large, but here are the first two
nodes:
First the swimlanes: {code} <swimlane
name="initiator"></swimlane> <swimlane name="Content
Providers"> <assignment actor-id="Content
Providers"> <actor>#{bpm_assignees}</actor>
</assignment> </swimlane> {code}
Now the nodes: {code} <start-state name="start"> <task
name="nmwf:submitTask" swimlane="initiator"/>
<transition name="" to="In Editing">
<action> <runas>admin</runas>
<script> /* Code to send e-mail that a new workflow was
started. I get this e-mail. */ </script>
</action> </transition> </start-state> <task-node
name="In Editing"> <task name="nmwf:submitInEditing"
swimlane="Content Providers" /> <!-- I put e-mail sending code in
each of these transitions, but none are firing. --> <transition to="In
Approval" name="Submit for Approval"></transition>
<transition to="In Copyediting" name="Request Copyediting
Review"></transition> <transition to="In Legal Review"
name="Request Legal Review"></transition> <transition
to="In Review" name="Request Review"></transition>
</task-node> {code}
Here is the model for these two nodes: {code} <type
name="nmwf:submitTask">
<parent>bpm:startTask</parent> <mandatory-aspects>
<aspect>bpm:assignees</aspect> </mandatory-aspects>
</type> <type name="nmwf:submitInEditing">
<parent>bpm:workflowTask</parent>
<mandatory-aspects> <aspect>bpm:assignees</aspect>
</mandatory-aspects> </type> {code}
Here is a pseudo-log of running the workflow in the workflow console: {quote} :: deploy
alfresco/extension/workflow/processdefinition.xml deployed definition id: jbpm$69 , name:
jbpm$nmwf:MyWorkflow , title: nmwf:MyWorkflow , version: 28 :: var bpm:assignees* person
admin,andyg set var {
http://www.alfresco.org/model/bpm/1.0
http://www.alfresco.org/model/bpm/1.0}assignees =
[workspace://SpacesStore/73cf1b28-21aa-40ca-9dde-1cff492d0268,
workspace://SpacesStore/03297e91-0b89-4db6-b764-5ada2d167424] :: var bpm:package package
1 set var {
http://www.alfresco.org/model/bpm/1.0
http://www.alfresco.org/model/bpm/1.0}package =
workspace://SpacesStore/6e2bbbbd-b728-4403-be37-dfce55a83641 :: start bpm:assignees
bpm:package started workflow id: jbpm$63 , def: nmwf:MyWorkflow path: jbpm$63-@ , node:
start , active: true task id: jbpm$112 , name: nmwf:submitTask, title: submitTask title ,
desc: submitTask description , properties: 16 transition id: [default] , title: Task
Done :: show transitions path: jbpm$63-@ , node: start , active: true task id: jbpm$112
, name: nmwf:submitTask, title: submitTask title , desc: submitTask description ,
properties: 17 transition id: [default] , title: Task Done :: end task jbpm$112 signal
sent - path id: jbpm$63-@ path: jbpm$63-@ , node: In Editing , active: true task id:
jbpm$113 , name: nmwf:submitInEditing, title: submitInEditing title , desc:
submitInEditing description , properties: 17 transition id: Submit for Approval , title:
Submit for Approval transition id: Request Copyediting Review , title: Request
Copyediting Review transition id: Request Legal Review , title: Request Legal Review
transition id: Request Review , title: Request Review :: show tasks task id: jbpm$113 ,
name: nmwf:submitInEditing , properties: 18 :: show my tasks admin: [there is no output
here] {quote}
I have been making the assumption that the bpm:assignees that I am setting before starting
the workflow initially are getting passed to the first task node "In Editing".
Clearly the assignees are on the task object and not on the workflow object. I added the
assignees aspect to the start-state task so that it could hold them (after I had a
problem; initially they were not there) and possibly they are still sitting there, but the
start-state has ended before I even get control back from the web script (not that it
would help if it wasn't ended, I need it to be in "In Editing" as the
start-state is only used to log that the workflow was started).
It has always confused me that the properties that I need to set on each task need to be
requested before the task is entered (when you choose a transition you must provide the
data for the next task before you can actually move to the next task as you have to
validate that you have all of the required data [b]first[/b] and then signal the
transition). However, the code to start the workflow is asynchronous and therefore does
not return either the started workflow or the current task (which in my case would be
"In Editing"). So, either way you cannot set variables such as bpm:assignees
and bpm:dueDate.
I wonder if this is the problem with the user task list. I'm setting the assignees in
the property list, but maybe those assignees are going to the start-state task and are not
getting passed to the "In Editing" task?
Note that this *is* my first jBPM workflow, so please don't assume I know what I'm
doing. If you see something that looks off, it probably is and I just don't know it.
Thanks in advance for any advice or help,
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