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Creating and Modifying Workflows

A workflow is a series of steps that define the life cycle of a BarTender document or other file. For a file that is stored in Librarian, a workflow is a series of states and transitions between the states that the file progresses through. These workflows can help you automate your business processes, such as reviewing template designs or approving documents for production.

Consider the following scenario:

A client wants you to develop a nutritional label for their company to use on packaging. You assign the task of designing the label to one of your employees. After the design is complete, another employee verifies that the design meets your client's specifications. Finally, the label is either rejected and returned to the designer or is approved and delivered to your client.

One possible workflow for this scenario includes the following states:

The transitions between these states might be called "send to development," "send to review," "submit for approval," and "send to delivery" or "return to development."

When you use a workflow that assigns states and transitions to a file, you can track the status of the document design from start to finish. You can also specify the users whom you want to have access to the document at each stage in its life cycle.

In BarTender, the Workflow Designer provides a design canvas on which you can place objects that represent states and transitions to build the workflow that you need. You can create a workflow from a blank canvas or use a preconfigured workflow template. You can also modify existing workflows.

After you create or modify your workflow, you run a verification check to be sure that it is valid and then publish the workflow. After you publish the workflow, you can create one or more workflow rules that assign the workflow to specific Librarian files or file types.

ClosedTo create a new workflow from a blank canvas

  1. Under Workflows on the Librarian Setup page, click New Workflow.

  2. In the Create New Workflow dialog, click Blank. The Workflow Designer opens and displays a blank canvas that has only the default On Add state and initial transition added.

  3. Use the object selection tools in the ribbon to place the state, approval state, and transition objects on the design canvas that you need for your workflow.

  4. In the properties pane for each object, configure the options that you want.

  5. Click Validate Workflow. A verification check runs and then displays the Validate Workflow dialog, which indicates whether the workflow design is valid and can be published. If the workflow design is not valid, the errors are described so that you can fix them.

    If you try to close the Workflow Designer before you click Validate Workflow, and if the workflow has errors, the Validate Workflow dialog is displayed and provides the following options:

    • Exit: Closes the Workflow Designer and returns you to the Librarian Setup page. Your workflow appears in the Workflow list, but if you click Publish Changes, the Validate Workflow dialog is displayed. You must correct any errors before you can publish the workflow.

    • Return to Designer: Returns you to the Workflow Designer so that you can correct the workflow errors.

  6. Close the Workflow Designer.

ClosedTo create a new workflow from a preconfigured template

  1. Under Workflows on the Librarian Setup page, click New Workflow.

  2. In the Create New Workflow dialog, click the preconfigured template that you want. The Workflow Designer opens and displays the template.

  3. As needed, use the object selection tools in the ribbon to move, resize, or delete any of the preconfigured objects or to place additional objects on the design canvas.

  4. In the properties pane for each object, configure the options that you want.

  5. Click Validate Workflow. A verification check runs and then displays the Validate Workflow dialog, which indicates whether the workflow design is valid and can be published. If the workflow design is not valid, the errors are described so that you can fix them.

    If you try to close the Workflow Designer before you click Validate Workflow, and if the workflow has errors, the Validate Workflow dialog is displayed and provides the following options:

    • Exit: Closes the Workflow Designer and returns you to the Librarian Setup page. Your workflow appears in the Workflow list, but if you click Publish Changes, the Validate Workflow dialog is displayed. You must correct any errors before you can publish the workflow.

    • Return to Designer: Returns you to the Workflow Designer so that you can correct the workflow errors.

  6. Close the Workflow Designer.

ClosedTo modify an existing workflow

  1. Under Workflows on the Librarian Setup page, select the workflow that you want to modify, and then click Edit Workflow. The Workflow Designer opens and displays the workflow.

  2. Make the modifications you want by adding, modifying, or deleting objects and/or editing the properties of each object in its properties pane.

  3. Click Validate Workflow. A verification check runs and then displays the Validate Workflow dialog, which indicates whether the workflow design is valid and can be published. If the workflow design is not valid, the errors are described so that you can fix them.

    If you try to close the Workflow Designer before you click Validate Workflow, and if the workflow has errors, the Validate Workflow dialog is displayed and provides the following options:

    • Exit: Closes the Workflow Designer and returns you to the Librarian Setup page. Your workflow appears in the Workflow list, but if you click Publish Changes, the Validate Workflow dialog is displayed. You must correct any errors before you can publish the workflow.

    • Return to Designer: Returns you to the Workflow Designer so that you can correct the workflow errors.

  4. Close the Workflow Designer.

ClosedTo publish a workflow

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