Workflow Definitions

Workflow definitions give you complete flexibility to configure document workflows to meet your organization's unique requirements. Workflow definitions are similar to document type workflow in the sense that they are both composed of states and transitions. Workflow states represent steps in the change control process where different actions can be performed on documents by different users. The name of a workflow state also becomes its current Status value. Workflow transitions represent specific actions that users can take in the change control process to change a document's state, and thereby its Status, from one to another. An entire workflow, from its start state to an end state, results in one new revision of a document, more if transitions are also configured to generate new revisions.

The basic difference between document type workflow and workflow definitions is that predefined workflow states and transitions are created automatically for you in document type workflow when you select change-control process options. You can create very configurable workflow states and transitions manually in workflow definitions.

The following table summarizes the other significant differences between workflow definitions and document type workflow.

Workflow type comparison

Workflow Definitions	Document Type Workflow
Advanced workflows	Basic workflows
Completely configurable	Standard engineering workflow options
State and transition names configurable	State and transition names not configurable
Multiple workflows available per document type	One workflow available per document type
More complicated to configure	Easier to configure
Initial workflow manager is configurable	Initial workflow manager is the workflow initiator
Workflow state and transition security configurable	Workflow state and transition security not configurable
Parallel routing configurable	Parallel routing not possible
Multiple to-do persons configurable	Single to-do person
Manual revision creation configurable	Manual revision creation not allowed
Transitions in different workflow definitions can be considered equivalent for batch execution	No transition equivalence
Transition visibility configurable	Transition visibility not configurable
Transitions can be interlocked with project workflows to maintain project integrity	Transitions cannot be interlocked with project workflows
Wizard pages may be shown during transitions to input additional data or control routing	Wizard pages may not be shown during transitions
Transitions can create new revisions	Transitions cannot create new revisions

Creating workflow definitions and configuring each of the items in the preceding table are described in the following topics.