Workflow Management ACTION – Invoke an External Command

Version 6.1 (In Development)

Overview

This is an action trigger intended for use with the Govern Workflow. This action trigger will allow a user to execute an external command in a workflow process. Typically the command may be to open a web page, execute a windows application, or to execute an installed application.

Action form parameters

The parameters for this Action are as follows…
Trigger – This is the status point at which the action is triggered, e.g. At Initialization, All Status, and so on; this field is not modifiable at this point.
Action – This is the list of available actions that are available to be configured; select Invoke an External Command.

Action form – Options group

When the Invoke an External Command action is selected, the following option(s) are displayed:
External Command – Select the form that

Configuration

NOTE: Actions that are added to the ‘On Request’ section in the Options group will have a Label parameter to name the link that will invoke the action. Any actions that are executed On Request require a link.

As this is a standard action that is used in the context of a Workflow, it is configured through the Govern New Administration (GNA).

External Commands

External commands are defined in the GNA External Command Editor.
Create a new command through the External Command Editor.
To configure the action in the GNA…

Step 1 – Define an External Command

Refer to the External Command Editor documentation (103-ED-007) for full details about configuring an external command. External commands may include, but are not restricted to, executing a Windows application, a Govern application, or launching a web page.

1. Click Editors (tab) > Editors (group) > External Command Editor.
2. In the editor, define a code, a short, and long description.
3. Use the Expression Editor to define an expression for the command; e.g. ‘calc.exe’, to invoke the windows system calculator.
4. Configure an icon for the command; save the command.
5. Click Save.

Step 2 – Configure the Action

After configuring the external command, ensure that it appears on the list of external commands on the left hand side of the editor form.

To configure the action in the GNA…

1. From the GNA ribbon select Application Configurations > Workflow (group) > Workflow Management > Departments.
2. In the pane on the left hand side (LHS), select a department, e.g. W1-Permitting.
3. Click the Types tab.
4. Select a Type from the list.
5. Click the Steps button.

Steps form – Options group

At Initialization – All actions that are configured in this section are automatically executed at the initialization of this step. When there are two or more actions, the order of initialization may be changed with a click and drag action.

Changing the order of initialization

1. Click the vertical ellipsis symbol that appears in front of the step number.
2. Drag to reposition above or below another action within the group.

All Status – The actions that are configured in this section are automatically executed after the completion of any available statuses, e.g. Initialization, Completion, and so on.
On Request – See On Request Actions below.

On Request Actions

(Available Release 6.1.1702)
Typically an action is called automatically on Initiation or on Completion, actions may also be added to the On Request section. The actions in this section are executed manually; i.e. users will have to click on the button link that will trigger the action.

Adding the Action

To add the Action in the Steps form…

1. On the Steps form select a step on the LHS and select a step.
2. On the Right Hand Side (RHS), add an action.
3. On the Add a new action form, add an action through the Action combo box; select the Invoke an External Command option.
4. In the Options group, select the saved external command.
5. Click Save.

Add a new action Form parameters (On Request trigger)

Label – On the Add a new action form there is a mandatory 25 character alphanumeric label that is used for the action link. Completion of the Label parameter is mandatory; this will be the name of the link that will invoke the action.

User Interface

Presentation in Govern

When correctly configured, the actions will be executed based upon their configuration in the GNA.
The Invoke an External Command action will execute the application. For example if the Windows Calculator application was configured, it will be launched with the focus being on the application; it may be necessary to click back on the Govern application to see it.

On Request triggers

Triggers that were configured to be executed as “On Request” will be presented as links on the right hand side (RHS) Available Actions group under the Activity tab. These links will be presented in the Available Actions group, in the order that the actions were entered. Available Actions that correspond to each step can be viewed with a click on the step; they will be presented in the group. With the group, to change the order, they will need to be rearranged in the options group, saved, and refreshed in the GNA.

Tables

The following table(s) were implicated in the implementation of this feature:

• USR_TRIGGER_ACTION.

Other Action Options

To view available Workflow Actions, click here for the complete Workflow Actions list.

See Also

• Workflow Actions (Summary page of all actions that can be configured)
• Workflow Management Wiki Map
• Expressions

 

 

103-wm-parm-Action21-InvokeExternalCommand

 

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