Bookshelf v7.5: Understanding the Arguments Applet

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Understanding the Arguments Applet

The format of the Workflow Policies Arguments applet varies, depending on the program type you select for the workflow policy action.

NOTE: Program arguments are case sensitive. You must enter the correct case. Use the argument picklists when possible instead of entering the arguments yourself.

This section describes each workflow policy program type, the available workflow policy program arguments and valid values, and some usage scenarios.

The available workflow policy program types are:

Send Page. See Using the Send Page Program Type.

Send Message. See Using the Send Message Program Type.

Message Broadcast. See Using the Message Broadcast Program Type.

Run External. See Using the Run External Programs Type.

Database Operation. See Using the Database Operation Program Type.

NOTE: Before using the email or paging functions, you need to perform the setup procedures described in Workflow Policies Server Administration.

Using the Send Page Program Type

The Send Page Arguments applet displays if you select the Send Page workflow policy program type in the Workflow Policies Actions applet.

Send Page Arguments and Values

Table 53 shows the arguments and valid values for the Send Page workflow policy program type.

NOTE: Numeric paging is inherently unreliable because of a lack of a computer protocol for sending numeric pages. If you must send a numeric page, you can use the Pager Pin field in the employee table to control the delay between dialing the paging phone number and sending the numeric message. Add commas to the Pager Pin field. Each comma is roughly equal to a half-second delay. Avoid using the numeric paging feature in mission critical applications.

Table 53. Send Page Program Type
Argument	Valid Values When Used by Action
Numeric Message Template	Numeric message when pager is numeric.
Alpha Message Template	Text message when pager is alphanumeric. "Current" is a reserved word in Siebel Workflow. Do not use this word in messages.
Available Substitutions	Dynamic fields that you can use in the Alpha Message Template. When the action executes, the substitution value is populated with the value from the record that meets all the workflow policy conditions.
Request Key	A string indicating which Page Manager should execute the action. You use this when multiple Page Managers are running. When you specify a request key string, it should match the Request Key parameter of the Page Manager that you want to execute the action. Leave this argument blank when you are running one Page Manager or when the Page Manager that executes the action is not important.

When setting the Send Page arguments, note the following:

Siebel Workflow Policies automatically determines the correctly formatted message depending on what type of pager the person being paged has.

If neither of the message arguments has a value, Workflow Policies logs an error message and the action is not completed.

You can send only pages to employees. The pager information for an employee is stored in the Employee Administration view. The Siebel database currently does not store pager information for contacts.

Messages support substitution of values that come from the Available Substitutions field.

Using the Send Message Program Type

When you select the Send Email workflow policy program in the Actions applet, the Send Message Arguments applet displays along with the Recipients applet.

The Send Message Arguments applet allows you to create an email template used to build the message sent to the recipient specified in the Recipients applet.

Send Email Arguments and Values

Table 54 shows the arguments and valid values for the Send Email workflow policy program type.

Table 54. Send Email Workflow Policy Program Type
Argument	Valid Values When Used by Action
Subject	Subject line of email message.
Message Template	Text of message. Maximum length is 2000 characters, including variable substitutions. "Current" is a reserved word in Siebel Workflow. Do not use this word in a message.
Repeating Message	Message that is repeated when the Consolidate flag is checked on the Workflow Policies Policies view. "Current" is a reserved word in Siebel Workflow. Do not use this word in messages.
Available Substitutions	Dynamic fields that you can use in Subject, Message Template, and Repeating Message. When the action executes, the substitution value is populated with the value from the record that meets all the policy conditions.
Request Key	A string indicating which Email Manager should execute the action. You use this when multiple Email Managers are running. When you specify a request key string, it should match the Request Key parameter of the Email Manager that you want to execute the action. Leave this argument blank when you are running one Email Manager or when the Email Manager that executes the action is not important.

Using the Message Broadcast Program Type

The Message Broadcast Arguments applet appears if the Send Message Broadcast workflow policy program is selected in the Actions applet.

Figure 1 shows the Send Message Broadcast Arguments applet.

Figure 1. Send Message Broadcast Arguments Applet

Send Message Broadcast Arguments and Values

Table 55 shows the arguments and valid values for the Message Broadcast workflow policy program type.

Table 55. Message Broadcast Workflow Policy Program Type
Argument	Valid Values When Used by Action
Activation	Date and time for which the message broadcast is active. The variable CURRENT can be used when specifying the activation date. See Entering Date Calculations for more information.
Expiration	Date and time when the message broadcast expires. The variable CURRENT can be used when specifying the activation date. See Entering Date Calculations for more information.
Abstract	Short description of the message broadcast.
Message Template	Text of message to broadcast. Maximum length is 2000 characters, including variable substitutions. "Current" is a reserved word in Siebel Workflow. Do not use this word in a message.
Severity	Severity of message to broadcast.
Available Substitutions	Dynamic fields that you can use in the Abstract and Message Template. When the action executes, the substitution value is populated with the value from the record that meets all of the policy conditions.

Using the Run External Programs Type

The External Programs Arguments applet appears if a Run External workflow policy program type is selected in the Actions applet. An example of a Run External Program is described in Creating a Run External Program Action.

Run External Arguments and Values

Table 56 shows the arguments and valid values for the Run External workflow policy program.

Table 56. Run External Workflow Policy Program Type
Argument	Valid Values When Used by Action
Executable Name	Path and name of executable to run. For example, the executable will launch from the Siebel Server. The executable can be a batch program.
Command Line	The command line to use. The parameters that you want to pass to the executable.
Execute Type	Wait. Workflow Policies waits for the external program to complete and examines the return code of the external program. If the return code is not 0, an error condition occurs. No Wait. Workflow Policies executes the external program in the background and then continues processing. The return code is not checked. Note that for Visual Basic programs which create files, Execute Type should be set to Wait to avoid possible corruption of files. When set to No Wait, Visual Basic attempts to write files twice, thus corrupting the data.
Available Substitutions	Dynamic fields that can be used as command line parameters. When the action executes, the substitution value is populated with the value from the record in violation.

If no path is supplied for the Executable Name argument, the executable is assumed to be in the current path of Workflow Policies running on the Siebel Server. For example, your Siebel Server may be installed on C:\siebsrvr. The default path for the executable name would be C:\siebsrvr\bin.

NOTE: The external program cannot be one that is interactive, requires a user interface, or accesses the Windows desktop.

Using the Database Operation Program Type

Siebel Business Process Designer has a number of database operation programs already predefined. All you need to define are the parameters.

The Arguments applet appears if you select a database operation program such as Create Opportunity Activity in the Actions applet.

Database Operation Arguments and Values

Table 57 shows the arguments and valid values for the Database Operation workflow policy program.

Table 57. Database Operation Workflow Policy Program Type
Argument	Valid Values When Used by Action
Name	Name of column to be updated.
Required	Indicates the argument is required.
Value	Updated value of the column. You can use substitutions in the value if they were defined in the program. The syntax for adding substitutions to the value is square brackets around the variable, for example, [SR Num].