This chapter describes workflow concepts in Oracle WebCenter Content Server and describes how to participate in and manage the workflows to which you belong.
A workflow specifies how to route content for review and approval before it is released to the system. The workflow notifies users by e-mail when they have a file to review.
This section covers the following topics:
From a workflow participant's point of view, there are two types of workflows:
A basic workflow defines the review process for specific content items, and must be initiated manually.
In a criteria workflow, a file enters the workflow automatically upon check-in when its metadata matches predefined criteria.
Each workflow can include multiple review and notification steps, and multiple reviewers to approve or reject the file at each step. For each step in a workflow, a set of users and a step type must be defined. The users defined for a step can perform only the tasks allowed for that step type.
| Step Type | Description |
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This step is the initial step of a basic workflow. The workflow defines who the contributors are. |
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This step is the initial step of a criteria workflow. There are no predefined users involved in this step. |
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Users can only approve or reject the file. Editing is not allowed. |
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Users can edit the file if necessary and then approve or reject it, maintaining an existing revision. |
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Users can edit the file if necessary and then approve or reject it, creating a new revision. |
Workflows or individual workflow steps can allow for items in review to be released into the system for indexing, searching, and viewing, even though the workflow to which they belong is not completed. For example, items in a workflow process can be made available to others not in the workflow, or a workflow can update the content information of an item without advancing the revision of that item.
The workflow process is as follows:
When the minimum number of reviewers for a particular step approves a revision, the revision goes to the next step in the workflow.
If any reviewer rejects a revision, it goes back to the most recent contribution step for editing.
When reviewers approve a revision in the last step in the workflow, the content item is released to the system.
A basic workflow containing multiple content items can release some items in the workflow to the system before all of the revisions have completed the workflow.
Workflows provide authentication options for individual steps and for the content item itself.
Depending on how your system administrator has set up the workflow, you may be required to enter your user name and password for a given step. Re-authentication associates the reviewer's credentials with the successful completion of a step.
When you approve a revision, you also have the option of providing an electronic signature for the content item itself (not the step). The electronic signature uniquely identifies the contents of the file at a particular revision and associates the revision with a particular reviewer.
An electronic signature is a unique identifier computed from the content of the item and associated with other metadata such as the user name of the reviewer. Multiple reviewers can "sign" a particular content item revision. Modifications to the content item itself result in a different identifier. By comparing electronic signatures, Content Server can determine whether a content item has changed and whether existing approvals are valid.
For more information about electronic signatures, see Section 4.4, "Signing Content Electronically."
This section covers the following topics:
When a basic workflow starts, it sends an e-mail message to the contributors, who must check in the designated files as the first step in the workflow.
Use the following procedure to check in a file to begin a basic workflow:
Read the Workflow Started Notification message.
Click the Review Workflow Content link.
The Workflow Content Items Page opens.
Choose Check Out from the contextual menu in the Actions column.
The Check-Out Confirmation Page opens.
Check the content item into the system using one of the following methods:
If the check-out confirmation page is still displayed, click Check In.
Choose Check In from the contextual menu in the Actions column on the Workflow Content Items page.
Open the Content Management tray, click Active Workflows, click the name of the workflow, then choose Check In from the contextual menu in the Actions column on the Workflow Content Items Page.
Fill in the content check-in form.
If you select the Revision Finished Editing check box, the revision moves from Edit status to GenWWW status and goes to the next step in the workflow.
If you leave the Revision Finished Editing check box unselected, the file is checked in but remains in Edit status instead of moving to GenWWW status. Return to Step 3 to check out the file and check it back in.
Tip:
If a document included in a workflow fails to convert in the check-in process, the content item is set to Edit status automatically. For this reason, include documents in the workflow that are valid for conversion.
Click Check In and provide user credentials if prompted.
When the next step in a workflow is a review step, the reviewers receive an e-mail message. When the appropriate number of reviewers approve the revision, the content item goes to the next step in the workflow.
Use the following procedure to review a file in a workflow:
Read the Workflow Review Notification Message.
Click the Review Workflow Item link.
The Workflow Review Page opens, indicating the actions that you can perform.
Note:
For a reviewer step, you can choose to Sign and Approve, Approve or Reject the content item. For a reviewer/contributor step, you can choose to Check Out, Approve, or Reject the content item.
Review the file:
Review the file in the area to the right of the Workflow Review panel.
Click the Web Viewable link to see a version of the content in your browser.
Click the Native File link to save a copy of the file in its original format.
Click the HTML Rendition link to view the file as HTML in your browser.
If you have reviewer/contributor permission and you would like to edit the file, click the Check out link in the Workflow Review panel to check out the content item for editing. Otherwise, continue with Step 11.
The Check-Out Confirmation Page opens.
Get a copy of the original file and edit it. For details, see Chapter 6, "Checking Out Files."
Check the content item back in to the system using one of the following methods:
If the check-out confirmation page is still displayed, click Check In.
Choose Check In from the contextual menu in the Actions column on the Workflow Content Items page.
Open the Content Management tray, click Active Workflows, click the name of the workflow, then choose Check In from the contextual menu in the Actions column on the Workflow Content Items page.
Fill in the Checked-Out Content Page.
If you select the Approve Revision box, the revision moves from Edit status to GenWWW status and goes to the next step in the workflow when the required number of reviewers approve. Step 8 is not required.
If you leave the Approve Revision box unselected, the revision is checked in but remains in Review status instead of moving to GenWWW status. You must still approve or reject the revision.
To reject the revision, click the Reject link in the Workflow Review panel.
The Reject Content Item Page opens so that you can enter a message explaining the reason for rejecting the content item. When you reject a content item, it is sent back to the most recent workflow step that permitted contribution.
To approve the revision, click the Approve or the Sign and Approve link in the Workflow Review panel.
If you click Sign and Approve, the Sign Workflow Content Item Page opens.
Specify your password and any additional metadata values and click Sign and Approve.
Review the information in the confirmation window and click Close Window.
When a revision is rejected, the users assigned to the most recent contribution step receive an e-mail message.
Use the following procedure to edit a file that was rejected:
Read the Workflow Content Item Reject Notification message.
Click the Review Workflow Content link.
The Workflow Content Items Page opens.
Choose Check Out from the contextual menu in the Actions column.
The Check-Out Confirmation Page opens.
Get a copy of the original file and edit it. For details see Chapter 6, "Checking Out Files."
Check the content item back into the system using one of the following methods:
If the check-out confirmation page is still displayed, click Check In.
Choose Check In from the contextual menu in the Actions column on the Workflow Content Items page.
Open the Content Management tray, click Active Workflows, click the name of the workflow, and then choose Check In from the contextual menu in the Actions column on the Workflow Content Items page.
Fill in the Checked-Out Content Page.
If you select the Revision Finished Editing box, the file moves from Review status to GenWWW status and goes to the next step in the workflow.
If you leave the Revision Finished Editing box unselected, the file is checked in but remains in Review status instead of moving to GenWWW status. You must still approve the file.
Click Check In.
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There are several ways to view information about a content item in a workflow. With links between workflow pages you can perform the following tasks:
Use the following procedure to view a list of all active workflows in the system:
Open the Content Management tray.
Click Active Workflows.
The Active Workflows Page opens.
Use the following procedure to view a list of workflows that require action from you:
Open the My Content Server Tray.
Click My Workflow Assignments.
The Workflow in Queue Page opens.
To remove content items from the list, choose Remove from Queue from the contextual menu in the Actions column. (The content item is not deleted from the workflow.)
Use the following procedure to view workflow history and information about a workflow step:
Display either the Workflow Content Items Page or the Workflow in Queue Page.
Choose Workflow Info from the contextual menu in the Actions column.
The Workflow Info For Item Page opens.
Use the following procedure to view content information for a revision in a workflow:
Open the My Content Server Tray.
Click My Workflow Assignments.
The Workflow in Queue Page opens.
Choose Content Info from the contextual menu in the Actions column.
The Content Information Page opens.