This appendix contains the following topics:
JD Edwards EnterpriseOne workflow processes that were developed prior to release 8.94 used the Send Message system function to send workflow email messages to users, groups, and so on. To send messages, these processes use Message tasks within the workflow process, rather than the Action or Information tasks that were implemented in 8.94. Action and Information tasks use the Send Message Extended system function, which was introduced in 8.94 to provide additional messaging capabilities. With the introduction of the Send Message Extended system function, the Send Message system function became a deprecated feature.
Many of the delivered JD Edwards EnterpriseOne workflow processes still use Message tasks, which are based on the Send Message system function. Because of the differences between the Send Message and Send Message Extended system functions, Message tasks and recipients are configured differently than the Action and Information task which became standard in 8.94.
The following information describes some of the messaging features of workflow processes developed prior to release 8.94. Although the Send Message system function and Message tasks are deprecated features, you are still able to modify some of the message distribution options. Before modifying a delivered workflow process, it is recommended that you create a new version of the process to modify. In this way, your modifications will not be overwritten during an upgrade.
Note:
Although it is still possible to modify some of the recipient and distribution options for Message tasks, Oracle recommends that you replace the deprecated Message tasks with Action or Information tasks.An integral part of creating a Message task involves determining to whom a message is sent. To define the recipient parameters, you need data items in either the key or additional data structure to hold the values that you pass into the JD Edwards EnterpriseOne workflow process. You can assign literal values or map parameters that originate in an application, business function, or other object. The Start Process system function allows you to map a literal value, a variable, or a value from a form's data structure or business view to the data items in the JD Edwards EnterpriseOne workflow data structures. You can configure the event rules of a Message task to route messages to these types of recipients:
Members of a role
JD Edwards EnterpriseOne software uses roles to define tasks and menus for different groups of users. Roles are created and maintained by a system administrator. If a role exists that contains the members that you want to include as the recipients of a JD Edwards EnterpriseOne workflow message, you can attach the role to the event rules of a Message task.
Members of a distribution list
JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Workflow uses distribution lists to group users into categories for message routing purposes. You can further define how messages are routed to members of a distribution list by assigning routing criteria such as threshold values, escalation, and other conditional routing options.
Single recipient
For JD Edwards EnterpriseOne workflow processes that are designed to send a message to a single user, you select the <AB number> parameter and assign it a value from one of the JD Edwards EnterpriseOne workflow data structures.
Note:
If you use the address book number of a single user, you will have to revise the event rules of the JD Edwards EnterpriseOne workflow process every time a new person is responsible for handling the messages sent by the JD Edwards EnterpriseOne workflow process. It is recommended that you enter a role for the recipient, even if the role contains only one member.You use a combination of Address Book number and structure type to specify the recipient of Message task.
JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Workflow can send messages to roles, to distribution lists that use group processing, to distribution lists that use hierarchical processing, or to single recipients. JD Edwards EnterpriseOne workflow can send messages to these different recipients or groups of recipients regardless of whether the message recipient is specified in the event rules or in the Escalation event rules.
In all cases, the recipient is determined by the combination of two fields: the recipient address (address book number) and structure type. If you specify only the recipient address, the message is sent directly to the address book number, regardless of whether it is a role or a single recipient. If you specify only the structure type, the message is sent to the distribution list using hierarchical processing. If you specify the recipient address and structure type, the message is sent to a distribution list using group processing.
The three possible combinations of recipient address and structure type are detailed below.
When you enter only a recipient address, JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Workflow sends the message directly to the address book number that you entered.
If you specify the recipient in the Message task event rules, make sure that you specify the structure type as Single Recipient; do not leave it blank. Blank is the Accounts Receivable structure type; therefore, specifying blank for the Structure Type field in the Message task event rules will result in the message being sent to the Accounts Receivable distribution list using group processing.
Note:
If the address number is the parent number of a distribution list (for example, 7000 - the Accounting Group), the message is sent to only that address book number. Therefore, no members of that distribution list receive the message. You must fill in the structure type if you want to send to a distribution list.When you enter a structure type but no recipient address, JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Workflow sends the message to a distribution list using hierarchical processing. Specifically, JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Workflow finds the address number for the person who originated the initial request, and then finds that person in the specified structure type. Next, it finds the parent of the originator and sends the message to that parent.
For example, suppose the message is to be sent to structure type WFS. The originator (for example, 7101 - Clerk #1) must be a member of structure type WFS. The system looks up Clerk#1 in structure type WFS and finds the parent. In this scenario, the message is sent to the manager of 7101, which is 7201 (Manager #1). If 7201 approves the message, the system then sends it to 7301. If 7301 approves the message, it then sends it to 7402 (Vice President #2), and so on up the distribution list (unless threshold values are used and the threshold value for one of the members is reached). The message is never sent to a level below or lateral to 7101, such as 7102 (Clerk #2) or 7202 (Manager #2).
When you specify both a recipient address and a structure type, JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Workflow sends the message to a distribution list using group processing. Specifically, JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Workflow determines to whom the message is sent based on the specified address book number; finds its direct children in the particular structure type and the groups to which they belong; and then sends the message to Group 1, and then to Group 2, and so on. The recipient address and structure type combination that you enter must be a valid combination in the Address Book Parent/Child table (F0150) for this process to work.
For example, suppose you enter Address Book number 7000 (Accounting Group) from the distribution list and structure type EML. If an approval message is sent to this group specifying that a customer's credit limit needs to be raised to 40,000 USD, the system first finds the employees within Group 1 of the Accounting Group distribution list and routes the message to them for approval. Routing continues for all groups in the list as long as the threshold values of the members of that list are less than or equal to 40,000 USD.
Configuring a Message task involves defining event rules. The event rules contain parameters that specify the content of the JD Edwards EnterpriseOne workflow message, the recipient of the message, and the conditions for sending messages.
Access the workflow process in JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Workflow Modeler.
In JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Workflow Modeler, right-click the Message task and then select Event Rules from the pop-up menu.
Note:
You must insert a value for every data item in the Parameters area.On the System Functions form, complete a combination of these fields to specify the recipient:
Recipient
Enter the address book number of the distribution list, role, or single recipient to whom the message will be sent. Leave this field blank to send to a distribution list using hierarchical processing.
Note:
If you are specifying a single recipient, it is recommended that you use a role instead of an individual's address book number, even if the role contains only one member. If you use a single user's address book number, you will have to revise the event rules of the JD Edwards EnterpriseOne workflow process every time a new person is responsible for handling the messages sent by the JD Edwards EnterpriseOne workflow process.Structure Type
Enter the structure type of the distribution list to which the message will be sent. If the recipient is a role or single recipient, leave this field blank.
Specify the mailbox to which you want the message delivered in the Work Center.
For example, you might select the Credit Management queue for a credit limit approval message.
Highlight the Mailbox row.
In the Available Objects area, select a mailbox (or queue).
Note:
You can use one of the existing queues in the system or create a new queue. If the Message task sends messages to an external messaging system, the JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Workflow engine will ignore the value that you specify for the Mailbox.To include a subject line in the message, highlight the Subject row and then select the corresponding data item that contains the subject text, if applicable. You can also enter a subject as a literal value.
If the message does not require a subject, select <Blank>. You would most likely select <Blank> when using a message template (a data dictionary message), which would already contain a subject line.
To add static text to the message, highlight the Text row and select the corresponding data item that contains the text for the body of the message. You can also enter the text as a literal value. If you do not need to use the Text data item, select <Blank>.
Note:
You can use the Text parameter to add supplemental text to a message template. This text will appear above the message template text when the user opens the message.To attach a shortcut to a JD Edwards EnterpriseOne workflow message, highlight the Active row, and then perform the following steps. If you are not attaching a shortcut, select <None> from the Available Objects area.
Important:
Attaching a shortcut to a message will suspend the JD Edwards EnterpriseOne workflow process until the message is acted upon.In the Available Objects area, double-click <Define Active Message>.
On the Work With Applications form, in the Query by Example row, enter the application that you want the shortcut to launch, and then click Find.
For example, if you want to use the Generic JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Workflow Approval Form, enter P98805 and click Find.
On Work With Forms, double-click the row containing the form that you want to use.
On Form Interconnections, map the data structures to the appropriate available objects.
See "Creating a Modal Form Interconnection" in the JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Tools Form Design Aid Guide.
Click OK.
The system returns to the System Functions form.
To attach a message template, highlight the Message row, and then perform the following steps. If you are not using a message template, select <None> from the Available Objects area.
In the Available Objects area, double-click <Define Message>.
On Text Substitution, enter the name of the message that you want to use in the Dictionary Item field and click Find.
For example, you might enter LM1235 for the Credit Limit Approval message.
From the Available Objects list, select each data item that contains the value that you want to substitute into the message and click OK.
For the Message Key parameter, select <None> from the available objects.
The JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Workflow engine no longer uses this parameter, but it needs to be mapped.
After you have finished mapping all of the parameters for the Message task, click OK.
You set up escalation so that a JD Edwards EnterpriseOne workflow process continues if one of the original recipients of a workflow message does not respond. To add escalation to an Action task, you must add escalation rules, which are conditions that will resend a message to a new recipient if the original recipient does not act on a message within a certain time. You cannot add escalation rules to an Information task.
When you use an escalation rule, you can attach a new message to the original message and then define to whom or to which distribution list the escalated message is sent. You must also activate the Workflow Scheduler to check for Message tasks containing escalation and forward any messages that have not been acted upon by the escalation recipient.
For information about setting up the Workflow Scheduler, see the JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Server Manger Guide on My Oracle Support.
Escalation only works in these instances:
The original message contains a shortcut.
The original recipient of the JD Edwards EnterpriseOne workflow message is part of a distribution list.
Note:
While the system enables you to set up escalation rules even if the original recipient is a single recipient or a member of a role, the escalation rules will not work properly.You can set up escalation rules so that an escalated message is sent to one of these types of recipients:
Distribution List
The escalated message is sent to a distribution list. This requires that the original message be sent to a distribution list, and that the two lists have the same number of groups. This is because the message is escalated to members of the same group number in the next distribution list.
Original Distribution List
If the original message is sent to a distribution list with multiple groups, then you can also set up the escalation to send the message up to the next group. For example, if the current message is sitting at group 1 while the message is escalated, it will be escalated to group 2. To escalate the message to the next higher group, enter the address book number and the structure type of the original distribution list in the escalation rules.
Single Recipient
The escalated message is sent to one person only. The escalated message will be sent to the same person for all groups.
Note:
Escalating messages to a single user is not recommended. If you use a single user's address book number, you will have to revise the JD Edwards EnterpriseOne workflow process's event rules every time a new person is responsible for handling the escalated message sent by the workflow process.You cannot send a message that contains a shortcut to an external email address. Since escalated messages contain shortcuts, you cannot use an external email address as the recipient of an escalated message.
Access the workflow process in JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Workflow Modeler.
Right-click the Message task, select Escalation, and then select Add and Attach.
On Escalation Rules, complete these fields:
Escalation Rule
Type a unique name for the escalation rule.
Description
At this time, do not complete any of the fields in the grid and click OK to continue.
The system returns you to the workflow diagram in JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Workflow Modeler.
Right-click the Message task, select Escalation, and then select Event Rules.
On System Functions, complete a combination of these fields to specify the recipient of the escalated message:
Address Book Number
Enter the address book number of the distribution list, role, or single recipient to whom the escalated message will be sent.
Structure Type
Enter the structure type of the distribution list to which the escalated message will be sent. If the recipient is a role or single recipient, leave this field blank.
Specify the mailbox to which you want the escalated message delivered in the Work Center.
For example, you might select the Credit Management queue for a credit limit approval message.
Highlight the Mailbox row.
In the Available Objects area, select a mailbox (or queue).
Note:
You can use one of the existing queues in the system or create a new queue.To include a subject line in the escalated message, highlight the Subject row and then select the corresponding data item that contains the subject text, if applicable. You can also enter a subject as a literal value.
If the message does not require a subject, select <Blank>. You would most likely select <Blank> when using a message template (a data dictionary message), which would already contain a subject line.
To add static text to the escalated message, highlight the Text row and select the corresponding data item that contains the text for the body of the message. You can also enter the text as a literal value. If you do not need to use the Text data item, select <Blank>.
Note:
You can use the Text parameter to add supplemental text to a message template. This text will appear above the message template text when the user opens the message.For the Shortcut parameter, select <None> from the Available Objects list.
The escalated message uses the shortcut from the original message.
To attach a message template, highlight the Message row, and then perform the following steps. If you are not using a message template, select <None> from the Available Objects area.
In the Available Objects area, double-click <Define Message>.
On Text Substitution, enter the name of the message that you want to use in the Dictionary Item field and click Find.
For example, you might enter LM1235 for the Credit Limit Approval message.
From the Available Objects list, select each data item that contains the value that you want to substitute into the message and click OK.
For the Message Key parameter, select <None> from the available objects.
The JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Workflow engine no longer uses this parameter, but it needs to be mapped.
After you have finished mapping all of the parameters for the escalated message, click OK.
In addition to assigning individual users to a distribution list, you can also assign one or more roles to a distribution list using group processing. In JD Edwards EnterpriseOne software, roles are assigned to groups of users that share similar tasks. When sending a JD Edwards EnterpriseOne workflow message to a distribution list that includes a role, all users assigned to that role receive the message. Only one person in the role needs to act on the message in order for it to advance to the next group.
You can only assign a role to a distribution list used for group processing.
Note:
For a distribution list using group processing, it is recommended that you use roles rather than individual address book numbers for members of the list. Roles are easier to maintain as people change positions within the enterprise.Do not assign a role to a distribution list for hierarchical processing. If an individual in a role is included in more than one list of the same structure type, this inclusion can result in circular or ambiguous hierarchies that JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Workflow is unable to reconcile.
A recipient condition contains a statement that JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Workflow evaluates to determine whether or not to route messages to a particular recipient. For example, you might set up a recipient condition named ACCTG that uses customer address book numbers as the criterion to determine where to send messages. You could add logic to the recipient condition to tell the system that if the customer number is equal to a range of 1 through 3001, send messages for those customers to the accounting department distribution list.
When you add a recipient condition in the JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Workflow Modeler, the recipient condition has no effect on the JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Workflow process until you attach it to a recipient rule. You can add a recipient condition to a recipient rule at any time when you are creating a JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Workflow process.
You have an accounting department distribution list and a payroll department distribution list, and you want messages to be sent to one or the other based on a rule. You set up a two recipient condition called IFACCTG and IFPAYR. These recipient conditions would use the address book numbers of the customers as the criteria for determining where to send messages. IFACCTG would specify that if the customer number is equal to a range of 1 through 3001, then messages regarding those customers should be sent to the accounting department's distribution list.
Access the workflow process in JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Workflow Modeler.
Right-click the background of the JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Workflow Modeler diagram, select Recipient Conditions, and then select Add.
On Process Rule Revisions, complete these fields:
Rule
Type a name for the recipient condition. The name can be up to 10 characters in length.
Description
Type a description for the purpose of the recipient condition.
Category Code 1
Category Code 2
Category Code 3
Note:
Category codes are optional fields that you can customize to include additional data about the object.Click OK.
On Criteria Design, enter the criteria that will make up the recipient condition and click Save.