Print      Open PDF Version of Online Help

Administering Oracle CRM On Demand > Business Process Management > Workflow Configuration > Creating Workflow Actions: Wait

Previous Topic

Next Topic

Creating Workflow Actions: Wait

A Wait action causes Oracle CRM On Demand to delay the execution of other (following) actions on a workflow rule until after a wait period has passed. You can specify the wait period as a period of time, or you can specify an end date and time for the wait period. Also, you can specify the wait period directly or create an expression to calculate it.

NOTE: The wait period specifies the minimum amount of time that must pass before Oracle CRM On Demand starts to execute the other actions on the workflow rule. The actual amount of time that passes before the other actions are executed might be longer, depending on the load on the Oracle CRM On Demand database and the Oracle CRM On Demand server, and also on the number of Wait actions that are pending when the wait period ends.

About Wait Actions and Create Integration Event Actions

If you want to use a Create Integration Event action to create an integration event that captures the changes made to a record by the event that triggers a workflow rule, then you must place the Create Integration Event action before any Wait action in the sequence of actions on the workflow rule. If a Wait action precedes a Create Integration Event action on a workflow rule, then the Wait action prevents the Create Integration Event action from detecting changes to the record. When the waiting period on the Wait action ends, the record is read again before the remaining actions on the rule are performed, and the values of the fields on the record before the event that triggered the workflow rule are not preserved. Therefore, the previous value and the current value of a field are considered to be the same, and the Create Integration Event action does not create an integration event because it does not detect any change in the tracked fields.

NOTE: You can create multiple actions for a workflow rule, up to a maximum of 25 actions for each rule.

The following procedure describes how to create a Wait action.

Before you begin. To perform the following procedure, you must have the Manage Data Rules - Manage Workflow Rules privilege in your user role. For information on adding privileges to roles, see Adding Roles.

To create a Wait action

  1. Navigate to the rule where you want to create the action:
    1. In the upper-right corner of any page, click the Admin global link.
    2. In the Business Process Management section, click Workflow Configuration.
    3. On the Workflow Rules List page, find the rule where you want to create the action.

      For information about searching for workflow rules in the list page, see Filtering Lists.

  2. Click the Workflow Name link on the rule.
  3. In the Actions title bar on the Workflow Rule Detail page, click Menu, and select Wait.

    NOTE: The trigger event on the workflow rule determines what types of actions can be created on the rule.

    TIP: You can create a copy of an existing workflow rule action by clicking the Copy link for the action.

  4. In the Workflow Action Edit page, enter a name for the action.
  5. If you want to enable the action, select the Active check box.
  6. If you do not want Oracle CRM On Demand to reevaluate the rule conditions after the wait period ends, deselect the Reevaluate Rule Conditions After Wait check box.

    NOTE: For more information about the Reevaluate Rule Conditions After Wait check box, see About Time-Based Workflow Rules.

  7. Specify the duration of the wait, using one of the following options:
    • Select the Period option, and then enter the period for the delay in years, months, days, hours, and minutes, as follows:
      • In the Years field, enter a positive integer value between 0 (zero) and 5.
      • In the Months field, enter a positive integer value between 0 (zero) and 12.
      • In the Days field, enter a positive integer value between 0 (zero) and 200.
      • In the Hours field, enter a positive integer value between 0 (zero) and 200.
      • In the Minutes field, enter a positive integer value between 0 (zero) and 59.

        You cannot specify a negative value or a noninteger value such as 1.5.

        NOTE: The maximum period that you can specify using the Period option is 5 years, 12 months, 200 days, 200 hours, and 59 minutes. If you want to specify a longer period, then use the Period Expression option instead of the Period option.

    • Select the Period Expression option, then click the fx icon beside the field, and use Expression Builder to create an expression to calculate the period for the delay.

      You can use the Duration function in Expression Builder to calculate a period in days or fractions of days. For more information, see Duration.

      The expression must evaluate to a number. The following are examples of valid expressions to calculate the period for a delay:

      Duration('P0YT1H') + Duration('P0YT1M') + Duration('P1Y')

      Duration('P0YT1H') + 1

      Duration('P1YT1H') - 1

      There is no limit on the length of the period that can be returned by the expression.

      NOTE: If the calculated wait period is negative, the wait period is set to zero, and the Wait action completes immediately. Any remaining actions on the workflow rule are executed without delay.

    • Select the Time option, click the calendar icon, and select the end date and time for the delay.

      Select the time according to the time zone specified in your personal settings.

    • Select the Time Expression option, then click the fx icon beside the field, and use Expression Builder to create an expression to calculate the end date and time for the delay.

      You can use the Duration function in Expression Builder to calculate a period in days or fractions of days. For more information, see Duration.

      The expression must evaluate to a date and time. The following are examples of valid expressions to calculate the end date and time for a delay:

      Timestamp() + Duration('P0YT5M')

      Today() + Duration('P0YT1H5M')

      NOTE: If the calculated end date and time has already passed, the wait period on the action is set to 0 (zero) and the Wait action completes immediately. Any remaining actions on the workflow rule are executed without delay.

      If the expression does not evaluate to a valid date and time, the Wait action completes immediately, and any remaining actions on the workflow rule are executed without delay.

      There is no limit on how far in the future the calculated date can be set.

  8. Save the action.

For step-by-step procedures for creating other types of workflow actions, see the following topics:

Related Topics

See the following topics for related information about workflows:
Published 7/3/2018 Copyright © 2005, 2018, Oracle. All rights reserved. Legal Notices.