The Skelta Workflow.NET 2004 Activity List is the user interface where the resources in a workflow can view the activities assigned to them and take necessary action. It opens when the Activity List control is executed from the Web Application. The activities will be displayed for the resource currently logged in. The displayed activities can be sorted on the basis of different parameters.
The appearance of the Activity List can be customized. Colors are managed by style sheets and can be changed at any point of time. HTML files are maintained which can be edited to change the look and feel of the controls according to need. The user also has the flexibility to define the columns and values to be displayed as the the activity list is completely configurable. The activity list details get loaded from the ActivityXml.xml configuration files, which can be used to configure contents and database columns to be displayed in the activity list. Custom fields, defined in the Process Designer, can be used to display application values like Variable values, Content values and Constant values in the Activity List.
The Activity List user interface has the following main elements –
These are described in separate sections. The
Activity List screen shown here has three activities listed for action. The
Activity Detailed View displays the detailed view for the selected activity.
Activity List
Activity List Table
The Activity List Table is the main element in the Activity List screen. It displays a list of all activities assigned to the resource. You can click on any activity to view a detailed display of that activity. The activities are removed from the list when the resource performs the required actions. There is a provision to navigate across pages when more than one page is required to display the list of activities. The table has the following columns:
You can click on any of these column heads other than #Ref to sort the actions by that parameter.
Search Activity
You can search for activities by specifying search criteria here. You can select a saved search criterion from the Search By Saved Search Criteria drop down.
You can also do an advanced search by clicking on the Advanced Search Options link at the lower left. This displays several drop downs where different search parameters can be specified. There are – Query On, Operators, Fields, Value and Condition. The first three open lists with a set of options for the respective parameter. The Value field displays drop downs according to the option selected in the other drop downs. The Condition dropdown is used to end the condition (by selecting the End option from the drop down), or to add additional queries (by selecting the And, Or, ( or ) operators). After specifying the search condition, the Add button can be clicked to add it to the condition box. After adding the search condition you can click on the Search button to search for the specified activities. The Undo button can be used when you need to undo a condition setting. The Clear button clears the previous setting. The Hide Advanced Search link can be clicked to close the advanced search setting fields.
Advanced Search
The Save Search check box can be clicked to save the search settings for use later. If this is done, it will open the Search Save window. You can specify a name in the Activity Set Name field and click on the Submit button to save the search settings. This name will be added to the list of options in the Search By Saved Criteria drop down.
Search Save window
Resource Calendar
You can click the Resource Calendar button at the top of the Activity List screen to view the Resource Calendar screen, which opens in a separate browser window. The Resource Calendar details such as the custom holidays and leave opted for by a resource can be specified here. In addition, the Resource Shift details can also be specified. To specify the resource holidays, click on the required date on the calendar control. The selected dates are shaded yellow and also shown under the Resource Holiday Details heading. The organization holidays can be viewed under the Organization Holiday Details heading but they cannot be changed. To specify the shift for the resource, click on the radio button against the desired shift and then click the Set button.
Alternate Resource Allocation
In the Alternate Resource screen, you can specify an Alternate Resource to whom the activities of any resource should be transferred in the event of his/her absence. You can click the Alternate Resource button at the top of the Activity List screen to view this screen. You can specify the workflow type under which the alternate resource(s) is to be grouped using the Group by Workflow Type drop down. You can choose to group under all workflows or specify a particular workflow. To specify the alternate resource, you can do a resource search using the Select Resource option. Select one of the two options – ID Search or Name Search. Next enter the respective parameter in the data field and click the Submit button. The selected resource details are listed in the table on the lower half of the screen.
Personalize
In the Personalize screen, you can specify the columns that you want to be displayed in the Activity List to give it a personalized appearance. You can click the Personalize button at the top of the Activity List page to view this screen. You can specify the filter criteria for the Activity List by selecting from the Set Activity List Filter drop down. All the column names are displayed with a check box against each. You can select the columns to display by clicking the corresponding check box. After making your selection click the Set Display Columns & Filter button to save the settings. Click Close to close the window and return to the Activity List page.
Activity Detailed View
In the Activity Detailed View, you can view the detailed information related to the selected activity and perform necessary actions. You must click on an action to open its detailed view. The detailed view has the Action Type and Subject fields at the top, displaying the corresponding values for the selected activity. It also has the Read Acknowledgement button, which can be used to acknowledge receipt of the activity. This button displays only for activities that require resources to acknowledge.
In addition to the above controls there are a set of controls that are specific to the action assigned in the selected activity. In the image shown above, the activity is an 'approval request'. The Activity Detailed View, therefore, includes the Comment field, where the resource can enter comments for the activity. It also has the Approve and Reject buttons, with which the resource can either approve or reject the request.
The Custom Document View occupies a large area at the lower left of the Activity Detailed View. The application specific details to be shown to the resource in the selected activity, are displayed here. For example, in the Approval action this View shows the details of the approval request. The Custom Document View has to be configured in the WorkflowNET.Config.xml file, using the <documentwebviewcontrol> tag. This allows you to customize the appearance and content of this area to suit the needs of different applications.