AEM workflows

Workflow Types

- Default These are the out-of-the-box workflows included in a standard AEM instance. - Custom workflows (no indicator in the console) These are workflows that have been created as new, or from out-of-the-box workflows that have been overlaid with customizations. - Legacy Workflows created in a prior version of AEM. These can be retained during an upgrade, or exported as a workflow package from the prior version, then imported into the new version.

Types of steps

- Participant (User/Group): These steps generate a work item and assign it to a user or group. A user must complete the work item to advance the workflow. - Process (Script, Java method call): These steps are executed automatically by the system. An ECMA script or Java class implements the step. Services can be developed to listen to special workflow events and perform tasks according to the business logic. - Container (Sub Workflow): This type of step starts another workflow model. - OR Split/Join: Use logic to decide which step to execute next in the workflow. - AND Split/Join: Allows multiple steps to be executed simultaneously.

Workflow Actions

- Suspend: Temporarily stops the execution of the workflow. Suspending is useful in exceptional cases when you do not want the workflow to proceed, for example for maintenance. Suspending changes the workflow state to Suspended. - Resume: Restarts a suspended workflow at the same point of execution where it was suspended, using the same configuration. - Terminate: Ends the workflow execution and changes the state to ABORTED. An aborted workflow instance cannot be restarted.

Lifecycle

- Terminate - Suspend - Resume - Restart Is created when starting a new workflow (by choosing the respective workflow model and defining the payload) and ends when the end node is processed. Completed and terminated instances are archived.

Step Properties

- Title - Description - Workflow Stage - Timeout - Timeout Handler - Handler Advance

Step: common properties

- autoadvance - timeout

Workflows classic ui

/libs/cq/workflow/content/console.html

Workflows touch ui

1. Navigate to the Models console using Tools, Workflow, then Models. 2. Select the workflow, using Search (top left) if required: Activate - enable - disable

Container step

A Container step starts another workflow model that runs as a child workflow. This Container lets you reuse workflow models to implement common sequences of steps. For example a translation workflow model could be used in multiple editing workflows.

Step

Each step represents a task that is accomplished during workflow

Inbox

Each user account has its own workflow inbox in which the assigned WorkItems are accessible. The WorkItems are assigned to either the user account directly or to the group to which they belongs.

ReverseReplicateProcess

Generates an event that causes the reverse replication of the workflow payload. The replication action type is ACTIVATE.

WorkItem

It is the unit that is passed through an Workflow instance of a WorkflowModel . It contains the WorkflowData that the instance acts on and a reference to the WorkflowNode that describes the underlying workflow step. - It is used to identify the task and is put into the respective inbox. - A workflow instance can have one or many WorkItems at the same time (depending on the workflow model). - The WorkItem references the workflow instance. - In the repository the WorkItem is stored below the workflow instance.

urlcaller

Locks the payload of the workflow.

Available JCR node event types for Workflow Launcher configuration

Node Added Node Moved Node Modified Node Removed Property Added Property Removed Property Changed

Payload

References the resource that has to be advanced through a workflow. The payload implementation references a resource in the repository (by path, UUID or URL) or by a serialized java object. Referencing a resource in the repository is very flexible and in conjunction with sling very productive; for example the referenced node could be rendered as a form.

Workflow Transition

Represents transition between two WorkflowNodes. - It defines the link between two consecutive steps. - It is possible to apply rules.

Workflow Statuses

Running Completed Suspended Aborted Stale

AbsoluteTimeAutoAdvancer

The AbsoluteTimeAutoAdvancer (Absolute Time Auto Advancer) process behaves identically to AutoAdvancer , except that it times out at a given time and date, instead of after a given length of time.

AutoAdvancer

The AutoAdvancer process automatically advances the workflow to the next step. If there is more than one possible next step (for example, if there is an OR split) then this process will advance the workflow along the default route , if one has been specified, otherwise the workflow will not be advanced.

Form Participant Step

The Form Participant Step presents a form when the work item is opened. When the user fills and submits the form, the field data is stored in the nodes of the workflow payload.

ProcessAssembler

The ProcessAssembler process executes multiple sub-processes sequentially in a single workflow step. To use the ProcessAssembler , create a single step of this type in your workflow and set its arguments to indicate the names and arguments of the sub-processes you wish to execute.

delete

The item at the given path is deleted.

rule-false

This is a null process that returns false on the check() method.

sample

This is a sample ECMAScript process.

noop

This is the null process. It performs no operation, but does log a debug message.

ActivatePageProcess

This process activates the payload. The process first checks access control. In case the session starting the process is lacking the privilege to replicate, a "request for activation" workflow event is sent out. Listeners to this event may then handle this situation.

DeactivatePageProcess

This process deactivates the payload. The process first checks access control. In case the session starting the process is lacking the privilege to replicate, a "request for deactivation" workflow event is sent out. Listeners to this event may then handle this situation.

ConfirmRegistrationProcess

This process enables confirmation of subscription requests, meaning that if a user sends a form requesting a subscription ot a newsletter, this subscription will be stored. Another process may then start a workflow to confirm that the subscription is valid. This can be used, for example, to send a a confirmation email to a user to ensure that the recipient intended to subscribe to the newsletter.

Transient Workflows

Transient Workflows Standard workflows save runtime (history) information during their execution. You can also define a workflow model as Transient to avoid such history being persisted. This is used for performance tuning as it saves/avoids the time/resources used for persisting the information. Transient workflows can be used for any workflows that: - are run often. - do not need the workflow history. Transient workflows were introduced for loading a large number of assets, where the asset information is important, but not the workflow runtime history.

Workflow model

represents a definition (model) of a workflow. It is made of WorkflowNodes and WorkflowTransitions . The transitions connect the nodes and define the flow . The Model has always a start node and an end node.