Workflows - Development

8/20/2019 Workflows - Development

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Workflows - DevelopmentAn easy to understand guide for creating new workflow

templates in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009

Created By

Sumit Loya


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Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 Page | 2

Table of Contents1. Workflow Development ........................................................................................................................ 3

1.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 3

1.1.1 Accounts Payable workflow templates ................................................................................. 3

1.1.2 Accounts Receivables workflow templates .......................................................................... 4

1.1.3 Expense Management workflow templates ......................................................................... 4

1.1.4 General Ledger workflow templates..................................................................................... 5

1.2 Development of Workflow Artifacts ............................................................................................. 5

1.2.1 Workflow Categories............................................................................................................. 5

1.2.2 Workflow Templates ............................................................................................................. 7

1.2.3 Workflow Documents ........................................................................................................... 8

Create a Query .................................................................................................................................. 8

Create a Class .................................................................................................................................... 9

1.2.4 Template Event Handlers and Cancel Managers ................................................................ 12

Create a Cancel Manager class ....................................................................................................... 12

Create Event Handler Class ............................................................................................................. 14

1.2.5 Workflow Tasks ................................................................................................................... 16

Create Task Event Handlers and Delegate Menu Item ................................................................... 17

Configuring Task Outcomes ............................................................................................................ 21

1.2.6 Workflow Approvals............................................................................................................ 24

Create Approval Event Handlers ..................................................................................................... 26

Configuring Approval Outcomes ..................................................................................................... 28

1.2.7 Attaching Tasks and Approvals to Workflow Templates .................................................... 32

1.3 Enabling Workflows on Forms .................................................................................................... 32

1.3.1 Table Modifications............................................................................................................. 32

1.3.2 Form Modifications ............................................................................................................. 37

1.3.3 Creation of a Submit Class .................................................................................................. 37

Attach Submit Action Menu Item to Workflow Template .............................................................. 44

Attach Resubmit Action Menu Item to Approvals and Tasks ......................................................... 45

1.4 In the End .................................................................................................................................... 46


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1. Workflow Development

1.1 Introduction

A workflow is a depiction of a sequence of operations, declared as work of a person, a group of persons,

an organization of staff, or one or more simple or complex mechanisms. Workflow may be seen as any

abstraction of real work, segregated in work share, work split or other types of ordering.

Workflow is a module in Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 that allows flexible task and approval routes for

documents created by users. For example, a purchase requisition may need to be approved by a number

of different employees according to the requisition's total amount, and each employee has to approve it

before the next employee in the approval route.

In this article, I am going to discuss about how to develop new workflow templates that can be

configured and implemented. By default Microsoft has provided following templates:

1.1.1 Accounts Payable workflow templates

The Accounts Payable module provides the following workflow templates.

Workflow template Use this template to

Project purchase requisition

approval

Create project purchase requisition approval workflows.

Purchase requisition

approval

Create approval workflows for purchase requisitions.

Vendor bank remittance

template

Create approval workflows for vendor bank remittance journals.

Vendor disbursement

template

Create approval workflows for vendor disbursement journals.

Vendor draw promissory

note template

Create approval workflows for vendor draw promissory note journals.

Invoice approval journal

template

Create approval workflows for invoice approval journals.

Vendor invoice recording

template

Create approval workflows for vendor invoice recording journals.

Invoice register template Create approval workflows for invoice register journals.

Vendor redraw promissory Create approval workflows for vendor redraw promissory note journals.


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note template

Vendor settle promissory

note template

Create approval workflows for vendor settle promissory note journals.

1.1.2

Accounts Receivables workflow templates

The Accounts Receivables module provides the following workflow templates.


Customer bank remittance

template

Create approval workflows for customer bank remittance journals.

Customer draw bill of

exchange template

Create approval workflows for customer draw bill of exchange journals.

Customer payment template Create approval workflows for customer payment journals.

Customer protest bill of

exchange template

Create approval workflows for customer protest bill of exchange

journals.

Customer redraw bill of

exchange template

Create approval workflows for customer redraw bill of exchange

journals.

Customer settle bill of

exchange template

Create approval workflows for customer settle bill of exchange journals.

1.1.3

Expense Management workflow templates

The Expense Management module provides the following workflow templates.


Cash advance request

template

Create approval workflows for cash advance requests in Expense

Management.

Expense template Create approval workflows for documents in Expense Management.

Non-project line item

workflow template

Create approval workflows for non-project line items in Expense

Management.

Project expense line

workflow template

Create approval workflows for project expense line items in Expense

Management.


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1.1.4

General Ledger workflow templates

The General Ledger module provides the following workflow templates.


Allocations template Create approval workflows for allocations journals.

Daily template Create approval workflows for daily journals.

Eliminations template Create approval workflows for eliminations journals.

Fixed assets budget template Create approval workflows for fixed assets budget journals.

Post fixed assets template Create approval workflows for fixed assets journals.

The sections that follow describe how we can create a new workflow.

1.2 Development of Workflow Artifacts

Broadly creating workflows require creating / modifying following workflow artifacts:

Workflow Categories

Workflow Templates

Workflow Documents

Tasks

Approvals

Let us take each of these artifacts one by one to understand how to we can successfully create a new

workflow. We will take an example of purchase order approval. A finance executive has to get an

approval before posting the purchase invoice.

The purchase order workflow should do the following:

It should check the completeness of the purchase order (May be users have posted a purchase

order without setting any value. Scenarios like these have to be accounted for.)

It should have a approval process, wherein a supervisor has to give a go ahead before the

purchase order is invoiced

Let us see how we can create a workflow process for this requirement.

1.2.1 Workflow Categories

A workflow category defines the module in which the workflow will be available or for which module the

workflow is applicable to. Modules are defined by the SysModule enum. In case you have created a new

module in AX you can add your module to SysModule enum. It is not always necessary to define a


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workflow category as you can make use of available workflow categories. Following are the available

categories in AX 2009:

ExpenseManagement

LedgerJournalWFApprovalCustomer

LedgerJournalWFApprovalLedgerLedgerJournalWFApprovalVendor

PurchCategory

For our example we will be using an existing category “PurchCategory”. In case these categories are not

applicable to your scenario, you can go ahead and create new categories. To create new workflow

categories follow the procedure below:

1.

Open AOT

2.

Expand the Workflow node

3.

Right-click on the Workflow Category node and select New Workflow Category.

4.

A new workflow category called WorkflowCategory1 will be created.

5.

Right-click on the newly created workflow category and select Properties

6.

You can specify the following:

Property Description

Name A unique name for the category

Label A meaningful label for the category Ex: Purchase order

Help Text Description about the category

Module The module to which the category is applicable

See the following screen shot:


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1.2.2

Workflow Templates

The workflow template is an artifact that governs the creation of workflow configurations for

implementing business policies. A workflow template brings all the different elements of the workflow

together. Workflow configurations are created based on a template, and many configurations can be

based on the same template. The template defines which actions are allowed and which are required.

In this section we will create a new workflow template for our purchase order approval scenario and

attach it with the existing workflow category “PurchCategory”. Follow the procedure below to create a

new workflow template:

1.

Open the AOT

2.

Expand the Workflow node

3.

Right-click on the Workflow Templates node and select New Workflow Template

4.

A new workflow template named WorkflowTemplate1 will be created

5.

Right-click on the newly created workflow template and select Properties

6.

Set the following properties Name property to PurchOrderApproval

Property Value

Name PurchOrderApproval

Label Purchase order approval

HelpText Use this template to create purchase order

approval workflows.

Category PurchCategory

7. Save the newly created workflow template

See the screen shot below:


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1.2.3

Workflow Documents

A workflow document specifies what data will be subjected to workflow approval process. It defines

what data is affected and how many tables are involved in the workflow process. It can define one or

more tables and all or selected fields on that table. This is done by using a query.

A query defines what tables are used to determine that a workflow can be initiated. Use a class to bindthat query to the workflow template. In this section we will create a query and a class that will bind the

query with the workflow template. Do the following:

Create a Query

1.

Open the AOT

2.

Right-click on the Query node and select New Query

3.

Rename the query to PurchOrderDocument

4.

Expand the Data Sources node in the newly created query

5.

Right-click and select New Data Source

6.

Right-click the newly created data source and select Properties

7.

Set the following properties

Property Value

Name PurchTable

Table PurchTable

8.

Next expand the PurchTable data source and right-click on the Data Sources node inside the

PurchTable data source

9.

Select New Data Source and set the following Properties

Property Value

Name PurchLineTable PurchLine

JoinMode OuterJoin

Relations Yes

10.

Next expand the PurchLine data source and right-click on the Data Sources node inside the

PurchLine data source

11.

Select New Data Source and set the following Properties

Property Value

Name InventDim

Table InventDim

JoinMode InnerJoin

Relations Yes

12.

Save the Query



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Create a Class

1.

In the AOT, right-click on the Classes node and select New Class

2.

Create/Modify following methods in the new class and save it

Method Description

classDeclaration

checkContext A validation method that checks the table using this class is

PurchTable onlygetQueryName Returns the name of the query as a string

parmTotalAmount Returns the total amount for the purchase order (A

corresponding field will be created in the workflow configuration

form for this method)

parmTotalAmountExclTax Returns the total amount excluding taxes for the purchase order

(A corresponding field will be created in the workflow

configuration form for this method)

construct Returns an instantiated instance of the class

3.

Following are the implementations for these methods


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class PurchOrderDocument extends WorkflowDocument

{

}

protected void checkContext(tableId _tableId,

RecId _recId){

;

if (_tableId != tablenum(PurchTable))

{

// Workflow context table id reference: %1 is not valid

throw error(strfmt("@SYS107963", _tableId));

}

if (_recId == 0)

{

// Workflow context record id is zero.

throw error(strfmt("@SYS107964"));

}

}

QueryName getQueryName()

{

return querystr(PurchOrderDocument);

}

public static PurchOrderDocument construct(){

return new PurchOrderDocument();

}


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public PurchReqAmountApproval parmTotalAmount(CompanyId _companyId,

tableId _tableId,

RecId _recId)

{

AmountCur totalAmount;PurchTable purchTable;

;

this.checkContext(_tableId, _recId);

purchTable = PurchTable::findRecId(_recId);

totalAmount = conpeek(PurchTotals::newPurchTable

(purchTable).displayFields(), TradeTotals::posTotalAmount());

return Currency::mstAmount(totalAmount,

CompanyInfo::find().CurrencyCode);

}

public PurchReqAmountApprovalExclTax parmTotalAmountExclTax(CompanyId

_companyId,

tableId

_tableId,

RecId

_recId)

{

AmountCur totalAmount;PurchTable purchTable;

PurchTotals totals;

;

this.checkContext(_tableId, _recId);

purchTable = PurchTable::findRecId(_recId);

totals = PurchTotals::newPurchTable(purchTable);

totalAmount = conpeek(totals.displayFields(),

TradeTotals::posTotalAmount()) - conpeek(totals.displayFields(),

TradeTotals::posTaxTotal());return Currency::mstAmount(totalAmount,

CompanyInfo::find().CurrencyCode);

}


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Attach the Document with the Workflow Template

1.

Traverse to Workflow Workflow Templates PurchOrderApproval

2.

Right-click and select Properties

3.

For the property Document set value as PurchOrderDocument

1.2.4

Template Event Handlers and Cancel Managers

Create a Cancel Manager class

As the name suggests the cancel manager class is used for cancelling a workflow. This class should

inherit from WorkflowCancelManager class. Do the following:

1.

Open the AOT, traverse to Classes node and create a new class

2.

Create following methods in the new class and save the class

class PurchOrderWorkflowCancelManager extends WorkflowCancelManager{}

public static PurchOrderWorkflowCancelManager construct(){

return new PurchOrderWorkflowCancelManager();}

public static void main(Args _args){

PurchOrderWorkflowCancelManager workflowCancelManager =PurchOrderWorkflowCancelManager::construct();

;

workflowCancelManager.run(_args);}


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After the class is ready create a new action type menu item for the class and attach it to the workflow

template. Do the following:

1.

Open the AOT and Traverse to Menu Items Action

2.

Create new Menu Item and set the following properties

Property Value

Name PurchOrderCancel

Label Cancel

HelpText Select the action Cancel to cancel the purchase

order after it has been submitted.

ObjectType Class

Object PurchOrderWorkflowCancelManager

RunOn Called from

SecurityKey VendMisc

3.

Save the menu item

4.

Now traverse to Workflow Workflow Templates PurchOrderApproval

5.


6.

Set the property CancelMenuItem to PurchOrderCancel


//Updates the PurchTable workflow state to pending cancellation public void updateDocument(Args _args){

FormDataSource purchTable_ds;PurchTable purchTable;;

purchTable_ds = _args.record().dataSource();if (purchTable_ds){

purchTable_ds.reread();

purchTable = purchTable_ds.cursor();purchTable.State = PurchReqWorkflowState::PendingCancellation;

purchTable_ds.write();purchTable_ds.refresh();

}

}


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Create Event Handler Class

Event handler class handles logic to be implemented for the events started, completed and canceled.

1.


2.


public class PurchOrderWorkflowEventHandler implements WorkflowStartedEventHandler, WorkflowCanceledEventHandler, WorkflowCompletedEventHandler

{}

public void canceled(WorkflowEventArgs _workflowEventArgs){

;

PurchTable::setWorkflowState(_workflowEventArgs.parmWorkflowContext().parmRecId(), PurchReqWorkflowState::NotSubmitted);}


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Note: You may get error as the method setWorkflowState is not available. Refer to Table modifications

section to resolve this error. 3.

Now traverse to Workflow Workflow Templates PurchOrderApproval

4.


5.

Set the properties StartedEventHandler, CompletedEventHandler, CanceledEventHandler to

PurchOrderWorkflowEventHandler


public void completed(WorkflowEventArgs _workflowEventArgs){

;

PurchTable::setWorkflowState(_workflowEventArgs.parmWorkflowContext().parmRecId(), PurchReqWorkflowState::WorkflowCompleted);}

public void started(WorkflowEventArgs _workflowEventArgs){

;

PurchTable::setWorkflowState(_workflowEventArgs.parmWorkflowContext().parmRecId(), PurchReqWorkflowState::Submitted);}


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1.2.5

Workflow Tasks

Tasks are the most generic workflow elements. Tasks provide application specific behavior that you

define in the AOT. Each task supports a single unit of work that is defined by one step. This means a

workflow task can have only one step. A task does not have a fixed outcome. However, you can add any

number of custom outcomes to the task, such as Completed or Skipped.

Each task must have at least one outcome of type Complete and an action menu item for the task work

item button to display in the user interface.

This procedure describes how to create a new workflow task:

1.

In the AOT, expand the Workflow node

2.

Right-click the Tasks node and then select New Task. A new workflow task group displays under

the Tasks node

3.

Right-click the new workflow task and then click Properties

4.

In the Properties sheet, set the following properties as required

Property Description Value (For our scenario)

Name The name that is used to reference the workflow

task

PurchOrderComplete

Label The label used for the workflow task in the user

interface

Check mandatory lines

Help Text The description of the workflow task shown in the

workflow configuration user interface

Update order lines if

mandatory data is missing

ConfigurationKe

y

The configuration key assigned to the task

Document The workflow document enabled by the workflow

task (This setting must match the Document

property setting used in the workflow template for

the approval.)

PurchOrderDocument

DocumentFieldP

reviewGroup

The initial set of fields displayed in the unified work

list dialog box. Select a field group from the root

table specified in the Document property. Theworkflow task Document property setting must be

set before you can select a field group

Workflow (Set this property

only after making changes to

the top level table of the

document. You can use any

name but for demonstration

purpose I am using Workflow)

StartedEventHa

ndler

The workflow event handler for the workflow

started event


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CanceledEventH

andler


canceled event

ParticipantProvi

der

The provider for participant resolution of the task.

Set this property if the HierarchyProvider property is

not set

WorkflowUserGroupParticipa

ntProvider (This is the

standard participant provider.You can extend this provider

and create your own provider

if needed.)

DueDateProvide

r

The date provider for the due date resolution WorkflowWorkCalendarDueD

ateProvider (This is the

standard participant provider.

You can extend this provider


if needed.)

HierarchyProvi

der

The provider for the hierarchy resolution. Set this

property if the ParticipantProvider property is notset

WorkflowLimitHierarchyProvi

der (This is the standard

participant provider. You can

extend this provider and

create your own provider if

needed.)

DocumentWebM

enuItem

The Web menu item that opens the workflow

document form

DocumentMenuI

tem

The rich client menu item that opens the workflow

document form

PurchTable (This is the existing

Display menu item for

purchase order form. This

means the workflow will be

implemented on purchase

order form.)

ResubmitWebM

enuItem

The Web menu item that resubmits the workflow

document to the workflow approval

ResubmitMenuI

tem

The rich client menu item that resubmits the

workflow document to the workflow approval

We will set this property after

creating a class for submitting

the workflow.

DelegateWebMe

nuItem

The Web menu item that starts the delegate action

on a work item

DelegateMenuIt

em

The rich client menu item that starts the delegate

action on a work item

Create Task Event Handlers and Delegate Menu Item

Now let us create some event handler classes for the task that will set the state of the workflow after

each of the events that may happen like started or canceled. Do the following:


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1.


2.


class PurchOrderCompleteEventHandler implements WorkflowElementCompletedEventHandler,

WorkflowElementCanceledEventHandler, WorkflowElementReturnedEventHandler, WorkflowElemChangeRequestedEventHandler, WorkflowElementStartedEventHandler

{}


;PurchTable::setWorkflowState(_workflowEventArgs.parmWorkflowContext().parmRecId(), PurchReqWorkflowState::NotSubmitted);}


;PurchTable::setWorkflowState(_workflowEventArgs.parmWorkflowContext().parmRecId(), PurchReqWorkflowState::WorkflowCompleted);}


;PurchTable::setWorkflowState(_workflowEventArgs.parmWorkflowContext().parm

RecId(), PurchReqWorkflowState::Submitted);}

public void changeRequested(WorkflowElementEventArgs _workflowElementEventArgs){

;PurchTable::setWorkflowState(_workflowElementEventArgs.parmWorkflowContext().parmRecId(), PurchReqWorkflowState::ChangeRequest);}

public void returned(WorkflowElementEventArgs _workflowElementEventArgs)

{;

PurchTable::setWorkflowState(_workflowElementEventArgs.parmWorkflowContext().parmRecId(), PurchReqWorkflowState::Returned);}


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section to resolve this error.

3.

Now traverse to Workflow Tasks PurchOrderComplete

4.

Right-click and select Properties 5.

Set the properties StartedEventHandler and CanceledEventHandler to

PurchOrderCompleteEventHandler

Now let us set the value for property DelegateMenuItem. For this property we need to create a new

action menu item. Follow the procedure below:

1.

Open the AOT

2.

Traverse to Menu Items Action

3.

Right-click and select New Menu Item

4.

Set the following properties

Property Value

Name PurchOrderDelegate

Label Delegate

HelpText Delegate purchase order to another.

ObjectType Class

Object WorkflowWorkItemActionManager (You can create your own class

extending this class for specific features while delegating the workflow.)

RunOn Called from


NeededAccessLevel Edit



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5.

Set this menu item as value for DelegateMenuItem property of PurchOrderComplete task

See the screen shot below showing the task we created in this section:


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Configuring Task Outcomes

Our scenario has three outcomes: Complete, Reject, Request change

Use the standard WorkflowWorkItemActionManager class that acts as an engine for all task outcomes.

You are not required to do anything but set the workflow to either Completed, Rejected or change may

be requested, therefore call the same class from three different menu items. The three menu items

simply allow you to use two different labels. In more complex workflows it may be necessary to override

or copy and modify this class rather than use it directly.

Follow the procedure below to create three new menu items for 3 outcomes.

Note: In our scenario there are three outcomes for this task. But the number of outcomes depends from

scenario to scenario and thus the number of menu items to be created also varies from task to task.

1.

Open the AOT

2.

Expand Menu Items

3.

Create three Action type menu items with following details

Property Value

Task Outcome: Complete

Name PurchOrderTaskComplete

Label Complete

HelpText Complete purchase order.

ObjectType Class

Object WorkflowWorkItemActionManager

RunOn Called fromSecurityKey VendMisc


Task Outcome: Reject

Name PurchOrderTaskReject

Label Reject

HelpText Reject purchase order.

ObjectType Class


RunOn Called from


NeededAccessLevel EditTask Outcome: RequestChange

Name PurchOrderTaskRequestChange

Label Request change

HelpText Send change request to submitter

ObjectType Class



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RunOn Called from



See the screen shots below:

4.

Once these menu items are created attach these menu items with task outcomes

5.

Traverse to AOT Workflows Tasks PurchOrderComplete

6.

Expand the Outcomes node and create three new outcomes with following properties


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Property Value

Task Outcome: Complete

Name Complete

Type Complete

Enabled Yes

ActionMenuItem PurchOrderTaskCompleteEventHandler PurchOrderCompleteEventHandler


Name Reject

Type Return

Enabled Yes

ActionMenuItem PurchOrderTaskReject

EventHandler PurchOrderCompleteEventHandler

Task Outcome: RequestChange

Name RequestChange

Type RequestChange

Enabled Yes

ActionMenuItem PurchOrderTaskRequestChange

EventHandler PurchOrderCompleteEventHandler



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1.2.6

Workflow Approvals

Approvals are the specialized type of tasks. The main difference between tasks and approvals is that

tasks can have only single step of work but approvals can have multiple steps and sub-workflows as well.

Approvals are specialized workflow elements designed to support approval scenarios. Approvals have a

set of fixed outcomes that the workflow supports. These outcomes are as follows:

Approve - Outcome type Complete.

Reject - Outcome type Return to the originator of the workflow.

RequestChange - Outcome type ChangeRequested from the originator or another person in the

workflow process.

Deny - Outcome type Deny.

The fixed outcomes listed earlier cannot be deleted in the AOT. However, you can set the workflow

outcome Enabled property to No to disable the workflow outcome in the application.

Each approval must have one outcome of type Complete and an action menu item for the approval work

item button to display in the user interface.

This procedure describes how to create a new workflow approval:

1.

In the AOT, expand the Workflow node

2.

Right-click the Approvals node and then select New Approval. A new workflow approval group

displays under the Approvals node

3.

Right-click the new workflow approval and then click Properties

4.

In the Properties sheet, set the following properties as required

Property Description Value (For our scenario)

Name The name that is used to reference the workflow

task

PurchOrderApproval


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Label The label used for the workflow task in the user

interface

Purchase Order Approval

Help Text The description of the workflow task shown in the

workflow configuration user interface

Approve purchase order

ConfigurationKe

y

The configuration key assigned to the task

Document The workflow document enabled by the workflow

task (This setting must match the Document

property setting used in the workflow template for

the approval.)

PurchOrderDocument

DocumentFieldP

reviewGroup

The initial set of fields displayed in the unified work

list dialog box. Select a field group from the root

table specified in the Document property. The

workflow task Document property setting must be

set before you can select a field group

Workflow (Set this property

only after making changes to

the top level table of thedocument. You can use any

name but for demonstration

purpose I am using Workflow)

StartedEventHa

ndler


started event

Refer the PurchReqComplete

task in the AOT for more

details. We will not be

creating this event handler.

CanceledEventH

andler


canceled event

Refer the PurchReqComplete

task in the AOT for more

details. We will not be

creating this event handler.ParticipantProvi

der

The provider for participant resolution of the task.

Set this property if the HierarchyProvider property is

not set

WorkflowUserGroupParticipa

ntProvider (This is the




if needed.)

DueDateProvide

r

The date provider for the due date resolution WorkflowWorkCalendarDueD

ateProvider (This is the



and create your own providerif needed.)

HierarchyProvi

der

The provider for the hierarchy resolution. Set this

property if the ParticipantProvider property is not

set

WorkflowLimitHierarchyProvi

der (This is the standard

participant provider. You can

extend this provider and

create your own provider if


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needed.)

DocumentWebM

enuItem

The Web menu item that opens the workflow

document form

DocumentMenuI

tem

The rich client menu item that opens the workflow

document form

PurchTable (This is the existing

Display menu item forpurchase order form. This

means the workflow will be

implemented on purchase

order form.)

ResubmitWebM

enuItem

The Web menu item that resubmits the workflow

document to the workflow approval

ResubmitMenuI

tem

The rich client menu item that resubmits the

workflow document to the workflow approval

We will set this property after

creating a class for submitting

the workflow.

DelegateWebMenuItem

The Web menu item that starts the delegate actionon a work item

DelegateMenuIt

em

The rich client menu item that starts the delegate

action on a work item

PurchOrderDelegate (Created

in the task section. Refer task

section on how to create this

menu item)

Create Approval Event Handlers

Now let us create an event handler class for the approval that will set the state of the workflow after

each of the events that may happen like started or canceled. Do the following:

1.


2.


class PurchOrderApprovalEventHandler implements WorkflowElementCompletedEventHandler, WorkflowElementCanceledEventHandler, WorkflowElementReturnedEventHandler, WorkflowElemChangeRequestedEventHandler, WorkflowElementStartedEventHandler

{}


;PurchTable::setWorkflowState(_workflowEventArgs.parmWorkflowContext().parmRecId(), PurchReqWorkflowState::NotSubmitted);}


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section to resolve this error.

3.

Now traverse to Workflow Tasks PurchOrderApproval

4.


5.

Set the properties StartedEventHandler and CanceledEventHandler to

PurchOrderCompleteEventHandler

See the screen shot below showing the properties of the approval we created in this section:

public void changeRequested(WorkflowElementEventArgs _workflowElementEventArgs){

;

PurchTable::setWorkflowState(_workflowElementEventArgs.parmWorkflowContext().parmRecId(), PurchReqWorkflowState::ChangeRequest);}

public void returned(WorkflowElementEventArgs _workflowElementEventArgs){

;

PurchTable::setWorkflowState(_workflowElementEventArgs.parmWorkflowContext().parmRecId(), PurchReqWorkflowState::Returned);}


;PurchTable::setWorkflowState(_workflowEventArgs.parmWorkflowContext().parmRecId(), PurchReqWorkflowState::Submitted);}


;PurchTable::setWorkflowState(_workflowEventArgs.parmWorkflowContext().parmRecId(), PurchReqWorkflowState::WorkflowCompleted);

}


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Configuring Approval Outcomes

Use the standard WorkflowWorkItemActionManager class that acts as an engine for all approvaloutcomes.

You are not required to do anything but set the workflow to either Approve, Reject or change may be

requested, therefore call the same class from three different menu items. The three menu items simply

allow you to use two different labels. In more complex workflows it may be necessary to override or

copy and modify this class rather than use it directly.

Follow the procedure below to create three new menu items for 3 outcomes.

Note: In our scenario there are three outcomes for this approval so we will be disabling the fourth

outcome “Deny” .

1.

Open the AOT

2.

Expand Menu Items

3.

Create three Action type menu items with following details


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Property Value

Approval Outcome: Approve

Name PurchOrderApprovalApprove

Label Approve

HelpText Approve purchase order.

ObjectType ClassObject WorkflowWorkItemActionManager

RunOn Called from



Approval Outcome: Reject

Name PurchOrderApprovalReject

Label Reject

HelpText Reject purchase order.

ObjectType Class


RunOn Called from



Approval Outcome: RequestChange

Name PurchOrderApprovalRequestChange

Label Request change

HelpText Send change request to submitter

ObjectType Class


RunOn Called from

SecurityKey VendMiscNeededAccessLevel Edit



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4.

Once these menu items are created attach these menu items with task outcomes

5.

Traverse to AOT Workflow Approvals PurchOrderApproval

6.

Expand the Outcomes node and create three new outcomes with following properties

Property Value

Approval Outcome: Approve

Enabled Yes

ActionMenuItem PurchOrderApprovalApprove

EventHandler PurchOrderApprovalEventHandler

Approval Outcome: Deny


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Enabled No

ActionMenuItem

EventHandler


Enabled Yes

ActionMenuItem PurchOrderApprovalRejectEventHandler PurchOrderApprovalEventHandler

Task Outcome: RequestChange

Enabled Yes

ActionMenuItem PurchOrderApprovalRequestChange

EventHandler PurchOrderApprovalEventHandler



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1.2.7

Attaching Tasks and Approvals to Workflow Templates

The approvals / tasks needs to be attached to the template. The following procedure explains how to

attach an approval / task to a template.

1.

Open the AOT

2.

Expand Workflow Workflow TemplatesPurchOrderApproval

3.

Open another AOT window

4.

Expand Workflow Tasks

5.

Find PurchOrderComplete task; drag it on to the Required Elements node of the

PurchOrderApproval workflow template

6.

Next Expand Workflow Approvals

7.

Find PurchOrderApproval approval; drag it on to the Required Elements node of the

PurchOrderApproval workflow template

1.3

Enabling Workflows on Forms

After the workflow artifacts have been developed we use them to enable the workflows on a form. In

our scenario we will be adding / modifying following AX objects:

Table Modifications (PurchTable)

Form Modifications (PurchTable)

Creation of a Submit Class

1.3.1

Table Modifications

In this section we will be doing following

Add three fields SubmittedBy, SubmittedDateTime, State

Create a field group Workflow

Create methods

o canSubmit – Checks if record can be submitted to workflow

o mostRecentComment – Returns the last comment written for the workflow


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o requiredAction – The action that needs to be taken next

o requiredActionDueDate – The date by which the action needs to be taken

o setWorkflowState – Sets the state field status

Note the fields SubmittedBy and SubmittedDateTime are not required to be created mandatorily but the

State field is necessary to perform different actions based on the status of the workflow.

Let us first go ahead and create the three fields. Do the following:

1.

Open AOT

2.

Traverse to Data Dictionary Tables PurchTable

3.

Add three fields with following properties

Property Value

Field : SubmittedBy

Name SubmittedBy

AllowEditOnCreate No AllowEdit No

ExtendedDataType PurchReqSubmittedBy

Field : SubmittedDateTime

Name SubmittedDateTime

AllowEditOnCreate No

AllowEdit No

ExtendedDataType PurchReqSubmittedDateTime

Field : SubmittedDateTime

Name State

AllowEditOnCreate No

AllowEdit NoEnumType PurchReqWorkflowState

Next we create the methods mentioned earlier. Add the following methods along with this

implementation:

public boolean canSubmit(){

PurchLine purchLine;boolean ret = true;;

ret = ret && (this.PurchStatus == PurchStatus::Received);

ret = ret && (this.State == PurchReqWorkflowState::NotSubmitted);select firstonly RecId from purchLine where purchLine.PurchId ==

this.PurchId;

ret = ret && (purchLine.RecId != 0);return ret;

}


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display PurchReqMostRecentComment mostRecentComment(){

WorkflowTrackingCommentTable workflowTrackingCommentTable;WorkflowWorkItemTable workflowWorkItemTable;WorkflowTrackingTable workflowTrackingTable;DirPartyTable dirPartyTable;EmplTable emplTable;PurchReqMostRecentComment comment;EmplId emplId;UserInfo userInfo;Name name;;

select firstonly workflowWorkItemTableorder by CreatedDateTime desc whereworkflowWorkItemTable.RefTableId == this.TableId &&workflowWorkItemTable.RefRecId == this.RecId &&workflowWorkItemTable.CompanyId == this.DataAreaId &&

workflowWorkItemTable.Status == WorkflowWorkItemStatus::Completed;

workflowTrackingTable = Workflow::findLastTrackingRecordForWorkItem(workflowWorkItemTable);

workflowTrackingCommentTable = WorkflowTrackingCommentTable::find(workflowTrackingTable.TrackingId);

emplId = SysCompanyUserInfo::find(workflowTrackingTable.User).EmplId;if (emplId){

select firstonly Name from dirPartyTableexists join emplTable

where dirPartyTable.PartyId == emplTable.PartyId &&emplTable.EmplId == emplId;

name = dirPartyTable.Name + ' (' + emplId + ') : ';}else{

select firstonly userInfo where userInfo.Id ==workflowTrackingTable.User;

name = userInfo.Name + ' (' + workflowTrackingTable.User + ') : ';}comment = strfmt("%1",DateTimeUtil::applyTimeZoneOffset

(workflowTrackingCommentTable.CreatedDateTime,DateTimeUtil::getUserPreferredTimeZone())) + ' ';comment += name;comment += workflowTrackingCommentTable.Comment;return comment;

}


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display PurchReqRequiredAction requiredAction(){

WorkflowWorkItemTable workflowWorkItemTable;PurchReqRequiredAction text;;

select firstonly workflowWorkItemTablewhere workflowWorkItemTable.RefTableId == this.TableId &&workflowWorkItemTable.RefRecId == this.RecId &&workflowWorkItemTable.CompanyId == this.DataAreaId &&workflowWorkItemTable.UserId == curuserid() &&

workflowWorkItemTable.Status == WorkflowWorkItemStatus::Pending;

if (workflowWorkItemTable.RecId){

switch (this.State){

case PurchReqWorkflowState::ChangeRequest :

text = "@SYS109048";break;

case PurchReqWorkflowState::PendingApproval :text = "@SYS109902";break;

case PurchReqWorkflowState::PendingComplete :text = "@SYS112063";break;

}}return text;

}

display PurchReqRequiredActionDueDateStr requiredActionDueDate(){

WorkflowWorkItemTable workflowWorkItemTable;PurchReqRequiredActionDueDateStr dueDateStr;;select firstonly DueDateTime from workflowWorkItemTable

where workflowWorkItemTable.RefTableId == this.TableId &&workflowWorkItemTable.RefRecId == this.RecId &&workflowWorkItemTable.CompanyId == this.DataAreaId &&workflowWorkItemTable.UserId == curuserid() &&

workflowWorkItemTable.Status == WorkflowWorkItemStatus::Pending;

if (workflowWorkItemTable.DueDateTime != DateTimeUtil::minValue()){dueDateStr = strfmt("%1",DateTimeUtil::applyTimeZoneOffset

(workflowWorkItemTable.DueDateTime,DateTimeUtil::getUserPreferredTimeZone()));

}return dueDateStr;

}


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Next we create a new field group. Do the following:

1.

Open AOT

2.

Traverse to Data Dictionary Tables PurchTable Field Groups

3.

Add field group with Name = Workflow and Label = Workflow

4.

Add following elements (fields) to the field group

a.

State

b.

SubmittedBy

c.

SubmittedDateTime

d.

requiredAction (method)

e.

requiredActionDueDate (method)

f.

mostRecentComment (method)

Modify PurchTableType class

This modification is only for our scenario. Traverse to Classes PurchTableType class

mayInvoiceBeUpdated method and copy following code before statement “return ok;”

ok = ok && (purchTable.State == PurchReqWorkflowState::WorkflowCompleted);

static void setWorkflowState(RecId _purchTableRecId, PurchReqWorkflowState _purchReqWorkflowState){

PurchTable purchTable;;

ttsbegin;

purchTable = PurchTable::findRecId(_purchTableRecId, true);purchTable.State = _purchReqWorkflowState;

switch (_purchReqWorkflowState){

case PurchReqWorkflowState::NotSubmitted:purchTable.SubmittedBy = '';purchTable.SubmittedDateTime = DateTimeUtil::minValue();break;

}

purchTable.update();

ttscommit;}


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1.3.2

Form Modifications

Workflow on the form is enabled using properties on the design node, and by overriding a form method.

Do the following:

1.

Open AOT

2.

Traverse to Forms node and search for form PurchTable 3.

Next expand PurchTable Designs node

4.

Right-click on Design node and select Properties

5.

Set property WorkflowEnabled to Yes

6.

Set property WorkflowDatasource to PurchTable

7.

Expand Design Group:Table Tab:TabHeader TabPage:TabHeaderOther

8.

From the Data Sources section right-click on PurchTable and select Open New Window

9.

Find field group Workflow; Drag it onto the TabPage:TabHeaderOther

10.

Now expand the Form Methods node, override method canSubmitToWorkflow and add

following implementation

11.

Save the form

Now workflow has been enabled on the form. But we still cannot submit as we need to create a class

that Submits/Re-Submits a record to workflow.

1.3.3

Creation of a Submit Class

In order to submit a record to workflow processor it is necessary that we create a class that prompts

user to enter some comment and processes the submission. This class is also responsible to re-submit

the record for workflow processing in case it has been already submitted and a change has been

requested. Follow the procedure below to create the class:

1.

Open the AOT and create a new class

2.

Create following methods with the implementation as shown

Method DescriptionclassDeclaration

dialogOk Opens a dialog for submitting a purchase order

init Initializes the submit class

parmMenuItemName Set/Get method for Menu Item Name

parmPurchTable Set/Get method for PurchTable record

parmSubmit Set / Get method for Submit variable

public boolean canSubmitToWorkflow(){

;

return purchTable.canSubmit();}


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parmWorkflowComment Set / Get method for workflow comment

parmWorkflowConfigurationTable Set / Get method for WorkflowConfigurationTable record

parmWorkflowControlContext Set / Get method for EPWorkflowControlContext class object

parmWorkflowTemplateName Set / Get method for Workflow template name variable

reSubmit Processes and re-submits the record for workflow processing

submit Activates purchase order workflowconstruct Instantiates and returns the class instance

main Submits a purchase order document and activates

corresponding workflow

Here are the implementations for these methods:

class PurchOrderWorkflow{

PurchTable purchTable;

WorkflowConfigurationTable workflowConfigurationTable;WorkflowComment workflowComment;boolean submit;WorkflowWorkItemTable workflowWorkItemTable;userId userId;MenuItemName menuItemName;EPWorkflowControlContext workflowControlContext;WorkflowTemplateName workflowTemplateName;

}

public MenuItemName parmMenuItemName(MenuItemName _menuItemName = menuItemName){

;menuItemName = _menuItemName;return menuItemName;

}

public PurchTable parmPurchTable(PurchTable _purchTable = purchTable){

;purchTable = _purchTable;return purchTable;

}

public boolean parmSubmit(boolean _submit = submit){

;submit = _submit;return submit;

}


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public WorkflowComment parmWorkflowComment(WorkflowComment _workflowComment= workflowComment){

;workflowComment = _workflowComment;

return workflowComment;}

public WorkflowConfigurationTable parmWorkflowConfigurationTable(WorkflowConfigurationTable _workflowConfigurationTable = workflowConfigurationTable){

;workflowConfigurationTable = _workflowConfigurationTable;

return workflowConfigurationTable;}

public EPWorkflowControlContext parmWorkflowControlContext(EPWorkflowControlContext _workflowControlContext= workflowControlContext){

;workflowControlContext = _workflowControlContext;

return workflowControlContext;}

public WorkflowTemplateName parmWorkflowTemplateName(WorkflowTemplateName

_workflowTemplateName = workflowTemplateName){

;workflowTemplateName = _workflowTemplateName;

return workflowTemplateName;}

public WorkflowWorkItemTable parmWorkflowWorkItemtable(WorkflowWorkItemTable _workflowWorkItemTable = workflowWorkItemTable){

;workflowWorkItemTable = _workflowWorkItemTable;

return workflowWorkItemTable;}


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public boolean dialogOk(){

WorkflowSubmitDialog workflowSubmitDialog;WorkflowWorkItemActionDialog workflowWorkItemActionDialog;boolean ok;;

if (menuItemName == menuitemactionstr(PurchOrderSubmitToWorkflow)){

workflowSubmitDialog =WorkflowSubmitDialog::construct(this.parmWorkflowConfigurationTable());

workflowSubmitDialog.run();

this.parmWorkflowComment(workflowSubmitDialog.parmWorkflowComment());ok = workflowSubmitDialog.parmIsClosedOK();

}else if (menuItemName == menuitemactionstr(PurchOrderReSubmit)){

workflowWorkItemActionDialog =WorkflowWorkItemActionDialog::construct( workflowWorkItemTable,

WorkflowWorkItemActionType::Resubmit,

new MenuFunction(menuitemactionstr(PurchOrderReSubmit),MenuItemType::Action));

workflowWorkItemActionDialog.run();

this.parmWorkflowComment(workflowWorkItemActionDialog.parmWorkflowComment());

ok = workflowWorkItemActionDialog.parmIsClosedOK();

userId = workflowWorkItemActionDialog.parmTargetUser();

}

return ok;}

public static PurchOrderWorkflow construct(){

return new PurchOrderWorkflow();}


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public void init( Common _documentRecord, MenuItemName _menuItemName, WorkflowConfigurationTable

_workflowConfigurationTable, WorkflowWorkItemTable _workflowWorkItemTable,EPWorkflowControlContext _workflowControlContext)

{this.parmPurchTable(_documentRecord);this.parmSubmit(_menuItemName == menuitemactionstr

(PurchOrderSubmitToWorkflow));this.parmMenuItemName(_menuItemName);

if (_workflowControlContext){

this.parmWorkflowControlContext(_workflowControlContext);this.parmWorkflowWorkItemtable

(_workflowControlContext.getActiveWorkflowWorkItem());

this.parmWorkflowComment(_workflowControlContext.getWorkflowComment());this.parmWorkflowTemplateName

(_workflowControlContext.getActiveWorkflowConfiguration().TemplateName);}else{

this.parmWorkflowConfigurationTable(_workflowConfigurationTable);this.parmWorkflowWorkItemtable(_workflowWorkItemTable);this.parmWorkflowTemplateName

(this.parmWorkflowConfigurationTable().TemplateName);}

}


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void reSubmit(){

Object purchTable_ds;;

ttsbegin;WorkflowWorkItemActionManager::dispatchWorkItemAction(

workflowWorkItemTable, workflowComment, userId,WorkflowWorkItemActionType::Resubmit, menuItemName, false);

purchTable_ds = purchTable.dataSource();purchTable.State = PurchReqWorkflowState::Submitted;

if (purchTable_ds){

purchTable_ds.write();purchTable_ds.refresh();

}

ttscommit;}

void submit(){

Object purchTable_ds;NoYes activatingFromWeb;;

// If we have a workflow control context, we are being activated fromEP

activatingFromWeb = this.parmWorkflowControlContext() == null ?

NoYes::No : NoYes::Yes;

Workflow::activateFromWorkflowTemplate(this.parmWorkflowTemplateName(),purchTable.RecId,this.parmWorkflowComment(),activatingFromWeb, curuserid());

purchTable_ds = purchTable.dataSource();purchTable.SubmittedBy = curuserid();purchTable.SubmittedDateTime = DateTimeUtil::utcNow();purchTable.State = PurchReqWorkflowState::Submitted;

if (purchTable_ds)

{ purchTable_ds.write();purchTable_ds.refresh();

}}


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3.

Once you create this class save it

4.

Now go ahead and create two action type menu items for this class (The names of which you

have used in the class created above (PurchOrderSubmitToWorkflow, PurchOrderReSubmit)

5.

Traverse to Menu Items Action and create the following menu items

public static void main(Args args){

PurchOrderWorkflow purchOrderWorkflow;PurchTable purchTable;;

purchTable = args.record();

purchOrderWorkflow = PurchOrderWorkflow::construct();

if (args.menuItemName() ==menuitemactionstr(PurchOrderSubmitToWorkflow) ||

args.menuItemName() == menuitemactionstr(PurchOrderReSubmit)){

purchOrderWorkflow.init(args.record(), args.menuItemName(),args.caller().getActiveWorkflowConfiguration(),args.caller().getActiveWorkflowWorkItem(), null);

}

else{

purchOrderWorkflow.init(args.record(), args.menuItemName(), null,null, args.caller());

}

if (purchOrderWorkflow.dialogOk()){

if (purchOrderWorkflow.parmSubmit()){

purchOrderWorkflow.submit();

}else{

purchOrderWorkflow.reSubmit();}

if (args.menuItemName() ==menuitemactionstr(PurchOrderSubmitToWorkflow) ||

args.menuItemName() == menuitemactionstr(PurchOrderReSubmit))args.caller().updateWorkflowControls();

}}


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Property Value

Menu Item: Submit

Name PurchOrderSubmitToWorkflow

Label Submit

HelpText Submit purchase order workflow

ObjectType ClassObject PurchOrderWorkflow

RunOn Called from



Menu Item: Resubmit

Name PurchOrderApprovalReject

Label Submit

HelpText Resubmit purchase order workflow

ObjectType Class

Object PurchOrderWorkflow

RunOn Called from



Next we will attach these menu items with workflow templates and approvals / tasks

Attach Submit Action Menu Item to Workflow Template

1.

Open the AOT

2.

Traverse to Workflow Workflow Templates

3.

Find PurchOrderApproval template and set the property SubmitToWorkflowMenuItem as

PurchOrderSubmitToWorkflow

4.

Save the template



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Attach Resubmit Action Menu Item to Approvals and Tasks

1.

Open the AOT

2.

Traverse to Workflow Tasks

3.

Find PurchOrderComplete task and set the property ResubmitMenuItem as

PurchOrderReSubmit

4.

Save the Task


5.

Next Traverse to Workflow Approvals

6.

Find PurchOrderApproval approval and set the property ResubmitMenuItem as

PurchOrderReSubmit

7.

Save the Approval



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Now the new workflow template is created and ready for configuration. Unless you create one active

configuration for this workflow, the Submit button will not be visible on the purchase order form.

To know more about configuring workflows click here.

1.4

In the EndWe have seen how we can add new workflow templates rather easily for any feature of Dynamics AX.

The workflow module is a highly configurable and flexible module. This document has demonstrated

exhaustively how to develop a new workflow. For any help on development of workflows refer to help

system of Dynamics AX and Purchase requisition workflow. This is the only workflow in standard AX that

has covered almost all the artifacts and features of Workflow framework provided by Microsoft

Dynamics AX 2009.
http://sumit-theaxfactor.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!596957786228C73F!286.entryhttp://sumit-theaxfactor.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!596957786228C73F!286.entryhttp://sumit-theaxfactor.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!596957786228C73F!286.entryhttp://sumit-theaxfactor.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!596957786228C73F!286.entry