The Yeeflow workflow designer is a visual workflow builder that let you automate time-consuming and repetitive tasks with ease, using a simple drag-and-drop interface. This visual designer eliminates technological barriers and empowers everyone to build applications that solve real-time business problems.
A Workflow comprises of a set of actions executed at specific instances to automate routines in an application. When you trigger the workflow, it executes the set of associated actions.
Open workflow designer
On the approval form's designer page, click "Workflow" tab from the top navigation bar to enter into the workflow designer page:
When you open the workflow designer, you will see the frame is very clean:
Actions toolbox: The left actions toolbox lists all the available actions that can be used in the designer canvas to create workflows. You can click and drag those actions to add to the canvas.
Quick Toolbar: There are couple of the buttons available for quick operations here.
Zoom in button (+): click to zoom in the canvas.
Zoom out button (-): click to zoom out the canvas.
Reset button: reset the size of the canvas to the default size.
Undo button: undo the operation you've made.
Redo button: redo he operation you've made.
The Variables and save buttons: click the variables button to call the pop-up dialog with the list of variables; click save button to save any of your changes.
Designer canvas: here is the area for you to design your workflow steps and actions. The designer canvas is a part of the Yeeflow workflow designer used to create and update workflows. The designer canvas contains the following items.
Start point: Indicates where processing begins for the workflow.
Actions: Workflow actions that have been added to the workflow. Actions exhibit unique appearance and behavior, and each action has a context menu.
Flow line connectors: The arrow to connect 2 actions with custom conditions.
End point: Indicates where processing ends for the workflow.
How to build visual workflows
Every workflow consists of three parts— trigger, actions, and flow line connectors. Mapping your business requirements to these components is the most important step in creating workflows. Once the mapping is done, building workflows becomes a cakewalk.
Trigger
Trigger is the user input that initiates the workflow, like when a request is created upon form submission. When you create a new workflow, you will find the green Start action on the designer canvas. It identifies as the trigger of the workflow and should be always the first element of the workflow. For approval form workflow, The Start action will be triggered when any users submit a new request of your approval form.
You can click to select the Start action. When it's been selected, you will see the operation buttons will display at the bottom.
Click the settings button to open the settings window from the right side of the canvas.
From the page section, you will see the Submission form which you designed in the form designer is set as the associated form of this Start action.
You can add actions behind the Start point to design your business process as need.
Actions
Actions are the tasks that you can add and trigger in a workflow. You add and configure multiple actions in a workflow. The list of actions that you can execute in a workflow is given below.
1. Core actions
Assignment Task
Assigns a task to one or more users and requests approval as part of the workflow.
Claim Task
Create a pending task to a group of users. Anyone in the group will be able to claim this task and take response.
Send Email
Send email notifications to specified users.
Set Variable
Set values of the selected workflow variables.
Set Data List
Update specified data list's records by adding new records, modify existing records, or delete existing records with filter conditions.
Query Data
Retrieve real-time information from specified data sources.
Start Workflow
Trigger the initiation of an additional workflow from within an existing process.
2. Logic and flow
Inclusive Gateway
A combination of an exclusive and a parallel gateway. It is a common gateway used for multiple flow paths.
Signal Event
When the workflow is cancelled or recalled, the Signal Event action allow you to add certain actions to produce specify logics.
End with Rejection
This action will be the specific end point of your workflow, which will set the workflow status as rejected and end the workflow. The submitter of this form will get informed. The Initial form will be changed to editable, and allow the submitter to make modification and re-submit the form.
End
The end point to indicates where processing ends for the workflow.
3. Integration
HTTP Request
Use this action to integrate with third party system by calling the web services or APIs. You may send data to or receive data from other systems.
Adobe Sign
Use the Adobe Sign action to request an electronic signature on a document from recipient(s) you specify.
Add actions to the canvas
To add a new action, from the left Actions toolbox, click and drag the action to the designer canvas.
Click to select anyone of the action from the canvas, you will see the operation buttons at the bottom of this action.
Remove button: delete this action from your workflow.
Settings button: click this button to open the settings window from the right side of the canvas.
Duplicate button: duplicate the action to reuse the configurations of this action.
Line button: click and drag the flow line to connect with another action.
The settings window of the selected action.
flow line connectors
Flow line connectors are used to control the flow of your business process. You can drag a flow line from one action to connect to another action as the next step of the flow.
Add flow line connector
To add a flow line connector, select one action on the canvas. Find the line button from the bottom of this action. Click and hold the mouse to drag a new line, then connect this line to another action. If the 2 actions are connected successfully with the flow line connector, when any of the action is moved, the connector will stay attached to both of those actions.
To make sure that the flow line connector is connected, please drag the line to that action until you see the border in orange color shows around the next action.
Change line position
The flow line connector is in the Elbow type. If you are building a complex workflow with many actions. You can change the position of each line to make your flow more readable. To change the position of each line, just double click one the line. you will find new gray circle on the line. you can drag this circle to change the style and position of this line connector.
Add conditions on flow line connectors
You can add conditions to the flow line connectors to control multiple branches of the flow. For example, as a contract approval form, you might need to control the process based on the amount of the contract, or the types of this contract. Like, if contract type is sales contract, and the amount greater than 500,000, then this request will go to CFO, if it's other type of contract, or the amount is less than 500,000, then just go to the finance manager.
You can add 2 assignment task actions, and set the conditions on each flow line to control the approval steps.
To set the custom condition, select the flow line connector, and click the settings button on the line to open the settings window.
Then click the "Condition editor" button on the settings window to open the condition editor dialog.
You can set the customize conditions from the pop-up window. An example for the condition settings is as below:
From condition editor you can add single conditions, or condition groups.