Use the Actions tab of the State Properties dialog to specify what happens when an object is moved to a specific workflow state. To open the dialog, see instructions on editing states.
Click on different parts of the screenshot below for a description of the settings.
Set permissions, delete, and mark for archiving
As a result of a state transition, new permissions can be specified, and the object can be deleted, and archived, or both. You can select several options of the Actions tab at the same time.
Set permissions
Do not use automatic permissions
If you select this option, the object bypasses the automatic permissions that would usually be applicable to the object. Use the Set permissions feature to change the effective permissions for the object version.
Ignore the permissions of the latest checked-in version for this version
The object permissions in M-Files are version-specific. To get access to the latest object version, you must have at least read access to it. To get access to a previous version, you must have at least read access to that specific version and to the latest version. If you select this option, M-Files ignores the permissions of the latest checked-in version and gives users access to older object versions where they have at least read access rights. The permission settings of the latest version do not change this access.
For example: There is an SOP and its workflow has the states Draft, Waiting for Approval, and Approved. All three states have different permissions. A draft is shown only to the user who created the document, and an approved document is shown to all users.
The document is now at version 3 and in the Approved state (and, thus, visible and accessible to all users). It is moved back to the Draft state for changes and the permissions are changed so that only the document creator can see it. If the option Ignore the permissions of the latest checked-in version for this version is enabled, all users have access to the document version 3, but not to the latest one. If the option is disabled, only the document creator can see the document version 3.
Send notification and Set properties
Send notification
To send a notification, enable Send notification on the Actions tab and click Define. In the Notification dialog, click Add to specify the recipient users and user groups. The Select Users or User Groups dialog has also options to select users from metadata or from state transition.
User from metadata
You can use pseudo_users in state transitions. For example, you can specify that only the project manager can accept invoices that are linked to the project. With pseudo-users, the right to do state transitions is not assigned to a specific person. Instead, object metadata specifies the right dynamically.
User from state transition
You can use previous state transitions to select the users. For example, only the user who originally moved the document to the Approved state can move the document from that state to Approval undone.
Subject and Message
Enter the notification subject and the message.
Use the Add Placeholder buttons to insert values from the object metadata to the subject line or message content (see also the placeholder descriptions under Personalizing notification messages).
Set properties
It is possible that different object properties and values are added or changed when an object's state is changed. For example, you can specify that the Published version label is given to a drawing when it is moved to the Approved state.
Use the properties of the data type Date, Time, or Timestamp to have M-Files use the time value of the state transition as the property value.
Convert to PDF format
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft Visio
- RTF
- OpenOffice files
During the conversion, M-Files updates the M-Files property fields in Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel documents with the object's current metadata.
Conversion settings
When you activate the Convert to PDF option in the Actions tab, M-Files converts the files in a single-file or multi-file document to the PDF format automatically when the object's state changes.
Click Define to access these advanced settings for the conversion:
- Store each PDF file as a separate file next to the original file: Select this option to keep the original file. In this case, M-Files creates the PDF as a new file with the same name as the original file. If the document is a single-file document, M-Files changes it into a multi-file document and adds the PDF file to it.
- Overwrite existing PDF files: Select this option to overwrite existing PDF files with the same name in a multi-file document. In this case, these PDF files are replaced with the versions created with the workflow state action. If this option is not selected and a multi-file document already has a PDF file with the same name, M-Files notifies of the error and does not create the PDF file.
- Convert to PDF/A-1b: Select this option to comply with the ISO standard 19005-1:2005 for long-term preservation of electronic documents. PDF/A-1b is a more restricted format than standard PDF, and files converted to PDF/A are often larger than files converted to standard PDF. In addition, in export to PDF/A, certain advanced appearance settings can be ignored. Use the conversion to PDF/A form only if it is necessary on account of, for example, requirements for long-term preservation.
- Prevent state transition if the object contains files in an unsupported format: Select this option to prevent the state transition in cases where the PDF conversion is not possible (for example, ZIP files). If this option is selected and the PDF conversion is not possible, M-Files notifies of the error and prevents the state transition.
Run script
It is possible to use variables, generic features of VBScript, and M-Files API to specify operations in more detail. For example, you can set consecutive numbers for different publication versions or include the send date for a document when it moves to the Sent state.
To use this functionality, enable Run script on the Actions tab, click Edit Code, and enter the script.
You can use these variables: VaultSharedVariables, MFScriptCancel, CurrentUserID, Vault, DisplayID, ObjVer, PropertyValues, StateID, PropertyDef, SavepointVariables, TransactionCache, and GetExtensionObject. For more information about variables, see Available VBScript variables.
Assign to user
Assignments are an important part of workflows. Assignments move information and responsibility for task completion to the correct person automatically during a state transition. M-Files has two types of assignments with workflows: Assign to User and Create separate assignments.
Select Assign to User on the Actions tab to create an assignment that does not result in a separate object. If an assignment is created with this option, it is switched to the completed state when one of the assignees changes the document state in the workflow (usually moves the object to the next state).
Click Define to specify the assignment.
The Assignment dialog.
Adding and Removing users
You can manage the persons responsible for the task with the Add and Remove buttons. When you add users, select whether to add individual users from the Users or user groups list, users from metadata, or users from state transition. For example, a person specified in the Approved by property in the object metadata can automatically be set as the assignee. For more information on the Select Users or User Groups dialog, see Workflow state transition permissions.
Selecting a user based on an earlier state transition.
Managing the Assigned to property
If the object is in a state that created an assignment, the object's properties show whom the object has been assigned to. The assignee can change the state and complete the assignment with the functions in the task area, metadata card, or in the context menu. For step-by-step instructions, see Using workflows.
