Use a Workflow in an Essentials Site

After you create a workflow in Workflow Designer, you must configure the workflow in each Essentials site that has one or more viewers that will run the workflow.

Main Steps

The main steps to configure a workflow in a site are:

1. Add the workflow to the site.

   If you have already added the workflow to another site, you can import the workflow from the other site.

2. Configure a method to run the workflow in a viewer.

3. Deploy custom assemblies.

Add a Workflow to a Site

To add a workflow to your site, you must first create the workflow in Workflow Designer.

To add a workflow to a site:

1. In Geocortex Essentials Manager, edit the site that you want to configure, and then click Workflows in the side panel.

2. Click Add Workflow.

3. Type a display name for the workflow.

   The display name can contain any characters, including spaces and special characters.

4. If you do not want to use the default ID, type an ID for the workflow in the ID box.

   The ID can contain letters, numbers, and underscores.

5. In the URI box, enter the location of the workflow's .xaml file.

   Alternatively, click Browse and browse to the workflow's .xaml file.

6. If you want the workflow to run automatically whenever an end user launches one of the site's viewers, select the Run On Startup checkbox.

7. Click Next.

8. If you want to assign values to one or more of the workflow's input arguments, enter the values.

   The values that you enter must have the same data type as the argument.

   To enter a string, you do not need to include the quotation marks.

9. Click Next.

10. Click Finish.

    The workflow is added to the site.

Import Workflows from Another Site

To import workflows from another site:

1. In Geocortex Essentials Manager, edit the site that you want to configure, and then click Workflows in the side panel.

2. Click Import Workflow.

3. Select the site where the workflows are configured, and then click Next.

4. Select the workflows that you want to import.

   To select multiple workflows, hold the Ctrl key down while selecting.

5. Click Finish.

   The workflows are added to the site.

6. If you want to change an imported workflow, click Edit  beside the workflow and follow the steps in the wizard.

   The wizard allows you to change the workflow's display name, ID, and URI; configure the workflow to run automatically when an end user launches one of the site's viewers; and assign values to one or more of the workflow's input arguments,

7. Click Save Site.

Configure a Method to Run a Workflow in a Viewer

If you want users to be able to run a workflow whenever they want, you must configure a method to run the workflow in the viewer. If the site has more than one viewer, you must configure a method to run the workflow in each viewer.

If you do not want users to be able to run a workflow whenever they want, you can configure the workflow to run automatically when the viewer starts. You can also run workflows from other workflows.

There are several different methods to allow users to run workflows:

• Toolbar Item: Add a tool that runs the workflow to the viewer's toolbar. For instructions on adding tools, see Toolbar.

• Menu Item: Add an item that runs the workflow to the viewer's I Want To menu or a map context menu. For instructions, see I Want To Menu or Context Menus.

• Hyperlink: Configure a hyperlink that end users can click to run the workflow. See Ways to Configure Hyperlinks in the Viewer.

Deploy Custom Assemblies

If the workflow contains custom activities, you must copy the assemblies to the Essentials REST bin folder. In the default installation, the bin folder is here:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Latitude Geographics\Geocortex Essentials\[instance]\REST Elements\REST\bin

where [instance] is the Essentials instance.

Edit a Workflow

Editing a workflow that you have already added to a site allows you to change all aspects of the workflow's configuration, including the values for the workflow's input arguments.

To edit a workflow:

1. In Geocortex Essentials Manager, edit the site that you want to configure, and then click Workflows in the side panel.

2. Click Edit beside the workflow that you want to edit.

Configure a Workflow to Run when the Viewer Starts

You can configure a workflow to run automatically whenever a user launches one of the site's viewers.

Essentials does not place a limit on the number of workflows that can run when a viewer launches. Follow the instructions below for each workflow that you want to run when a viewer launches.

To configure a workflow to run on startup:

1. In Geocortex Essentials Manager, edit the site that you want to configure, and then click Workflows in the side panel.

2. Click Edit  beside the workflow that you want to configure.

3. Select the Run On Startup checkbox.

4. Click Next.

5. Click Finish.

6. Click Save Site.

Configure Workflow Input Arguments

If a workflow has input arguments (In arguments or In/Out arguments), you can configure values for the arguments in Geocortex Essentials Manager.

To configure a workflow's input arguments:

1. In Geocortex Essentials Manager, edit the site that you want to configure, and then click Workflows in the side panel.

2. Click Edit  beside the workflow that you want to configure.

3. Click Next.

4. Edit the values as desired.

   The values that you enter must have the same data type as the argument.

   To enter a string, you do not need to include the quotation marks.

5. Click Finish.

6. Click Save Site.