Creating a Custom Approval Workflow for SharePoint Server 2007 Using SharePoint Designer 2007

Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer 2007 enables you to create codeless workflows that you can attach to any SharePoint lists in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. These workflows can be started automatically when a list item is added or changed, and they can contain conditional logic for associated actions.

An Office SharePoint Designer 2007 workflow can analyze list item data and then assign tasks accordingly. For example, in an expense report scenario, vice-president (VP) approval might be required if the report total exceeds a certain amount. A workflow created with Office SharePoint Designer 2007 could evaluate the "total" field and then send an e-mail message or assign a SharePoint task to the appropriate approver.

For this scenario, you use the expense report sample template that comes with Microsoft Office InfoPath 2007, and you make a few modifications to capture VP and report status information. Then, after publishing the form template to a SharePoint document library, you create an Office SharePoint Designer 2007 workflow that sends a notification e-mail message either to the employee's manager or a VP, depending on the expense report total.

Adding Nodes to Capture VP Information

Start the expense report sample template in the InfoPath designer, and add nodes that capture the employee's VP information.

To add VP nodes to the form's data source and bind controls to those nodes

Adding a Node to Capture Status Information

You must add an approve/reject mechanism to the form template for the approvers. In an advanced scenario, you could add "approve" and "reject" button controls to the form view that update status and subsequently submit the form data. For this simple scenario, you just add a status node to the data source and then bind a drop-down list box to that node.

To add a status node to the form's data source and bind a control to that node

Promoting Form Fields as SharePoint Columns

For form fields to be used in Office SharePoint Designer 2007 workflow conditions and actions, they must be promoted as SharePoint columns. You can specify promoted fields in the Form Options dialog box or in the InfoPath Publishing Wizard.

To specify promoted fields

After you add VP and status nodes and specify certain promoted fields, use the InfoPath Publishing Wizard to publish the form template directly to a document library.

Note:

Before using the wizard, you might want to add a data connection that lets users submit form files to the document library where the form is to be published. Click Tools, and then click Data Connections to open the Data Connections dialog box. After adding the submit data connection, you can update the template's submit options by clicking Tools and then clicking Submit Options.

To publish the form template to a SharePoint document library

Defining a New Workflow

After the form template is published to a document library, you can use Office SharePoint Designer 2007 to define a workflow that is attached to that library. In the Workflow Designer, you can select options that enable you to start the workflow automatically or manually. For this scenario, you have the workflow started automatically when a new item is created.

To define a new workflow for the expense report document library

Specifying Conditional Logic

In the Workflow Designer, you specify the conditions and actions for each step in the workflow. Steps are processed sequentially. Within each step, branches are also processed sequentially. Processing stops in the step when a conditional branch evaluates to "true". For this scenario, you have a single step that contains two branches: one for the employee's manager, and the other for the VP.

To add conditional logic to the workflow

1. In the Workflow Designer, click Next.

2. Click Conditions, and then click Compare Expense field.

3. Click the field link, and then click Report Total.

4. Click the equals link, and then click is less than.

5. Click the value link, and type 5000.

6. Click Actions, and then click Send an Email.

Note:

If the Send an Email option does not appear in the Actions list, click More Actions to add it from the Workflow Actions dialog box.

1. Click the this message link.
   
   
2. In the Define E-mail Message dialog box, click the lookup icon that is located to the right of the To box.
   
   
3. In the Select Users dialog box, double-click Workflow Lookup.
   
   
4. In the Define Workflow Lookup dialog box, click the Field list, click Manager Email Address, and click OK.
   
   
5. In the Select Users dialog box, click OK.
   
   
6. In the Subject box, type a subject.
   
   
7. For the message body, use a combination of static text and the Add Lookup to Body button to create a dynamic message.
   
   Figure 9. Defining the e-mail message
   
   
8. In the Define E-mail Message dialog box, click OK.
   
   
9. Click the Add 'Else If' Conditional Branch link.
   
   
10. Add the logic that will send an e-mail message to the employee's VP if the report total is greater than or equal to $5,000.
    
    Figure 10. Completing the conditional logic
    
    
11. In the Workflow Designer, click Finish.
    
    

Office SharePoint Designer 2007 workflows enable you to create conditional step logic that can be attached to any SharePoint list, without having to write custom code. These workflows can be triggered automatically when new items are added to a list or when items are changed in a list. If you are creating a workflow that is to be used with an InfoPath form, make sure that the correct fields in the form template are promoted as SharePoint columns during the publishing process so that they can be used in workflow conditions and actions.

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• SharePoint Designer Developer Portal
  
  
• Office Developer Center on MSDN
  
  
• Workflow Development in Office SharePoint Designer
  
  
• Microsoft SharePoint Designer Team Blog
  
  
• Building Permit Application Solution: SharePoint Designer Workflow