Shapes in the SharePoint Server 2013 workflow template in Visio 2013

Add a Comment

Add a Comment

Comment

Enables you to leave informative comments in the workflow designer for reference purposes. This is especially helpful when there are other users collaborating on the workflow.

Add Time to Date

Add Time to Date

• Months

• Days

• Hours

• Minutes

• Date

• Output

Adds a specific time in minutes, hours, days, or months to a date, and stores the output value as a variable. The date can be a current data, specific date, or a lookup. The ‘Current Date’ value returns UTC midnight.

Assign a Task

Assign a Task

• Task Settings

• Task Outcome

• Task Item ID

Assigns a workflow task to a user and establishes a due date for completion of the task.

Call HTTP web service

Call HTTP Web Service

• HTTP Request

• Parameters

• Response Content Variable

• Response Header Variable

• Response Code Variable

Functions as a method call to a HTTP web service.

Note
The current build supports SharePoint calls only to anonymous HTTP services and only using string parameters and return types. Also, we do not support composite XML elements. Note, too, that we currently support classic ASMX only and do not provide support for the WCG service.

Check In Item

Check In Item

• Item

• Comment

Checks in an item that is checked out. You can check in items only from a document library.

Caution
The workflow crashes if you try to check in an item that is not checked out.

Check Out Item

Check Out Item

Item

Checks out an item. The workflow verifies whether the item is checked in before it checks out a document. You can check out items only from a library in your site.

Caution
The workflow crashes if you try to check out an item that is not checked in.

Copy document

Copy Document

• Document

• Library

Copies a document from the current list to a different Document Library list.

Count items in dictionary

Count Items in a Dictionary

• Dictionary

• Output Variable

Counts the number of items in a dictionary variable.

Create a project from current item

Create Project From Current Item

Enterprise Project Type

Takes the current item and creates a new project in the SharePoint farm PWA site.

Create List Item

Create List Item

• Item

• Output Variable

Creates a new list item in the list that you specify. You can supply the fields and values in the new item. You can use this action whenever you want a new item to be created with specific information.

Delete Item

Delete Item

Item

Deletes an item.

Note
This action is terminated on the computer running the Workflow Manager workflow engine and throws a System.InvalidOperationException exception. There is no workaround.

Discard Check Out

Discard Check Out Item

Item

Discards the changes and checks the item back in if an item is checked out and changes have been made to it.

Caution
The workflow crashes if you try to check in an item that is not checked out.

Do Calculation

Do Calculation

• LeftOperand

• Operator

• RightOperand

• To

Performs an arithmetic calculation and stores the output value in a variable.

Note
For SharePoint 2013, this action supports only the Double numeric type. Integers are not supported. Use of the "+" operator (concatenation) for strings is not supported.

Extract Substring from End of String

Extract Substring from End of String

• Number of Characters

• String

• Output

Copies a specified number of characters starting from the end of a string and stores the output in a variable.

Extract Substring from Index of String

Extract Substring from Index of String

• String

• Index

• Output

Copies a substring starting at a specified index in the string and places the value in a variable.

Note
Be aware that although the index value in the present Technical Preview build of SharePoint Designer is zero-based, values in SharePoint Designer 2010 were indexed starting at 1.

Extract Substring from Start of String

Extract Substring from Start of String

• Number of Characters

• String

• Output

Copies a specified number of characters beginning at the start of a string and stores the output in a variable.

Extract Substring of String from Index with Length

Extract Substring of String from Index with Length

• String

• Index

• Number of Characters

• Output

Copies out a substring comprising a specified number of characters, starting at a specified index in the string, and places the value in a variable.

Note
Be aware that although the index value in the present Technical Preview build of SharePoint Designer is zero-based, values in SharePoint Designer 2010 were indexed starting at 1.

Find Interval Between Dates

Find Interval Between Dates

• Units

• Start Date

• End Date

• Output

Calculates the time interval in minutes, hours, or days between two dates and stores the output in a variable.

Find substring in string

Find Substring in String

• Substring

• String

• Output

Finds a particular substring inside of a string and returns the index of the substrings’s starting position.

Get item from dictionary

Get Item From Dictionary

• Item Name of Path

• Dictionary

• Output Variable

Returns a particular item from a dictionary variable.

Log to History List

Log to History List

Message

Writes a message from a list of predefined message items to the workflow history list.

Pause for Duration

Pause for Duration

• Days

• Hours

• Minutes

Causes a workflow to pause executing for a specified time interval, in days, hours, and minutes.

Pause until Date

Pause Until Date

Date

Causes a workflow to pause executing until a specified date and time.

Replace substring in String

Replace Substring in String

• Search String

• Replace String

• String

• Output

Replaces a particular substring with another substring.

Send an Email

Send an email

Email

Automatically sends an email message that contains a predetermined message to a user or group when a specified workflow event occurs.

Important
If the site is not added to the Trusted Sites list then emails are routed to the Outlook Junk folder.

Set field in Current Item

Set Field in Current Item

• Field

• Value

Sets a field in the current item to a value.

Set Time Portion of Date/Time Field

Set Time Portion of Date/Time Field

• Hours

• Minutes

• Date

• Output

Creates a timestamp, and stores the output value in a variable. You can set the time in hours and minutes and add a current date, specific date, or lookup.

Set workflow status

Set Workflow Status

Status

Sets the status of the workflow.

Set Workflow Variable

Set Workflow Variable

• Variable

• Value

Sets a workflow variable to a value. You can also use this action when you want the workflow to assign data to a variable.

Start a list workflow

Start a List Workflow

• Association Name

• Inputs

• Item

Starts a SharePoint 2010 List workflow.

Note

The Start a list workflow has the following issues: The ‘Assignments’ type field cannot be used as a parameter when the 2010 workflow has a TaskProcess action in it. When multiple calls are made to the same 2010 workflow the result will be multiple data sources in the 2013 workflow lookup functionality. These data sources are all the same. Variable names in 2013 cannot contain special characters such as ‘?’ and ‘#’. If a 2010 workflow contains special characters then they will be converted to hexadecimal code in the 2013 workflow.

Start a site workflow

Start a Site Workflow

• Association name

• Parameters

Starts a SharePoint 2010 Site Workflow.

Note

The Start a list workflow has the following issues: The ‘Assignments’ type field cannot be used as a parameter when the 2010 workflow has a TaskProcess action in it. When multiple calls are made to the same 2010 workflow the result will be multiple data sources in the 2013 workflow lookup functionality. These data sources are all the same. Variable names in 2013 cannot contain special characters such as ‘?’ and ‘#’. If a 2010 workflow contains special characters then they will be converted to hexadecimal code in the 2013 workflow.

Start a task process

Start a Task Process

• Process Settings

• Process Outcome

Creates tasks on multiple users and enables the tasks to be taken through a customized process.

Translate document

Translate Document

• Document

• Language

• Document Library

Translates a document into a particular language

Note
Requires a preconfigured Machine Translation Service Application.

Trim String

Trim String

• String

• Output

Removes white spaces from the beginning and end of a string.

Update List Item

Update List Item

Item

Updates a list item. You can specify the fields and the new values in those fields.

Wait for Event in List Item

Wait for Event in List Item

• Event

• Related Item

[Enhanced version of Office 2010 action.] Pauses the current instance of the workflow to await a specified list item event. This action listens for two events: ItemUpdated and ItemAdded.

Wait for field change

Wait for Field Change

• Field

• Value

Waits for a field on the current item to equal a particular value.

Set Project Field

Set Project Field

• Field

• Value

Sets a value for a particular field on Project Server.

Note
This action requires the project to be checked in first. If the project is not checked in, the workflow will be terminated and users cannot open that project in Project Web App.

Set Project Stage Status

Set Project Stage Status

• Stage Status

• Stage Information

Sets the status of the Project Stage.

Note
An exception occurs when a current project is checked out.

Set status field in idea list

Set Status Field in Idea List

Status

Updates the status on the original list item that is associated to the current project.

Wait for Project Event

Wait for Project Event

Event Name

Waits for a particular Project Event.

If Any Value Equals Value

If any value equals value

• Value

• Operand

• Value

Compares two values. You can specify whether the values should be equal or not equal.

Person is a Valid SharePoint User

Person is a valid SharePoint user

User

Checks to see whether a specific user is a registered user or a member of a group on the SharePoint site.

Skip Project Stage

Skip Project Stage

NA

This condition checks to see if the skip to stage feature has been activated on the server for the current workflow instance.

Start

NA

NA

Begins the workflow. Every SharePoint 2013 workflow diagram must have only one Start shape.

Stage

Stage

NA

Contains any number of shapes and may include branching. All actions in the workflow must be contained by a stage. Stage shapes are visualized by using container shapes. A Stage shape requires that an Enter and an Exit shape be added to the edges of the container to define the paths in and out of the stage.

For more information, see the section titled "Stages, loops, and steps" in the article Workflow development in SharePoint Designer 2013 and Visio 2013.

Step

Step

NA

Represents a grouped series of sequential actions. Steps must be contained by a stage. A step shape must also have an Enter and Exit shape, which are added when the shape is dropped onto the canvas.

For more information, see the section titled "Stages, loops, and steps" in the article Workflow development in SharePoint Designer 2013 and Visio 2013.

Simple Stage

Stage

NA

Adds new stages to the top level of the workflow when in Stage View in Visio 2013.

Loop n Times

Loop n Times

Loop Count

Defines a series of connected shapes that will execute as a loop, returning from the last shape in the series to the first, until the loop has executed a specified amount of times. Like stages, loops are represented by a container shape that includes an Enter and Exit shape.

For more information, see the section titled "Stages, loops, and steps" in the article Workflow development in SharePoint Designer 2013 and Visio 2013.

Loop with condition

Loop with Condition

Loop Count

Loops until a specific condition is met.

Start Parallel Action

Parallel Block

NA

End Parallel Action

Parallel Block

NA