Using Group Actions to Execute Multiple TasksLast Updated: 12/04/2015 Introduced in Verision: 2.0 |
Group Actions are action-based outcomes that can be resolved all at once, despite the possibility of there being multiple instances of them. One common example would be approving or rejecting en masse multiple user submissions of the same vacation request form.
To make a component’s action-based outcome usable as a group action, select it or add it in the Properties panel, under the heading Outcomes > Action Based Outcomes. In the resulting Edit Object pop-up, fill in the necessary fields and check the checkbox for Allow Group Action. Thereafter, when one or more instances of this component are assigned to the user in the Tasks pane, they may be completed en masse.
Example
Our example flow will display a simple form which we will begin but not complete. This form will have one component-based outcome “Button” and two action-based outcomes: Accept and Reject. Every time we instantiate the form but don’t complete it, we will be assigned to complete it with a new task. We will then handle these assigned tasks by choosing to reject or accept them all at once with a group action.
Our example assumes that our form Leave Request Form has already been created.
We’ll begin by navigating to a project folder, selecting the thumbnail for Flow 1 and clicking the Edit link.
As required, our flow consists of a single form step [Form] Leave Request Form with a single component-based outcome leading to the End Step.
We will begin adding our two action-based outcomes by selecting [Form] Leave Request Form. In the Properties pane, under the section Outcomes > Action Based Outcomes, we click the Add button.
Our first action-based outcome will be Approved, so we will define Outcome Name and Action Name as “Approved”. We want this outcome to be capable of being carried out as a group action, so we will check the Allow Group Action checkbox. We will also check the Requires Comment checkbox, so that users who take this action will have to enter a comment into the record.
Under the heading User Dialog, we will supply the text for the pop-up that will confirm our Approve action. For Dialog Title, we will enter “Approved” and for Dialog Message, we will enter “Approved”.
This completes our definition of the Approved action-based outcome, so we will click Save to save our changes.
Next, we’ll add the required Rejected outcome by again clicking the Add button under the Outcomes > Action Based Outcomes section.
We will define Outcome Name as “Rejected” and Action Name as “Rejected”. We want this outcome to also be capable of being performed as a group action, so we will check the Allow Group Action checkbox. We want to require a comment for the record when this form is rejected, so we will select the Requires Comment checkbox.
Under the heading User Dialog, we will supply the text for the pop-up that will confirm our Reject action. For Dialog Title, we will enter “Rejected” and for Dialog Message, we will enter “Rejected”.
This completes our definition of the Rejected action-based outcome, so we will click Save to save our changes.
Next, we’ll connect the Approved and Rejected outcomes to the End Step.
This completes our flow, so we will save it by clicking the Save Flow link and close the Flow Designer.
Back in our project folder, we will click the flow’s thumbnail, click the Action menu and select Run Flow.
In the resulting Assigned Form pop-up, we will decline to fill in Leave Request Form by clicking the No button.
At the same time, a notification appears in the corner to let us know that this form has been assigned to us for completion.
We will repeat this process of running our flow and declining to fill in the form a total of five times. Each time, we will be assigned the task of filling in the form.
When we then navigate to My Home in the portal, we can see that there are five new assignments of Leave Request Form in our Tasks pane.
When we select three of our Leave Request Form assignments, we can see that the Approved and Rejected action outcomes we defined for Leave Request Form can be accomplished merely by clicking the menu item.
However, if we select more than one Leave Request Form assignment, the resulting Group Actions menu allows us to execute the Approved or Rejected action for each of the form instances referenced in the selected assigned tasks.
When we choose to execute the Approved action on these three Leave Request Form assignments, we are prompted to enter a comment in the confirmation dialog belonging to the Approved outcome. Our comment for all three Approved actions will be “group approval message”. When we click OK, then click the Refresh button in the Tasks panel. . .
. . . the three approved tasks no longer display.
