Returning to the Form After Submitting a Work Item

[Former Community Member]

I have had a user request that when they press the Submit button on a form to initiate a process instance, that instead of Web Access returning them to the Worklist page, it would instead initiate a new instance of the same process again, allowing them to avoid having to click Initiate, select the process again and wait for the form to re-load. This is a process where the user often submits several requests one after the other, so it would be handy for them not to have to re-initiate each time. Any ideas?

[Former Community Member]

Perry,



The 'cleanest' way I can think of to do this would be by creating a separate form made available outside of the Workflow webaccess, which generates appropriate XML data file and instead of submitting it via the workflow webaccess, create a custom CGI/ASP or whatever to initiate a new process instance. (Using, of course, the AWS API to create this.)



Does your user need feedback from the initiation? E.g. a cross reference number or process instance id? Maybe you could update another page in another frame with the feedback?



If you don't mind 'meddling' with the standard Webaccess, you can modify it (but after you have, Adobe will no longer support your version of it) to allow more than one submit type from one form - one to actually complete the current instance (and close the form, allowing the user to initiate another type of item to work with), and another that you would write the submission code to either generate a email to submit to the workflow agent, or to use another custom page to process the submitted data item. (This second suggestion I think would not only be harder to build, it would also be harder to maintain.)



The documentation to the API and the code for webaccess are your best learning tools for the API.



Hope this helps.



Sanna

[Former Community Member]

Hi Sanna,



Thanks for your help. My users don't need any feedback from the initiation of a process instance. I don't think I want to start messing around with the standard WebAccess since this is only one process that I want to behave this way. I'm also not very XML/CGI/ASP savvy so the first option is probably out for me as well. Looks like the users may have to wait for this enhancement for a while.



Perry

[Former Community Member]

Perry,



There is another way.



Are your webserver and workfow server email enabled?



You could take the XML file from the form, remove the instance specific data (being the process instance number, this would not be hard, but you would have to load the data to an XML Dom or similar) and send the rest as a datafile to the workflow server - it will process all recognised incoming emails as workitems, and would initiate a new process instance.



Again, the documentation can help you with this.



Good luck,

Sanna

[Former Community Member]

Hi Sana,



But, still how the WF Mailbox will recognize that this is a WF Mail Workitem.



Appreciate your help.



Anas

[Former Community Member]

The Agent will recognise the attached XML file as the appropriate data file. You can download the XFA specification from somewhere in the Adobe website, but there are a couple of easier ways to get the datafile:



1) use your designer to fill in the form you'll be using, and then save the datafile locally (right-click should bring you a menu if running in test mode of Form Designer 5). (or if using a thick client when running the workflow, save from there)

or

2) participate in a process using email delivery of data, and stop/delay workflow server from investigating the email for a while. Then login to the WFServer email box, and check out the datafile.



Then investigate the form data to confirm you can find all required items, email it to your test server and see if magic happens..



(hey, it worked for me..)



Good luck,

Sanna