Property

Description

To

The resource(s) to which the information is to be sent. To select the resource(s) click the button against ‘To’ in the Properties pane of the Process Designer. In the window that pops up (Fig 2.), build the condition for selecting the resource(s) and click Update.

Notification Type

Notifications can be sent in the form of email, instant message to an IM client, or SMS to cell phones. The Notification type can be selected from a dropdown list provided in the Properties pane. An option 'All' is provided to send messages through all media.

From Email Address

If the Notification type is of the form 'All' or 'Email' then this property must be set. If it is not set, then the email notifications will not be sent.

Message

This is the actual content of the notification sent to the resource(s). The notification can be customized for each resource. To assign the content of the notification, click the ‘Message’ button in the Properties pane for the Notification action. In the window that pops up, customize the content by appending the various fields to the notification message (Fig 3.)

IM

This feature lets the user configure an IM account with any 'jabber' server (Fig 4.). This account will be used to send notifications in the form of instant messages. The 'jabber' server host name and the port should be configured in the Configuration file. The workflow engine should be running for the registration to happen. To create a 'jabber' account, click on the 'IM' button. A window pops up with fields for entering the username and the password. After entering the username and password, click the Register button. If the 'jabber' account could not be created, an error message is displayed and the user can try to create an account with a different username. If the registration is successful, then the user gets a list of all the transport services available at the 'jabber' service. The user can select any service and register for it, by entering the credentials (Fig 5.).

 Property settings for Notification

To add the Notification action to the workflow, click on the button for Notification in the Toolbox area. An icon for notification is added automatically in the Design Area. Link this action appropriately with the workflow. To set the properties for notification click on the Notification icon. A list of properties for the notification action will be displayed in the properties area. Enter an appropriate description for the notification and set all the properties.

To select the resources to whom this notification is to be sent, click on the button for the 'To' property. A window pops up (Fig 2.), in which the resources can be selected. An expression can be built to select the resources based on the resource properties. Select a property from the list, then select the operator, type of value (Value, Variable, Content), corresponding value for the property and the logical operator. Add the condition to the expression by clicking the Add button. To end the expression select 'End' instead of a logical operator. To remove a condition already added to the expression, click the Undo button. After building the expression, click the Update button.

The type of notification can be selected from the drop down list for the 'Notification Type' property in the Properties pane. Click the Update button to save the notification type.

The notification message can be customized. To prepare the notification message, click on the button for the 'Message' property. A window pops (Fig 3.) up, where the message can be typed and customized by appending resource property values. Click the Update button to save the message.

The notification action needs a 'jabber' account to send instant messages. If there is a 'jabber' account already then it has to be configured in the Configuration file (WorkflowNET.Config.Xml). To register for a new 'jabber' account, click on the button against the 'IM' property. A window pops (Fig 4.) up, which accepts the username and password. After entering the username and password, when the Register button is clicked, the workflow engine registers the user with the 'jabber' server. The workflow engine service should be running. If an error occurs while registering, an error message is displayed. On successful registration, the service agent registration form (Fig 5.) is displayed with a list of all the agents available. To register for a service, the type of service has to be selected and the credentials for that service have to be entered. On click of the Register button, the service will be registered. After registering the service, the notification messages can be sent to resources using that service (e.g. Yahoo, MSN, ICQ, AIM etc.)