Properties of a transition element

Transitions are represented by arrows. Transitions form the connection between an activity and a status. The permissions for a workflow model are defined here. Canceling an action results in the previous status (before the transition was switched) being retained. Cancellation does not have to be modeled separately in a workflow.

A new transition is created by clicking the icon in the tool bar. The properties of a transition element can then be edited.

Properties of a transition – General tab

Reference name: A name for the selected transition can be specified in this field. This name has to be unique in relation to its source (character limit: <= 40 characters).

Display name/Description: Language-dependent details can be added as well. This only applies to the editorial languages (not the project languages).

The display name is used in various places, such as workflow dialogs (e.g. for labeling the buttons in the Transition dialog, on the Help tab, and on the History tab), for entries in the context menu for starting/switching workflows, for the description used as a tool tip and on the Help tab. If no display name is specified, the unique name is displayed instead. If a description does not exist, the text from the Comment field is displayed.

Source: The source that the transition starts from is displayed in this field automatically.

Target: The target that the transition points to is displayed in this field automatically.

Comment: An explanatory comment for the current transition can be provided in this field.

Permissions tab

This tab is used to specify which user is to have permission to use this transition when running a workflow.

By default, no rights are defined. An option must be selected on this tab to make the workflow executable.

Fixed permissions: If this option is selected, the authorized users of this transition are rigidly defined. The responsible users and/or groups that are allowed to switch this transition are listed in the field. Clicking the icon opens another window, where the desired individuals or groups can be selected from a list.

From the target element's permissions: If this option is selected, the authorized users are derived from the permission definition in the SiteArchitect tree structure. In the field, you can select which permissions the user has to have over the relevant object in order to be able to execute this transition.

From the active workflow task: If this option is selected, the authorized users are derived from the instance of the workflow that is currently running. The creator of the instance or the last editor can be selected in the field.
The “last editor of target activity” option is only available for outgoing transitions of a status and can only be used if the workflow contains a loop so that an activity can be run multiple times, e.g.:

The “check release” activity shown in the figure would be classed as a target action in this case, i.e. an activity to which a status points. If the “last editor of target activity” option were selected for the “check” transition, a user would only be able to execute the transition if he or she had already executed it once before.

Group exclusion: If you do not want certain groups to appear automatically as the “Next editor” in the workflow dialog, they can be selected here. However, the groups selected using this function can still be activated manually in the relevant dialog via the icon. In addition, the selections made under “Group exclusion” affect the transmission of e-mails.

E-mail tab

Send e-mail: If the checkbox is checked, an e-mail is sent to the selected recipients as soon as the transition has been executed.

Mailing list: This area is used to select the individuals who are to be sent an e-mail:

• Beneficiary: Persons authorized to advance the workflow to the subsequent state. These permissions are defined either directly in the workflow model using the permissions for switching the transition and/or using the permissions for switching a transition on the object where the workflow's instance was started.
• Task creator: The user that started the instance of the workflow
• Last editor: The user that switched the instance of the workflow to the current state
• Editor: The current editor of the workflow
• List: Several people or groups can be listed in this field. Clicking the icon opens another window where the desired individuals or groups can be selected from a list.

Subject: The text for the e-mail subject line is entered in this field.

Message: The message that the recipient is to receive is entered in this field. % expressions can be used here as placeholders that are replaced by the system automatically.