Overview

A workflow is a series of steps that guide the life cycle of a document or file in BarTender Cloud. With customizable workflows, you can shape the process by defining the stages and transitions, making it easier to manage your files and documents.

This article will teach you the basics of using workflows in BarTender Cloud.

Applicable to 

BarTender Cloud

Automation subscription

Information

Creating and Importing Workflows

Starting on the Home page in BarTender Cloud:

1. Go to Design > Workflows in the left-hand sidebar. 

From here, you can create a new workflow or import one created in on-premise BarTender.

Creating a Workflow

To create a new workflow:

1. Click the Create Workflow button. You'll be presented with three options: a blank workflow (allowing you to start from scratch) and two basic workflow templates to build off of. Select one and click Create.

Importing a Local Workflow

To import a workflow created in BarTender on-premise from your local computer:

1. Click the Import Local Workflow button. File Explorer will launch, allowing you to locate the WFLOW (.wflow) file you want to import. The default location for BarTender workflows is Program Files > Seagull > BarTender[version] > Workflows.
2. Click Open to import your workflow.

Regardless of whether you create a new workflow or import your own, Workflow Designer will launch as a result.

Workflow Designer

Here is how the Workflow Designer is laid out in BarTender Cloud, starting from a blank workflow:

1. This is the Design space. A basic State and Transition object will be present when you start with a blank workflow. You can click and hold objects with your mouse to drag them around the space or click Delete on your keyboard to remove them. Clicking on an object will open that object's settings in the right-hand window.
2. Select different types of objects from the pallet to the left and drag them into your workflow. This includes States, Approval, and Text objects.
3. The Save and Validate buttons. Once you save a workflow, it will appear under the Create Workflow and Import Local Workflow buttons on the Workflows landing page. Validating your workflow will make sure it is free of errors and if so, ready to be published.
4. The settings for your currently selected object:
   • General: Varies by object but always includes a field to change the object's name.
   • Permissions: Add or remove permissions for an object here. Permissions can be set by User or Group. See the Permissions section below for more details.
   • Actions: Varies by object but generally allows you to set up email notifications regarding various changes in an object's state. Click on the checkbox to enable email notifications and then hit Setup to configure.
5. If there are any errors when you attempt to Validate your workflow, this is where they will appear.

Creating a Transition

To create a transition between two objects:

1. Start by clicking on the object you want to transition from.
2. Left-click and hold on to the green circle on the side of the object where you want the transition to begin, and drag the resulting arrow to the green circle on the object you are transitioning to.
3. Let go of the left mouse button, and a new transition will be created between the two objects.

Editing a Workflow

To edit a workflow:

1. Starting on the Workflows home page, find the saved workflow you want to alter and click Edit. This will load your design into Workflow Designer.

Publishing a Workflow

Start by validating your workflow inside Workflow Designer. If errors are still present when you go to publish, the Publish button will be greyed out and inaccessible.

1. On the Workflows landing page, click Publish on your desired workflow.

2. Enter a comment on this publication and click Next.
3. Choose the space you want this workflow applied to and click Next.
4. Decide how you want different states to appear in Librarian, then click Next.

5. After reading the warning, click Publish to finish publishing your workflow.

Unpublishing a Workflow

To unpublish a workflow:

1. On the Workflow landing page, click the X on the workflow you want to unpublish.

2. Complete the form and click Unpublish.

Viewing a Workflow's Revision History

To view the revision history of a workflow:

1. Click on the verticle ellipsis icon and select Revision History.

Use the verticle ellipsis icon to the right of each revision entry to view an image of that revision.

Moving a File Through a Workflow

Now that you've published your workflow let's move over to Librarian to see how it affects your files.

You'll see that each of your files now has a State, representative of the state you specified during the workflow publication process.

To transition a file to the next state:

1. Select the file you want to transition and click the entry next to the workflow icon at the top of the screen. The text displayed next to the icon is dependent on what you named that particular transition in Workflow Designer. Alternatively, you can find the same button in the dropdown menu next to the document name.
2. Enter a comment and click Next to finish the transition.

Permissions

You can set permissions for workflows at two levels: workflow and object.

Workflow Permissions

1. Starting on the Workflows landing page, click the verticle ellipsis icon and select Permissions.

2. Click on the + icon the add permissions.
3. Permissions can be set by Group or Individual.
4. View, Edit and Delete permissions can be granted or denied here.
5. Click Save Changes when you are finished.

Object Permissions

In Workflow Designer, you can set permissions for specific objects in your workflow designer area.

To get started, click on an object:

1. In the right-hand settings window, select Permissions.
2. Similarly to overall Workflow Permissions, click on the + icon to add new permissions.
3. Permissions can be set by Group or Individual.
4. The ability to change to or from this state can be granted or denied.
5. Click Save Changes when you are finished.

Additional Resources

How to Use Spaces in BarTender Cloud

Adding and Managing BarTender Documents in BarTender Cloud

Getting Started with BarTender Cloud