Customer Workflow Neo en PDF
Customer Workflow Neo en PDF
Customer Workflow Neo en PDF
1 General. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
1.1 Workflow Definition versus Workflow Instance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2 Conventions, Restrictions, and Limits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.3 Status Changes for Workflow Instances. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.4 Status Changes for Task Instances. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.5 Supported Languages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.6 Browser Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
2 Administration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.1 Getting Started with Workflow Service in the Neo Environment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Configuring SAP Fiori Launchpad Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Configure the Workflow Service Mail Destination. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Configuring Principal Propagation for Service Tasks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.2 Managing Workflows Using the Monitor Workflows App. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Managing Workflow Instances. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Managing Task Instances. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Managing Workflow Definitions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Deep Linking in Monitor Workflows App. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
2.3 Export Workflow Service Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
2.4 Deactivate the Workflow Service. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3 Development. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
3.1 Modeling a Workflow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Enablе the Workflow Editor in SAP Web IDE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Create a New Workflow Project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Open Workflow Files in the Workflow Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Define Workflows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
Transport Workflows between Accounts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76
Build and Deploy Workflows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Accelerated Modeling with Speed Buttons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Expressions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78
3.2 Create a Workflow Sample Application. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
3.3 Creating User Interfaces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Defining a User Interface for a Workflow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83
Creating a Workflow Form. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
3.4 Using Workflow APIs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Access Workflow APIs Using OAuth 2.0 Authentication (Client Credentials). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
5 Security. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
5.1 Architecture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
5.2 Identity Provider and Identity Management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
5.3 Authorization Configuration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
5.4 Destinations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Configure a Service Task Destination with OAuth2 Client Credentials Flow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Configure a Service Task Destination with OAuth2SAMLBearerAssertion for Principal
Propagation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
5.5 Data Protection and Data Privacy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Information Report. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150
Erasure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Change Log. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Glossary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
6 Troubleshooting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
6.1 End Users Can't Open SAP Fiori Launchpad Tiles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Clear the SAP Fiori Launchpad Cache. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .155
Change the SAPUI5 Version. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .156
6.2 Error When Clicking "Go to Service" on Portal Tile. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .159
6.3 HTTP Status 403: User Doesn't Have Sufficient Privileges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .160
6.4 Tasks Not Appearing in My Inbox. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
6.5 Error During Workflow Deployment in SAP Web IDE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .161
6.6 No Permissions Granted. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
6.7 Workflow Service Cannot be Enabled in the Account. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
6.8 Category for Web IDE Template Not Available. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .162
6.9 Unable to Open the Workflow Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
6.10 Unable to Find the Deploy Option. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
6.11 Cannot Deploy Workflow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
6.12 Service Calls Fail. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
6.13 My Inbox Features Not Active. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
The SAP Cloud Platform Workflow offers modern process automation capabilities.
The end user and the developer at the customer site work on subscriptions of the workflow service and SAP
Web IDE Full-Stack. The workflow service itself resides in the SAP Cloud Platform subaccount.
1. The developer at the customer site creates an application, which can include multiple services, in the SAP
Cloud Platform customer subaccount.
2. In the SAP Cloud Platform customer subaccount, the developer accesses the SAP Web IDE Full-Stack and
enables the workflow feature to create workflows.
3. The developer accesses his or her browser to define a start event in the editor and start the workflow using
the REST API or the Monitor Workflows app.
4. The end users at the customer site can access the workflow tasks in their My Inbox apps in the SAP Fiori
launchpad.
Related Information
A workflow is a collection of linked automatic or human activities that serve a certain goal.
The workflow service differentiates between workflow definitions and workflow instances. A workflow definition
specifies:
The actual execution of these actions is called a workflow instance. So, a single workflow definition can have
multiple workflow instances. This differentiation is essential for monitoring and troubleshooting. Additionally,
you can define a subject for a workflow that helps the business users to track these instances using monitoring
application. For more information, see Managing Workflows Using the Monitor Workflows App [page 22].
These different notions of "workflow"are both used in the workflow service. In the context of design time,
workflow relates to a workflow definition. In the runtime context, workflow refers to a workflow instance.
The same holds true for tasks. In the context of design time, "task" refers to the specification of a certain type
of activity. Whereas a runtime task, for example, a task in My Inbox, relates to a particular activity to be
performed instantiated from the corresponding specification.
Note
Do not confuse "workflow instance" as described here in the workflow context with "workflow service
instance". The latter refers to the Cloud Foundry instance concept.
Considering this information during development, helps you to achieve an optimal use of the service.
Note
Execution Limits
Workflow Size of the workflow context 100 KB per workflow in ● Creating and Reading Workflow Context
context stance Structures [page 59]
● Applies also if exceeded only tempora
rily
● Applies to any operation on the work
flow context, that is, to all types of tasks
and all types of APIs.
API Request rate limit 150 requests per second and ● Using Workflow APIs [page 119]
tenant ● Includes requests triggered from user
interfaces delivered by SAP
● In exceptional situations, requests are
temporarily rate-limited to a lower value
than the given value.
Script tasks Execution time 150 milliseconds Configure Script Tasks [page 58]
Service tasks Connection timeout 1 minute Time to establish the connection with the re
mote host
● Variable Names
There are many ways to create, change, or delete variables in the context of a process. For example, when
starting the process, using script tasks, updating the process context manually. In all cases, the names of
the variables in the process context must adhere to the following rules:
○ Must not start with "SAP_WFS"
○ Must start with a letter (latin alphabet, or A-Z, a-z)
○ Can contain additional letters, digits, and underscores
● Duration
When expressions are used to specify duration, they must resolve to ISO 8601 format during runtime. For
more information, see ISO 8601 .
However, you must consider the following:
○ The smallest units which the duration specification supports are minutes.
○ The "Week" unit ("W") is not supported.
○ The duration specification supports integers only. Also, while using the static mode, the value of the
duration field must be less than 2147483647.
Model Limits
Common Properties
Name 64
Documentation 2000
Workflow Properties
Description 2000
Path 7000
Mail Task To, Cc, Bcc Maximum of 100 e-mail addresses that can con
tain a maximum of 5000 characters
Subject 1000
A started workflow instance moves into the RUNNING status and that means:
If the execution of a workflow element fails, it is retried several times. After that, the workflow element is kept
but is not executed again. The workflow instance then changes to the ERRONEOUS status. However, only the
execution branches with failed workflow element executions are affected. Parallel branches without failures
continue to execute. For erroneous instances, you can reset the execution counter manually with the retry
action.
You can move an instance that cannot reach any end event or is no longer required to the CANCELED status.
You can also temporarily move an instance to the SUSPENDED status and resume it later. You can change the
An instance that reached at least one terminating end event or all non-terminating events is moved to the
COMPLETED status.
The status and action model for workflow instances is exposed for customer consumption in the REST API. For
more information, see Workflow Instance Status .
When a new user task is created without a processor its status is READY. In My Inbox, all users who are listed as
recipient users or are assigned to at least one recipient group can see this task.
When a recipient claims the task, its status changes to RESERVED. When the user releases the task again, its
status reverts back to READY.
A user task has the status CANCELED when a canceling boundary event on the user task triggers it or when the
workflow instance of the task is canceled. For more information, see Configure Boundary Timer Events [page
42] and Managing Workflows Using the Monitor Workflows App [page 22].
My Inbox does not display user tasks with status CANCELED or COMPLETED.
● Workflow documentation:
○ Chinese (Simplified)
○ English
○ Japanese
● Workflow editor: English
● Workflow application: English
● Monitoring user interfaces for workflow administrators:
○ Arabic
○ Chinese (Simplified)
○ Czech
○ Danish
○ Dutch
○ English
○ French
To activate the translations for each required language in SAP Fiori launchpad, see Working with Business
Content.
For the UIs of the workflow service, the following browsers are supported on Microsoft Windows PCs and where
mentioned on Mac OS X.
Note
Supported Browsers
Browser Versions
For a detailed list of SAPUI5 supported browsers and platforms, see Browser and Platform Support - SAPUI5.
Related Information
Getting Started with Workflow Service in the Neo Environment [page 14]
Configuring Principal Propagation for Service Tasks [page 20]
Deactivate the Workflow Service [page 31]
Configure the Workflow Service Mail Destination [page 18]
Export Workflow Service Data [page 30]
Managing Workflows Using the Monitor Workflows App [page 22]
Before you can use the workflow service, meet the prerequisites and execute the basic setup.
Prerequisites
Procedure
1. In the SAP Cloud Platform cockpit, enable the SAP Cloud Platform Portal, SAP Web IDE Full-Stack, and
SAP Cloud Platform Workflow services for your subaccount.
a. In the navigation area, choose Services.
b. Search for SAP Cloud Platform Portal.
c. On the Portal tile, choose Enable.
Note
2. Decide which roles or permissions your users need, then assign those roles and permissions.
For more information about the available roles and permissions, see Authorization Configuration [page
143].
For more information, see Configuring SAP Fiori Launchpad Objects [page 15].
Related Information
As an administrator, you can import SAP Fiori launchpad objects shared by the workflow service. These objects
include the Workflow and My Inbox catalogs.
Prerequisites
Context
The configuration used for this procedure is only a sample. Depending on your requirements, the catalog
assignments and groups created might look different.
Procedure
1. Choose or create a site and prepare it to use standard workflow service content.
a. In the navigation area of the SAP Cloud Platform cockpit, choose Services Portal Service .
b. On the Portal Service tile, choose Enable, and then Go to Service.
c. In the navigation area, choose Site Directory.
d. Hover over the existing SAP Fiori launchpad site, and choose Edit.
2. To distribute the apps to all users, assign a role, for example, Everyone to the existing workflow catalog.
You can restrict access to apps using groups, so that, for example, only administrators can access the
Monitor Workflow and all users can access My Inbox.
For more information, see Creating and Configuring Roles in the SAP Cloud Platform documentation.
f. Confirm with OK, and choose Save.
3. For your users to see the newly created content, publish your site by choosing (Publish Site) in the
upper right corner.
4. To open the newly configured site, choose Site Directory, hover over the SAP Fiori launchpad site, and then
select the link on the site tile.
This is the link you typically share with your users so they can access the apps.
Results
The selected or created group name along with the app appears on the home page of the site.
Procedure
1. In the navigation area of the SAP Cloud Platform cockpit, choose Services Portal Service .
2. Under Service Configuration, choose Configure Portal Service.
3. In the navigation area, choose Roles.
4. Select the TENANT_ADMIN role, and verify that your user is listed under User ID.
5. If your user ID is not listed, then assign this role to your user.
Context
By default, My Inbox application, as part of SAP Cloud Platform Workflow, is preconfigured to consume tasks
from the workflow service.
You can configure My Inbox to connect to another TCM-compliant OData service, different from the SAP Cloud
Platform Workflow service.
This can be achieved by adding a new My Inbox application in the SAP Fiori launchpad configuration cockpit
and maintaining the respective tcmURL parameter.
Note
Example
Before you can send notification e-mails for service tasks, you must first configure a mail destination.
Prerequisites
● You have the details for configuring SMTP e-mail for your scenario.
● Your mail server has the following characteristics:
○ It supports the SMTP STARTTLS command on ports 587 or 465, because the workflow service
supports only STARTTLS on these ports.
○ It requires authentication, because the workflow service doesn't support unauthenticated logins.
Procedure
Type=MAIL
Name=bpmworkflowruntime_mail
mail.user=
mail.password=
mail.smtp.host=mail.example.com
mail.smtp.port=587
mail.transport.protocol=smtp
mail.smtp.starttls.required=true
mail.smtp.starttls.enable=true
mail.smtp.auth=true
mail.smtp.from=cpworkflow@example.com
mail.smtp.ssl.checkserveridentity=true
mail.bpm.send.disabled=false
2. Import the destination from the file, and set the values for user, password, host, port, and from
address.
Field Value
Name bpmworkflowruntime_mail
Type Mail
Description Text that describes the destination, for example, Workflow service
mail destination
Property Value
mail.transport.protocol smtp
mail.smtp.auth true
mail.smtp.starttls.requi true
red
mail.smtp.port Port on which your mail server listens for connections (typically 587, in rare
cases 465)
mail.smtp.from Mail address to use as the "From" address of mails sent by the workflow
service, for example, cpworkflow@example.com.
This address must belong to an existing mailbox because it receives the replies
to mails that the workflow service sends.
If you don't provide a value, trust is based on the certificate provided by the
server, which must be part of the SAP JVM default truststore. For more infor
mation, see Trusted Certificate Authorities for Outbound SSL Connections.
mail.bpm.send.disabled ○ true
Turns off interaction with the mail server, for example, temporarily while
you develop a workflow.
○ false
For more information about the properties, see the JavaMail API documentation.
Note
Only the above properties are evaluated. Other properties that are configured in the mail
destination have no effect. However, an optimal operation of the mail functionality, the workflow
service might apply additional properties, such as connection timeouts.
When starting a workflow or completing a task of a particular workflow instance, you can use principal
propagation to forward the information about who is logged on to the services. The information is propagated
throughout the workflow.
Before you can use principal propagation, the following one-time configurations are required:
● An OAuth 2.0 client with Authorization Code Grant. For more information, see Create an OAuth 2.0 Client
with Authorization Code Grant [page 20].
● A destination that uses the OAuth credentials of the configuration parameters for the workflow service. For
more information, see Create an OAuth Destination [page 21].
One destination for each service that is called. For more information, see Configure Service Tasks [page 53]
and Destinations [page 145].
To use principal propagation to forward the information about who is logged on to the services, you first need to
create an OAuth client.
Procedure
Field Comment
Subscription Choose your SAP Cloud Platform Workflow subscription. That is, the entry
that ends with bpmworkflowruntime.
Secret Enter the secret, for example, a password. Make note of this, as you'll need it
for other configurations.
Example: bpmworkflowruntime<providerid>-
<subscriberaccountid>.<region>.hana.ondemand.com/
workflow-service
For more information, see Determine the Service Host [page 125].
To use principal propagation to forward the information about who is logged on to the services, you first need to
create an OAuth destination.
Prerequisites
1. Create an OAuth destination for the SAP Cloud Platform Workflow runtime as described in Create HTTP
DestinationsCreate HTTP Destinations.
2. Choose New Destination.
3. Enter the destination name bpmworkflowruntimeoauth.
4. Select HTTP as the Type.
5. Enter a description, for example, Cloud Platform Workflow OAuth Destination for Principal
Propagation.
6. Set the destination URL to the authorization endpoint URL from (Create an OAuth 2.0 Client with
Authorization Code Grant [page 20]) and remove the path parts. Enter, for example, a URL that is similar to
https://oauthasservices-<accountid>.<region>.hana.ondemand.com.
7. Select Internet as the Proxy Type.
8. Select Basic Authentication for the connection.
9. Set the user to the client ID from Create an OAuth 2.0 Client with Authorization Code Grant [page 20].
10. Set the password to the secret from Create an OAuth 2.0 Client with Authorization Code Grant [page 20].
With the web-based administration Monitor Workflows app you can manage workflow instances and workflow
definitions.
The app offers two interlinked views, one for workflow instances and one for workflow definitions. Both can be
accessed using dedicated tiles in the SAP Fiori launchpad.
Note
You must have the latest maintenance version or latest version of SAP UI5 configured on SAP Fiori
launchpad to use the Monitor Workflows app.
Prerequisites
The SAP Fiori launchpad objects are configured. For more information, see Configuring SAP Fiori Launchpad
Objects [page 15].
● To search the workflow instances, use the following criteria: workflow ID, workflow definition ID, subject,
business key, or the initiator of the workflow instance.
● To search the workflow instances, type the keyword you want to use in the Search field, and choose
(Search), or choose Enter .
● To filter for workflow instances based on status and definition, choose (Filter) in the workflow instance
list.
Note
By default, the filter is applied to show workflow instances in running, erroneous and suspended status.
However, you can also filter workflow instances that are in completed and canceled status.
● To display details about a workflow instance and to navigate to it, select a workflow instance.
Related Information
The task instances view shows tasks for a given workflow instance.
Prerequisites
The SAP Fiori launchpad objects are configured. For more information, see Configuring SAP Fiori Launchpad
Objects [page 15].
Related Information
Prerequisites
The SAP Fiori launchpad objects are configured. For more information, see Configuring SAP Fiori Launchpad
Objects [page 15].
● To filter the workflow definitions, use the following criteria: workflow definition ID, workflow definition
name, or the workflow definition version.
● To search the workflow definitions, type the keyword you want to use in the Search field, and choose
(Search), or press Enter.
● To start a new workflow instance, select a workflow definition and choose Start New Instance.
If you have configured a sample context while modeling a start event, it is shown as the context data while
starting a new workflow instance in the Start New Instance window. However, you can also modify this
JSON context data as required. For more information, see Configure Start Events [page 70].
The JSON structure contains the content to be passed to the workflow context. In contrast to the workflow
service API a context node as a wrapper is not required.
Note
In the workflow context, use numbers where computations or comparisons on them are required. We
recommend that you do not use numbers as IDs, especially not for business keys. Use a string instead.
For more information about using these actions, see the Workflow Service API documentation in Using
Workflow APIs [page 119].
● To navigate to the list of all instances of a definition, select the definition from the list and choose Show
Instances.
● To load more workflow definitions, scroll down to the end of the list and choose More.
● To download the workflow model, select the definition from the list, then choose Download Workflow
Model. With this, you retrieve the workflow model for the latest deployed version of a workflow definition.
Note
We recommended that you do not import this downloaded workflow model to SAP Web IDE Full-Stack.
Related Information
You can access the workflow definitions, instances, and task instances using direct URLs. You can use the
below URL formats to access the required information.
Workflow Instance
● To access the list of workflow instances, use the following URL format:
https://flpsandbox-<consumer_account>.<landscape_host>/sites?
siteId=<site_id>#bpmworkflowmonitor-DisplayInstances&/workflowInstances
Workflow Definition
● To access the list of workflow definitions, use the following URL format:
https://flpsandbox-<consumer_account>.<landscape_host>/sites?
siteId=<site_id>#bpmworkflowmonitor-DisplayDefinitions&/workflowDefinitions
Task Instance
● To access the list of task instances for a particular workflow instance, use the following URL format:
https://flpsandbox-<consumer_account>.<landscape_host>/sites?
siteId=<site_id>#bpmworkflowmonitor-DisplayInstances&/workflowInstances/
<workflow_instance_id>/taskInstances
Note
If you are using the default site, then site_id in the URL is not mandatory.
The export provides access to your business data stored within the workflow. You can use this data to address,
for example, audit needs.
Prerequisites
You have the WorkflowTenantOperator role that allows you to export runtime data related to workflow
definitions, form definitions, and workflow instances.
Context
Caution
The export does not contain technical details that are required to reimport the data to the workflow service.
You can export the following types of data from the workflow service:
Procedure
For more information, see Determine the Service Host [page 125].
Caution
To verify that the export completed successfully, please check that you can extract the zip archive. The
archive should not contain a file named error-log.txt. If there is an error-log.txt file, the exported
data might be corrupt. Check the file for details.
The export call returns a zip file that contains the following:
● A readme.txt file that contains meta information about this specific export.
● A form-definitions.json file that contains a list of the latest deployed form definitions.
● A workflow-definitions.json file that contains a list of the latest deployed workflow definitions.
● A workflow-instances.json file that contains a list of all workflow instances available on the system.
● A workflow-instance-data folder: For each workflow instance on the system one file (<workflow-
instance-ID>.json) is written. It contains the latest version of the context and the execution logs
related to this instance.
● A form-definition-data folder: For each form definition on the system one file (<form-definition-
ID>.json) is written. It contains form definition metadata of all versions deployed.
Administrators of the SAP Cloud Platform account can disable the SAP Cloud Platform Workflow.
Prerequisites
Context
Caution
If you deactivate your workflow service, you also delete all data from the database, the subscription, and
the database bindings.
Note
If you later reenable the workflow service, the items that were not deleted become active again.
Procedure
In the SAP Cloud Platform cockpit, disable the SAP Cloud Platform Workflow service for your subaccount.
a. In the navigation area, choose Services.
b. Search for SAP Cloud Platform Workflow.
c. On the Workflow tile, choose Disable.
Developer tasks for the SAP Cloud Platform Workflow service that are executed in the workflow editor or in the
workflow runtime.
Related Information
General [page 5]
Modeling a Workflow [page 33]
Create a Workflow Sample Application [page 82]
Creating User Interfaces [page 83]
Build and Deploy Workflows [page 76]
Using Workflow APIs [page 119]
You can model a workflow using the workflow editor in SAP Web IDE Full-Stack, which enables IT specialists to
create workflows using the graphical Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) standard. The BPMN
workflow model also allows users to describe the flow of activities, events, and decision gateways.
Note
● The workflow editor is available only in Neo regions where the SAP Cloud Platform Workflow service is
offered.
● The workflow editor does not support Safari browser.
Modeling a workflow includes the following steps, which you can perform using workflow editor in SAP Web IDE
Full-Stack:
● Defining a start point of the workflow: Define a start point of the workflow using the start event. For more
information, see Events [page 69].
● Defining workflow steps and their sequence: Define the process steps using the following graphical objects:
○ Tasks: There are user tasks that are performed by a human and mail, service or script tasks that are
performed by the system. For more information, see Tasks [page 39].
○ Gateways: Gateways control the flow of execution in a workflow. For more information, see Gateways
[page 73].
● Defining an endpoint of the process: Defines an endpoint of the process using end event or terminate end
event. For more information, see Events [page 69].
You must enable the workflow editor extension to model workflows in SAP Web IDE Full-Stack.
Prerequisites
You have enabled the SAP Web IDE Full-Stack version. You must use the SAP Web IDE Full-Stack version. For
more information, see Opening SAP Web IDE.
Procedure
Context
A workflow project can hold one or more workflows. We recommend that you package all workflows for one
scenario into a single project. You can only deploy workflows created within this project; that is, you cannot
deploy the workflow project itself.
Note
To create multiple workflows, you can select a workflow project or the workflow folder and choose
New Workflow . By providing the name for the workflow, you can create another workflow within a
project or the workflow folder.
Recommendation
Results
The project wizard creates a project structure in the workspace. The project contains a workflow folder with a
new sample workflow file. The workflow file contains the name that you have provided in the previous steps.
Open existing workflow files in the workflow editor to view or modify them.
Procedure
● Canvas: The canvas renders and models the workflow, which connects flow objects such as events, tasks,
and gateways.
● Palette: The palette contains flow objects, for example, events, tasks, and gateways. You can easily model
your workflow by selecting the required flow object in the palette and placing it on the canvas using click
and drop.
● Toolbar: The toolbar contains tools such as undo, redo, delete and auto layout options.
● Properties: The properties view provides configuration options for flow objects.
● Diagram Overview: When a workflow model is bigger than the canvas layout, diagram overview can help
you visualize where the current view is in the diagram. Also, you can navigate to the required part of the
workflow.
Procedure
For more information, see Open Workflow Files in the Workflow Editor [page 35].
2. In the Subject field of Workflow Properties pane, provide the text that helps you identify the workflow
instances started for this workflow definition.
For employee onboarding process, you can consider a Subject like “Employee onboarding process
initiated for ${context.employeename}”. For more information, see Expressions [page 78].
Note
○ For more information on character limits for workflow service, see Conventions, Restrictions, and
Limits [page 7].
○ The data that is referenced from the Subject using expressions, should be provided as payload
during the start of the workflow instance. For more information, see Workflow Definition versus
Workflow Instance [page 6].
○ A workflow definition ID is generated for every workflow that you model. This ID is used when you
start a new workflow instance. For more information, see the Workflow Instances section in Using
Workflow APIs [page 119].
3. In the Business Key field of the Workflow Properties pane, provide an optional identifier for workflow
instances based on business data.
The business key can include static text as well as expressions similar to the workflow subject. With the
business key, you can later identify a workflow instance without knowing the technical instance ID.
Example
For the employee onboarding process, you can consider a business key based on the unique employee
ID, for example, "${context.employeeid}". With this you can, for example, search for a specific workflow
instance using the employee ID instead of the technical workflow instance ID.
Note
In SAP Cloud Platform Workflow uniqueness is not enforced for business keys neither globally nor
within a specific workflow definition. If you require a one-to-one relationship between a business key
value and a workflow instance, make sure that you use business data within your business key
expression that uniquely identifies the entities processed within the workflow. You can, for example,
use the order ID or the employee ID.
4. To model the start event of a workflow, select Events Start Event and drop it onto the canvas from
the palette.
5. In the Start Event Properties pane, provide a name and documentation for the start event.
Note
A unique ID gets generated for every workflow artifact. This ID is in read-only mode.
6. (Optional) Configure a sample context while modeling a start event. After the deployment of the workflow,
the sample context is displayed in the Monitor Workflows app while starting a new workflow instance. For
more information, see Configure Start Events [page 70].
You can also retrieve the configured sample context using the Public API. For more information, see SAP
Cloud Platform Workflow API
7. To add a task to the workflow, see Tasks [page 39].
8. To add a gateway to the workflow, see Gateways [page 73].
Note
If you choose a flow element using the speed button, the connection automatically appears. In this
case the above step is not required. To connect two flow elements, choose the icon, keep the
mouse button pressed on the required flow element and move your cursor to the next flow element
that needs to be connected in the workflow.
For more information about speed buttons, see Accelerated Modeling with Speed Buttons [page 77].
12. To model the end event of a workflow, choose Events End Event and drop it onto the canvas from
the palette.
13. In the End Event Properties icon from the first flow pane, provide a name and documentation for the end
event.
14. To model the end of a workflow as a terminate end event, choose Events Terminate End Event and
drop it onto the canvas from the palette.
For more information on the terminate end event, see Events [page 69].
Note
You can also model a terminate end event using the speed buttons. For more information, see
Accelerated Modeling with Speed Buttons [page 77].
15. In the Terminate End Event Properties Properties pane, provide a name and description for terminate end
event.
16. To format the workflow model, choose Arrange Horizontally or Arrange Vertically from the toolbar.
17. Choose Save.
Recommendation
○ We recommend that you save the changes before exiting. If you do not, your changes are lost.
○ Each time you make changes to the properties of flow elements, ensure that you press the ENTER
key.
Note
○ To rename any of the flow objects, select the flow object and choose F2 .
○ You can view the errors while designing a workflow in the Problems view. For more information, see
Using the Problems View.
○ Choose Undo or Redo from the toolbar to undo or redo an action. Alternatively, you can
choose the following key combinations:
○ Undo: Ctrl + Z
○ Redo: Ctrl + Y
● User Task: A flow object that illustrates a task that a human performs. User tasks appear in My Inbox where
the processor of the task can complete the task instance, and view its description.
● Service Task: A flow object that illustrates a system task, for example, calling an external service. A service
task is performed immediately, when the process execution arrives at it.
● Script Task: A flow object that illustrates a script that gets executed when the process execution arrives at
it. This is an automated activity.
● Mail Task: A flow object that you configure to send e-mails to one or more recipients.
Related Information
You must use this procedure when you want a user to perform a particular task in the workflow.
Prerequisites
To ensure that end users can view tasks in custom UIs in My Inbox, the following configuration steps are
required:
● Deploy a custom task UI application and ensure that it is up and running in the consumer subaccount. See
Creating a Workflow Form [page 105].
● Ensure that the application contains the SAPUI5 component, which is used as custom task UI.
Context
As a workflow developer, you must be able to associate a custom task UI in the customer application with a
workflow user task. In this way, when an end user opens his or her task on My Inbox, the custom task UI is
rendered.
You can propagate the user who completes a task to a service called later by a service task in the same
workflow instance. For more information, see Configure Service Tasks [page 53].
1. Choose (Tasks), then User Task from the palette and drop it on to the canvas.
2. Select the user task icon that you dropped on the canvas.
3. In the User Task Properties area, choose the General tab.
4. Provide a Name and Documentation for the user task.
Note
○ For more information on character limits for workflow service, see Conventions, Restrictions, and
Limits [page 7].
○ A unique ID gets generated for every workflow artifact. This ID is in read-only mode.
○ Ensure the Name field is short, precise, and contains a sufficiently unique identifier, as it is
displayed to the end users. For example, in My Inbox.
5. (Optional) To display information about the task execution in the inbox workflow log, select Show in inbox
workflow log.
6. From User Task Properties area, choose the Details tab.
7. Depending on the priority of the user task, choose one of the following options from the Priority menu:
○ Low
○ Medium (default)
○ High
○ Very High
Note
Priority is reflected in My Inbox using which the end user can sort, filter, and group the tasks. For more
information, see Working with Tasks in My Inbox [page 134].
Note
○ Subject, Description, Users, and Groups can also refer to the dynamic workflow context. For
example, if you want to provide a Subject that references a variable from dynamic context, you can
specify the expression in Subject field as "Approval for ${context.employee.name}". For
more information, see Expressions [page 78].
For users and groups, either use a context reference that resolves to a string with different users or
groups separated by commas or a context reference that resolves to an array of strings.
○ To provide multiple users or groups of users to process the task, separate each unique ID with a
comma.
○ You can assign a maximum number of 100 users or groups as recipients to a user task.
○ Recipients can view these tasks in My Inbox. They can also complete these tasks, which further
proceed the workflow execution.
Note
You must provide an expression in the Duration field using a subset of the ISO 8601 format. For
example, PT${context.minutes}M. The JUEL expression ${context.minutes} is evaluated at
runtime. You can provide multiple duration attributes by using multiple JUEL expressions. For more
information about the duration formats that are supported in ISO 8601, see Conventions,
Restrictions, and Limits [page 7].
b. To provide a duration for the due date as a static value, choose Static Value from the Due Date Based
On dropdown. Now, provide the due date in the Duration field as a numeric value, and choose a Unit of
Time.
Note
Due date is reflected in My Inbox using which the end user can sort and filter the tasks. For more
information, see Working with Tasks in My Inbox [page 134].
Related Information
Configure a boundary timer event to trigger an alternative flow if a user task doesn't finish within a specified
time duration.
Context
Boundary timer events are attached to a user task. Some user tasks may need to be completed during a
certain time interval. You can add a boundary timer event to define the duration of time for which the flow can
wait at the user task before starting an alternative flow. There are two types of boundary timer events:
● Canceling Boundary Event: When this event is triggered, it cancels the user task it is attached to.
● Non-Canceling Boundary Event: When this activity is triggered, it does not cancel the user task it is
attached to.
Example
In an employee onboarding scenario, the equipment assignment to a new hire must be confirmed by
the buddy assigned to the new hire. The buddy is responsible for confirming the equipment that needs
to be procured for the new hire.
A non-canceling boundary timer event can be modeled on the "Confirm or Change Equipment" user
task to send a reminder mail to the buddy if the task is not completed in three days. Similarly, a
canceling boundary timer event can be modeled where the duration is such that the timer elapses two
days before the joining date of new hire. Additionally, an alternative escalation flow, such as an
escalation email, must be sent to the manager of the buddy to take required action; in this case, the
original "Confirm or Change Equipment" task becomes irrelevant. Hence, the 'Confirm or Change
Equipment' user task is canceled.
Procedure
1. Choose Boundary Timer from the speed button of the required user task.
2. Provide a Name and Documentation for the boundary timer event.
3. In the Boundary Timer Event Properties area, choose the Details tab.
4. Provide the waiting duration for the flow in the Duration (date field relative to the task creation time). You
can use one of the following ways to configure this field:
○ To use expressions, choose Expression from the Duration Based On dropdown.
Note
You must provide an expression in the Duration field using a subset of the ISO 8601. For example,
PT${context.minutes}M. The JUEL expression ${context.minutes} is evaluated at runtime.
You can provide multiple duration attributes by using multiple JUEL expressions. For more
information about the duration formats that are supported in ISO 8601, see Conventions,
Restrictions, and Limits [page 7].
Note
Duration for the boundary timer event is set to the due date value provided in the respective user
task.
5. To define the boundary timer event as canceling, select the Cancel Task checkbox.
6. Choose Save.
Note
○ You can add multiple boundary timer events to a user task, which gets triggered when the
corresponding timers are fired. When a canceling boundary event is triggered, any boundary
events attached to the same task that haven't yet triggered are canceled.
○ One specific case needs to be taken into account: namely, suspending and resuming a workflow
instance with several boundary timer events on an active user task. If such an instance is resumed
and it has been suspended for a time period longer than the corresponding timer durations, there
is no deterministic order in which the events are triggered.
○ When you add multiple boundary timer events, they are placed on the same position at the bottom
of the user task. This may lead to several events on top of each other. However, these events can be
moved along the boundary of the user task.
You can create a basic task user interface that can be customized for your use case.
Context
After customizing the basic task UI, you can deploy the same and use it while configuring a user task.
Procedure
3. In the context menu of the required workflow project, choose New Workflow Task UI .
4. In the Component Information screen, provide a name for the SAPUI5 component.
5. Choose Next.
6. In the confirmation tab, choose Finish.
Results
A new folder is created under the workflow project, which contains the generated SAPUI5 Component. You can
modify this as per your requirement.
Procedure
1. To embed a custom task UI for projects that are available in the workspace, perform the following:
a. Choose the User Interface tab.
b. In the HTML5 App Name section, select the SAPUI5 component type. Under HTML5 App Name
section, choose Select.
c. In the Choose User Interface window, choose the Project Name from the list of projects that are
available in the workspace.
Note
○ Based on the selected Project Name, an Application Name is predicted. You can also provide a
different application name by editing this field.
○ Application Name is the name of the deployed application on SAP Cloud Platform.
Note
2. To manually provide the custom task UI details, provide following details in the User Interface tab:
Configuration of the above User Interface properties varies based on the following scenarios:
○ Grunt build is not enabled in SAP Web IDE Full-Stack or SAPUI5 Client Build is not enabled on
SAP Web IDE.
Open the component.js file of the UI5 application. The sample screenshot is given and the
corresponding User Interface properties are shown in the following table:
Example
○ Grunt build is enabled in SAP Web IDE Full-Stack or SAPUI5 Client Build is enabled on SAP Web
IDE. For more information, see Building Applications Using Grunt and Building Applications Using
SAPUI5 Build.
Configuration of the above User Interface properties based on this scenario is illustrated with an
example:
Component URL
Note
Component URL in this case is the location of the Component.js file, relative to the webapp folder.
3. In the Parameters field, provide the configuration data that can be accessed at runtime.
If the same UI5 component needs to be used for different task UIs with minor modifications, the URL
parameter can be used to define the modification.
For example, a task UI contains three actions namely: Accept, Reject, Rework. If Rework action is not
required for some specific tasks, you can still reuse this UI. This can be done by passing some parameters
as configuration data. The task UI developer can then access these parameters in his/her custom task UI
and choose to show or hide specific actions. For more information, see Retrieve Parameters in Custom
Task UI [page 92].
Note
○ You can enter multiple key value pairs separated by comma. If the value contains a comma, then
you can use backslash as shown below:
key1=value1,key2=value2\,value3\,value4
The key values in this case are as follows:
key1=value1
key2=value2, value3, value4
○ The following points must be considered while providing keys:
○ Keys cannot contain JUEL expressions and must be static.
Related Information
Procedure
1. In the workflow editor, select the user task and choose User Interface.
2. Under Type, choose Form.
3. Under Form Details, choose one of the following options:
○ Create File
On the New Form dialog, enter the following data:
Field Description
○ Select
On the Select Form dialog, enter the following data:
Project Name Name of the project. The name is preset to the current project and you cannot
change it.
File Name Name of the form from the list of forms that are available in the current project
only
For more information on forms, see Creating a Workflow Form [page 105].
The form is created in a separate forms folder within the workflow project in a folder named exactly like the
workflow for which the form is created.
Related Information
Context
With custom attributes, you can define business-related properties and assign them to user tasks, such as
project ID or project name.
At runtime, you can use the respective Workflow Service API or Task Consumption Model API to search for
custom attributes or to find the respective task instances. For more information about the characteristics of
the various APIs, see Using Workflow APIs [page 119].
Procedure
You can reorder the added custom attributes by using Move Up or Move Down.
Name Description
Note
You can only use alphanumeric characters as ID and it must only start with an alphabet.
Label A human readable name of the attribute, which appropriate user interfaces can use to label
the attribute.
Value It can be a constant or an expression, which gets resolved upon task creation.
Note
Labels as well as the order, in which the corresponding APIs return the task attributes, are taken from
the latest versions of the workflow definition where these attributes are present.
A user task can contain up to 15 attributes at a time. For more information, see Conventions,
Restrictions, and Limits [page 7].
Related Information
It is possible to use custom attributes in My Inbox. Those can be custom attributes with predefined names or
other custom attributes assigned to your tasks.
Context
The custom attributes with predefined names allow you to replace the task title, display a KPI indicator, display
a KPI unit, and display an additional custom attribute.
With the My Inbox default UI, the custom attributes that are visible in the Task List, are also displayed in the
Details View header data.
Note
In case you use a custom UI and you have replaced the default UI of My Inbox, the custom attributes with
predefined names will be visible only in the Task List of My Inbox.
Procedure
My Inbox maps the predefined names to the specific locations in the Task List. For more information, see
Configure Custom Attributes [page 48].
If you are using the default UI of My Inbox, the predefined custom attributes will be displayed in the Task
List and the header area of the task details.
Note
The predefined custom attributes will not be displayed in the description tab of the Task List Details
view of the selected task. This area is reserved for showing general custom attributes.
The attributes, which are shown in the Task List are not displayed in the description tab of the Master-Detail
View Task of the selected task.
Note
Please, note that by default this feature is disabled in My Inbox. To enable it, the administrator has to
configure the additional parameter showAdditionalAttributes=true in the app configuration of
My Inbox.
2. (Optional) To assign general custom attributes to your tasks, see Configure Custom Attributes [page 48].
With the default My Inbox task UI, those custom attributes are visualized as part of the description for the
task.
Note
You can define up to 15 other custom attributes per task, which are displayed in the information tab of a
standard task UI.
Note
Other custom attributes are displayed in the standard UI of My Inbox. In case the you use a custom
task UI, then these custom attributes will not be visualized.
3. Using the Expert View of My Inbox, you can display custom attributes.
General custom attributes are displayed as columns whether you use a custom UI or the default UI of My
Inbox for your tasks. With the standard UI of My Inbox, general custom attributes will also be displayed in
the Details View of the task, while predefined custom attributes are displayed in the Header area of the task
details. In addition, you can also sort and filter based on general custom attributes.
Note
Different set of tasks might expose different set of custom attributes. The table will contain columns for
each custom attribute.
Note
You can sort on custom attribute value, use the Sort button available in the table header.
If you want the system to perform a particular task in the workflow, configure a service task.
Context
The execution of service tasks is subject to resource limits, for example, with respect to network timeouts. If
the target service does not comply with the time restrictions described in Conventions, Restrictions, and Limits
[page 7], the connection with the target service is aborted, the service task fails, and the workflow instance is
put into the ERRONEOUS state.
Long execution times negatively impact the execution of other tasks of a specific tenant, because there is only
a limited number of parallel executions allowed for a tenant. The resource limits enforced by the workflow
service therefore have the purpose of freeing up resources as early as possible for other tasks.
Tip
We recommend that the service execution time is much less than the limits documented in Conventions,
Restrictions, and Limits [page 7]. If high execution times are common, consider building an intermediate
service that initiates asynchronous processing of the actual service call and returns quickly. It can report
back the execution result with the help of Configure Intermediate Message Events [page 71].
Procedure
1. Choose (Tasks), then Service Task from the palette and drop it on to the canvas.
Note
Note
○ The destination you provide here is the destination specified in the consumer subaccount, which
determines the host to connect to at runtime. For more information about the supported feature
set of destinations, see Destinations [page 145].
○ For more information on character limits for SAP Cloud Platform Workflow, see Conventions,
Restrictions, and Limits [page 7].
7. Select one of the following options from the Choose a Service From list:
○ SAP API Business Hub
○ Others (default)
Note
SAP API Business Hub is the central catalog, hosted by SAP to discover, explore, and test the SAP and
partner APIs that are required to build extensions, or process integrations using SAP Cloud Platform.
For more information, see SAP API Business Hub.
8. If you have chosen SAP API Business Hub, perform the following procedure Configure a Service from SAP
API Business Hub [page 57].
9. If you selected Others, provide the following details:
a. Path: Resource path that appends to the URL of the specified destination while calling the service.
Note
○ Path can consist of variables. For more information, see the below example.
○ Services that are called from a service task must support the JSON format for request and
response body. Consequently, the workflow service sends the <Content-Type:
application/json> header in every HTTP request, and expects the service to return
<Accept: application/json>. Other responses are declined by the workflow service
runtime, which can lead to a runtime error.
○ Ensure the URL that is concatenated from the Destination and the Path are valid.
○ The workflow service runtime ensures proper encoding of the final URL that is invoked. To
avoid a double encoding, do not enter the URL specified at the destination, the value for the
path property, and xsrf path property in an encoded format.
b. HTTP Method: Specify one of the following HTTP methods: GET, POST, PATCH, PUT, or DELETE.
If the HTTP method is POST, DELETE, PATCH, or PUT, then the Path to XSRF Token field appears.
XSRF token is used for modifying operations that are protected against XSRF (cross-site request
forgery) attacks. For more information, see SAP Cloud Platform.
c. Path to XSRF Token: The resource path that must be appended to a specified destination, while calling
the service to fetch an XSRF token. If the authentication type of the specified destination is OAuth
related, you probably don't need to enter a value here.
d. Request Variable: Link to a workflow context node that populates the body of the HTTP request.
Note
○ The referenced node is used 1:1 as content for the request body.
○ The complete context can be referenced in the request body as follows: ${context}.
○ If the request variable contains a primitive JSON type (number or string) or literal (null, true, or
false), the service must accept an HTTP body following RFC 8259 instead of the older RFC
4627.
○ If the HTTP method is POST, PATCH, or PUT, then you see the Path to XSRF Token field.
e. Response Variable: Link to a workflow context node that is created or overwritten to finally store the
body of the HTTP response.
Note
Example
This example shows how to call a REST service to store employee's leave requests. This service is
XSRF protected.
○ Destination is created in the SAP Cloud Platform subaccount with the following URL: http://
<host>:<port>.
○ Path: /leaverequest
○ HTTP Method: POST
○ Path to XSRF Token: /leaverequest/v1/xsrf-token
○ Request variable: ${context.leaveRequest.request}
○ Response Variable: ${context.leaveRequest.response}
Sample Code
leaverequest
{
At runtime, context is added with the response variable when the service task is invoked. Once the
service task is invoked, the context is appended with the response variable and looks like:
Sample Code
leaverequest
{
"request":
{
"employeeId":"000001",
"startDate": "2016-10-10T00:00:00.000Z",
"endDate": "2016-10-19T00:00:00.000Z",
"reason":"vacation"
}
"response":
{
status: "Successfully stored"
}
}
For more information, see Configuring Principal Propagation for Service Tasks [page 20].
b. In the Flow Element section, choose Select.
Note
This field is available only if principal propagation is active. Then, it is a mandatory field.
c. To search for the start event or a user task in the workflow, use Select Flow Element .
Note
○ To propagate the user who started the workflow instance, browse for the start event in the
same workflow model.
○ To propagate the user who completed a user task instance, browse for the user task in the
same workflow model.
○ If a user task is located in a loop, the last completion action of a corresponding task instance in
a workflow instance defines the actual user that is propagated.
d. Choose OK.
11. Connect the service task to the required flow elements.
12. Choose Save.
In the Neo environment, the workflow developer can deploy the workflow model into the workflow service
runtime.
To make the workflow operational, an administrator must create and configure the destination mentioned by
the workflow developer. For more information, see Destinations [page 145].
Related Information
You use this procedure to call an API from SAP API Business Hub in the service task properties.
Procedure
Note
If you choose the method type as POST, PATCH, or PUT, then the Request Variable field appears. This
field is auto populated, but it can also be edited.
7. From the Response Variable field, you can modify or keep the auto populated response name.
Note
8. Choose Finish.
HTTP method type, path, request/response variables are populated based on the selection. The Path
to XSRF Token field is auto populated, if the APIs pushed to SAP API Business Hub have the x-sap-
csrf-token-path attribute configured.
A script task is an automatic activity. When a workflow execution arrives at the script task, the corresponding
script is executed.
Context
Note
If you have previously modeled a script task using the workflow editor, then your existing script files are
converted into .js files automatically. Create a JavaScript file only for new script tasks you want to model.
Recommendation
We recommend that you export and import workflow projects, rather than individual workflows, as
additional script resources are added to the workflow project.
Procedure
1. Choose (Tasks), then Script Task from the palette and drop it on to the canvas.
2. In the Script Task Properties area, provide a name and documentation (optional) for the script task.
Note
○ You can view and or edit the JavaScript file by selecting the Script File link.
○ You can find the JavaScript file in the following location: <workflow-project>/scripts/
<workflow-name>/<script-file-name>.js.
○ For more information about Code Editor, see Developing Applications.
○ The provided APIs, as well as the objects and arrays stored in the workflow context, are non-native
JavaScript objects; that is, ECMAScript host objects. Their behavior might differ from that of the
native objects. For more information about supported APIs, see:
○ Creating and Reading Workflow Context Structures [page 59]
○ Accessing Contextual Information During Execution of Script Tasks [page 63]
○ The script must be in JavaScript that is based on ECMAScript 5.1. For more information, see the
Ecma Web page . Restrictions: 'eval' and 'Function' are not supported for script tasks.
Using the function keyword is supported, but you cannot assign functions to workflow context
variables.
○ The execution of script tasks is subject to resource limits, for example, with respect to processing
time or memory usage. The limits enforced by the workflow service have the purpose of freeing up
resources as early as possible for other tasks. The limits protect against excessive usage, for
example, caused by in-efficient programming or unexpected input sizes. If the limits are exceeded,
the corresponding workflow instance is put into the ERRONEOUS state. The error is written to the
error logs of the workflow instance. You can retrieve the error logs using the REST API or the
Monitor Workflows app. If your scripts reach the resource limits, analyze the reasons, for example,
large input data. Try to reduce the input size or the complexity of the transformations executed on
it.
For the specific limits that apply to script tasks, see Conventions, Restrictions, and Limits [page 7].
Related Information
You can insert scripts to use library functions to manipulate the workflow context.
To interact with the workflow context, use the predefined identifier '$.context'. Data that is stored in the
workflow context, for example, during the workflow start or from a previous script task, can be read, modified,
or enhanced using a dot-notation as shown in the examples below. Such data might consist of either primitive
data types that are supported by JavaScript (for example, a string or numeric value), or complex structures
(for example, objects or arrays).
● Functions
● Prototype objects
● Special numbers, such as NaN (Not a Number), positive infinity, or negative infinity
Note
In general, do not store large objects in the workflow context, but only the keys to more appropriate
storages. See the “Claim Check” integration pattern. For data privacy reasons, we recommend deleting
data, especially personal data, as soon as it is no longer needed.
Context changes are committed at the end of the script execution. Therefore, if the execution of the script task
runs into an error, data that has been modified before within the same script task is not visible to subsequent
activities in the workflow. This section describes how to interact with primitive variables in the workflow
context. For complex structures, see Related Information.
Reading Variables
Setting Variables
// The workflow context can be cleared completely. The $.context API will
continue to exist, but all variables will have been removed.
$.context = null.
// The workflow context can be completely overwritten, by setting it to an
object, whose properties are becoming the new context variables.
$.context = {newField: "new value"};
Complex structures can be, for example, objects and arrays and you can create and use to manipulate such
structured data. For more information, see the Related Links.
Related Information
You can insert scripts to modify the workflow context, for example, to transform data from one representation
to another, and also to read and set values.
For working with objects in JavaScript, the following sample scripts are available:
Constructing Objects
Object Conversions
You can insert scripts to modify the workflow context, for example, to transform data from one representation
to another, and also to read and set values.
For working with arrays, the following sample scripts are available:
Constructing Array
Manipulating Array
You can insert scripts to allow access to identifiers of the current task or the exact execution. Unique identifiers
are, for example, necessary to propagate calls to external services.
To allow access to properties of user task instances, you can insert scripts. Use the $.usertasks object as an
entry point followed by the user task definition ID from the workflow model: $.usertasks.<User Task
Definition ID>. For example, if the ID of a user task is usertask1, then use
$.usertasks.usertask1.last.priority to point to the priority of the instance of the corresponding task
definition, which was created last.
Property Name Type in Script Task Task Status READY Task Status RESERVED Task Status COMPLETED
* Please note that dates are represented as strings in expressions. For more information, see Expressions
[page 78].
In the following code snippet, the processor of the last created instance of the usertask1 is written into the
context variable taskProcessor.
$.context.taskProcessor = $.usertasks.usertask1.last.processor;
Script tasks cannot modify the $.usertasks API. All its properties are provided by SAP Cloud Platform
Workflow and are read-only.
You can save an object that refers to the last instance of a user task in the workflow context.
$.context.lastUserTask1 = $.usertasks.usertasks1.last;
So, at the time a script is executed, a snapshot of the last user task instance is created and persisted in the
context.
Please note that, as of now, this is the only complex nested property of the $ object that can be stored in the
workflow context.
$.context.variable = $.context;
$.context.variable = $.info;
$.context.variable = $.usertasks;
$.context.variable = $.usertasks.usertasks1;
There is no limitation on saving primitive values in the workflow context and the following code is absolutely
valid:
$.context.variable = $.info.workflowInstanceId;
In script tasks, you can access instance-specific roles of the current workflow instance.
Use the $.roles object as an entry point followed by the type of the role you want to read from or write to. For
example, in a script task for a given workflow instance, you can access the current list of admin users through
$.roles.adminUsers.
The following variants are available for the $.roles object that refers to the instance’s roles:
Note
If no user or group is or should be set for the given role, an empty array is used.
In this example, you assign the admin role to the user Julie.
Sample Code
In this example, you assign the viewer role to the users John, Michael, and Richard.
Sample Code
In this example, you can read which users are assigned to the viewer role.
Sample Code
In this example, you unassign all users from the viewer role.
Sample Code
$.roles.viewerUsers = []; // clears only viewer users, but not any other roles
A mail task is a flow object that can be configured to send e-mails to one or more recipients.
Prerequisites
Configure a mail destination. See Configure the Workflow Service Mail Destination [page 18].
Procedure
1. Choose (Tasks), then Mail Task from the palette and drop it on to the canvas.
2. In the Mail Task Properties area, choose the General tab.
3. Provide a Name and Documentation.
Note
Note
For more information about character limits for SAP Cloud Platform Workflow, see Conventions,
Restrictions, and Limits [page 7].
6. (Optional) Add mail addresses to the Cc for the mail and Bcc fields.
Note
If there is a syntax error in any of the To, Cc, or Bcc fields, the mail task execution is aborted and the
workflow instance changes to an error status.
Note
○ If you select this option, e-mail addresses that are syntactically incorrect or that are caused by
unresolvable expressions won't cause the task to fail, provided at least one recipient can be
determined. The ignored recipients list appears in the Monitoring Workflows app
○ If the option is disabled, mail task fails when at least one invalid recipient is determined.
○
Subject, Cc, Bcc, and To fields can contain JUEL expressions. For more information, see Expressions
[page 78].
Except for the Subject field, you can use either a context reference that resolves to a string, with
different mail addresses separated by commas, or a context reference that resolves to an array of mail
addresses.
9. From the Configure Mail Body list, choose one of the following:
○ Plain Text: Provide the message in the form of text.
○ HTML: Create a new or choose an existing HTML file for the mail content.
To create a new HTML file, perform the following steps:
1. In the HTML Body section, choose the Create file link.
2. In the Create New File window, provide a file name.
3. Choose Create.
4. In the HTML file, provide the mail content.
Note
○ If you have set the Mail Body to HTML, the text representation of the emails that are sent is
derived from the HTML content and specified as an alternative representation of the HTML
content in the e-mail. E-mail clients typically display the text representation in text-only
mode. However, it is at your discretion to use text-only mode.
○ In many cases, the derived text is suitable to be shown to end users. However, in cases of
complex HTML structures, the text representation might not be optimal. If the text
representation is important to you, simplify the HTML code to use mostly simple, semantic
mark-up or specify the mail body directly as text.
○ You can use expressions in the mail body and the subject. However, you cannot add HTML
tags in the HTML mail body using expressions, because special characters in the
expression results are escaped for security reasons.
○ An example HTML mail body is shown below.
Sample Code
<!doctype html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Workflow Service Email Notification</title>
<style>
h3 {
font-family: serif;
}
p, dl, dd, dt {
font-family: sans-serif;
}
dt {
text-indent: 5em;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h3>Employee onboarding completed</h3>
<p>Dear ${context.initiatorName},</p>
<p>The employee onboarding that you triggered has been
successfully completed.
<p>Sincerely yours,</p>
Note
○ You can find the HTML file in the following location: <workflow-project>/webcontent/
<workflow-name>/<html-file-name>.html.
○ The list of e-mail addresses and JUEL expressions can contain a maximum of 5000 characters and
100 e-mail addresses.
○ Subject can be a maximum of 1000 characters long. We recommend that you use far fewer
characters because mail clients can show only a limited subject length.
○ Mail Body can contain a maximum of 10000 characters.
Related Information
3.1.4.2 Events
Start event: It indicates where a workflow starts and what triggers a workflow. Start events have no incoming
sequence flow. Each workflow has one start event.
Intermediate Message Event: Intermediate message events are process steps where the respective workflow
instance waits for a message before the flow commences in the respective control flow branch.
Intermediate Timer Event: It allows a workflow to pause and resume after a specified interval of time.
End event: An end event means that this event has no specific result. End events have no outgoing sequence
flow. Consider a workflow that has several branches, the workflow terminates only after all the branches gets
executed.
Terminate end event: The terminate event ends the workflow in a regular way. But, consider a workflow
consists of multiple branches and you choose one branch as a terminate end event. The workflow terminates
when the branch marked as terminate end is executed without waiting for other branches to get executed.
Prerequisites
You are in the process of modeling a start event. For more information, see Define Workflows [page 36].
Context
After the deployment of the workflow, the sample context is displayed in the Monitor Workflows app while
starting a new workflow instance. For more information, see Managing Workflow Definitions [page 27].
Alternatively, you can use the API to retrieve the sample start context. For more information, see Using
Workflow APIs [page 119].
You can propagate the user who starts a workflow instance to a service called later by a service task in the
same workflow instance. For more information, see Configure Service Tasks [page 53].
Procedure
Note
○ You can view or edit the JSON file by selecting the File link.
○ For more information about Code Editor, see Developing Applications.
Related Information
Intermediate message events occur when a workflow instance waits for a message before the flow commences
in the respective control flow branch.
Prerequisites
Configure a business key for your workflow. For more information about business keys, see Define Workflows
[page 36].
Context
Clients can send messages using the REST endpoint. For more information about how to send messages, refer
to Workflow Service API documentation at Using Workflow APIs [page 119].
The messages received through this endpoint are synchronously correlated to workflow instances based on the
business key. The message can be delivered to one or more instances of the same workflow definition, which
has a matching business key and an active execution branch waiting at the intermediate message event.
Procedure
1. Select Events Intermediate Message , and drop it onto the canvas from the palette.
2. In the Intermediate Message Event Properties area, choose the General tab.
3. Fill in the Name and Documentation fields for the intermediate message event.
4. In the Intermediate Message Event Properties area, choose the Details tab.
5. In the Message Name field, provide a name of the message.
Note
For more information about character limits for SAP Cloud Platform Workflow, see Conventions,
Restrictions, and Limits [page 7].
6. (Optional) Provide a Response Variable link to a workflow context node, which holds the context data
passed by the incoming message.
Note
○ If you use a response variable, it must adhere to the syntax defined by the Java Unified Expression
Language (JUEL). You can only use expressions that reference the workflow context. For more
information, see Expressions [page 78].
○ If you don't provide a response variable, the message is consumed by matching workflow
instances. However, the context data passed by the message is not considered.
Example
Equipment must be procured for a new hire. In this case, the employeeID of the new hire can be
configured as business key. The workflow calls an external service to trigger the asynchronous
procurement process. The workflow instance must wait until the procurement process is completed.
You can model an intermediate message event, which blocks the execution of the workflow in this
branch until a message is received. When the procurement process completes, the external system can
send a message that includes details about the equipment ordered. This message is then delivered to
one of the waiting workflow instances, and the execution moves to the next flow step.
Related Information
Configure an intermediate timer event to allow a workflow to pause and resume after a specified interval of
time.
Context
In a few business scenarios, a workflow may need to wait for a certain interval of time before proceeding with
the flow; for example, a workflow that updates multiple systems of record. You can add an intermediate timer
event that delays the workflow for a few minutes, to ensure that all records have been updated before the
workflow continues.
Procedure
1. Select Events Intermediate Timer and drop it onto the canvas from the palette.
2. Fill in the Name and Documentation fields for the intermediate timer event.
3. In the Intermediate Timer Event Properties area, choose the Details tab.
4. Provide the waiting time interval in the Duration field.
○ To use expressions, choose Expression from the Duration Based On dropdown.
Note
Provide an expression in the Duration field using ISO 8601 format. For example, PT$
{context.minutes}M. The JUEL expression ${context.minutes} is evaluated at runtime. You
○ To use a static value, choose Static Value from the Duration Based On dropdown. Now, provide the
Duration as a numeric value, and choose a Unit of Time.
5. Choose Save.
3.1.4.3 Gateways
A gateway controls the flow of execution, and is represented visually as a diamond shape with an icon inside.
The icon shows the type of gateway.
SAP Cloud Platform Workflow editor supports the following gateway types:
● Exclusive gateway: Use an exclusive gateway to model a decision in the process. When the execution
arrives at this gateway, all outgoing sequence flows are evaluated in the order in which they are defined.
The sequence flow with a condition that evaluates to true is selected for continuing the process.
If multiple sequence flow have a condition that evaluates to true, the first one defined is selected for
continuing the process. If none of the conditions defined for the sequence flow evaluate to true, then the
one marked as default flow is selected and the execution proceeds along that path.
Note
If you use an exclusive gateway to split flow into multiple sequence flows, then the same type of
gateway should be used to merge as well.
Note
Parallel gateway works on a logical level, it does not speed up the technical execution.
For example, consider a scenario where an employee approaches the travel desk to book flight and hotel
accommodation for a business trip. With a parallel gateway, both the flight arrangement and hotel
accommodation can happen in parallel. Once the booking is successful, email notification can be sent to
the employee.
Note
If you use a parallel gateway to split flow into multiple paths, then the same type of gateway should be
used to merge as well.
Procedure
1. From the palette, choose Gateways Exclusive Gateway drop it on to the canvas.
2. In the Exclusive Gateway Properties area, provide a Name and Documentation for the gateway.
Note
A unique ID gets generated for every workflow artifact. This ID is in read-only mode.
3. On the canvas, create a sequence flow from the Exclusive Gateway icon to other flow objects.
Note
If there are more than one outgoing sequence flows from an exclusive gateway, then it is considered as
a split in the flow. Only in this case, you can view and configure the Sequence Flow Properties . The next
step of configuring a condition is only possible in case of a split scenario.
Related Information
Procedure
Note
A unique ID gets generated for every workflow artifact. This ID is in read-only mode.
Note
○ You can mark only one outgoing sequence flow as the default.
○ If you want a certain path to execute, for example, only if an employee does not belong to Germany.
You need to configure the sequence flow condition as ${context.employee.region!= “Germany”}. For
more information, see Expressions [page 78].
4. Choose Save.
Procedure
1. From the palette, choose Gateways Parallel Gateway , and drop the icon on to canvas.
2. In the Parallel Gateway Properties area, provide a name and documentation for the gateway.
Note
A unique ID gets generated for every workflow artifact. This ID is in read-only mode.
3. If you are creating a split, then create multiple outgoing sequence flows from the parallel gateway.
4. If you are creating a join, then create multiple incoming sequence flows to the parallel gateway.
5. Choose Save.
Related Information
Procedure
1. In your workspace, choose Export from the context menu of the workflow project.
Note
You must also use this procedure to import any custom task UIs that are used in workflows.
Prerequisites
You are assigned the WorkflowDeveloper role. For more information, see Authorization Configuration [page
143].
Procedure
A new workflow instance automatically uses the latest deployed version of a given workflow definition. This
change does not affect workflow instances that were started with an earlier version of the workflow
definition.
2. In the project explorer, select the workflow file, and from its context menu, choose Deploy Deploy to
SAP Cloud Platform Workflow .
Note
In addition to the palette, you can use the speed buttons for quick and easy modeling. The speed buttons are
displayed around the flow objects. In the following figure you see a start event with the speed buttons around it.
The number and type of speed buttons that are displayed vary depending on the model element.
The following table contains all the different types of speed buttons and explains their function:
Note
When you select the sequence flow speed button, you must drag it on the element that you
want to connect to. If the area is highlighted in green, then the element can be connected us
ing a sequence flow. If the area is not highligted, then the element cannot be connected using
the sequence flow.
3.1.8 Expressions
There are several places in the editor where you can enter expressions to extract data from the workflow
context.
● To combine static texts and variables. These are, for example, shown as texts to the user to provide
contextual information (text expressions).
● To determine major task properties dynamically (property navigation)
● To determine the next steps when the control flow arrives at gateways (conditions)
The expressions you use must adhere to the syntax defined by the Java Unified Expression Language (JUEL).
You can access data stored in the workflow context, for example, ${context.variablename}) as well as
data that refers to the current task or workflow, for example, ${info.workflowInstanceId}). The syntaxes
to access this data within a JUEL expression and using the script task API are aligned. The following statements
address the same attribute:
Functionality Example of JUEL Expression Example of Script Task API More Information
User task properties ${usertasks.<User Task $.usertasks.<User Task Getting Information About
Definition Definition User Task Instances in Ac
ID>.last.processor} ID>.last.processor cessing Contextual Informa
tion During Execution of
Script Tasks [page 63]
Property navigation and text expressions typically occur in user tasks. See Configure User Tasks [page 39].
Example
Sample Code
{
"context": {
"employee": {
"name" : "Peter",
"peers" : [
{
"name": "Mary"
}
],
"region": "Germany",
"userId": "9899"
}
}
}
Besides the already described types of expression, there are several other types:
Notices
● When there are multiple expressions in a single field: if one of the expressions is incorrect or refers to a field
that does not exist, then none of the expressions in that field are replaced. For example, in the text
expression "Approval for ${context.employee.firstname} $
{context.employee.lastname}", if the employee's last name field does not exist, none of the
expression is replaced.
● Once expressions in texts are resolved, that is, they are replaced with the actual text at runtime, the texts
are not changed if the process context changes at later point in time.
Note
All task-related properties of ${info} are only available on JUEL-enabled properties of service and user
tasks.
Subject String
Dates are handled differently in script tasks and in expressions. In script tasks, the JavaScript date is used to
represent date-related properties of workflow service APIs, for example, the createdAt , claimedAt , and
completedAt properties of user tasks. However, in expressions, the corresponding properties are represented
as strings.
In addition, all values saved in the context as dates in script tasks are converted to the corresponding strings at
the end of the script task execution. They are available as strings in subsequent JUEL expressions and script
tasks.
Related Information
You can use the sample application to experience the workflow service offering on SAP Cloud Platform.
Context
You can create a sample application containing workflows and task user interfaces for the following scenarios:
Procedure
Results
Next Steps
Using the readme.txt file in the project, you can configure, deploy, and run the workflow sample application.
The main use cases for such UIs include the following:
● Start UI: Triggers new workflow instance for a defined workflow definition.
● Task UI: Is plugged into My Inbox to represent a user task in the workflow definition.
Both types of UIs can be developed and deployed as HTML5 applications on SAP Cloud Platform. For more
information about developing HTML5 applications using the workflow editor, see SAP Web IDE.
The following diagram depicts the relationships between the involved HTML5 applications and the respective
subscriptions for My Inbox and the workflow service runtime. The different applications and subscriptions are
wired using destinations.
My Inbox includes two predefined routes, which you can use when developing UIs:
● /bpmworkflowruntime
/bpmworkflowruntime maps to the bpmworkflowruntime destination, which is configured by default
for your subaccount.
For more information, see Read Task Context Data [page 87].
For more information about routes, see Application Descriptor File.
● /html5apps
You can integrate the UIs into any HTML5 app and access them using /html5apps/<name_of_app>.
Custom UI Overview
With the custom task user interface (UI), end users can access their workflow tasks in their inboxes.
Context
You can either define the task UI using an existing SAPUI5 component or using a form.
Procedure
Related Information
This is an overview of the series of steps you have to execute to create the custom task UI.
Procedure
1. Create an HTML5 application. For more information, see Creating an HTML5 Application in the SAP Cloud
Platform documentation.
2. Create a project using the SAPUI5 Application template.
For more information, see Create a Project in the SAP Cloud Platform documentation but use XML as view
type.
3. Extend the application by modifying the webapp/Component.js file by doing the following:
a. Get the Task Instance ID [page 87]
b. Read Task Context Data [page 87]
c. Bind a UI Element to an Attribute of the Task Context JSON Model [page 88]
d. Adding Task Completion Buttons [page 88]
e. Get the Task Description [page 91]
f. (Optional) Retrieve Parameters in Custom Task UI [page 92]
g. (Optional) Show and Hidе Footer [page 92]
h. (Optional) Show and Hide the Back Navigation Button [page 92]
i. (Optional) Call an External Service from a Custom Task UI [page 95]
Results
The page element of the webapp/view/<view name>.view.xml should look similar to the following:
Sample Code
Sample Code
init: function() {
UIComponent.prototype.init.apply(this, arguments);
this.setModel(models.createDeviceModel(), "device");
startupParameters.inboxAPI.addAction({
action: "Reject",
label: "Reject"
}, function(button) {
this._completeTask(taskId, false);
}, this);
startupParameters.inboxAPI.addAction({
action: "Approve",
label: "Approve"
}, function(button) {
this._completeTask(taskId, true);
}, this);
},
Sample Code
_fetchToken: function() {
var token;
$.ajax({
url: "/bpmworkflowruntime/rest/v1/xsrf-token",
method: "GET",
async: false,
headers: {
"X-CSRF-Token": "Fetch"
},
success: function(result, xhr, data) {
token = data.getResponseHeader("X-CSRF-Token");
}
});
return token;
},
_refreshTask: function(taskId) {
this.getComponentData().startupParameters.inboxAPI.updateTask("NA",
taskId);
}
Procedure
To get the task ID, add the following lines to the init function:
Sample Code
Procedure
1. Read the task context data via a REST service and create a JSON model from it.
Sample Code
Procedure
1. Write the task context data via a REST service and create a JSON model from it.
For more information, see Task Data in the Workflow Service API Documentation at Using Workflow APIs
[page 119].
Procedure
1. To display a field of the task context on the custom task UI, add a text element to webapp/view/<view
name>.view.xml and bind it to the text attribute of the JSON model.
2. Replace the page element with this content:
Sample Code
This is an overview of the series of steps you have to execute to add task completion buttons.
Context
Procedure
Procedure
To call the task completion REST API, you have to retrieve an XSRF token first. You could, for example, use the
following function:
Sample Code
_fetchToken: function() {
var token;
$.ajax({
url: "/bpmworkflowruntime/rest/v1/xsrf-token",
method: "GET",
async: false,
headers: {
"X-CSRF-Token": "Fetch"
},
success: function(result, xhr, data) {
token = data.getResponseHeader("X-CSRF-Token");
}
});
return token;
}
Procedure
1. Call the previously created _fetchToken function. For more information, see Fetch an XSRF Token [page
89].
2. Using this token, call the completion API with data, which will be written into the task or workflow context.
Example
In this example, the data contains a field named approved to indicate whether the task was approved
or rejected.
Sample Code
Procedure
1. To add buttons to the footer of the custom task UI, add these lines to the init function of webapp/
Component.js. For example, you want to add Approve or Reject buttons:
Sample Code
startupParameters.inboxAPI.addAction({
action: "REJECT",
label: "Reject"
}, function(button) {
this._completeTask(taskId, false);
}, this);
startupParameters.inboxAPI.addAction({
action: "APPROVE",
label: "Approve"
}, function(button) {
this._completeTask(taskId, true);
}, this);
The previously created function _completeTask is called in both actions but with different approval
status.
2. (Optional)You can define the appearance of one or multiple custom action buttons as positive or negative.
To do so, use the additional type parameter as in the following code sample:
Sample Code
startupParameters.inboxAPI.addAction({
action: "REJECT",
label: "Reject",
type: "reject" // or "negative"// For negative appearance.
}, function(button) {
this._completeTask(taskId, false);
}, this);
startupParameters.inboxAPI.addAction({
action: "APPROVE",
In the example above, you create one negative and two positive custom action buttons.
In case you have not specified the additional type parameter, the custom action button will appear as
Default.
Sample Code
Sample Code
init: function() {
UIComponent.prototype.init.apply(this, arguments);
this.setModel(models.createDeviceModel(), "device");
startupParameters.inboxAPI.getDescription("NA",
taskId).done(function(dataDescr){
contextModel.setProperty("/context/task/Description",
dataDescr.Description);
}).
fail(function(errorText){
contextModel.setProperty("/context/task/Description", "");
jQuery.sap.require("sap.m.MessageBox");
sap.m.MessageBox.error(errorText, { title: "Error"});
});
},
Sample Code
Sample Code
onInit: function() {
var startupParameters = this.getComponentData().startupParameters;
startupParameters.inboxAPI.setShowFooter(false);
},
You can show, hide, and customize the Back navigation button in the header of a custom task UI.
● To show the Back navigation button in the header of a custom task UI, your onInit function of the View
controller should be the following:
Sample Code
onInit: function() {
var startupParameters = this.getComponentData().startupParameters;
startupParameters.inboxAPI.setShowNavButton(true);
},
Passing only the first parameter true will start the default button handler, which will execute
window.history.back().
In some cases, this does not lead to the desired behavior. Therefore, you need to provide a custom handler,
as shown in the next example
Sample Code
onInit: function() {
var startupParameters = this.getComponentData().startupParameters;
startupParameters.inboxAPI.setShowNavButton(true, function(){
alert("You are about to leave this
task");
window.history.back();
});
},
● To hide the Back navigation button in the header of a custom task UI, your onInit function of the View
controller should be the following:
Sample Code
onInit: function() {
var startupParameters = this.getComponentData().startupParameters;
startupParameters.inboxAPI.setShowNavButton(false);
},
Prerequisites
● You have implemented a custom task UI and the target SAPUI5 application is embedded into the detail
view of My Inbox.
● You have added custom action buttons via addAction method available in the My Inbox API. For more
information, see Add Custom Action Buttons [page 90]
Context
For example, you have implemented validation logic for user input data. Based on the validation result, you may
wish to disable or enable the action buttons, available in the My Inbox button bar, added in the prerequisites.
Procedure
1. To disable a single custom action button available in the My Inbox button bar, you can use the
disableAction() method of My Inbox API. The method disableAction() expects as parameter the
Sample Code
onEventHandler: function(){
var startupParameters = this.getComponentData().startupParameters;
startupParameters.inboxAPI.disableAction( "APPROVE" );
},
2. To enable a single custom action button available in the My Inbox button bar, you can use the
enableAction() method of My Inbox API. The method enableAction() expects as parameter the
value of the action parameter used in the addAction() method. For example, if you have added a button
via addAction({action: “APPROVE”, label: “Approve”}), you can enable it via
enableAction(“APPROVE”). In this case the implementation for your event handler should look like this:
Sample Code
onEventHandler: function(){
var startupParameters = this.getComponentData().startupParameters;
startupParameters.inboxAPI.enableAction ( "APPROVE" );
},
3. To disable all custom action buttons available in the My Inbox button bar, the implementation for your
event handler should be the following:
Sample Code
onEventHandler: function(){
var startupParameters = this.getComponentData().startupParameters;
startupParameters.inboxAPI.disableAllActions();
},
4. To enable all custom action buttons available in the My Inbox button bar, the implementation for your event
handler should be the following:
Sample Code
onEventHandler: function(){
var startupParameters = this.getComponentData().startupParameters;
startupParameters.inboxAPI.enableAllActions();
},
Results
The buttons available in the My Inbox button bar become disabled or enabled as per your implementation.
To show, for example, contextual information that is not available in the workflow context, you want to call the
REST service, which you developed yourself, from within a custom task UI.
Prerequisites
Your REST service is deployed on SAP Cloud Platform or is reachable from your customer account.
Procedure
1. In your HTML5 application containing the custom task UI, define an additional route in the neo-app.json
file. This route targets a destination pointing to your service, for example, deployed as a Java application on
SAP Cloud Platform.
Sample Code
…
{
"path": "/external-service",
"target": {
"type": "destination",
"name": "external-service",
"entryPath": "/"
},
"description": "External Service"
}
…
2. In your account that is subscribed to the workflow service, create a new destination with the name you
specified in the previous step.
3. Configure the destination against your deployed service.
Note
If you want to propagate the user from My Inbox to your REST service, select App2App SSO as the
authentication type to use.
4. In your custom task UI application, call your REST service using an Ajax call. The service is then available at
the following URL: /html5apps/<taskui_application>/<destination_name>/
<relative_api_path>
Sample Code
_callService: function() {
$.ajax({
url: "/html5apps/custtakui/external-service/v1/external-data",
method: "GET",
contentType: "application/json",
async: false,
You deploy your HTML5 app using standard SAP Cloud Platform procedures.
Procedure
For more information, see Deploying Your App to SAP Cloud Platform in the SAP Cloud Platform
documentation.
The use case here is as follows. There is a particular workflow definition deployed into the workflow service
runtime. A user interface is needed which would allow the end users to start the instances of the corresponding
workflow. In addition, the users must be able to specify some arbitrary values that will be used in the contexts
of the started instances.
Prerequisites
Procedure
You create your HTML5 app using standard SAP Cloud Platform procedures.
Procedure
For more information, see Creating an HTML5 Application in the SAP Cloud Platform documentation.
2. Create a project using the SAPUI5 Application template.
For more information, see Creating a Project in the SAP Cloud Platform documentation.
You have to define the destination route for the workflow service in the application configuration file.
Procedure
In the neo-app.json file created in the webapp folder of your application, include the following destination
route element pointing to workflow service runtime into the routes array:
Sample Code
{
"path": "bpmworkflowruntime",
"target": {
"type": "destination",
"name": "bpmworkflowruntime",
"entryPath": "/workflow-service"
},
"description": "Workflow Service Runtime"
}
Context
The view contains an input field, a button, and a text field. By pressing the button, a user starts a workflow
instance. The value of the input field will be used in the workflow context. The response of the workflow start
request will be printed out in the text field.
Procedure
In the view XML file created in webapp/view folder of your application, substitute the existing page element
with the following code:
Sample Code
Procedure
In the controller JS file created in webapp/controller folder of your application, include the following
functions as the fields of the second parameter of the Controller.extend function call:
Sample Code
{
onInit: function() {
this.getView().setModel(new sap.ui.model.json.JSONModel({
text: "",
result: ""
}));
},
startWorkflow: function() {
var token = this._fetchToken();
this._startInstance(token);
},
_startInstance: function(token) {
var model = this.getView().getModel();
var text = model.getProperty("/text");
var contextJson = JSON.parse(text);
$.ajax({
url: "/bpmworkflowruntime/rest/v1/workflow-instances",
method: "POST",
async: false,
contentType: "application/json",
headers: {
"X-CSRF-Token": token
},
data: JSON.stringify({
definitionId: "<your workflow ID>",
context: contextJson
}),
success: function(result, xhr, data) {
model.setProperty("/result", JSON.stringify(result, null, 4));
}
});
},
_fetchToken: function() {
var token;
$.ajax({
url: "/bpmworkflowruntime/rest/v1/xsrf-token",
method: "GET",
async: false,
headers: {
"X-CSRF-Token": "Fetch"
},
success: function(result, xhr, data) {
token = data.getResponseHeader("X-CSRF-Token");
}
});
return token;
}
}
During initialization a data model should be assigned to the view. In this example, the model is represented by
an object with two fields: text and result. The text field refers to the input of the user, which will be used in the
workflow instance context while starting. The result field refers to the string representation of the response to
the workflow start request:
Sample Code
onInit: function() {
this.getView().setModel(new sap.ui.model.json.JSONModel({
text: "",
result: ""
}));
}
To call the workflow start REST API, the request needs an XSRF token. The following function can supply the
token:
Sample Code
_fetchToken: function() {
var token;
$.ajax({
url: "/bpmworkflowruntime/rest/v1/xsrf-token",
method: "GET",
async: false,
headers: {
"X-CSRF-Token": "Fetch"
},
success: function(result, xhr, data) {
token = data.getResponseHeader("X-CSRF-Token");
}
});
return token;
}
The workflow is started using the corresponding HTTP call to the workflow service REST API.
For more information, see Using Workflow APIs [page 119]. In this example, the input of the user is used in the
context of the workflow instance: Namely, in its text field. In addition, the response of the call is assigned to the
corresponding property in the data model:
Sample Code
_startInstance: function(token) {
var model = this.getView().getModel();
var inputValue = model.getProperty("/text");
$.ajax({
url: "/bpmworkflowruntime/rest/v1/workflow-instances",
method: "POST",
async: false,
contentType: "application/json",
headers: {
"X-CSRF-Token": token
},
data: JSON.stringify({
definitionId: "<your workflow ID>",
context: {
text: inputValue
}
}),
success: function(result, xhr, data) {
model.setProperty("/result", JSON.stringify(result, null, 4));
}
});
}
Note
Substitute the <your workflow ID> part of the URL with the ID of the deployed workflow definition of
interest.
Feel free to change the name of the text field of the workflow context to fit to the corresponding workflow
definition.
The logic described above is triggered when a user presses the button:
Sample Code
startWorkflow: function() {
var token = this._fetchToken();
this._startInstance(token);
}
You can associate a custom task UI to a workflow user task, which is then rendered in the detail view of My
Inbox for the task.
When you select a task, My Inbox instantiates the custom task UI application component and transfers a set of
data for the selected task.
Sample Code
startupParameters{
taskModel: JsonModel > ({InstanceID:<value>,
TaskDefinitionID:<value>,.....}),
applicationPath: <string>,
queryParameters: {<key>:<value>,<key>:<value>,...... },
inboxAPI:{<APIs>}
}
applicationPath single-value string data Contains the path to the Task UI com
ponent using which the component is
loaded.
From the Task UI component, this data can be accessed as shown below:
Sample Code
var
startupParameters=this.getOwnerComponent().getComponentData().startupParameter
s;
Task data is transferred from My Inbox to the task application on startup using the property taskModel.
● SAP__Origin
● InstanceID
● TaskDefinitionID
● TaskDefinitionName
● TaskTitle
● Priority
● PriorityText
● Status
● StatusText
● CreatedBy
● CreatedOn
● Processor
PriorityText and StatusText contain translated texts that are specific to the My Inbox user's locale.
You can use a set of APIs to integrate your task application with My Inbox.
addAction
Parameters
Properties:
● action : string
● label : string
● type : string (either Accept or Reject)
Return Value
getDescription
Retrieves the task description and returns a promise that is resolved when the task description is retrieved.
Parameters
SAPOrigin string Value for the parameter SAP__Origin for the specific task
taskInstanceId string Value for the parameter InstanceId for the specific task
Return Value
Promise: A promise that is resolved when the task description is retrieved. It is rejected with an error if the
parameters SAPOrigin or taskInstanceId are passed with empty value or if the task description could not be
retrieved (due to network issues).
removeAction
Parameters
Return Value
success : A boolean representing successful removal of the button from the footer
updateTask
Updates the task in the master task list and returns a promise that is resolved when the task list is updated.
Parameters
SAPOrigin string Value for the parameter SAP__Origin for the specific task
taskInstanceId string Value for the parameter InstanceId for the specific task
Return Value
setShowFooter
Parameters
showFooter boolean Flag representing whether to show or hide footer in the page.
The default value is false.
setShowNavButton
Parameters
You can create UIs for your end users using the form editor.
The header is populated with some information from the user task's runtime attributes as defined in the
workflow editor, for example, Created On and Created By. In addition, some information comes from the
workflow editor, for example, Name, Subject, and Description.
The Form Details section is populated with the UI definition you set up in the form editor. You can model fields
and also define a layout by grouping the fields into sections and subsections.
Context
Access the form editor either directly as described in the steps below, or access it from within the workflow
editor. For more information about using the workflow editor, see Configure a User Task UI Using Workflow
Forms [page 47].
Note
You can use the slider below each table to adapt the table height.
Procedure
1. Right-click the workflow project or any folder within your project, for example, a dedicated forms folder,
and choose New Form .
Note
You can store your forms in any existing folder, or you might want to create a folder that's used only for
storing the forms.
2. Enter a name, ID, and a revision for your form, for example:
Name ApprovalForm
ID approval-form
3. Choose Create.
Results
A corresponding file with the name <yourformname>.form is created, and the form editor opens an empty
form.
To reopen a form file, either double-click it or choose Form Editor from the context menu.
● If you have already referenced the form file within a user task in a workflow, make sure to adapt the
reference in the workflow editor accordingly.
● The form ID must be unique inside your account. Don't change the form ID unless you're sure that you
want to give the form a new identity.
Build forms using fields that you can arrange using sections and subsections.
Procedure
Where the field appears depends on whether you've selected an existing field, any sections, or
subsections.
If you selected an existing field before choosing Add Field, then the new field is inserted right below the
selected field. If you don't select an existing field, the new one that's added depends on which element
you've selected. If a section is selected, the new field is added at the end of the section. If a subsection is
selected, the new field is added to the end of the subsection. See Adapt the Form Layout [page 111].
3. On the Properties view, name the field by entering text for the field label.
4. Enter the ID of the field or use the automatically generated one.
Note
IDs must start with a letter and can contain only alphanumeric characters and underscores. IDs must
be unique within a section or subsection. If a form doesn't contain sections or subsections, IDs must be
unique within the entire form.
When you bind a field to a property in the task context, the respective value is shown during form
rendering. Furthermore, if the field is set to editable (see Set the mode of your field [page 109]), changes
to that value by the user are written back to the task context during task completion. If a bound property
doesn't exist in the task context, it might be created during task completion. For more information and
limitations, see Automatic Model Initialization and Model Cleanup [page 114].
The syntax follows the JUEL style described in Expressions [page 78].
Note
You can access the workflow instance context only using dot notation. Conditions and literals are not
supported. Make sure you use a valid path to a property in the context.
Sample Code
{
"report": {
"name": "Travel for TechEd Las Vegas",
"id": "A2E6D6A5ABD4C37",
"owner": "Steve Consultant",
"totalClaimedAmount": 870.30,
"currencyCode": "EUR",
"includesVAT": true,
"numItems": 5,
"invoices": [{
"date": "2017-10-09",
"time": "13:30:00",
"orderDatetime": "2017-10-01T09:15:43.000Z"
]}
}
}
Sample Code
You want to define a field that displays the timestamp of the purchase order in the invoice. You can use
the following data for this field:
Type DateTime -
Field types determine how the field is represented in your task UI. The task UI validates the user input
against the value range of the specified type.
Date Any date of Gregorian calendar from year 1 to Labeled input field with date picker
year 9999
Datetime Any point in time within a date Labeled input field with date and time selector
Time Any time of a day, from 00:00:00 to 23:59:59 Labeled input field with time selector
(or 12:00:00AM-11:59:59PM depending on the
locale)
Height UI Representation
Small A text area approximately twice the height of a single line field with scrolling capa
bilities
Medium A text area approximately twice the height of a small field with scrolling capabilities
Large A text area approximately twice the height of a medium field with scrolling capabil
ities
Mode UI Representation
Editable (Default) The end user can modify the value on the UI.
Display-Only The end user isn't allowed to modify the value on the UI.
Note
The mode affects only the rendered form and not the workflow runtime itself. Read-only attribute
values can still be modified, for example, using the REST API or script tasks.
If the complete form is set to read-only mode, it cannot be changed (see Create Your Form [page 106]).
For an editable field, you can define a placeholder. When the control has no value, the placeholder gives
users a hint when they enter data.
Constraint UI Representation
Required The end user must enter a value; otherwise, they won't be able to use decisions to
complete the task (see Add or Delete Decisions [page 112]).
Note
Constraints affect only the rendered form and not the workflow runtime itself. Required attribute values
can still be set to an empty string using the REST API or script tasks.
Once you've created a form, you can choose whether end users are allowed to change the values in the form's
fields.
Procedure
Note
Mode UI Representation
Editable (Default) For each field, you can modify the value on the UI.
Display-Only For each field, you can no longer modify the value on the UI. The fields are in dis
play mode.
A form-wide display-only mode overwrites individual field "display-only" modes. You can no longer change
the mode for individual fields. However, your previously modeled modes as well as constraints on the
individual fields are preserved in case you switch to form wide Edititable mode again.
The mode affects only the rendered form and not the workflow runtime itself. You can still modify read-
only attribute values at the API level or in script tasks.
Define the layout of your forms, for example, whether to group fields.
To group your fields, choose Add Section. If your form doesn't have any sections, this action moves all fields
into a new section. Otherwise, a new section is added.
If you need a more granular grouping, you can choose Add Subsection while a section is selected. If the
selected section already contains fields, they are moved into the new subsection.
Note
Don't add more than 100 sections to your form, or more than 100 subsections to a single section. If you
need more than 100 subsections, divide them up across several sections.
If you need more than 100 sections, split your UI into multiple forms that are connected using multiple user
tasks.
To add new fields to a section or subsection, select it and choose Add Field.
For each section or subsection, you can specify text for a section title.
Use the following options to change the location of fields, sections, and subsections:
If you paste a subsection before or after a section, the subsection is converted into a section. If you paste a
section before or after a subsection or into a section, then it is converted into a subsection. The latter one
applies only to sections that contain fields but not to sections that contain subsections.
You must define the decisions that users can choose from to complete a task.
Context
Users can complete tasks using decision buttons. You can model the following types of decisions for your form:
● A positive decision
Example: Approve
● A negative decision
Example: Reject
● A neutral decision
Each decision type has its own visual appearance that matches its semantics.
The workflow context stores the decision a user has selected. For more information about how to access the
decision, see Access the Decisions [page 113].
Procedure
Note
IDs must start with a letter and can contain only alphanumeric characters and underscores.
Decisions in your form must have a unique ID.
Move Decisions
Procedure
You can duplicate or change the order of decisions using any of the following options:
○ The context menu
○ The actions in the table toolbar (copy, cut, paste)
○ Drag and drop
My Inbox sorts the decisions first by type (Positive, Negative, Neutral), then by the order in which they're
listed in the DECISIONS table.
Context
For user tasks that use forms, the decision is stored within the user task's properties. See Expressions [page
78]. For each completed task in a flow, the decision_id of the most recently selected decision is stored in the
decision property.
Example
An end user chooses Accept in a user task with the ID "usertask1". You can access the corresponding
decision ID, for example, accept, using a JUEL expression, as follows:
Sample Code
${usertasks.usertask1.last.decision}
Procedure
Use the decision in the context of an exclusive gateway, see Configure a Sequence Flow [page 74]
Example
“${usertasks.usertask1.last.decision=="accept"}”
There are a few runtime behaviors that you'll need to consider when creating forms, for example, make sure
you avoid binding collisions and making sure that all reference objects are bound to context properties.
Model Initialization
To ensure that a form renders correctly in the UI, you must build the corresponding data model so that it can be
rendered. The following items are verified automatically:
● Binding collisions
When a binding collision occurs, the UI doesn't render, and shows an error message. In addition, the
workflow forms runtime posts an aggregated issue report to the browser console.
● Referenced objects in binding path are missing
You can bind fields to context properties that don't exist in the task context when the form is opened. The
workflow forms runtime creates the missing context properties.
Note
For binding paths that include collection elements, missing context properties are created only if each
collection element in the path exists in the context.
For more information, see Bind your field to an attribute of the task context model [page 107]. This is what
it looks like:
{} ${context.myNode1.my
{ {
Node2.myProperty} myNode1: { myNode1: {
myNode2:{} myNode2: {
}
} myProperty:
"anyValue"
}
}
}
Missing context properties are also created for existing element in a collection.
c: "anyValue"
}
}]
}
{a : []} ${context.a[0].b.c}
Model Cleanup
When you complete a form, the form runtime performs a model cleanup before storing data to the workflow.
The cleanup process considers the following:
This is how the workflow forms runtime handles the different data types:
3.3.2.2.1 String
The examples in the table show how the workflow service runtime handles input fields of type string.
Workflow(Task) Con
text Before Binding User Operation Workflow Context After
{} $ None {}
{context.myProperty}
Enter value {
"myProperty" :
"<uservalue>"
}
$ None {
{context.myObject.my "myObject" : {}
Property} }
Enter value {
"myObject" : {
"myProperty" :
"<uservalue>"
}
}
{ $ None {}
{context.myProperty}
"myProperty": Enter value {
"" "myProperty" :
} "<uservalue>"
}
{ $ Field changed {
{context.myProperty} "myProperty" :
"myProperty": "<uservalue>"
"myValue" }
}
Field cleared {}
{ $ None {
{context.myObject.my "myObject" : {}
"myObject" : Property} }
{
{ $ None {
{context.myObject.my "myObject" : {
"myObject" : Property} "myProperty" : "myValue"
{ }
}
"myProperty"
: "myValue"
} Enter value {
}
"myObject" : {
"myProperty" :
"<uservalue>"
}
}
Field cleared {
"myObject" : {}
}
Versioning is a key activity that should be considered by all developers who build production-grade software.
This holds specifically true for forms used by potentially long-running workflows. Without versioning, changes
you develop for forms in future workflow instances unexpectedly also affect already running instances. These
unintended changes often have a negative impact.
Don't confuse versioning of forms with other versioning methods that use version control systems (VCS).
Versioning forms in a Git repository handles design-time versioning of artifacts and is orthogonal to the
runtime-related versioning discussed here. See below for recommendations on how to combine the two.
By default, forms are already versioned in a technical way: Each time a form is deployed to the runtime, a new
(technical) version is created for it. Previous versions are preserved for historical and auditing reasons;
however, end users cannot access them at runtime. This way, developers and administrators have
transparency over who deployed which form and when.
In the technical versioning outlined above, any change to a form represents a new (unqualified) version. There's
no way for developers to distinguish between compatible and incompatible changes.
If a change or release fixes a usability or functional issue, it's typically considered compatible. Incompatible
changes fundamentally alter a form and are usually driven by a business requirement. An incompatible change
can, for example, apply to mandatory form fields that you add to a form. Consequently, a workflow needs to
store additional data in its context that is expected by the changed form. To address this, developers typically
need to change the workflow definition accordingly. Incompatible changes are assumed to take effect for new
workflow instances while already running workflow instances continue to operate on the previous version.
Already running workflow instances wouldn't have the necessary context data.
To allow the differentiation between compatible and incompatible changes, each form has a revision property
that is stored along with any other properties, for example, the form name and form ID.
You can set the revision property when you create a new form or edit its metadata. For more information, see
Create Your Form [page 106].
As stated above, changing the revision of a form and deploying it to the form runtime implies a major release of
the form. By contrast, deploying a form without a change of its revision implies a minor release. This lets you
choose between changes that affect existing workflow instances and changes that affect only future workflow
instances, provided that you change the revision of the respective workflows’ user tasks accordingly.
The following is a list of recommendations of when to leave a form revision unchanged, and when to alter the
revision.
Change the label or placeholder for a form field Change a form field type
Change the layout settings for a form, for exam Change the ID or value for a form field (*)
ple, sections or subsections
Change the text or type for a form field Change the decision ID for a form field
(*) Although there may be conditions where compatibility can be ensured, these types of changes are usually
incompatible. This is decided on a case-by-case basis.
Tip
When you're changing a form revision, we recommend that you tag or otherwise flag the corresponding
commits in Git. This helps when you need to patch an older revision at a later time.
Related Information
The form editor automatically validates your form while you model it.
If there are missing mandatory entries or invalid inputs for any of your form’s elements, for example, for fields,
sections, subsections, or decisions, the form editor notifies you about these inputs. This already happens when
you add an element to your form.
● Form elements with invalid inputs are highlighted with a red mark.
● If the element itself has valid inputs but contains at least one other element with invalid inputs, an orange
mark is displayed.
● The actual validation error for each input of the form element is shown in the respective properties view.
Invalid input fields are highlighted in red and have an error message attached.
Note
If the form editor detects any error in a form, it also adds a reference to the Problems view of SAP Web IDE.
The Problems view is dynamically updated when you change files within the scope of the analysis.
Prerequisites
● You are assigned the WorkflowDeveloper role. For more information, see Authorization Configuration
[page 143].
● All property values you've set must be valid or the deployment fails.
● Maintain all mandatory properties for the form itself, fields, sections, and subsections. Otherwise, the
deployment fails.
Procedure
Right-click the forms file, and choose Deploy Deploy to SAP Cloud Platform Workflow .
Note
Deploying a modified form without changing its revision number, may influence running workflow instances
(see Versioning Forms [page 117]).
SAP Cloud Platform Workflow exposes two kinds of API to address different use cases. The OData-based APIs
expose user-task related data implementing a subset of the Task Consumption Model (TCM), see SAP Note
For information about who can execute these actions, see Authorization Configuration [page 143].
Clients must authenticate to use the workflow service APIs. The following authentication types are supported:
● Basic authentication.
● SAML2
● OAuth2 (client credentials, authorization code, and SAML 2.0 Bearer Assertion Flow for OAuth 2.0)
Rate Limits
To ensure optimal operation of the service, REST API execution is subject to resource limits, for example,
regarding the number of requests per second. If the limits are exceeded, API calls return HTTP status 429
(“Too many requests”). The client should then reduce the number of calls.
Related Information
Call workflow service APIs using OAuth 2.0 authentication (client credentials flow).
Context
Note
The workflow service does not define any OAuth 2.0 scopes. Instead, assign the existing roles to the user
who executes the service calls.
Procedure
For more information, see Navigate to Global Accounts and Subaccounts in the Cockpit.
b. In the navigation area, choose Security OAuth .
c. Under OAuth Settings, choose Clients.
d. To create a client, choose Register New Client and use the following data, then choose Save.
Subscription <SAP provider account>/bpmwork Creates the OAuth 2.0 client in the
flowruntime context of your workflow service
subscription.
Authorization Grant Client Credentials Specifies the OAuth 2.0 flow that is
used to request the access token
and authenticate the API call.
2. To call the user oauth_client_<clientID>, assign the necessary role of the workflow service API.
a. Navigate to your subaccount in the SAP Cloud Platform cockpit.
For more information, see Navigate to Global Accounts and Subaccounts in the Cockpit.
b. In the navigation area, choose Services.
c. Search for the Workflow service.
d. On the Workflow tile, choose Configure Service.
e. In the navigation area, choose Roles.
f. In the Roles table, select the role that you want to assign to the oauth_client_<clientID> user,
where clientID is the ID of the OAuth client that you have just created.
For more information about roles, see Authorization Configuration [page 143].
3. Request an access token from the OAuth 2.0 authorization server.
a. Send a POST request to the token endpoint and specify the grant type as client credentials. To
determine the endpoint URL in the cockpit, see Security OAuth Branding OAuth URLs .
Example: https://oauthasservices-<your_account>.<landscape_host>/oauth2/api/v1/
token?grant_type=client_credentials
b. Authenticate the call using basic authentication, where the user name corresponds to your OAuth
client ID and the password to the client secret.
c. Copy the access token from the HTTP response.
4. Perform the call to the workflow service API by sending the access token as the header:
○ Header name: Authorization
○ Header value: Bearer <access token>
The only difference from basic authorization is the header where you use the authorization header as:
Bearer <access-token>. The rest all remains the same.
Note
There is no need for an XSRF token if you are using the OAuth 2.0 authentication protocol. All you need
is to get the access token first:
○ URL: Token endpoint URL
○ Method: POST
○ User name: OAuth client ID
○ Password: OAuth client secret
The access token that you receive is used to call the APIs.
This procedure illustrates how to call workflow service APIs using OAuth 2.0 authentication using an example
walk-through of the authorization code flow. It shows how several OAuth2 concepts are specifically applied to
workflow service and which configuration parameters are used.
Prerequisites
● Create a new client in SAP Cloud Platform cockpit for your subaccount using the following data:
Subscription <SAP provider account>/ Creates the OAuth 2.0 client in the
bpmworkflowruntime context of your workflow service sub
scription.
Authorization Grant Authorization Code Specifies the OAuth 2.0 flow that is
used to request the access token and
authenticate the API call.
For more information, see Register an OAuth Client in OAuth 2.0 Configuration.
● Assign the necessary role of the workflow service API that you want to call to the user on whose behalf the
call to the workflow service API is executed. Typically, this is the user who authenticates the call to the
OAuth 2.0 authorization endpoint below. For more information about roles, see Authorization
Configuration [page 143].
Context
Developers typically use this flow in web applications. However, other flows might be supported or more
appropriate in your use case. See, for example, a blog about another flow.
Procedure
Example: https://oauthasservices-<your_account>.<landscape_host>/oauth2/api/v1/
authorize?client_id=<clientId>&response_type=code
The response redirects to the URL that you specified as a callback URL in the client details. The value
of the parameter code represents the access token.
c. Copy the code from the HTTP URL.
2. Request an access token from the OAuth 2.0 authorization server.
a. Send a POST request to the token endpoint and specify the grant type as authorization code. To
determine the endpoint URL in the cockpit, see Security OAuth Branding OAuth URLs .Use
the url service configuration parameter and the code from step 1c.
Example: https://oauthasservices-<your_account>.<landscape_host>/oauth2/api/v1/
token?grant_type=authorization_code&code=<code_step1c>
b. Authenticate the call using basic authentication, where the user name corresponds to your OAuth
client ID and the password to the client secret.
c. Copy the access token from the HTTP response body (access_token attribute of the JSON
structure).
Note
If the access token expires before you get to execute step 3, use a refresh token.
The HTTP response in step 2 includes a refresh token (refresh_token attribute). It is typically
used when the lifetime of the returned access token has expired but the application still wants to
execute an HTTP request (as in step 3) on behalf of the given user. You can use the refresh token to
request a new access token for the user without again asking the user for consent. The new access
token then replaces the old one with a new lifetime.
To request a new access token for a given refresh token, send a POST request to the same token
endpoint as in step 2 passing the refresh token. The call must be authenticated again with basic
authentication, where the user name corresponds to your OAuth client ID and the password to the
client secret.
Example
https://oauthasservices-<your_account>.int.sap.hana.ondemand.com/
oauth2/api/v1/token?
grant_type=refresh_token&refresh_token=<refresh_token>
However, it is important to understand that the refresh token has a lifetime as well. Lifetimes of
access and refresh tokens can be configured separately. If the lifetime of the refresh token has
expired, there is no means to request a new refresh token.
3. Perform the call to the workflow service API by sending the access token as the header. Use the end-points
below the base URL from the service configuration parameter workflow_api_url.
○ Header name: Authorization
○ Header value: Bearer <access token>
In the Neo environment, the URL of the host has the following format: https://<host>/workflow-
service/rest. To work with the API actions, you must determine the specific URL.
Note
If you access the workflow APIs from a user interface of an application, you typically need to use a URL that
enables Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) through reverse proxies.
Related Information
Procedure
You can modify a context of a workflow instance in RUNNING, ERRONEOUS, or SUSPENDED status.
Note
● If the context of a workflow instance is in COMPLETED or CANCELED status, the system does not allow
you to modify it.
Override Context
Overriding a context of the workflow instance removes the contents of the context before performing the
override operation. It is substituted with the payload of the operation.
Example
Sample Code
{
variableOnlyInOldContext: 1,
variableOverriden: "good bye!",
variableNestedObject: {
variableNested: true,
variableNestedInOldContext: 1000
}
}
Override operation payload:
{
variableOverriden: "hello!",
variableNestedObject: {
variableNested: false,
variableNestedNew: "new value"
},
variableNew: "I'm new"
}
Context contents after the override operation (equals the payload of the override operation):
Sample Code
{
variableOverriden: "hello!",
variableNestedObject: {
variableNested: false,
variableNestedNew: "new value"
},
variableNew: "I'm new"
}
Patching a context of the workflow instance merges the contents of the context before performing the override
operation with the payload of the operation.
● A variable is present in the workflow instance context and in the operation payload. After the operation is
performed, the value of this variable in the workflow instance context is equal to the corresponding value in
operation payload.
● A variable is present in the workflow instance context, but not in the operation payload. After the operation
is performed, the variable remains unchanged.
● A variable is not present in the workflow instance context before performing the operation, but it is present
in the operation payload. After the operation is performed, the variable is added in the workflow instance
context with the corresponding value.
Note
Example
Sample Code
{
variableOnlyInOldContext: 1,
variableOverriden: "good bye!",
variableNestedObject: {
variableNested: true,
variableNestedInOldContext: 1000
},
variableNew: "I'm new"
}
Sample Code
{
variableOverriden: "hello!",
variableNestedObject: {
variableNested: false,
variableNestedNew: "new value"
},
variableNew: "I'm new"
}
Sample Code
{
variableOnlyInOldContext: 1,
variableOverriden: "hello!",
Consider the naming conventions for context variables. For more information, see Conventions,
Restrictions, and Limits [page 7].
With the task patch API, you can modify the properties of the tasks in status READY or RESERVED.
To update a task, send an HTTP request with the PATCH method to the corresponding API endpoint with the
following payload:
Example
Sample Code
{
"subject": "<New subject>",
"description": "<New description>",
"dueDate": "<New due date>",
"priority": "<New priority>",
"processor": "<New processor>",
"recipientUsers": "<New recipient users>",
"recipientGroups": "<New recipient groups>"
}
Where <New subject>, <New description>, <New due date>, <New priority>, <New
processor>, <New recipient users>, and <New recipient groups> refer to the values of the task
subject, description, due date, priority, processor, recipient users, and recipient groups after the operation
is performed.
Although this sample includes all fields, you only need to specify those fields that you really want to change.
● "LOW"
● "MEDIUM"
● "HIGH"
● "VERY_HIGH"
You can specify the due date using either of these formats: yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ss[.SSS]'Z' or
yyyyMMddHHmmss[.SSS]. The specified time stamp is UTC and is shown to the users in My Inbox in their local
time.
● 2018-02-17T12:28:51Z
● 2018-02-17T12:28:51.854Z
● 20180217122851
● 20180217122851.854
Note
The workflow service does not explicitly check whether processors, recipient users, or groups assigned to
user tasks actually exist in the system.
Sample Code
{
"subject": "Approve purchase of the new monitor for John Doe",
"description": "John Doe has requested a new monitor, because
the old one has been broken",
"priority": "MEDIUM",
"dueDate": 20180217122851,
"processor": "JaneDoe",
"recipientUsers": "JaneDoe, AlexSmith",
"recipientGroups": "Managers, HRs"
}
To remove a due date, recipient users, recipient groups, or the processor from a task, use an empty string:
Sample Code
{
"dueDate": "",
"processor": "",
"recipientUsers": "",
"recipientGroups": ""
}
Expressions
You can use Expressions [page 78] to refer to the context of the relevant workflow instance while updating the
task properties:
Example
Sample Code
{
"subject": "Approve purchase order for $
{context.employee.name} ${context.employee.surname}",
"description": "Price: ${context.price*context.saleReduction}
EUR"
}
Example
Sample Code
{
"employee": {
"name": "John",
"surname": "Doe"
},
"price": 8000,
"saleReduction": 0.5
}
The task has the subject Approve purchase order for John Doe and the description Price: 4000
EUR.
With the same API endpoint that is used for updating the tasks you can also complete the tasks. The Workflow
Participant role must be assigned to your user. To this end, "status" ("COMPLETED") and optionally
"context" need to be present in the payload, for example:
Sample Code
{
"context": {
"price": 6000,
"reductionReason": "Outdated"
},
"status": "COMPLETED"
}
To update and complete the task with the same request, the Workflow Administrator role must be assigned to
your user. The payload then looks as follows:
Sample Code
{
"context": {
"price": 6000,
"reductionReason": "Outdated"
},
"status": "COMPLETED",
"subject": "Approve purchase order for $
{context.employee.name} ${context.employee.surname}",
"description": "Price: ${context.price*context.saleReduction}
EUR"
}
This has the following implications. First, the context of the relevant workflow instance is updated accordingly.
Second, the task properties are updated taking into account the new values of the context. And, finally, task
status changes to "COMPLETED".
Related Information
The workflow execution log contains details about the execution history of a workflow instance.
The workflow execution log collects information that might be of use or interest to either a business user or an
administrator. However, it is not a technical log.
Logged Entries/Events
USERTASK_PATCHED_BY_ADMIN User task status, its properties, or its context was changed
by administrator.
If an error occurs while working with the SAP Cloud Platform Workflow API, the returned error object has an
"errorCode" attribute.
This attribute identifies the area or workflow element where the problem occurred.
bpm.workflowruntime.generic This is a generic error. Contact SAP support cit Troubleshooting [page 154]
.error ing the given log ID.
bpm.workflowruntime.service There was a problem executing a service task. Configure Service Tasks [page 53]
task
bpm.workflowruntime.mailtas There was a problem executing a mail task. Configure Mail Tasks [page 67]
k
bpm.workflowruntime.mailtas There was a problem connecting to the mail Configure Mail Tasks [page 67]
k.connection server, either on network level or relating to the
secure communication setup.
bpm.workflowruntime.mailtas There was a problem while communicating with Configure Mail Tasks [page 67]
k.server a mail server. The server refused the login or did
not accept a mail.
bpm.workflowruntime.scriptt There was a problem executing a script task. Configure Script Tasks [page 58]
ask
bpm.workflowruntime.usertas There was a problem executing a user task. Configure User Tasks [page 39]
k
bpm.workflowruntime.rest There was a problem calling the REST API. Using Workflow APIs [page 119]
Related Information
The user guide for the SAP Cloud Platform Workflow service is for end-users and key-users.
Related Information
You can process workflow service tasks within the My Inbox application, which runs on the SAP Fiori launchpad.
You can use My Inbox on your desktop or mobile device.
A user task is a type of flow object that appears in My Inbox. You can work on a task, complete a task instance,
and view its description.
My Inbox displays the following information about the workflow and tasks:
● Task title
● Tasks with status Ready and Reserved
● Tasks with priority
Key Features
Note
When you claim a task, you become its processor and its other recipients no longer see it in My Inbox.
The status of a claimed task changes from Ready to Reserved.
Note
When you release a task, you are no longer assigned as a processor of this task and it becomes visible
in My Inbox for its other recipients. The status of the task changes from Reserved to Ready.
Note
When you select a task from the List view, the task details are displayed in the Details view. The custom
action buttons, added by following the procedure described in Add Custom Action Buttons [page 90],
appear at the bottom of the screen. When you select one of the buttons, a Custom Action Dialog
appears on your screen. You have the option to add a Decision Note. The field with label Decision Note
is optional except for the case when it is marked with an asterisk (*) before it. In case the field should
be filled in, the Decision Option button is active only if this requirement is fulfilled. Otherwise you are
able to submit your decision without adding a Decision Note.
Prerequisites
● An SAP ID user and access to an SAP Cloud Platform trial or global account. For more information, see
Getting a Global Account.
● Assign the relevant workflow service runtime roles to the SAP ID user. For more information, see
Authorization Configuration [page 143]
● Subscribe to the SAP HANA Platform, Portal service.
● Enable My Inbox app in the SAP Fiori Launchpad for users to access the application. For more information,
see Configuring SAP Fiori Launchpad Objects [page 15].
Depending on your use-case scenario, you can use the Master-Detail view or the Expert View of My Inbox for
displaying and processing your tasks.
Master-Detail View
The Master-Detail view offers options for scanning, selecting, and navigating the tasks that are shown in the
Details area.
In the Master-Detail view of My Inbox, you can perform search, filtering, sorting and grouping operations. It is
optimized for mobile devices.
● View details about the workflow for a selected task and events, relevant to it chronologically.
Note
SAP Cloud Platform Workflow shows only the user ID; it does not show additional user details.
Expert View
The Expert view is a tabular representation of the standard attributes of your tasks in My Inbox.
The Expert View is a tabular representation of the standard attributes of your tasks in My Inbox.
Expert View
The Expert View is a standard predefined tile, which is part of the Workflow catalog. To add it to your Fiori
Launchpad navigate to Me area App Finder Pin it to the desired Group.
Open Tasks
In the Expert View, you can open a task by clicking the line item of the task.
With the default UI of My Inbox, the Detail View screen provides an information tab. If general custom attributes
have been defined, they are shown here.
Note
Your predefined custom attributes are shown in the header area of the Task Details screen. For more
information, see Display Custom Attributes in My Inbox [page 50].
Note
The Created By column of the Expert View contains empty values. To hide it, choose Personalize and
deselect it from the Columns dialog. This action does not persist.
Show Log
To view details about a task workflow and its events chronologically, choose Show Log.
● Workflow Log
The Workflow Log tab contains details about the workflow of a selected task and events relevant to it
chronologically.
Note
When you claim a task, you become the processor of the task and all other recipients no longer see it in My
Inbox. In this case, the status of the task changes from Ready to Reserved.
Release
You can release any task for which you are the processor.
Note
Once you release a task, you are no longer assigned as one of its processors, and it becomes visible in My
Inbox for its other recipients. The status of the task changes from Reserved to Ready.
In the Expert view, you can search, filter, refresh, sort, and group tasks that require action. You can also
personalize the table columns.
Search Tasks
Search all tasks by entering one or more keywords in the Search field.
Note
The search operation is performed on the client side, that is, only among the tasks that are loaded into the
UI.
Filter Tasks
Use the Show Filter Bar button to filter tasks by the following criteria: Task Title, Status, Priority, Due By, and
Created Within.
Sort Tasks
Use the Sort function to sort tasks on the following criteria: Ascending, Descending, Task Title, Status, Priority,
Due On, and Created On.
Group Tasks
Use the Group function of the Expert view to group tasks by Ascending, Descending, Task Type, Status, Priority,
Due On, Created On, None.
Personalize Table
To choose which columns (All, Task Title, Status, Priority, Created By, Created On, Due Date) appear in your
table with tasks, use the Personalize function of the Expert view.
Note
When you select a Task, the footer of the screen shows only the available standard task actions, for
example, Show Log, Claim, or Release. Custom task actions are shown when you open the Task Details view.
Variant management in the Expert View of My Inbox allows you to load, save, and change different personalized
variants of the filter bar.
Procedure
1. Choose Filters.
2. Select the types of filters you want to apply.
3. Choose Save View.
4. Insert the name of the view.
This guide provides an overview of the security-relevant information that applies to the SAP Cloud Platform
Workflow.
It does not replace the administration guide that is available for productive operation.
Related Information
5.1 Architecture
The architecture of the workflow service comprises several components and subservices.
The workflow service includes the following subservices that are provisioned into the customer subaccount
using the SAP Cloud Platform cross-subaccount subscription concept:
For more information, see Multitenant Applications in the SAP Cloud Platform documentation.
● A subscription to the SAP Cloud Platform Portal, respectively the SAP Fiori launchpad is required to use My
Inbox and the Monitor Workflows app.
● While the workflow service runtime exposes a set of REST-based application programming interfaces
(APIs) for managing workflow instances and task instances, the workflow editor, the Monitor Workflows
app, and My Inbox provide only user interfaces (UIs).
● Access to all subservices of the workflow service requires a valid user identity in the corresponding identity
provider that is configured in the customer subaccount.
For more information, see Identity Provider and Identity Management [page 142].
● All UIs offer single sign-on authentication based on SAML assertions. The APIs of the workflow service
runtime can be accessed with SSO authentication using SAML or OAuth 2.0 as well as basic
authentication. In addition, all APIs that can lead to data manipulation in the workflow service runtime are
protected against cross-site request forgery (XSRF).
For more information, see the API documentation of the REST-based API.
For identity management and authentication, the workflow service relies on the identity provider (IdP) that is
configured in the customer subaccount that owns the respective subscriptions.
All requests handled by the workflow service subscriptions are authenticated against the identity provider of
the customer subaccount and authorized against the role assignments specified on the subscriptions in the
customer subaccount. All users who need to interact with the various subservices of the workflow service must
be available in the respective identity provider. You can replace the default SAP Cloud Platform Identity
Authentication service with your own corporate identity provider.
Note
For authentication using SAML or OAuth 2.0, you can use an additional corporate identity provider.
Requests that use basic authentication are still handled by the SAP Cloud Platform Identity Authentication
service.
For more information about the concepts and the necessary configuration steps, see Authorization and Trust
Management in the Neo Environment in the SAP Cloud Platform documentation.
Related Information
The workflow service runtime is one of many SAP Cloud Platform that you can subscribe to. A workflow service
instance is created when you subscribe to the workflow service.
● Workflow service global roles: Users who are assigned to these global roles are then granted the associated
permissions for all workflow definitions, instances, and tasks.
● Instance-specific authorizations: Users who are assigned to these roles are granted permission only for the
respective workflow instance. The workflow service provides APIs that use these authorizations. Users who
are explicitly named by user ID, or as members of explicitly named groups, gain the associated permission
only for the respective workflow instance. You can assign instance-specific permissions using the REST
API. For more information, see Workflow Definition versus Workflow Instance [page 6].
To deploy workflow definitions, users must be assigned to the WorkflowDeveloper role.
Authorizations are cumulative: If any one authorization allows access, access is granted.
SAP Cloud Platform includes predefined platform roles that support the typical tasks performed by users when
interacting with the platform. In addition, subaccount administrators can combine various scopes into a
custom platform role that addresses their individual requirements. Certain activities, such as deployment of
applications and assignment of roles to users or groups, require platform roles. These roles are assigned in the
SAP Cloud Platform cockpit.
For more information about assigning global roles and permissions, see Getting Started with Workflow Service
in the Neo Environment [page 14].
Role Description
WorkflowDeveloper (global role) ● Permission to use the workflow editor and deploy workflow definitions
● Permission to query workflow definitions
● Permission to retrieve the current error messages of a workflow instance
● Permission to retrieve the model of the latest version of a specified workflow defi-
nition
WorkflowContextAdmin (global ● Permission to partially modify or completely override the workflow context of a
role) workflow instance
● Permission to retrieve the context of a task instance
contextAdminUsers
contextAdminGroups
contextViewerUsers
contextViewerGroups
WorkflowInitiator (global role) ● Permission to view the sample context of a workflow definition
● Permission to start workflow instances (using the API or the Monitor Workflows
app)
WorkflowParticipant (global ● Permission to view tasks in My Inbox, where the user assigned to this role is a re
role) cipient
● Permission to perform task operations including the following:
○ Claim
○ Release
○ Call the task completion API
● This role is a prerequisite to work with instance-specific permissions.
WorkflowMessageSender (global ● Permission to send a message to a set of workflow instances for consumption in
role) intermediate message events
WorkflowViewer (global role) ● Permission to query workflow definitions* as well as query workflow instances
● Permission to view context of workflow instances and task instances
viewerUsers
● Permission to retrieve the tasks of a workflow instance
viewerGroups
● Permission to retrieve the workflow logs for a given workflow instance
● Permission to download the workflow model
5.4 Destinations
Subservices communicate using predefined destinations in a customer subaccount, for example, when the My
Inbox or the Manage Workflows application communicates with the workflow runtime.
Predefined destinations are generated and configured when you enable the workflow service in a customer
subaccount. For more information, see Principal Propagation for User Interfaces [page 145] below.
The workflow runtime communicates, according to the workflow definitions, with other services.
● The workflow runtime uses destinations of type Mail to communicate with mail servers.
For more information, see Configure the Workflow Service Mail Destination [page 18] and Configure Mail
Tasks [page 67].
● To communicate with other services, the workflow runtime uses destinations of type HTTP.
For more information, see Destination Configuration for Service Task [page 145] below and Configure
Service Tasks [page 53]. For authentication and authorization purposes, also other, referenced
destinations might be used, for example, OAuth2 authorization endpoints.
Communication between different subservices uses principal propagation, which forwards the user who is
logged on to the user interface to the workflow service runtime. This lets all requests that are sent to the
workflow service runtime on behalf of the user (who initiated the request from the user interface) be posted.
Principal propagation is automatically enabled when you enable the workflow service in a customer
subaccount.
For more information about the concepts and the necessary configuration steps, see Application-to-
Application SSO Authentication in the SAP Cloud Platform documentation.
The workflow service supports outbound connectivity for orchestrating external services and systems.
Destinations decouple modeling service tasks in your workflow model from the configuration of the physical
back-end systems that are called in the service task at runtime.
Tip
Configure destinations to use secure communication protocols, such as HTTPS, wherever possible.
● Basic Authentication: Select Basic Authentication as the authentication type in the destination.
● OAuth2 Client Credentials flow: For more information, see Configure a Service Task Destination with
OAuth2 Client Credentials Flow [page 147].
● OAuth2SAMLBearerAssertion: For calls to services outside of SAP Cloud Foundry. Use this authentication
type to propagate the user from certain actions on the workflow to other services. For more information,
see Configure a Service Task Destination with OAuth2SAMLBearerAssertion for Principal Propagation
[page 148] and Configuring Principal Propagation for Service Tasks [page 20].
● OAuth2UserTokenExchange: For calls to services in SAP Cloud Foundry. Use this authentication type to
propagate the user from certain actions on the workflow to other services. For more information, see
OAuth User Token Exchange Authentication and Configuring Principal Propagation for Service Tasks [page
20].
● No Authentication: If the service you want to call doesn't require any authentication, select No
Authentication as the authentication type in the destination.
Besides the authentication type, the following destination features are supported in the workflow service:
To connect to on-premise back-end systems, you can use the SAP Cloud Platform cloud connector. For more
information about how to install and configure the SAP Cloud Platform cloud connector, see SAP Cloud
Platform Connectivity in the SAP Cloud Platform documentation.
To configure destinations, use the standard SAP Cloud Platform mechanisms in the SAP Cloud Platform
cockpit. For more information, see Configuring Destinations from the Cockpit.
Note
For server verification, additional properties that were configured at the destinations as described in Server
Certificate Authentication are ignored. Consequently, you can't turn off trust verification, and host names
are always verified in strict mode.
If you use the OnPremise proxy type to connect to an on-premise back-end system, make sure that you
specify the URL of the virtual host that is maintained in the SAP Cloud Platform cloud connector as the
destination URL, rather than the actual URL of the back-end system. The scheme of the specified URL
must be http://, not https://.
While destination configuration data is stored completely within the customer subaccount, the workflow
service runtime must temporarily access this data when executing a workflow instance. This data isn't
persisted within the workflow service itself.
Prerequisites
Procedure
Name the property bpm.oauth.token.destination. It must be able to use arbitrary values, for
example, ServiceTaskOAuthEndpoint, and must point to a second destination.
3. Create a new destination with the name that you have specified for the property value in the previous step.
4. Configure the destination using the following data:
Property Value
URL An OAuth2 token endpoint from which a valid access token can be requested
You can set up destinations that use OAuth2SAMLBearerAssertion for Principal Propagation.
Prerequisites
Procedure
Property Value
For SAP Cloud Platform Neo, see Principal Propagation to OAuth-Protected Ap
plications
For SAP Cloud Platform Cloud Foundry, see Principal Propagation from the Neo
to the Cloud Foundry Environment.
To access a Neo service from the Cloud Foundry environment, you need to con
figure trust between the Cloud Foundry and Neo environments. See, for exam
ple, Principal Propagation from the Cloud Foundry to the Neo Environment.
If you want to call a service in the Cloud Foundry environment, see the account ID in the cockpit in your
space under Instance Service Key .
If you want to call a service in the Neo environment, see the account ID in the cockpit under Security
OAuth Clients .
4. From the Additional Properties panel, choose New Property, and enter the following property:
Property Value
authnContextClassRef urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:ac:classes:X509
5. (Optional) If your destination points to a service in a different subaccount in the Neo or Cloud Foundry
environment, you must configure trust between these accounts.
Note
SAP does not provide legal advice in any form. SAP software supports data protection compliance by providing
security features and data protection-relevant functions, such as blocking and deletion of personal data. In
many cases, compliance with applicable data protection and privacy laws is not covered by a product feature.
Furthermore, this information should not be taken as advice or a recommendation regarding additional
features that would be required in specific IT environments. Decisions related to data protection must be made
on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration the given system landscape and the applicable legal
requirements. Definitions and other terms used in this documentation are not taken from a specific legal
source.
SAP Cloud Platform Workflow shall not be used for storing and processing sensitive personal data.
Recommendation
Working copies of data from systems of record that are stored in a workflow context should be limited to
the very minimum required for the processing.
An information report is a collection of data relating to a data subject. A data privacy specialist may be required
to provide such a report or an application may offer a self-service.
REST API endpoints help the data privacy specialist when building a report. The data export endpoint, for
example, enables the data privacy specialist to retrieve all relevant information for further processing.
For more information, see Using Workflow APIs [page 119] and Export Workflow Service Data [page 30].
5.5.2 Erasure
When handling personal data, consider the legislation in the different countries where your organization
operates. After the data has passed the end of purpose, regulations may require you to delete the data.
However, additional regulations may require you to keep the data longer. During this period, you must block
access to the data by unauthorized persons until the end of the retention period, when the data is finally
deleted.
Personal data can also include referenced data. The challenge for deletion and blocking is first to handle
referenced data and then other data, such as business partner data.
As part of the SAP Cloud Platform offboarding process, all data stored within the workflow service is deleted.
For audit needs, the workflow service offers an export feature. For more information, see Export Workflow
Service Data [page 30].
To delete workflow definitions, workflow context data, or form definitions, the workflow service provides REST
APIs. For more information, see the SAP Cloud Platform Workflow API
Caution
Workflow definitions and form definitions are persisted separately. Deleting a workflow definition does not
delete dependent form definitions and the other way round.
Deleting dependent artifacts of a workflow, such as form definitions, may break existing workflow
definitions and running workflow instances.
For auditing purposes or for legal requirements, changes made to personal data should be logged, enabling the
monitoring of who made changes and when.
Therefore, SAP Cloud Platform Workflow may write logs into the audit log handled by the platform itself.
Note
SAP Cloud Platform Workflow does not provide inherent support for logging changes in the workflow
context.
The workflow developer must take care of logging changes to attributes in the workflow context that hold
personal data. Such changes may occur, for example, when calling external services, through intermediate
message events, or when updating context data through the REST API.
Workflow definitions may include personal data, for example, the user IDs of task recipients. For this kind of
data, the API provides versioning access at /v1/workflow-definitions/{definitionId}/versions.
The workflow service contains information about which users completed which tasks. You can retrieve this
information using the REST API endpoint /v1/workflow-instances/{workflowInstanceId}/
execution-logs.
Furthermore, it contains information about which user has deployed a form definition. You can retrieve this
information by using the data export endpoint, see Information Report [page 150].
5.5.4 Glossary
Term Definition
Business purpose A legal, contractual, or in other form justified reason for the
processing of personal data. The assumption is that any pur
pose has an end that is usually already defined when the
purpose starts.
Consent The action of the data subject confirming that the usage of
his or her personal data shall be allowed for a given purpose.
A consent functionality allows the storage of a consent re
cord in relation to a specific purpose and shows if a data
subject has granted, withdrawn, or denied consent.
End of business Date where the business with a data subject ends, for exam
ple the order is completed, the subscription is canceled, or
the last bill is settled.
End of purpose (EoP) End of purpose and start of blocking period. The point in
time, when the primary processing purpose ends (for exam
ple contract is fulfilled).
End of purpose (EoP) check A method of identifying the point in time for a data set when
the processing of personal data is no longer required for the
primary business purpose. After the EoP has been reached,
the data is blocked and can only be accessed by users with
special authorization (for example, tax auditors).
Purpose The information that specifies the reason and the goal for
the processing of a specific set of personal data. As a rule,
the purpose references the relevant legal basis for the proc
essing of personal data.
Residence period The period of time between the end of business and the end
of purpose (EoP) for a data set during which the data re
mains in the database and can be used in case of subse
quent processes related to the original purpose. At the end
of the longest configured residence period, the data is
blocked or deleted. The residence period is part of the over
all retention period.
Retention period The period of time between the end of the last business ac
tivity involving a specific object (for example, a business
partner) and the deletion of the corresponding data, subject
to applicable laws. The retention period is a combination of
the residence period and the blocking period.
Sensitive personal data A category of personal data that usually includes the follow
ing type of information:
Where-used check (WUC) A process designed to ensure data integrity in the case of
potential blocking of business partner data. An application's
where-used check (WUC) determines if there is any depend
ent data for a certain business partner in the database. If de
pendent data exists, this means the data is still required for
business activities. Therefore, the blocking of business part
ners referenced in the data is prevented.
When working with the workflow service, you may encounter issues that prevent access or affect performance.
Note
We recommend that you also check the Questions & Answers for SAP Cloud Platform Workflow.
If none of these resources helps solve your problem, please open a ticket. See SAP Note 1888290 .
Related Information
End Users Can't Open SAP Fiori Launchpad Tiles [page 154]
Error When Clicking "Go to Service" on Portal Tile [page 159]
HTTP Status 403: User Doesn't Have Sufficient Privileges [page 160]
Tasks Not Appearing in My Inbox [page 160]
Error During Workflow Deployment in SAP Web IDE [page 161]
No Permissions Granted [page 161]
When SAP provides a new version of an HTML5 UI component, for example, the Monitor Workflows app or My
Inbox, end users may be unable to open the tiles for these applications, depending on the HTML5 cache status
in the SAP Fiori launchpad. The open action fails with an error message.
Symptom
Solution
● The cache in the SAP Fiori launchpad service component references a previously used version of the
affected HTML5 application. After an update, the previous version is no longer available. To clear the cache,
see Clear the SAP Fiori Launchpad Cache [page 155].
Result
End users can now reload their SAP Fiori launchpad and use the tiles again.
You use this procedure to resolve the cache issues in SAP Fiori launchpad.
Prerequisite
You are unable to open the SAP Fiori launchpad tiles. For more information, see End Users Can't Open SAP Fiori
Launchpad Tiles [page 154].
Solution
Clear the cache using a user account that has permission to run the cockpit application and to edit the SAP
Fiori launchpad configuration for the given tenant.
1. In your browser, open the SAP Cloud Platform cockpit for the affected account.
2. In the navigation area, choose Services , then choose the Portal Service tile.
You use this procedure to change the SAP Fiori launchpad to the latest version.
Prerequisite
You are unable to open the SAP Fiori launchpad tiles. For more information, see End Users Can't Open SAP Fiori
Launchpad Tiles [page 154].
Solution
You have the user account that has permission to run the cockpit application and to edit the SAP Fiori
launchpad configuration for the given tenant.
1. In your browser, open the SAP Cloud Platform cockpit for the affected account.
2. In the navigation area, choose Services , then choose the Portal Service tile.
9. Choose Save.
10. In the navigation area, choose Settings. Choose Actions, then choose Clear HTML5 Application Cache.
Symptom
When you chose Go to Service on the Portal tile in the services overview of the SAP Cloud Platform cockpit, you
see the following error: The site cannot be displayed due to insufficient privileges as
shown below.
Solution
Result
When you now choose Go to Service on the Portal tile, the landing page of the Portal service opens.
Symptom
Solution
Related Information
Symptom
You can't see the tasks you've created, even though you directly assigned your user as a recipient user.
Solution
User IDs are case sensitive in the workflow service. When you authenticate against the SAP Cloud Platform
Identity Authentication service, your user ID is provided in all uppercase letters. Your user ID must match the
one in the recipient user field. Therefore, use only uppercase letters to enter your user ID, for example,
P123456789 instead of p123456789.
Related Information
Symptom
You see the following error message while you are deploying the workflow editor on SAP Web IDE:
Solution
See the list of possible causes for the failure and the respective solutions:
● SAP Cloud Platform Workflow isn't enabled. To enable the workflow service, see Getting Started with
Workflow Service in the Neo Environment [page 14].
● The destination isn't configured correctly. To configure the destination, perform the following steps:
1. Log in to your subaccount in the SAP Cloud Platform cockpit.
2. In the navigation area, choose Connectivity Destinations .
3. Choose the bpmworkflowruntime destination.
4. In the Destination Configuration section, choose Edit.
5. In Additional Properties, select New Property, then choose WebIDEEnabled as the new property.
6. Set this property to true.
7. Choose Save.
Result
After performing these steps, you should be able to deploy the workflow again.
Symptom
You have assigned the appropriate roles in the SAP Cloud Platform cockpit; however, you still receive the
following message: No permission (forbidden).
Solution
New roles that are assigned to you are not applied to existing browser sessions; they do not take effect until
after you log in again to the SAP Cloud Platform Identity Authentication service.
Symptom
Solution
Symptom
You want to create a workflow project from a template in SAP Web IDE Full-Stack but the Category field does
not offer the entry Business Process Management.
Solution
Symptom
When you try to open the workflow editor, the editor does not load.
Solution
Create a new workspace in the SAP Web IDE Full-Stack using the following steps:
Result
You can now open the workflow editor under the new workspace folder created in SAP Web IDE Full-Stack.
Symptom
You created a workflow in the workflow editor in SAP Web IDE Full-Stack. When you try to deploy the workflow,
you cannot find the Deploy Deploy to SAP Cloud Platform Workflow option in the context menu of your
workflow.
Solution
Check whether SAP Cloud Platform Workflow is enabled in the project settings in your project using the
following steps:
Result
You can now find the Deploy Deploy to SAP Cloud Platform Workflow option in the context menu of your
workflow.
Symptom
You created a workflow in the workflow editor in SAP Web IDE Full-Stack. When you try to deploy the workflow,
you are not allowed to do so.
Solution
Solution
1. In the Monitor Workflow - Workflow Instances app, look for errors under ERROR MESSAGES.
2. Check whether the destination exists and the path is valid.
3. If basic authentication is used, check whether the user and password are valid.
4. On-premise destination and cloud connector: Make sure the domain mapping is correct. For more
information, see this answer .
5. If principal propagation is configured for the service task, verify the following:
○ Verify that you have executed all steps for enabling principal propagation as described in Configuring
Principal Propagation for Service Tasks [page 20].
○ Check whether you have configured the service task destination as described in Configure a Service
Task Destination with OAuth2SAMLBearerAssertion for Principal Propagation [page 148].
○ If you have modified the role or group assignments for the user who is propagated to the service task,
but if those changes are not reflected in the service task call:
○ Make sure that the affected user has logged out and logged in again.
○ Wait until the token for the OAuth client, which is configured in the service task destination, has
expired. The expiration depends on the token lifetime, which is configured in the OAuth client.
○ Make sure that the affected user has either completed a user task or started a workflow, where the
user task or start event is configured as principal propagation source.
Related Information
Symptom
You are used to work with My Inbox and are missing features usually available there.
Solution
Related Information
Symptom
You use a custom IDP and experience authentication issues when accessing the workflow service using basic
authentication (HTML response instead of a successful authentication).
Solution
Your custom IDP is not enabled for basic authentication by default. To change this configuration, create a
support ticket on component BC-NEO-SEC-IAM.
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