Understanding SharePoint Designer Workflows

Summary: SharePoint Designer is a Microsoft Product that allows you to create custom workflows and most importantly it can be done without code. Workflows are used to streamline and automate business processes by outlining series of actions and conditions to reach a goal. The workflow steps, conditions and actions are defined by what needs to take place in the business process. The first step to creating a workflow is first understanding and mapping out the business process. Once you have a clear picture of the business process you can translate that to a workflow.

Some basic examples of workflow actions: Approval Process, Assign a Task, Gather Feedback, Send Emails, Update Fields etc. When you string these actions together, it can complete a business process.

SharePoint Workflow Platforms
There are 2 different platforms to create workflows:

• SharePoint 2010 workflow platform – hosted locally, can send emails to external users, some different actions
• SharePoint 2013 workflow platform – hosted externally via Azure, cannot send emails to external users, has stages, added powerful actions: looping and calling web service

Workflow Types
There are 3 different types of workflows that you can created. Each will be associated to SharePoint at a different level: site, content type and/or library/list. Based on the type of workflow different fields and actions will be available.

1. List Workflow
   The workflow is created for a specific list or library and cannot be re-used for another list/library. The workflow will need to be manually recreated for another list/library. All list/library properties will be available to use in the workflow conditions and actions.
2. Reusable Workflow
   The workflow is not attached to any specific list/library, site or content type. It is created at site collection or sub site level and can be used across the site. Workflow can easily be copied to a different site collection as well. But the properties available are limited. Only generic columns can be used like Title, Modified, Modified By. On the SharePoint 2010 platform, you can add Associated columns to the workflow and you can create the workflow for a specific content type. Creating the 2010 workflow for a specific content type, will allow you to use the content type specific columns as well in the workflow.
3. Site Workflow
   The workflow is created on site level. It does not run directly on a list/library but you can read/write values to a specific list/library. The workflow is triggered manually or by a direct URL instead of being triggered when an items is added or updated.

Workflow Components
Workflows are made up of these primary components Events, Conditions and Actions and Stages.

1. Events – This are the events that will trigger a workflow.
   1. Manually – A workflow can be trigger manually on a list/library, content type or site on a as need basis.
   2. When an item in Added – Every time an item is added to list/library, the workflow is triggered.
   3. When an item is changed – Every time an item is changed in a list/library, the workflow is triggered.
      
2. Conditions – Conditions are If, If Else statements that determine what action will occur. Conditions can be nested. Example: If an item is tagged as the Finance Department send it to Finance to approve and if the item is tagged as the Logistics department Send to Logistics.
   
3. Actions – The actions needed to be completed in each stage of the business process. The screenshot below only shows a small selection of the actions available. Note: Actions available will vary based on the workflow type you are creating.
   

Other components available to get familiar with is:
Stages, Steps, Impersonation Step (2010 platform) or App Step (2013 platform), parallel block, variables, Initiation form parameters.

Getting Started in SharePoint Designer
That is the basic overview of the workflow, now its time to open up SharePoint Designer and try it out.

1. First you will need to download SharePoint Designer 2013.
2. Open SharePoint Designer, select Open Site
3. Paste in the site URL in the pop up window. Note: SharePoint Designer will only accept the URL up until the site URL so be sure to remove anything after. For Example remove from the end of the URL: /default.aspx or /sitepages/home.aspx
4. On the left navigation, select Workflows
5. From the top bar menu, select the workflow type you would like to create. For list workflows, select the list to associated the workflow to.
6. A Pop up will display, enter a unique name for the workflow. For 2010 reusable workflow, you can specify the content type as well.
7. Select the platform type to create the workflow on and select OK
8. Now you are ready to build your workflow. Use the conditions and actions menu to build your workflow.
9. Once complete, Select Workflow Settings to update the start conditions for the workflow
10. Then Select Publish to be able to test your new workflow