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A workflow is a created as a FirstClass application. As such, it uses a combination of
• custom forms and use of the workflow step field, created using FirstClass Designer
• containers, which may be a member of a container template
• mail rules
• custom columns and layouts for moderators and non-moderators
Workflow can start by a user choosing Message > New Message Special or it can be initiated from a container, by opening a document or selecting New message.
The workflow step field
The workflow step field (8068) is a field which is used to effect changes to a form as it is stepped through a workflow. The field can be set to a start value (typically zero) and can be updated using the rules system, or by selected server operations.
The workflow copy & workflow send features increments the workflow step by 1.
The workflow copy and workflow send are accessed through command button field.
Workflow copy command 858
Workflow send command 832
The rules system can update the field in the object (permanent stepping), or it can send the field to the client (client masking). A combination of these facilities can be used to change the appearance of the form as it progresses through the workflow steps.
   A workflow scenario
The following is a sketch of how workflow could be used for an IT work request.
1 A user opens the Employee Administrivia conference and initiates an IT Work Request. He opens a custom document and clicks a command button called IT Work Request, which was defined by the Application Developer as a Workflow Copy.
2 After filling in the necessary information the user sends the request to a conference by clicking on a command button called Send, which was defined by the Application Developer as a Workflow Send.
3 In the IT Work Request conferences, the Help Desk Manager reviews the request and assigns it to one of the Help Desk team members. The action of assigning the request to a team member, makes the request visible to all team members.
4 The team member updates the status. In this case, from Assigned to In Progress, to Complete. All help desk members can see the current status of all requests by opening the IT Work Request container.
5 When the request status is set to Complete the request is automatically filed in the Archived folder.
The IT Work Request Form
The IT Work Request form is created using the workflow field 8068 and 2 command buttons.
Workflow copy (858) increases 8068 by 1
Workflow send (832) increases 8068 by 1
The 8068 field uses field control to reveal hidden fields on the form.
The form also has a field with the value of 61 (approve/unapprove), this field controls whether the IT Work Request can be seen by the team members.
State 0 Employee Start
The form the user sees looks something like this:
The user clicks Start to initiate the workflow.
 State 1 Employee enters the requested information and sends the request by clicking Hand In.
 State 2 Sent request
 States 3 and 4 Manager's and team's view of request
 The IT Work Request conference
The permissions are as follows:
• Manager is moderator.
• IT Help Desk employees are contributor + edit items.
• Employees can send to the conference.
• Messages require approval and "Filter unapproved items" is enabled.
• New requests arrive unapproved, therefore team members cannot see requests until the manager assigns the request to a team member.
• The Assigned checkbox has a value of 61. When the manager enables the checkbox the request is approved and made available to the team members.
Rules for the container
Rule 1
On Receipt change the message to a document. This allows Help Desk employees to edit the messages.
Rule 2
The workflow field has a value of 2 and the user has his copy of the request in his Mailbox. We need to reveal fields that we don't want the user to see.
We can us a rule to increment the workflow field whenever the manager opens the request. At this stage only the manager can see the request.
The rule will be as follows: on message read, if the current user is the Help Desk Manager, temporarily set the field 8068 to 3, which reveals another set of hidden fields.
By sending the change just to the client, it reserves the workflow state of the request in the user's mailbox. The rule could set any field on the form and field control could reveal more hidden fields.
Rule 3
On modify, when the status field is set to Complete, move document to the Completed Requests subfolder.
Container Custom columns
Custom columns in the IT Work Request conference will be mapped to the fields on the custom form. Status field updates are visible from the table manager.
Field Control annotation for field 8068
//When field 8068 is set to 0 show field 1000; when it is set to 1, 2, 3 and 4 hide field 1000
0/1000:S;1/1000:H;2/1000:H;3/1000:H;4/1000:H;
//When field 8068 is set to 0 hide field 1001, for 1, 2, 3, and 4 show field 1001
0/1001:H;1/1001:S:2/1001:S;3/1001:S;4/1001:S;
//When field 8068 is set to 0 or 1, hide field 1002, for 2, 3, 4 show field 1002
0/1002:H;1/1002:H;2:/1002:S;3/1002:S;4/1002:S;
//When 8068 is set to 0, 1 or 2, hide field 1003, and for 3 and 4 show field 1003
0/1003:H;1/1003:H;2:/1003:H;3/1003:S;4/1003:S;
//When 8068 is set to 0, 1, or 2, hide filed 1004, and for 3 and 4 show filed 1004
0/1004:H;1/1004:H;2:/1004:H;3/1004:S;4/1004:S
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