Question

Are modified versions of the same template possible?

Workflow Forms How To Laserfiche

Updated October 17, 2019

asked on October 16, 2019

We have a process that is going to involve many different workflows and a lot of metadata manipulation. We are using a single template and it's getting huge because of all the fields involved. My question is:

Can the visible/accessible fields in a template be modified at different steps in a workflow?

For instance, say you have a template with 20 fields. In one part of a workflow (task A), you will be using/working with fields 1 through 15; in another part (task B), you will work with fields 16 through 17; and in another part (task C) you will be using fields 1, 2, 19 and 20. Is there a way to only display the template fields that are required at each task and temporarily hide the others that are not needed during that task? Ideally, we'd also like to arrange the fields in an order that is logical for each task.

Is there any way this can be accomplished? We've looked at "Assign Field Values" and see that you can reassign a different template at various points in the workflow using this tool - however, I'm unclear on if/how the existing data would seamlessly move from Template A to Template B if you use this tool. i.e., say template A has fields 1 through 20 and template B has fields 1, 2, 19 and 20 that are the same as in Template A and which need to reflect the same values to date in the process as are in Template A.

Ultimately, we are going to have a really huge template and want the end users to only see what they need to work with at each step in the process (if that's possible).

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SELECTED ANSWER

replied on October 17, 2019 • Show version history

Hi Jane

Yes, you can use the Assign Field Values to assign individual metadata fields as well as Templates. Just an FYI, you can apply Colors to Templates which in the Windows Client will change the Repository ICON of the Doc/Folder it is assigned to, and in the Web Client, placed a Color Bar to the left of the Item. Sometimes just a visual way of seeing things

As far as Forms goes, in a Business Process, Forms can trigger a Workflow (Service Task), the workflow can use information from the Form (Retrieve Business Process Variables), and then pass values back to the Form process (Set Business Process Variables) to continue or even to kick off a different Forms Process (Invoke Business Process). What you find when you use Forms with Workflows, is that the Workflows tend to smaller, more like little routines and you don't worry about moving files from Folder to Folder for people to work on as the assignment of work is done through the Forms task inbox which allows you to use Teams, etc to assign task and you have better analytics about where you are in the process. Many times I even save the Action History with the Form in the Repository as a Proof Source of the process that has been followed. If you are using an older version of Forms, you may not have all the functionality.

There is also a feature in the the last couple versions of the WebClient where you can have a Form in what used to be called the details pane. This form can be shown in the Document Viewer so you can see the Document, Metadata and a Form which may be part of your process. I then may have selections in the form that the user makes, and when they press submit, Workflow can make changes to the Document Metadata, kick off a workflow, make an approval, etc.

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replied on October 17, 2019

Hi Jane, there would be a couple options for you. of which using Forms as Jeremy has suggested might be a good idea. I often push documents into a Forms process as the flexibility of forms as you work through a business process can give you better managed process then just assigning Templates and fields using workflow. Using Forms may even alleviate the requirement to have all those workflows.

But if you must use Metadata fields, then my suggestion would be to create Multiple Templates each with the fields require to be displayed at that time. Those templates though would contain the same fields, so as you move from step to step and the Template changes the fields will still contain the information from what has been entered previously. The thing to remember is that really what is happening is you are assigning fields to a document, the template is just a means to group them together, and any data entered into a field assigned to a document remains with the document even when you switch templates that may not contain those fields.

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replied on October 17, 2019

Hi Steve -

Thanks for the info. We have looked at the "Assign Field Values" --> "Assign the Following Template" activity/property - would that be what I would want to use if I followed your suggestion in your second paragraph and used a variety of templates?

The process we are structuring is going to be HUGE and has lots and lots of alternatives at many stages of the process, so we really haven't considered using Forms beyond the initial user input as workflow is so much more flexible. (I do have a different process that is fully contained in forms and it feels like a real beast to try to maneuver in the process when I need to troubleshoot or alter something, some I'm loathe to create anything too extensive in forms). If one were to use Forms in tandem with workflow, can you direct a workflow back to a forms process and if so, how would you do that?

Thanks especially for the explanation on metadata fields vs templates. You answered all of our concerns on that.

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SELECTED ANSWER

replied on October 17, 2019 • Show version history

Hi Jane

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replied on October 17, 2019

Wow, that's good stuff to consider, particularly the part about using Forms vs. moving from folder to folder .... that was another issue we were facing, having all kinds of "holding tank" type folders while waiting for metadata changes to be made. Very interesting. Thanks so much for all of the info, we will definitely be using it moving forward in structuring our process.

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replied on October 17, 2019

My first thought while reading your response is "why not use Forms"? Presenting/controlling fields for collection at various parts of a process is exactly what Forms is good at. Then write the finished product into metadata in the repository or even at each step in the process.

To directly answer your question, in short, I don't believe the functionality you're asking for is available in metadata itself simply for the same reason as I mentioned, it's something that Forms is better suited for. For something like this you could likely even use Forms Basic so any additional license likely isn't required if you don't have Forms Professional.

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