Question

For Each Entry Error "No activities in this workflow provide relevant data".

Workflow

Updated December 22, 2015

asked on December 21, 2015

I know why it's happening, but looking for another way around the problem.

I have a great WF tool for staff that automates creating a folder, naming the documents and folder, templating all the documents based on what was put into the target folder's metadata, and files it all where I want them. Works great! Based on a target folder. You drop a bunch of photographs into it, and suddenly there's a new folder with all the photos in it, documents all named and templated, all in the time you can snap your fingers!! Love it!

Today, I added a new feature. I wanted to tweak it so that it clears out the target folder's metadata when done. I used Assign Field Values to clear out the fields. The WF does it; it clears out the metadata on the target folder after the first one is completed, however, if I drop four photographs into the folder all at once, the first one gets done, but not the others, because the WF is activated upon a document being dropped into the target folder.

I thought a For-Each-Entry would solve the problem, but after exploring that, I realized it won't because the WF handles one document at a time because of the Starting Rules.

Should I just leave my awesome tool alone and hope staff remember to check all the fields on the target folder's metadata before activating another bunch of photographs to template and file away? Or is there another way to get around this? Worse case scenario: One person might add a land description in one of the lower fields that can't be seen unless you scroll down to it and, in later days, that land description ends up on other peoples' photographs.

Thx, Connie Prendergast (Flagstaff County, AB, Canada)

0 0

Replies

replied on December 21, 2015

So just to be clear, you add metadata on the parent folder and then depending on the values of the parent folder, it assigns metadata to the contents and then files the contents away into folders elseware?

If so, the way I would approach it would be to turn it into a user initiated business process. You would start the business process on the parent folder once you have all your items inside. Then, it would perform your for each entry loop to go through and assign metadata for each while filing them away. At the end it would remove metadata from the parent folder.

1 0

replied on December 22, 2015

Interesting, John. I never thought of using the Business Processes. I will have to explore this idea. thanks!

0 0

replied on December 21, 2015

I'm not entirely sure how you see it working. What sort of metadata is cleared from the folder? What if you drop one document in today and another tomorrow? How would the second document get its field data if the first one clears the fields?

0 0

replied on December 22, 2015 • Show version history

The WF is designed to save staff time by naming groups of documents, templating them all for them, and filing them away, all in a blink. The WF does the naming and templating based on what fields are filled in on the folder template.

So, today, Kelsey might decide to bring in a bunch of photographs that were taken at a grader accident scene. They will all be about the same topic and taken on the same day, so, she will type the key words into the Subject field on the target folder (in a manner according to our naming convention [year/main topic/more detail if necessary]). Then she will drag the photos off the G: drive on Windows and directly into the target folder, which has a starting rule for newly created documents. For each of those photos, a WF starts, adds a specific template to the doc(s), copies the fields (Dept, Subject, Land Descriptions) into the templates, and names the documents and new folder (if there isn't one already) based on the words in the Subject field.

Next week, Kevin might come along and decide to bring in the photographs he took of an employee injury situation. He will do the same, putting his detail into the target folder's fields, then drag the photos into the target folder.

I can foresee staff only occasionally bothering with the Land Description fields and not bothering to clear them out if someone had recently filled one of those fields out, so I had a brainstorm that I could make the WF clear them out after any group of photos. Wasn't that simple.

Thx, Connie

0 0

replied on December 22, 2015

Why dont you just apply the metadata from the template to teh newly created folder instead of your drop folder?

In your assign field values activity, chose "Other Entry" at the bottom and assign it to the folder created in the "Route Entry to Folder" activity.

Then, you can have a triggered workflow that will grab that metadata and assign it to all the documents in the newly created folder.

This way, you never assign any metadata to the drop folder.

0 0

replied on December 22, 2015 • Show version history

I'll have to think that one through, Richard. I'm a bit inexperienced with all of this. Ya, currently, my WF doesn't copy the fields from the target folder to the new folder first, and then onto each document. Not sure how I can make your idea work, though. Would it have to be two workflows?

I did originally have these tools use the metadata out of the document dropped into the target folder, which then created the new folder. This was done because staff are not normally allowed to create their own folders. That necessitated them having to add the template to each document and add the subject matter in the fields. Then, I realized I could save them the time of adding templates to each document by adding it just once on the target folder, and having that info transferred onto any docs dropped into that target folder. If just means the next person has to make sure that info is correct before they do the drops.

0 0

replied on December 22, 2015

No, it can be one workflow.

The way my initial workflow works is it is triggered when a document goes into my _Incoming folder.

My template then pops up and I enter all the info for that job. I have a few required fields at entry, Job# being the one that routs the entry.. Depending on job number metadata entry, the document is either sent to an existing folder, or a new one is created. Once the folder is created, the metadata is pulled from the document(retrieve field values) and then written to the folder(assign field values).

New documents for that job are routed via the same workflow. New documents for an existing folder only require the job# and doc type to be entered. They are routed to the folder, then a sync metadata workflow is triggered:

I also have any change to the metadata of the folder trigger the sync workflow. My system is set up so that only the metadata in a folder can be changed, not the documents in a folder..

1 0

You are not allowed to follow up in this post.

Question

Question

For Each Entry Error "No activities in this workflow provide relevant data".

Replies

Sign in to reply to this post.