With auto-start workflows, you can configure Vault to initiate a workflow within an entry action or event action. This configuration supports process automation in a variety of different use cases.
Note: Auto-start object workflows will show System as the Workflow Owner.
Example Usage
When a Product record enters the In Approval state, a configured workflow could notify a set of users, update Approval Start Date on the record, and open a task for the record owner to acknowledge the change.
Eligible Workflows
You can find general instructions for workflow setup in Configuring Object Workflows. An object workflow must meet these criteria to be eligible for auto-start:
- Allow auto-start from entry action and event action setting (within Workflow Details) must be selected.
- Use workflow for single object record setting (within Workflow Details) must be selected.
- Participant control must use the Use roles as participants or Use custom action to define participants setting.
- Start step cannot include controls for Instructions, Date, Prompt for Fields, or Variable.
- Workflow cannot include notifications assigned to Workflow Owner.
- Workflow cannot include tasks assigned to Workflow Owner.
Note: If you enable the Allow auto-start from entry action and event action setting before configuring any steps, Vault will filter the steps and settings to only show valid options. If the workflow includes steps or settings that make it ineligible for auto-start, Vault will not allow you to save the workflow with the auto-start option selected.
Defining the Entry Action or Event Action
You can find general instructions for creating entry actions in Configuring Object Lifecycles, and details on event actions in Defining Event Actions.
The Start Workflow entry and event action requires that you select a workflow. Only workflows that are eligible appear in the list.
Workflow Errors
If an error prevents Vault from starting the configured workflow when the object record changes lifecycle states, Vault will roll back the record state change.
For example, when a Product record moves into In Approval state, an entry action begins the Approval workflow. That workflow configuration would assign the first task to the user in the object record’s Approver role. When a user initiates the state change to In Approval on the product WonderWidget, Vault fails to start the workflow because there is no user in the Approver role and the first task cannot be assigned. Because the workflow failed to start, the WonderWidget product would not move into In Approval state but would stay in its current state.
In addition, if a canceled workflow moves a record to a state with a Start Workflow entry action, Vaul does not start the workflow. Start Workflow entry actions will not execute if the previous workflow was canceled.
Additional errors include:
- If Allow auto-start from entry action and event action is disabled, and the workflow is selected from the Start Workflow entry action, then the workflow cannot activate.
- If Allow auto-start from entry action and event action is enabled, and the Workflow Owner is referenced on a Task, Notification, or an Update Sharing Settings step, then you cannot save the workflow.
- If Allow auto-start from entry action and event action is enabled, and Allow workflow initiator to select participants is enabled in the Participant Controls, the workflow cannot activate.
Note: If Allow auto-start from entry action and event action is enabled, you cannot select the Workflow Owner in the Task Step, Notification Step, and Update Sharing Setting Step.
Auto-Start and Start Next Workflow Enabled
If an object workflow is auto-started due to a state change on the record prior to the workflow ending and Display start next workflow dialog when workflow ends is enabled on the End step, the Start Next Workflow dialog will not display if the workflow contains an active Task step. It will also not display if there’s an active task on the record. If the auto-started workflow contains no tasks, but does contain a state change action, the Start Next Workflow dialog will display and include workflow options based on the new record state.
This type of scenario is possible in the following configuration:
- The Start Workflow entry action is configured on the Approved state for an object lifecycle
- A workflow for an object record in the Draft state is configured with Display start next workflow dialog when workflow ends is configured on the End step
- When the Draft state workflow ends, the user can move the record to the Approved state with the Start Workflow entry action configured. If the workflow the entry action will auto-start contains a task, the Start Next Workflow dialog will not display.