Cyclical workflows (examples)
Endless workflows
In the description of the Workflow Designer, we did not disclose the full range of possibilities. We said there that a workflow must always have an end state. This is not wrong, but you can practically work around it.
Although it is enforced that an end state is inserted, you can ensure that it can never be reached by definition. That means the job of such a workflow can theoretically move in itself forever without ever reaching an end state.
Important note: Please note, however, that one should think carefully about such constructs in order to not unnecessarily burden the performance or even create a memory or hard disk overflow. See also section " Linear Exit Point" below.
Import: (instructions)
A job of this workflow constantly moves between State 0 and State 1. Note: The transition to the end state has a lower priority than Transition 2 and is therefore never checked because Transition 2 always applies (since it has no condition). Basically, the condition in the transition to state End could be omitted in this example.
Of course, you can also insert as many additional states into the cycle as you like.
Such a cycle can be inserted anywhere in the workflow and does not have to include the start state. I.e. you can start linearly and then go into a loop.
In addition, you can insert conditions and actions in the transitions (here Transition 1 and Transition 2) as you wish. If you use conditions, however, a waiting time should then also be entered in the states so that in the case of an unsuccessful initial transition check, the cyclical transition check takes effect afterwards.
Linear exit point
If you redesign your workflow so that the end state is reachable under certain circumstances, you can create a linear exit point at any time. We give the transition to the end state a higher priority than Transition 2 in this case.
In addition, you can set a waiting time in each non-end state to create more exit possibilities. Note: See also section Profiles as Workflow Master .
Import: (instructions)
