Deploy from workflow console - does it work?

[ph73nt]

Dear fellow Alfrescoers

I'm in the midst of configuring my team's Alfresco community system (3.4b). In particular I'm interested in customising workflows. I note the console allows deployment of workflows without server restart. However, this does not seem to be the case; when I deploy a workflow, new workflows that are started still do so with the old information. I have intermittently had success with various combinations of shutting down and restarting the service, rebooting the server and getting angry, but haven't managed to get the same combination to work twice.

I've been using the example ad-hoc workflow and have edited only the email text (mail.parameters.text = "etc"). When I use the console to deploy this I get a new version number and the follwing message:

Last command: deploy alfresco/workflow/adhoc_processdefinition.xml
Duration: 454ms
—–  
[WARNING] swimlane 'initiator' does not have an assignment
deployed definition id: jbpm$25 , name: jbpm$wf:adhoc , title: Adhoc , version: 12
definition: jbpm$25 , name: Adhoc , version: 12
workflow: None
path: None‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

As this looks pretty similar to the text on the wiki page I haven't worried about it. As one can see, I'm up to version 12 and still struggling with editing one line of text. Have I missed an important point, like having to tell the server which version of the process definition to use? I note the "use definition" command, which I've tried, to see if it will force the server to do something, with no luck.

Many thanks in advance, Neil

[patil]

Hi,

You should register your workflow as below.Make redeploy to true.


   <bean id="workflowBootstrapextentionCLMS" parent="workflowDeployer">
      <property name="workflowDefinitions">
         <list>
            <!–  workflow definitions –>
            <props>               
               <prop key="engineId">jbpm</prop>
               <prop key="location">alfresco/extension/workflow/draftContract-processdefinition.xml</prop>
               <prop key="mimetype">text/xml</prop>
               <prop key="redeploy">true</prop>
            </props>
                       </list>
      </property>
      <property name="models">
         <list>
            <!–  workflow models –>
            <value>alfresco/extension/workflow/workflowModel.xml</value>
         </list>
      </property>      
       <property name="labels">
             <!– workflow bundles –>
         <list>
            <value>alfresco/extension/workflow/workflow-messages</value>
         </list>
      </property>      
   </bean>

Thanks,
Patil
Cignex Technologies
Bangalore

[ph73nt]

Thanks for the response, but this hasn't helped; it still seems random whether the changes are deployed correctly or not. I created the following file: alfresco/extension/bootstrap/workflowDeployer.xml with the contents:

<bean id="myworkflows.workflowBootstrap" parent="workflowDeployer">
   <property name="workflowDefinitions">
      <list>
         <props>
            <prop key="engineId">jbpm</prop>
            <prop key="location">alfresco/workflow/adhoc_processdefinition.xml</prop>
            <prop key="mimetype">text/xml</prop>
            <prop key="redeploy">true</prop>
         </props>
      </list>
   </property>
</bean>‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

I actually used code from the wiki as it's more concise - was that OK? And is the directory appropriate? I was under the impression that this code wasn't necessary if one was intending on using the workflow console to deploy new workflows.

Thanks again, Neil

[patil]

Hi Neil,

path should be something similar to this,
<prop key="location">alfresco/extension/workflow/adhoc_processdefinition.xml</prop>

not as
<prop key="location">alfresco/workflow/adhoc_processdefinition.xml</prop>


Since alfresco reads the custom file from extension directory.


Thanks,
Patil
Cignex Technologies
Bangalore

[ph73nt]

Thanks very much for that; it's solved.

I hadn't been using the extension directories as I was only trying the simplest of modifications on the default adhoc task. Now that I'm using the extension directory structure it seems to work. I've created directories bootstrap and workflow in tomcat/shared/classes/alfresco/extension/. In the bootstrap directory I have the file workflowDeployer.xml, which I've edited to match your original suggestion:

<bean id="workflowBootstrapextentionCLMS" parent="workflowDeployer">

  <!– workflow definitions –>
  <property name="workflowDefinitions">
    <list>
       <props>
          <prop key="engineId">jbpm</prop>
          <prop key="location">alfresco/extension/workflow/adhoc_processdefinition.xml</prop>
          <prop key="mimetype">text/xml</prop>
          <prop key="redeploy">true</prop>
       </props>
    </list>
  </property>
   
  <!– workflow models –>
  <property name="models">
    <list>
      <value>alfresco/extension/workflow/workflowModel.xml</value>
    </list>
  </property>
  
  <!– workflow bundles –>
  <property name="labels">
    <list>
      <value>alfresco/extension/workflow/workflow-messages</value>
    </list>
  </property>

</bean>‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

In the tomcat/shared/classes/alfresco/extension/workflow directory I have my edited adhoc_processdefinition.xml and copies of the other default files from alfresco/workflow (including workflow-messages.properties and workflowModel.xml).

Now when I deploy the workflow from the console

deploy alfresco/extension/workflow/adhoc_processdefinition.xml‍

I get a successful deployment every time.

Brilliant.  Thanks again, Neil