Excel Workflow

With Evolve, an Excel data file can be routed using a custom workflow. Permissions to modify the Excel data file and execute Studio scripts can be changed throughout the workflow, based on your specific need.

Business users running the workflow will execute the Excel Workflow from the Evolve ribbon (Winshuttle add-in) in Excel.

Note:

Once an Excel workflow has been submitted, business users can also interact with Excel Workflow complete, approve, or reject tasks and emails from within Evolve.

Excel Workflow Components

Excel

  • Data Template:

    Excel Template created during development that defines format for the data file.

    Stored in the Solutions, Excel Workbooks in Evolve.

  • Data File: The completed Excel file containing data to post to SAP.

Winshuttle Studio scripts

Transaction (upload) and/or Query (download) scripts developed for use with the Excel data file before or after the workflow has been launched.

Evolve components

  • Solution, Excel Workbook - Excel custom workflow solution.

    Workflow definition including fields synched with Excel.

    Excel Template (Studio scripts are stored with Excel Template).

  • The Documents list in Evolve contains the list of all solutions. Each solution list contains the following

    List of all submitted requests

    Excel completed data file

    Supporting documents

Prerequisites

These instructions assume you already know how to create Winshuttle Studio scripts and map them to Excel. For more information on those processes, please see the links below.

High Level Steps

  1. Create Excel data template containing named data (if applicable) to be promoted to the workflow.

  2. Create Studio scripts (Transaction and/or Query) to be used by the workflow; map them to the Excel data template (see Prerequisites for more information).

  3. Submit Studio script(s) and Excel data template to Evolve.

  4. Approve script(s) – Task is automatically generated by Evolve.

  5. Add Solution Fields – Evolve creates a list of default Solution fields, and additional fields can be added to be used by the workflow either from Excel or for reporting purposes.

  6. Create the workflow for the Excel template.

  7. Deploy the solution.

Create an Excel Workflow

Create an Excel Data Template with named ranges to promote to Workflow Solution Fields.

If there is data in a cell in the Excel Data Template that needs to be promoted to the workflow, define a name for a cell (see Microsoft Excel Help for instructions on how to name a cell).

Examples of Excel data to promote to workflows: Total , Approver , Company Code , Plant , or other data to be used by the workflow to accomplish the following:

  • Identify Workflow participant information

  • Determine conditional routing

  • Display on Document List

  • Display on Task list

  • Use for reporting purposes

Note:

Tips: With an Evolve Excel Workflow, named ranges will be promoted to the workflow from Excel when a matching solution field exists. It is no longer necessary to use Excel custom advanced properties to promote named ranges to an Excel workflow.

Note the exact name, including case (it is case sensitive), and data type of the named cells to be promoted to the workflow. The names and data types will be set up later in the workflow’s Solution Fields list and must exactly match what is in Excel to work.

Submit Studio scripts and Excel Data Template to Evolve

See Prerequisites for more information about creating scripts.

To submit Studio scripts to Evolve, to be used with an Excel Workflow:

  1. Open the script in Studio.

  2. If you are submitting to an app other than your default Evolve app, switch to the app you want to deploy to (see Sign in to a different site ).

  3. Submit Studio script(s) related to the Excel workflow.

    1. Transaction scripts - Submit Transaction Solution Files for Review Important: select Custom Workflow

    2. Studio scripts – Submit Query Solution Files for Review

    3. Submit Multiple files or Linked Script files

Approve Scripts - Approve, reject, or reassign solution and data files

Create the Excel Workflow in Evolve

  1. Open the Evolve app where the Studio script(s) and Excel data template were deployed.

    1. Go to Solutions → Excel Workbooks.

    2. Select the checkbox next to the deployed Solution.

  2. Click Add Workflow.

    1. Default Solution Objects created.

      1. Basic workflow with Start and End Nodes (access from the Workflow tab).

      2. Default Solution Fields utilized by the workflow (access from the Solution tab).

  3. Add Solution Fields - Add Excel fields to be promoted to the workflow from Excel and any additional solution fields – see Solution Fields for more information.

    1. Excel fields to be promoted to the workflow from Excel. See Promote Excel field fields to solution fields in Solution Fields for more information.

    2. Additional solution fields – Additional workflow-related fields can be created if required . Examples: manual workflow status updates or solution fields used for reporting purposes.

  4. Create the workflow using the Workflow Tab .

    1. Configure the swimlanes for the workflow (see Participant Resolvers for more information).

    2. Create the workflow using Workflow Nodes and Transitions.

      See Workflow Nodes , Excel Workflow Node Tips , and Transitions for more information.

Deploy the Solution - Deploy the Solution

Excel Workflow - Tips and Links

General Node Tips and Links

Activity

  • If the assigned activity requires modifications to the Excel data file, set the Allow Replacement UI Support property to True . Otherwise, the Excel data file will be Read Only .

  • If the assigned activity will require the user to manually run a script against the Excel data file and the file contains multiple scripts, enter the script name in the Script Name property or enter All to allow any script to be manually run.

  • Setting the Require Review property = True. This forces the user to open the Excel data file at least once before completing the task and will prevent the user from completing the task from the browser. In addition, in the event of a team assignment, when a user opens the Excel file, it will be checked out to that user and will prevent others from opening the file.

Decision – Use a decision node when there are multiple different conditions to determine the next step in the workflow.

Tip:

Use the Error_rows system solution field to determine if any errors were returned resulting from a script being executed.

Loop – Whenever you start a loop (subprocess), you must set when to exit the loop using a condition.

Notification – Send a notification to the workflow participant(s) in the swimlane where the notification node exists. To enter dynamic fields in the email message, use the [] button in the Message property.

Value Setter – If you are assigning a text value to a field, use double quotes around the text.

Plug-in Node Tips and Links

Copy Document Plug-in – Create a copy of a document, a supporting document, or both. Documents are copied to a file system or a folder inside a File Library. This plug-in only works with the custom Excel workflow .

Deferred Copy Document Plug-in Create a copy of a document, a supporting document, or both. These documents can be copied to a file system or a folder inside of a File Library. This plug-in only works with the custom Excel workflow.

This plug-in runs in the background. This is the only way in which it differs from the Copy Document plug-in.

Send Email Plug-in – Can send emails outside of the Evolve/Studio Manager environment.

Wait Plug-in – Create a waiting period. This is used primarily to prevent timeouts in a workflow. Continue Without Waiting = False means the workflow will wait until the current step (running in the background) is complete before continuing.

Winshuttle AutoRun Plug-in – Automatically run a routed data file to a specified SAP system using Evolve Worker. This plug-in only works with the custom Excel workflow .

  • Runnernode – If Runnernode is blank, the workflow will use the credentials of the swimlane where the plug-in is located. If you want to run the plug-in under using other credentials, specify the name of the workflow node’s credentials you want to use.

    Note:

    The user whose credentials are used to run the script must have SAP credentials saved on the server or the auto-run plug-in will fail.

  • RunOnlyErrors – Runs only the rows with recorded errors in the SAP log.

  • RunOnlyUnprocessed – Runs only the rows with a blank SAP log.

  • StopRunOnError – Will stop the run if there is an error.

Transition Tips - Transitions

  • Use a label on transition lines containing conditions to display easy-to-read text in the workflow grid instead of the full condition.

  • Use the Otherwise transition function to catch all conditions that have not be explicitly identified by all other transitions.

Attachments Tips and Links

Manage Supporting Documents and Attach DocumentsDefine a Tag in the Attachment Location (Doc_Attach) row in a Studio Transaction script with the Add File Attachment Rows option selected.

Note:

Limit one tag per script.

  • Current Document Tag – Use the <Use Current File> tag to upload the Excel data file.

  • Supporting Document Tag – Use the <Supporting Doc> tag to upload the supporting document identified during submission.

Administration Links