Inbasket Link syntax

Taskname = easy to get from the flow (if assigned to a user I found that I had to put "NOT_PART_OF_TASK" as the task name - not sure why.) (hard-coded)

username = pull from your resources or have a field in HR with the username of the associate (variable)

Processname = This is the name of the process that the flow runs under (name in the download from server section (hard-coded))

Activity Id & Node Name = I got this from the flow and from "activity Information" within the Process Flow Admin Tool (hard-coded)

 

MY PROBLEM IS:

I was picturing an email to the "task owner" with a Click to Approve and Click to Deny link right in thier email.   The link above works to take the action but they get an ugly XML browser screen that says something about the Object being dispatched successfully.   It is technical speak...   I am trying to find out if I can have that screen changed or if I can avoid it all together.  

ANYONE DO THIS ALREADY OR KNOW HOW?????

Here is the screen after clicking the "action" link

I am trying to find a way to either change this so that I get a better looking screen OR change something so that it is avoided all toghether.

Thanks, Shane

One more thing, this link will open the task list from the inbasket:

http://server/lawson/port...ASKID=***taskname***

In one way I can understand why you would want to make it easy for the users to take an action by adding this logic to an email, but I also don't understand why you would want to bypass the functionality of the inbasket you lose the abiltiy to a) display the information in real time b) give approver functionality of changing any information on the screen, c) Can't view the approval history or d) add messages.

  

Gary, I understand what you are saying but it is highly unlikely that any of the actions I would be performing need to have up-to-the-minute/day information. I would not be sending an approval request on an item that is going to change while being approved. If anyone in a chain clicks deny then the person who started the action would get an email indicating that the workflow ended because it was denied. (They would be instructed to enter a new action.)

For the processes where I use workflows we only have approve or deny from one person/task owner at a node so the approval history is really not important... If the second or third person got the flow then it was approved by the person before. For the flow I am looking to create - I want to have one flow kick off about 10 other flows that just assign tasks to others. Since a flow can not run multiple tasks for approvers at once I will just start a bunch of flows each with one task. For example, tasks to setup for a new associate - facilities setup, computer purchase, paperwork completion, etc. (all of which could be done at the same time. Workflow in lawson wants me to wait for one to finish before the next begins.)

As for the messages section, it is a bit ugly. I don't have many situations where anyone would want to do this and once the workflow is done only the ADMIN can get to those messages anyway. I just don't have much use for that.

I did not know someone could change a system field from inside the inbasket. Are you saying someone could change a value within the database from the inbasket. I have not seen this functionality from anything delivered. Usually when I need to do this I give the options in the inbasket that I want to have written to the database and then based on which one they select I have the node direct to different AGS calls based on which one they pick.

With all that said - I have a lot of situations where I could just send an email saying, for example, "Shane Jones is leaving the company, please work with him to get computer equipment back." If I could include a link in the email that just says click when you have completed this task I think I will get MUCH more buy in from everyone...

(This post is long - I have probably ensured that no one will read it.   oops.)

Shane,
I have played with this in the past but haven't tested my possible solution yet. I thought about calling a UI Form instead of the WorkUnit action URL from within my email link. I would pass the parameters to my form so it had the values and then launch the URL from that form (behind the scenes). That way I could make my form display whatever status I wanted it to. I think you could also force close it with JavaScript once it completed the URL call.
If you get it to work, let me know. I don't know when I'll have time to play with it.
David

Could someone make clearer how to get to the inbasket from a link in the email. Could someone post a generic link?

You don't actually go directly into the Inbasket - you typically log into Portal and then review your Inbasket tasks after you've logged in.// http:///lawson/portal

If you know the Task you want the user to go to directly, Shane showed the way to do this above:

// http:///lawson/portal/index.htm?_URL=inbasket/inbasket.htm?TASKID=***taskname***

David or Shane,

I understand that the syntax you indicate above takes you right to the task list identified. We have this syntax in our req approval flow too. However, are either of you aware of a way to take this one step further and actually bring them directly to the work unit that is being referenced in the email notification? We had assistance building our req approval flow from a consultant and he thought this was possible, but he was never able to determine exactly how.

Has anyone done this in their approval notification emails?

I used Fiddler to track what happened when I clicked my WorkUnit and this is the URL that was called:

// http://server/bpm/inbaske...NING&t=1282641851062

This didn't open the WorkUnit when I pasted it into my server however - it opened an XML view.

Thanks David!

Shane / Guys -

Anyone execute Javascript INSIDE the URL? How about append the the Lawson servlet call in Shane's first email with a JS command to close the browser (to get rid of that technical stuff), or just do an alert or some type of user friendly message after a successful transaction?

I bet you could also write a js function on the web server and call it from the URL...like pflow.js etc.

Just an idea right now...WARNING - it might not work, yet!

Rob

Bringing back this old thread because I haven't found an answer to the original question.  Is it possible to link directly to the specific item being approved?

I've tried this:

"http://" + host + "/lawson/portal/index.htm?_URL=/bpm/htmlinbasket/inbasket/execs/recsum.htm?" + oWorkUnit + "|" + URLEncoder(WorkTitle) + "|" + appProdline

And it does bring me to the display exec (in my case recsum.htm) showing the item but the action links (approve, reject, unrelease) on the left are missing.

Thanks .....
redluv

Did you ever solve the problem of the unwanted message to the user after the user clicked on the link to take the inbasket action?  I have a similar requirement.  When taking an inbasket action from the portal inbasket, I would like to eliminate one or both of the two user dilaog box prompts that occur after taking the action (see attachment).

Do you know where the code for the inbasket servlet being excecuted below?

https://lawson.chw.edu/bpm/inbasket?FUNCTION=dispatch&WORKUNIT=5764355&TASK=SiteAdmin&APPRODLINE=PROD&RDUSER=jmoren&PROCID=5764355&PROCNAME=CHW_ITReqApprvl_V08&ACTID=UA86&ACTNAME=SiteAdmin&ACTION=Continue

I have not been able to locate the code that throws the two confirmation prompts up in the portal or even the code that processes the pushbuttons in the acknowledgement dialog boxes.  Finding either the inbasket servlet code or the the dialog box code may give me a way to disable the dialogs such tht the user does not see them or at least does not need to cilick on the push buttons.




 

I am surprised that after all of these years we still have not really solved this item.... Looks like the best we have is a work around for assigned TASKS but not user assigned items. I have made a link work for a specific "task" but if I want to link someone to their "user" in basket it throws XML. The user inbasket is what is seen if you setup an HRUSERACTION node in your flow. (Anyone have a creative solution for this yet?)

(I was thinking too big in the past because I would really still like to have two options RIGHT in the email for "Click to Approve" and "Click to Reject"... But it is clear - that is not happening so now I just want to have a direct link to the "User" inbasket.)