Workshop: Create a basic workflow for an order form

Using the Workflow feature you can create a form that, once completed, can be supplemented by a third party. After the form is sent, the third party person will receive an email message from which the form can be opened and supplemented.

In this Workshop, we will create a basic workflow on a simple existing order form that must be approved by the manager before it is sent to the department of office supplies.
The workshop will give the same result as demonstrated in our sample order form with workflow.

What you should know before you do the workshop

For this workshop we assume that you already know how to create a form and design email messages in Formdesk.
The above workflow diagram shows a letter for each email message. We will refer to these letters while setting up the email message.
In a complex workflow many email messages will be sent. It is very useful to first design such a diagram and label the email messages. Within Formdesk, you can include the letter as part of the description of the email message. This way you can easily find the created workflow message in the diagram.

Message Types

If the recipient must alter or supplement the form then there must be a workflow link included in the message in order to access the completed form. In those cases a Workflow message applies (messages B and C). All other messages are either Autoresponders that are sent to the applicant (messages A, D and E) or Notification messages that are sent to someone else just to inform (message F).

Step by step

Step 0. Preparation
As a starting point we will use an existing order form without workflow. Click here to copy the order form to your Formdesk account.
Edit the form and go to the 'Questions'-tab.

Step 1. Add questions to the form that are needed for the workflow
There are several ways to lookup the manager's email address for the workflow message. We will choose the easiest way and just ask for it.

Insert a 'Text field' item at position 7 with the question: ‘Email manager’. Don't forget to tick the 'Email message' box. Set the input required.
Enable the 'Remember entry' option so that your don't need to re-enter the manager's email address each time you fill in the form.
Add a 'Multiple choice, select one' item with the question ‘Status’ and the choices ‘Approved’, ‘Denied’ and ‘To be modified’. Set the input required.
Add a 'Text area' item with the question ‘Comment’.

Step 2. Draft message A
Email messages can be sent each time the form is submitted (option 'Email message(s) upon completion' on the 'Settings' tab). Message A must be sent after the employee completes and sends the form but should not be sent after the manager supplements and sends the form.

Create a new email message. Choose ‘Autoresponder’ as its ‘Message type’, and enter the description ‘A. Confirmation to employee’ and tick the box ‘Email address’ at ‘Email address filled in on the form’.
Go to the ‘Email message’ tab and enter ‘Your order’ as its subject.
Enter the message:
‘Dear [name],
The order below is pending for approval.
[_fd_completedform]’
Go to the ‘Sending criteria’ tab and set it up as illustrated below.

Click 'OK' to save the message.

Step 3. Draft message B
Just like message A, message B should not be sent after the manager supplemented the form. Additionally, we now need to indicate which questions should be answered by the manager.
The message must contain a hyperlink by which the manager can open the form to supplement it. This can be done in 2 ways. If you choose to enable the 'Submission info' on the Settings tab when creating the message, this info will contain a hyperlink. For this workshop, we will insert a hyperlink in the message ourselves.

Create a new message. Choose ‘Workflow’ as its ‘Message type’, enter the description ‘B. To manager’ and tick the box ‘Email manager’.
Go to the 'Email message' tab and enter the subject and message as illustrated in the screenshot on the right. Select the text 'evaluate' and click hyperlink button on the toolbar. For the address, enter the system code [_fd_Workflow_URL] as illustrated on the right and click 'OK'.
Go to the ‘Sending criteria’ tab and set it up the same way as you did for message A.
Go to the ‘Questions to be answered’ tab and choose ‘Status’ and ‘Comment’ as the questions to be answered as illustrated on the right.
Click 'OK' to save the message.

Step 4. Draft message C
Message C should be sent the employee only if the manager chose the option 'To be modified'. Additionally, we need to indicate that recipient of the message must be able to modify and re-apply the request and restart the workflow.
The message must contain a hyperlink by which the employee enters his order to modify it.

Create a new email message. Choose 'Workflow' as its 'Message type', enter the description 'C. To employee, to be modified', tick the boxes ‘Email address’ and set ‘Restart workflow’ to 'Yes'.
Go to the ‘Email message’ tab and enter the subject ‘Modify your order’.
Enter the message::
‘Dear [name],
Please modify and re-apply the order below:
[_fd_completedform]’
Select the text 'modify', click the hyperlink button on the toolbar and for the address, enter the system code [_fd_Workflow_URL], just like you did for message B.
Go to the ‘Sending criteria’ tab and set it up as illustrated below.

Click 'OK' to save the message.

Step 5. Draft message D

Create a new email message. Choose ‘Autoresponder’ as its ‘Message type’, enter the description ‘D. To employee, denial’ and tick the box ‘Email address’.
Go to the ‘Email message’ tab and enter the subject ‘Order denied’.
Enter the message:
‘Dear [name],
The order below is denied:
[_fd_completedform]’
Go to the ‘Sending criteria’ tab and set it up as illustrated below.

Click 'OK' to save the message.

Step 6. Draft message E

Create a new email message. Choose ‘Autoresponder’ as its ‘Message type’, enter the description ‘E. To employee, approval’ and tick the box ‘Email address’.
Go to the ‘Email message’ tab and enter the subject ‘Order approved’.
Enter the message:
‘Dear [name],
The order below has been approved:
[_fd_completedform]’
Go to the ‘Sending criteria’ tab and set it up as illustrated below.

Click 'OK' to save the message.

Step 7. Draft message F

Create a new email message. Choose ‘Notification message’ as its ‘Message type’, enter the description ‘F. Order to office supplies department’ and for ‘Send message to'..'Fixed address', enter the email address of your choice.
Go to the ‘Email message’ tab and enter the subject ‘Order’.
Enter the message:
‘Please deliver as ordered below:
[_fd_completedform]’
Go to the ‘Sending criteria’ and set it up the same way as you did for step 6
Click 'OK' to save the message.

The workflow has now been set to the form. You can test the form using the 'Test form' tab. Enter your own email messages in the form so that you will receive them while testing.

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