1What this screen is for #
- A step name is one master, shared by every workflow . Rename it and it changes everywhere it is used — the panel at the bottom lists where that is.
- Workflow Set-up cannot invent names: it only picks from this list (it can add one in passing, but this is where a step is filled in).
- The work instructions travel with the step, so every workflow that uses it asks for the same thing.
- Marking a step inactive keeps it and its history; it stays pickable in a workflow that already names it, so nothing breaks.
2Parents, and what they are for #
Most routes are a straight line: step 2 waits for step 1. A branching route is different — two checks might run side by side and a third wait for both . That is what parents describe.
- Turn on Has parent(s) and name the steps that come before this one.
- In Workflow Set-up, give that step the criterion Start when all parent step was completed .
- A step cannot be its own parent, and the parents may not lead back to it — a loop would leave both steps waiting for each other, so the screen refuses it.
- Leave it off for an ordinary sequence; the step order in the workflow is enough.
3Instructions and documents #
- Work Instructions is what the approver reads. Say what they are checking, and what should make them refuse.
- Attach Document Link puts a link to a file in Document Management into the instructions, so a procedure or a specimen sits one click away.
- The Documents tab attaches files to the step itself — the same attachment a voucher uses. The file stays in Document Management; the step holds a link, so one file can serve several steps and none of them carries a copy.
- Delete a step and its links go; the files themselves are untouched.
4Coming from the desktop #
- Instructions written on the desktop were stored as RTF . They are read here, but only the words survive — the page says so when it happens, and re-saving keeps them as they look from then on.
- Instructions written here are HTML, which the desktop's editor cannot read. Pick one place to write them.
- The desktop kept the work sheet as a PDF inside the record. Those are left alone and offered as a download; new ones go into Document Management instead, where they can be found, versioned and shared.
5If something does not work #
"You do not have the right to change a workflow step." / "You do not have the right to delete a workflow step."
- Why
- Saving or deleting a step name needs Alter or Delete on the Masters object Work Flow - Step Master.
- What to do
- An administrator grants it in User Manager.
"That step is no longer there — somebody else may have deleted it."
- Why
- The step name was deleted after this screen listed it.
- What to do
- Refresh the list.
"This step has no worksheet document."
- Why
- The step carries no document of its own to open.
- What to do
- Attach one under Instructions and documents, or read its instructions text.
"Workflow Management is not licensed for this company. Contact your software vendor."
- Why
- Workflow Management (module WRKFLOW) is not in this company's licence. The sidebar hides the module, this page shows a cover, and the server refuses every workflow call - the licence is read by the server itself, not taken from the browser.
- What to do
- Your software vendor adds Workflow Management to the licence. It takes effect within ten minutes, or at the next sign-in.
"You do not have the right to create a workflow step." / "... to change ..." / "... to delete ..."
- Why
- Step names are their own master, gated by the Masters object Work Flow Steps - separate from the right to build a workflow out of them.
- What to do
- An administrator grants Create / Alter / Delete on Work Flow Steps in User Permissions.
"You may not read workflow steps on this company, so the list is empty."
- Why
- The same object does not grant Find or View to this user.
- What to do
- An administrator grants Find on Work Flow Steps.
"The step needs a name."
- Why
- The name is what an approver sees in their queue, so it cannot be blank.
- What to do
- Name it for the job - "PO Review", "Store Verification" - not for its position in a route.
"There is already a step called '...'. A step name is shared by every workflow, so it has to be unique."
- Why
- Step names are one master, not a copy per workflow, and two identical names in an approver's queue would tell them nothing.
- What to do
- Use a different name, or open the existing step and edit that one.
"The name is longer than 100 characters." / "The description is longer than 2048 characters."
- Why
- The columns are that wide.
- What to do
- Shorten it - the detail belongs in the work instructions, which have no such limit.
"'Has parent(s)' is on but no parent step is chosen."
- Why
- The switch says this step follows others, and none are named.
- What to do
- Pick the parents, or turn the switch off.
"A step cannot be its own parent."
- Why
- It was named in its own parent list, which would make it wait for itself.
- What to do
- Take it out of the list.
"These parents make a loop - following them leads back to this step ..."
- Why
- The parent chain comes back round, so two steps would each wait for the other and neither would ever start.
- What to do
- Break the chain: one of the steps on that path should not name the other as a parent.
The Attach Document Link button is disabled
- Why
- Linking needs the Document Management module, and the step has to be in edit mode.
- What to do
- Press Modify (F4); if it is still disabled, Document Management is not licensed for this company.
"Not linked - no public address, so an approver could not open them: ..."
- Why
- Those files sit on a connection with no Public URL, so a link to them would not open for anybody.
- What to do
- Set the connection's Public URL in Document Management, or attach the file on the Documents tab instead of linking it in the text.
The Documents tab says "Save the step first"
- Why
- A document is attached to a step that exists; a step being added has no id yet.
- What to do
- Save (F5), then attach.
"These instructions were written on the desktop ... The words are here; the formatting is not."
- Why
- The desktop stored instructions as RTF, which a browser cannot lay out. The text is read; the formatting is dropped rather than shown as control codes.
- What to do
- Lay them out again and save. From then on the web keeps them as they look - but the desktop's own editor will no longer read them.
"A worksheet from the desktop."
- Why
- This step carries a PDF stored inside the record itself, the way the desktop did it.
- What to do
- Download it and attach it through Document Management, where it can be found and shared. It is left where it is until you do; nothing is lost.
"... workflow steps use this name, so deleting it would leave those steps nameless."
- Why
- A workflow is built out of this name; deleting it would cut those steps loose.
- What to do
- Take the step off those workflows in Workflow Set-up first, or mark this one inactive - it then stays readable and no new workflow picks it.
"... steps name this as a parent."
- Why
- Another step waits for this one in a branching route.
- What to do
- Clear it from their parent lists first, or mark this one inactive.
Renaming a step changed it in several workflows
- Why
- That is what it is: one master, shared. The panel at the foot of the screen lists every workflow using it.
- What to do
- If only one route should read differently, make a second step name for it instead of renaming this one.
This is the help InvoiceNET® ERP shows beside the Workflow Steps screen. Whether you have the screen depends on the modules of your licence and the rights your administrator has given you.
See this screen for yourself
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