.. _apps-document_states:


=========
Workflows
=========

Introduction
============

Workflows provide a structured method for storing a sequence of states over
which the a document will progress. Workflows keep track how a document has
been processed so far.

Workflows work by storing a series of states to help you know the "status"
of a document. To move a workflow from one state to another, transitions are
used.

Transitions connect two different states and help provide context to know
which state is possible to transition to, from a previous state. Transitions
provide and order for the sequence of possible states changes.

Transitions can be executed manually by users if they have the required access
level as configure by the system administrator.

Workflows in Mayan EDMS are implemented as finite state machines
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finite-state_machine).

Workflows are mainly used to represent business processes. But they can also be
used an automation system to customized Mayan EDMS and have it perform some
tasks automatically.


Automation
==========

Besides being able to be executed manually by users, transitions can also be
programmed execute automatically based on system events. This is called in
Mayan EDMS transition triggering and is one of the tools available to
automate business processes.

For example:

* Move a document from a "scanned" state to a "billed" state
  when a tag is attached to the document.
* Move a document from a "uploaded" state to a "OCR ready" state
  when the OCR engine finishes processing the document.

The other tool provided for process automation is being able to execute an
action when a workflow state is reached or leaved. These are called state
events.

Some examples of state actions currently provided are:

* Attach a tag to a document
* Remove a tag from a document
* Do an HTTP POST request to an external IP address
* Edit the label or the description of a document.

Other time more state actions are being added. Some state actions like the one
that creates an HTTP POST request allow Mayan EDMS to trigger processes in
external systems based on the state of a document. One example of this is
triggering the billing process of an accounting system when an invoice is
scanned in Mayan EDMS.

Workflow state actions and transitions triggers are new features and are still
evolving.

Workflows allow translating business logic into a series of states. With the
addition of state actions and transition triggers, the workflows in Mayan EDMS
are no longer just informative but can be part of your actual business
automation process.


Implementation
==============

Internally, workflows are implemented as a finite state machines
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finite-state_machine). To make them simpler to
use, workflow have been designed so that only one state can be the current
active state for a workflow being executed. Another design decision is that
every workflow needs at least one state marked as the initial state.


Visualizations
==============

The graphical representation of a workflow is similar to a flowchart. The
states are represented with circles. The transitions are represented with
arrows. Circle with a double border represent the initial state of the workflow.

To view the graphical representations of workflow use :guilabel:`Preview`
button of the workflow in the setup view.
