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About Deadlines

  • Deadlines act as a timer which triggers an exception transition to another activity when a specified duration has elapsed. Deadlines can be set for each activity.
  • We set time limits on each activity, which will trigger an exception (in this case, a specific string variable). When a matching transition that has the condition set to 'exception' matches this string value, the transition will be invoked.

Types of Deadlines

  • Deadline execution can be synchronous or asynchronous.
  • For synchronous execution, the current activity will no longer be active when the deadline is triggered.  This is used in cases such as an approval escalation.
  • For asynchronous execution, the next activity will be executed while the current activity is still waiting.  This is used in cases such as sending reminders.
  • Multiple deadlines are supported for each activity.

Setting Deadlines - A Step-by-Step Guideline

Activating Deadline Checker

  • The activity deadline checker is disabled by default. To allow activity deadline checking by Joget Workflow, you will have to set the Process Deadline Checker Interval to a non-zero value. Set it to a suitable value, depending on your need.
  • To enable deadline checking, go to Settings > System Setup.
  • Change the value for 'Process Deadline Checker Interval' to a non-zero value, i.e. 30 (seconds). The unit used is seconds.

Setting Deadlines in Activities

  • Open the properties dialog of the activity you wish to set a deadline for, then click on the Create New Element button in the Deadlines area; a Deadline properties dialog box will pop up. Enter appropriate values for 'Execution', 'Duration Unit' and 'Deadline Limit'.
  • Type the exception name in the Exception name field (e.g., TIMEOUT). Exception names are case sensitive. Make sure this matches the exception name given to the transition.
  • Click on 'OK' to confirm the creation of this deadline. You can continue adding multiple deadlines.

Setting Transition as Exception Flow

  • When a deadline is triggered, and where the exception name matches the one set for a transition, the flow will execute along that transition to the next element along the workflow.
  • Add an Exception-type transition from the activity to the next (i.e., Send Reminder).
  • Set the type of condition to 'Exception'.
  • Enter an Exception name (e.g., TIMEOUT) in the Expression text area.
  • Confirm and close the properties window for the transition.

Tips

  • You can set multiple deadlines in an activity. They can include a first-level reminder (asynchronous) which is then followed by an escalation (synchronous) if the activity has not been completed within the time limit.
  • Remember to match the exception names. If they do not match, nothing will happen.