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Template Based Email to external task not working. Why?

Tim__D

I have this issue where when I want to do email notification using template based email and immediately transition to another external task. My issue is that the external task does not get fired after an email task.

Strangely if I create a dummy_external task inbetween the email and the other external task everything works.

Is there some kind of issue transitioning from email to an external task? All our custom workflows do this but it does not make sense! I'm doing a new workflow and want to do it without hacks. Please explain if you have answers to this.

Here is the example:

This works fine "attach_dcr" is called after the work is approved.

link_tasks('email_user_approve', 'dummy_task','Email User - Content Approved');
link_tasks('dummy_task', 'attach_dcr','Done');

This does not work "attach_dcr" is NOT called after the work is approved.

link_tasks('email_user_approve', 'attach_dcr','Email User - Content Approved');

Here is the external task that makes it work although all its does is callback!

#!d:\iw-home\iw-perl\bin\iwperl -w
use TeamSite::WFtask;
use TeamSite::WFworkflow;
use TeamSite::Config;

###########################################
# Get path to Interwoven Teamsite installation directory
###########################################
my($windows) = ($^O eq "MSWin32") ? 1 : 0;
eval("use Win32: Smiley Tongue

rocess;use Win32;") if ($windows);
my($iwhome) = TeamSite::Config::iwgethome();
eval("$iwhome = Win32::GetShortPathName($iwhome);") if ($windows);
$iwhome =~ tr|\\|/|;

###########################################
# Get workflow id, task id, workarea, task owner, attached files, etc
###########################################
my($wfid, $taskid, $area) = (@ARGV[0..2]);
my($task) = new TeamSite::WFtask($taskid);

$task->CallBack(0, "done");

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Comments

Adam Stoller

I have this issue where when I want to do email notification using template based email and immediately transition to another external task. My issue is that the external task does not get fired after an email task.

Strangely if I create a dummy_external task inbetween the email and the other external task everything works.

From what you describe I can think of no reason why the direct externaltask->externaltask linkage does not work. I'd suggest making a copy of the solutions email script (so you can restore it) and first enable debugging within it (I believe it has a debugging option) and if that doesn't shed light on the problem, add your own debugging code to figure out where it's failing.

Tim__D

Here is the output of the debug:

#############################################
Entering Generate_XML function
#############################################

========== command to generate workflow information ==========

/iw-home/bin/iwgetwfobj 434451

Exception in

\iw-home\local\config/wft/solutions/iw_solution_email_debug.ipl: Can't call method "GetId" on an undefined value at

\iw-home\local\config/wft/solutions/iw_solution_email_debug.ipl line 394.

The line code is:

my @additional_taskIds = map { $_->GetId(); } @$taskobject_array;

I still dont understand this. All the tasks have the correct owners etc.. I'm wondering if because external tasks are owned by "SYSTEM" has something to do with it?

Adam Stoller

Here is the output of the debug:

#############################################
Entering Generate_XML function
#############################################

========== command to generate workflow information ==========
/iw-home/bin/iwgetwfobj 434451

Exception in \iw-home\local\config/wft/solutions/iw_solution_email_debug.ipl: Can't call method "GetId" on an undefined value at \iw-home\local\config/wft/solutions/iw_solution_email_debug.ipl line 394.

The line code is:

my @additional_taskIds = map { $_->GetId(); } @$taskobject_array;

I still dont understand this. All the tasks have the correct owners etc.. I'm wondering if because external tasks are owned by "SYSTEM" has something to do with it?

Apparently @$taskobject_array contains some invalid task objects - such that the dereferencing of one of the elements is failing.

I don't have a copy of the script handy (nor a system to play with it) but I'd look carefully where that variable is getting set and make sure it's checking that each TeamSite::WFtask object that gets put into the array is validated (with IsValid()) before putting it there.

You may have to then follow the trail back a bit further to figure out why it's getting an (apparently) invalid task id.

Tim__D

my @additional_taskIds = map { $_->GetId(); } @$taskobject_array;

In order to instanciate the workflow dont the tasks all have to be valid?

ISCBorisB

my @additional_taskIds = map { $_->GetId(); } @$taskobject_array;

In order to instanciate the workflow dont the tasks all have to be valid?

Tasks become valid or otherwise after Workflow instantiation. Even if they are at some point all valid it does not
mean that all of them always stay valid during your flow run-time twists and turns.

That said, I think that you've created a problem when you tried to eliminate *redundant* dummy task.
Have you modified mail task -t parameter accordingly? Do you use localizer and if so, did you check properties?
Double check "command" attribute -t value of ALL corresponding(mail) "declare_task" calls, I can almost guarantee that you'll
find a problem there. Enable debugging and ensure that what you expect is really generated into -t of mail commands.

Note that -t element(s) should be an exact match (case including) of the desired task name and that -t list can not be empty.
To be precise, mail tasks *-t lists* must evaluate to at least one valid task name if mapped against all Workflow tasks.

Tim__D

In a nut shell you nailed it. My -t arguments did not match the task names exactly.

The dummy tasks now are simply to make the email message sent prior to an external task more intuitive and not because of some bug.

Is there a way to pass the subject and to addresses rather than relying on task descriptions and owners. I think If I could do that I could remove these "dummy" external tasks.

For example one part of this workflow has a deploy task. On success it notifies the user or reviewer that the approved changes were deployed. On failure I'd like an email sent to a list of admins in addition to the active workflow participants.

Using the OOTB templates I have to create these dummy tasks so that the email subjects are intuitive and also am not sure how to pass additional addresses in the email without creating a custom template. I really dont want more templates I want to parameter this stuff.

Pawan

Is there a way to pass the subject and to addresses rather than relying on task descriptions and owners. I think If I could do that I could remove these "dummy" external tasks.

One of the possible way would be to hard code the subject in the mail itself, if you need to send that particular mail for the same purpose always.

For example one part of this workflow has a deploy task. On success it notifies the user or reviewer that the approved changes were deployed. On failure I'd like an email sent to a list of admins in addition to the active workflow participants.

Using the OOTB templates I have to create these dummy tasks so that the email subjects are intuitive and also am not sure how to pass additional addresses in the email without creating a custom template. I really dont want more templates I want to parameter this stuff.

You can try this by creating a constant variable in your module and access it for sending multiple addresses in the mail.
or,
You can create an xml file for a particular purpose say, <failure>
<user1 email id>
<user1 email id>
.....
....

and can pick up the email addresses from it to send mail.
Pick anyone with some customisation as it per your requirement.

Thanks,
Pawan

Adam Stoller

Is there a way to pass the subject and to addresses rather than relying on task descriptions and owners. I think If I could do that I could remove these "dummy" external tasks.
...
Using the OOTB templates I have to create these dummy tasks so that the email subjects are intuitive and also am not sure how to pass additional addresses in the email without creating a custom template. I really dont want more templates I want to parameter this stuff.

Well - you probably need to create more templates - at least one set - in which you can process parameters extracted from information you set within the workflow (e.g. additional task-level variables, in which you can set the subject, from, to, etc. information)

I believe all workflow and task level variables are available for processing by the PT's referenced for header and body portions of the email - it then becomes a matter of coding the PT to extract that information and use it the way you want.

Tim__D

I dont understand how the email templates nest. For example the author_iwmailheader.tpl includes this line

<iw_include pt="ccmail_header.tpl" type_of_task_param="author" mode="ptlocal" />

The reviewer_iwmailheader.tpl includes this line <iw_include pt="ccmail_header.tpl" type_of_task_param="review" mode="ptlocal" />

I dont see how ccmail_header.tpl behaves differently based on the review or author parameters. Cant I just call ccmail_header.tpl directly? If I did have to copy a template should I copy ccmail_header.ipl or use one of the others that have the tag reference? I wish there was more docs on how this works!

I have many templating projects under my belt but there is not much documentation on this aspect so I'm hoping to get some insight so I can elegantly implement iwov templated email in an Enterprise fashion.

Adam Stoller

I dont understand how the email templates nest. For example the author_iwmailheader.tpl includes this line

<iw_include pt="ccmail_header.tpl" type_of_task_param="author" mode="ptlocal" />

The reviewer_iwmailheader.tpl includes this line <iw_include pt="ccmail_header.tpl" type_of_task_param="review" mode="ptlocal" />

I dont see how ccmail_header.tpl behaves differently based on the review or author parameters. Cant I just call ccmail_header.tpl directly? If I did have to copy a template should I copy ccmail_header.ipl or use one of the others that have the tag reference? I wish there was more docs on how this works!

I have many templating projects under my belt but there is not much documentation on this aspect so I'm hoping to get some insight so I can elegantly implement iwov templated email in an Enterprise fashion.

I don't have a copy of the OOTB PTs handy right now - so I'm not sure if the type_of_task_param attribute is being used (I imagine it might be, but I'm not sure) - but sure - you could use the ccmail_*.tpl's directly if you wanted.

However - it may be better, especially since you have templating projects under your belt to take a step back first. There is a debugging option in the iw_solution_email.ipl script that causes it to dump the XML that the PTs are processing (I believe somewhere within IWHOME/tmp/) - do that, look at it - and then look at the ccmail PTs.

Then - (my preference) - start from scratch - consider the dumped XML file as-if it were a DCR and write a PT to do what you want (I'd suggest looking carefully at the existing header PT file to make sure you understand how to format the header information - but the body stuff is whatever you want).