nav[aria-label="Primary Navigation"] { padding: 0; & ul { list-style: none; width: 100%; display: flex; flex-direction: row; justify-content: start; align-items: start; gap: 30px; padding: 0; & li { margin: 0; } & ul li { list-style: none; } } }

Sending e-mail in a workflow with files

mason

We would like to send e-mail in one of our workflows that has a link to one of the files that's currently attached to the workflow. Is there an easy way to query for the file name in the externaltask? The issue I'm running into is that when the workflow is instantiated, the files aren't attached yet. We call iwsend_mail.ipl with an external task, but how do we get it the file names?

We have an external task with the following command in it:
<command v = '__INSERT__($EmailMECmd);'/>

In our template_script section we have

my $subject = '"TeamSite Workflow Notification for Managing Editor"';
my $message = '"Managing Editor: The document has been conditionally approved. It has been sent back to the Author. Click on the following link to view the article: http://servername/iw/webdesk/sce?vpath='. $assignment_vpath . $docfile . '"';

my $EmailMECmd = "$iwhome/iw-perl/bin/iwperl $iwhome/bin/iwsend_mail.ipl -t $managing_editor -f $senior_editor -s $subject -m $message";

The value for $docfile doesn't exist, because there's no document when the workflow is instantiated.

Thanks in advance!

Find more posts tagged with

Comments

Migrateduser

Are the files added to the workflow prior to your email externaltask being executed? If so, you can either use the WFtask->GetFiles() method or use the files array that is automatically passed in to every externaltask. If your files are not added to the workflow prior to the email task however, you are SOL.

Dave Smith
Sr. Software Engineer
Nike, Inc.
(503) 671-4238
DavidH.Smith@nike.com

mason

Thanks for the quick response. The files are attached before the external/e-mail task is called. I think I'm confused on the syntax. Do I put a template_script section inside the externaltask? From there can I call $task->GetFiles()? (I've called this from my own perl script in an external task, but I was hoping to just call the standard iwsend_mail.ipl script from the workflow instead of writing my own perl script to send the mail.)

Migrateduser

No, your externaltask script is pure perl. You need to understand how to write an externaltask script and what is passed in and how to utilize the WFworkflow.pm and WFtask.pm modules. That's a start. All that is way too much to try to pass along in this forum. You should strongly consider attending the Interwoven Workflow training.

Dave Smith
Sr. Software Engineer
Nike, Inc.
(503) 671-4238
DavidH.Smith@nike.com

mason

I was hoping to avoid writing my own script, since there's a built-in function. I guess we're just trying to extend it beyond its built-in capabilities. I am familiar (but new) at writing external scripts and using the WF modules. I was just looking for a short-cut. :-)

Thanks.

CMYK_600dpi.zip

Migrateduser

Funny, I thought iwsend_mail.ipl embedded the files into the email without any customization needed.

Dave Smith
Sr. Software Engineer
Nike, Inc.
(503) 671-4238
DavidH.Smith@nike.com

mason

Yes, iwsend_mail.ipl does list the files at the bottom of the e-mail by default. We would like to insert a link to the file via the cci:
http://servername/iw/webdesk/sce?vpath=/default/main/.../filename

My first thought was to try to send this link in via the -m message option of iwsend_mail, but then I ran into not having access to the filename when the workflow instantiates.

Another way would be to edit iwsend_mail.ipl or create our own version of iwsend_mail.ipl. We could then edit the .ipl file and add the link and other customizations needed.

Migrateduser

Sounds like it would be easy enough to just modify iwsend_mail.ipl to print out what you want instead of what it prints by default for the filelist. What's the problem with doing that?

Dave Smith
Sr. Software Engineer
Nike, Inc.
(503) 671-4238
DavidH.Smith@nike.com

logs.txt

mason

My only concern would be when an upgrade or patch comes out. If it involves iwsend_mail, then I could lose my customizations. Or if I make a copy of it and use my own mail script, then I would need to revisit the file if new features or patches come out. But it sounds like the best solution.

Migrateduser

Well I think hardly anyone uses the Interwoven supplied scripts without modifying them a little. It's an email script, so if you like the way the email looks you don't have to use any new ones they send out in the future. And you're making a very small change so it should be easy enough to do it again if they upgrade the email script. In fact, they already have a new email solution - Template Based Email that you could use to do exactly what you want. It's a little more complicated, but you are already using an old solution. Customizing is a good thing.

Dave Smith
Sr. Software Engineer
Nike, Inc.
(503) 671-4238
DavidH.Smith@nike.com

Adam Stoller

iwsend_mail.ipl DOES use sce?vpath= CCI links - why do you think you need to modify it in order to get this functionality?

You have to use either the '-u' or '-H' options OR task-level variables "mail_url" or "mail_html" respectively.

By the way the other arguments that you're passing in on the command line can also be set as task level variables.

--fish
(Interwoven Senior Technical Consultant)

mason

Is this a new feature in TS 5.5.x? We're using TS 5.01. I don't see these options in the usage statement for iwsend_mail or in the documentation (Appendix A of the Workflow Developer's Guide).

How are the task level variables implemented?

Migrateduser

Sorry... it doesn't look like the HTML-formatted email messages are available in 5.0.1.

Brinko Kobrin
Interwoven Staff Engineer