Workflow Format

The EPrints 3 workflow configuration files are stored in the repository's workflows directory, within folders identifying the Data Objects to which they apply (e.g. eprint or user). Multiple workflows may be defined in each folder, although typically only the default.xml file will be necessary.

Structure

At the centre of a workflow is a 'flow' description. This denotes the path through the workflow process from stage to stage. This may contain EPrints Control tags, allowing for the flow to vary depending on parameters of the data object (or other objects). For example, the flow may be different for users with certain roles. The flow is structured like so:

<flow>
  <stage ref="type"/>
  <stage ref="files"/>
  <stage ref="core"/>
  <stage ref="subjects"/>
</flow>

The 'ref' attribute of the stage element refers to the individual stages. The stage elements describe the components within each screen of the process and, like flow, may contain EPrints Control tags. The 'name' attribute of the stage element is identical to that of the stage element in the 'flow' section.

<stage name="core">
  <component><field ref="title" required="yes" /></component>
  <component><field ref="abstract"/></component>
</stage>

Components

An EPrints component is responsible for the rendering of a graphical element in a workflow. This may be a text-box for title entry, a collection of fields in an appropriate grouping, or just a piece of XHTML. Six components are provided by default and, as they are plugins, it is straightforward to drop in new components when necessary. The type attribute of the component element corresponds to the plugin to be used.

Field Component

The default component, this renders the field title, an input box suitable for the field, a star if the field is required, and any help information. A single field element is required:

<component><field ref="title" required="yes" /></component>

Several attributes are available to the field element:

Attribute	Values	Description
ref	A string	(required) Refers to the name of the metafield this field represents
required	yes/no	(optional) Whether a value is required in this field before the workflow may complete
help	An XHTML block	(optional) A block of XHTML to be rendered as help for the field
input_lookup_url	A URL	(optional) The location of an auto-lookup URL for the field
input_lookup_params	A string	(optional) An &-separated list of parameters (e.g. sort=descending&number=3