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Oracle® Fusion Middleware Release Notes
11g Release 1 (11.1.1) for HP-UX Itanium
Part Number E14773-05
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14 Human Workflow

This chapter describes issues associated with human workflow. It includes the following topics:

14.1 General Issues and Workarounds

This section describes general issue and workarounds. It includes the following topics:

14.1.1 No Access Visibility Rule Does Not Work for the History and Flexfield Task Contents

The no access visibility rule does not work for the history and flexfield task contents. For example, perform the following steps:

  1. In the Advanced Settings section of the Human Task Editor, click Configure Visibility.

  2. Click the Task Content tab.

  3. In the Task Content column, select history and click the Edit icon.

  4. Move all entries to the No Access section, and click OK.

  5. Repeat steps 3 through 4 for flexfields.

  6. Deploy the SOA composite and taskflow applications.

  7. Initiate an instance and log in to Oracle BPM Worklist.

  8. Click the task and note that history and flexfields still display in the task details.

14.1.2 Pushback Action Overrides All Other Actions

The pushback action overrides all other actions. For example, if a task is pushed back and then reassigned, after the reassignee approves it, the task goes to the user who performed the pushback. This is the expected behavior.

14.1.3 Tasks Can Be Pushed Back to an Owner or Creator Who Was Not in the Past Approvers List

A task owner or creator who was not a previous task approver displays in the list of approvers to whom the task can be pushed back. For example, perform the following tasks:

  1. Create the Vacation Request SOA composite application in which you set the Owner field of the Human Task Editor with an XPath expression.

  2. Set the creator from the payload as the owner of the task.

  3. Deploy and create an instance with the creator as jcooper.

  4. Log in as jstein to Oracle BPM Worklist.

  5. Select Actions > Request Information.

  6. In the Request More Information dialog in Oracle BPM Worklist, the task owner jcooper is shown as a past approver in the Past Approvers dropdown list. Since jcooper is not in the original list of approvers, if you select this user, a validation error similar to the following is correctly displayed:

    Invalid action on workflow task or user does not have privilege to 
perform this action. Action PUSH_BACK on task 
89f227cd-7ea2-4fcf-83ff-845082e01416 cannot be performed by jstein. Make 
sure that the action is valid with respect to the current state of the task or
ensure that the user has  privilege to perform this action on the workflow
task.

14.1.4 Limitation on Using Microsoft Excel Workbook in an SSL environment

Microsoft Excel Workbook does not work in an SSL environment using the HTTPS web context URL. After you log in, the protected dummy login dialog does not go away.

As a workaround, use non-SSL mode (even with SSL enabled).

14.1.5 Adhoc Routing Does Not Work When Selected at the Serial Participant Type Level

If you select the Allow this participant to invite other participants check box in the Advanced section of the serial participant type to set adhoc routing at the participant level, this selection does not work at runtime.

As a workaround, select Allow all participants to invite other participants in the Configure Assignment dialog. This enables adhoc routing to work at runtime at the global level.

14.1.6 Adhoc Routing is Not Supported for Parallel Assignees at the Participant Level

Do not select the Allow this participant to invite other participants check box in the Advanced section of the parallel participant type. Adhoc routing is not supported for parallel assignees at the participant level. If selected, adhoc routing does not display in the Actions dropdown list during runtime in Oracle BPM Worklist.

As a workaround, select Allow all participants to invite other participants in the Configure Assignment dialog. This enables adhoc routing to work at runtime at the global level.

14.1.7 Attachments in Tasks with Parallel Assignees and Collaboration Enabled are Lost

Assume you create a task with parallel assignees and select Share attachments and comments, which enables collaboration. At run time, if you add a file attachment in Oracle BPM Worklist, and immediately save it by selecting Save from the Actions dropdown list, the file attachment is lost.

As a workaround, do not immediately save the attachment. The save command is not required for file attachments; it is only required for URL attachments. Instead, refresh the task details immediately after adding the file attachment by clicking the task title to ensure that the file attachment is preserved. You can then perform actions such as save. This ensures that the file is attached and can be shared by other parallel assignees.

14.1.8 Application Roles Do Not Work when Used in a Participant Level Rule

Application roles do not work when used within the context of the following participant level rules.

  • Selecting Rule-based from the Build a list of participant using list

  • Selecting Names and Expressions or selecting Management Chain from the Build a list of participant using list, and then selecting Rule-based

For example, assume you perform the following steps for a human task:

  1. In the Parameters section of the Human Task Editor, add a parameter (for example, payload1 of type double).

  2. Create a single participant type.

  3. From the Build a list of participants using list, select Names and expressions.

  4. Select the Rule-based radio button.

  5. In the List Ruleset field, enter a name (for example, Ruleset1), and click OK.

    The Oracle Business Rules Designer appears.

  6. Create rules with application roles. For example:

    • Rule 1

      IF Task.payload.payload1 (double type) < 500 
THEN 
call CreateResourceList (users:null, groups:null, approles:"QATeam",
reponseType: reponseType.REQUIRED, ruleName:"rule_1", lists:Lists)

    • Rule 2

      IF Task.payload.payload1 (double type) >= 500 
THEN 
call CreateResourceList (users:jstein, groups:null, approles:null, 
reponseType: reponseType.REQUIRED, ruleName:"rule_2", lists:Lists)

  7. Save and deploy the SOA composite application.

  8. Invoke an instance from Oracle Enterprise Manager Fusion Middleware Control Console with the following values:

    • Enter 700 as the payload, and note that the application works correctly. User jstein is assigned the task.

    • Enter 200 as the payload. Note that exception errors appear in the server log.

As a workaround, use application roles and participant level rules separately.

14.1.9 Task Flow Created with Notification Drop Handler Displays a Code Line in Oracle BPM Worklist

When you create the task flow for a human workflow task by dragging the Task object from the Application Navigator and selecting Human Task > Task details for email from the menu, then after task flow deployment, the following code line precedes the task details in Oracle BPM Worklist.

font {font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif} H1 { font-size:
14px; color:#000000; margin-left: 5px} td {font-size: 11px;color:#000000}
label {font-size:11px;color:#704A00;margin-right:10px}

This does not effect any functionality. In Oracle BPM Worklist and in the email notification, task details display correctly.

14.1.10 Worklist Application Does Not Refresh User Permissions Until a Subsequent Login

If you change a user's privileges in Oracle Enterprise Manager Fusion Middleware Control Console while the user is logged in to Oracle BPM Worklist, the changes will take effect only after a subsequent login by the user. This is true for situations in which there are two active worklist sessions, one in which the user is already logged in before the privileges are changed, and one in which the same user logs in after the privileges are changed. In the first case, the changes to the user's privileges do not take effect while the user is logged in. In the second case, when the user logs in to the second instance of the Worklist Application, the changes to the user's privileges do take effect.

14.1.11 Specifying Values for Both the Date From and Date To Fields on the Notification Management Page

You must specify values for both the Date From and Date To fields in the Search sections on the Notification Management page in Oracle Enterprise Manager Fusion Middleware Control Console to receive the correct search results. These fields do not work independently. Specifying values for only one of these fields does not display the correct search results. To access these fields:

  1. Right-click soa-infra in the navigation tree, and select Service Engines > Human Workflow > Notification Management.

  2. Expand the Search icon in the Outgoing Notifications section or Incoming Notifications section to display the Date From or Date To fields.

14.1.12 Oracle BPM Worklist Does Not Support a JNDI Connection Pool

The worklist engine uses a user/role connection pool. It does not support a JNDI connection pool.

14.1.13 Some Runtime Languages Are Not Displayed in the Worklist

Oracle BPM Worklist supports nine administration languages. However, the user's notification preference interface, as a standalone application, supports 21 runtime languages. If a user's preferred language is set to a language that is not supported by the worklist, but which is supported by the user's notification preference interface, then the worklist displays the language set by the server (or English if the server language is also not supported by the worklist), while the embedded user's notification preference interface displays in the user's preferred language. In this case, two languages are seen when you navigate to the Preferences settings in the Notification tab in the worklist.

For example, assume that the language of the SOA server is French and that someone tries to access the worklist in a browser with the language set to Arabic. The worklist interface displays the server language, French, while the embedded user's notification preference interface displays in Arabic when navigating to the Preferences > Notification tab.

14.1.14 Business Tasks Can be Deleted After They Are Withdrawn

You can delete withdrawn business tasks (that is, non-ToDo tasks) in Oracle BPM Worklist.

14.1.15 Displaying Details for Stale Tasks on the Evidence Search Tab

Many of the task details for a stale task are not displayed, because stale tasks are typically purged. For this reason, content on the page is not aligned correctly and clicking a stale task results in an error message.

14.1.16 Undeploying a Task Flow Does Not Remove the Database Entry for the URL

When a task flow Web application is deployed, the task flow URL is registered in the database. This URL is displayed in Oracle BPM Worklist when a task is clicked and the task details are displayed. If the task flow Web application is later undeployed or stopped, the task flow URL in the database is not removed as part of the undeployment. Consequently, when you click the task in the worklist to see the task details, a "404 Not Found" error is displayed rather than the message "Details not available for task." To avoid the "404 Not Found" error, use Oracle Enterprise Manager Fusion Middleware Control Console to undeploy the task flow application from the application home page.

14.1.17 Changing the Task Display URL to Use the Correct Protocol and Port Number

If the SOA Server is SSL enabled or disabled, then you must manually enable or disable SSL for any already deployed workflow task detail applications. Use Oracle Enterprise Manager Fusion Middleware Control Console to change the workflow task display URL to use the correct protocol and port number. To enable the use of the SSL (HTTPS) URL, ensure that the HTTP port setting is left blank. See Oracle Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide for Oracle SOA Suite for more information.

14.1.18 Creating Custom Identity Store Providers

Oracle Fusion Middleware supports providers that enable the User and Role API to interact with custom identity stores. For more information, visit the following URL:

http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/id_mgmt/opss/index.html

14.1.19 Some Fields Do Not Appear After Updating and Saving a ToDo Task in a Worklist Portlet

After you update and save a ToDo task or a ToDo subtask for a business task in a Worklist Portlet, the following fields should appear, but do not: Assignee, Status, and Search options.

14.1.20 Inconsistent Display Languages in Worklist and Embedded User's Notification Preference Interface

Oracle BPM Worklist can be configured to set the language from the browser or from the identity store. There are two levels to this setting, the application level and the user level. If the user preference is set, it takes precedence in determining the worklist display language. However, the embedded user's notification preference interface always respects the application preference. Therefore, if the user's preference indicates that the language from the browser is to be used, while the application preference is set to use the language from the identity store, or vice versa, you may see different display languages in the worklist and in the user's notification preference interface.

14.2 Configuration Issues and Workarounds

This section describes configuration issues and their workarounds. It includes the following topics:

14.2.1 Seeding Users, Groups, and Application Roles using LDAP Tools

This section provides an overview of the procedures required for seeding users, groups, and application roles with LDAP tools.

14.2.1.1 Changing the Default Password in the Embedded LDAP Server

The password credential is accessible from the Oracle WebLogic Server Administration Console by selecting Security > Embedded LDAP for your domain.

For instructions on changing the default password credential, see Chapter 9, "Managing the Embedded LDAP Server" of Oracle Fusion Middleware Securing Oracle WebLogic Server.

14.2.1.2 Seeding Users or Groups through LDAP Browser

  1. Start an LDAP browser (for example, openLdap browser, ldapbrowser, jXplorer, and so on). See the documentation for your browser for instructions.

  2. Connect to the LDAP server by providing the hostname, port number on which the server is running, and the administration user credentials with which to log in.

    • For OIDm:

      1. The default port number is 3060.

      2. The administration username is cn=orcladmin.

      3. The administration password is the password for the LDAP server.

  3. Seed a user or group through the browser by performing the following steps:

    1. Select a parent under which to add a user or group.

    2. Select the Edit menu and choose an appropriate option to add a new entry.

    3. Enter all required attribute values for the entry.

  4. Seed users or groups through the LDIF file by performing the following steps:

    1. Select the domain under which to seed the users or groups.

    2. Select the LDIF menu and choose to import an LDIF file.

    3. In the Import LDIF File dialog, browse for and select the LDIF file and click Import.

      Similarly, the users or groups seeded on the LDAP server can be exported to an LDIF file by selecting the Export option from the LDIF menu.

  5. Add attributes to the users or groups by performing the following steps:

    1. Select an entry for which to add a new attribute.

    2. Right-click and choose the option to add a new attribute.

    3. In the Add Attribute dialog, provide the name and value of the attribute.

      You can only add attributes that are defined in the LDAP server schema.

  6. Delete attributes for users or groups by performing the following steps:

    1. Select an entry for which to delete a new attribute.

    2. Select an attribute from the list of attributes and delete it.

14.2.1.3 Seeding Application Roles using WLST Scripts

For instructions on using the WebLogic Scripting Tool (WLST) to seed application roles, see Chapter 4, "Infrastructure Security Custom WLST Commands" of Oracle Fusion Middleware WebLogic Scripting Tool Command Reference.

14.2.1.4 Seeding Application Roles in Oracle Enterprise Manager Fusion Middleware Control Console

  1. In the navigator, select the appropriate Oracle WebLogic Server under WebLogic Domain > Farm_Domain_name.

  2. In the right pane, select WebLogic Domain -> Security -> Application Roles.

  3. Create an application role by performing the following steps:

    1. Select the Create option in the Application Roles page.

      The Create Application Role page appears.

    2. In the Application list, select the application name (server_name/soa_infra) under which to create a new role.

    3. Enter the role name, display name, and description for the application role.

    4. Add members by selecting Add Role in the Roles section and Add User in the Users section.

    5. Click OK to create the application role.

  4. Edit application roles by performing the following steps:

    1. In the Application list of the Search section of the Application Roles page, select an appropriate application.

      This action lists all the application roles created for that application.

    2. To the right of the Role Name list, click the Search icon.

    3. Select the application role to edit.

    4. Click Edit.

    5. Add or delete roles in the Roles section and Users section of the Edit Application Role page.

    6. Click OK.

  5. Delete application roles by performing the following steps:

    1. In the Application list of the Search section of the Application Roles page, select an appropriate application.

      This action lists all the application roles created for that application.

    2. Select the application role to delete.

    3. Click the Delete button to delete the application role.

    4. Click Yes in the Confirmation dialog.

14.2.2 Reusing the Task Flow Application with Multiple Human Tasks

You can reuse a single task flow application with multiple human tasks. To use this feature, all human tasks must have identical payload elements.

  1. Open the TASKFLOW_PROJ_DIR\adfmsrc\hwtaskflow.xml file.

  2. For each additional human task, add the following element inside the file (at the bottom just before </hwTaskFlows>):

    <hwTaskFlow>
  <WorkflowName>$TASK_NAME</WorkflowName>
  <TaskDefinitionNamespace>$TASK_NAMESPACE</TaskDefinitionNamespace>
  <TaskFlowId>$TASK_FLOW_NAME</TaskFlowId>
  <TaskFlowFileName>$TASK_FLOW_FILENAME</TaskFlowFileName>
</hwTaskFlow

    where:

    • $TASK_NAME is replaced with the name of the human task inside the .task file (value of the <name> element).

    • $TASK_NAMESPACE is replaced with the namespace of the human task inside the .task file (value of the attribute targetNameSpace of element <taskDefinition>).

    • $TASK_FLOW_NAME is copied from the existing <hwTaskFlow>/<TaskFlowId> element.

    • $TASK_FLOW_FILENAME is copied from the existing <hwTaskFlow>/<TaskFlowFileName> element.

14.2.3 Specify the Complete Host Name of the Task Display Form URL

For the task display form to work correctly, always specify the URL using the complete name for the host on which the task flow is deployed. If the server information is included in the hwtaskflow.xml file (as shown in Example 26-1 of the Oracle Fusion Middleware Developer's Guide for Oracle SOA Suite), specify it as follows:

<TaskFlowServer>
      <hostName>dev123.us.oracle.com</hostName>
      <httpPort>8888</httpPort>
      <httpsPort/>
   </TaskFlowServer>

The same is true if the task display form URL is explicitly registered in the Oracle Enterprise Manager Fusion Middleware Control Console, as shown in Section "20.3 Managing the URI of the Human Task Service Component Task Details Application" of Oracle Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide for Oracle SOA Suite.

14.2.4 Digitally Signing a Task Outcome in Oracle BPM Worklist

To sign the task outcome or, once signed, get the certificate validated, ensure that you perform the following tasks:

  • After you obtain a valid certificate from a certificate authority (CA), enter the name and URL of the CA of each certificate in the trust chain through the System MBean Browser in Oracle Enterprise Manager Fusion Middleware Control Console. See Chapter 29, "Introduction to Human Workflow Services" of Oracle Fusion Middleware Developer's Guide for Oracle SOA Suite for instructions.

  • When signing a task outcome using your certificate, you must upload the entire chain of certificates through Oracle BPM Worklist as a .P7B (PKCS7 format) file, not just the one certificate issued to you by the certificate issuer. The entire chain can be exported through Internet Explorer. Mozilla Firefox does not let you export the chain as a .P7B file. Therefore, you can perform the following steps:

    1. Export the chain from Mozilla Firefox as a .P12 file (PKCS12 format that also contains your private key).

    2. Import the .P12 file in Internet Explorer.

    3. Export it again from Internet Explorer as a .P7B file.

    4. Upload it through Oracle BPM Worklist.

14.3 Documentation Errata

This section describes documentation errata. It includes the following topic:

14.3.1 Using Resource Bundles

Section "25.3.10.4 Specifying Multilingual Settings" of Chapter 25, "Designing Human Tasks" of the Oracle Fusion Middleware Developer's Guide for Oracle SOA Suite describes how to specify resource bundles for displaying task details in different languages in Oracle BPM Worklist. A bulleted list of resource bundles supported for the task details is provided. The following bullet point from that list is not supported in 11g Release 1.

Displaying the XML element and attributes names in the payload display of Oracle BPM Worklist. The key name in the resource bundle must be the same as the name of the XML element and attributes for internationalization of XML element names in Oracle BPM Worklist.

Section "29.5.4 Task Detail ADF Task Flow Resource Bundles of Chapter 29" of Oracle Fusion Middleware Developer's Guide for Oracle SOA Suite describes how to use the oracle.bpel.services.workflow.worklist.resource.worklist resource bundle to store resource strings. You can localize the XML element name displayed in the task flow form through this resource bundle. You can add keys, and use them in the task flow form contents section. The input text label looks like #{resources.mykeyword}.

14.3.2 Configuring Notification Preferences for SSL Communication

Section "6.3.1 Configuring Oracle HTTP Server for SSL Communication" of Chapter 6 of the Oracle Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide for Oracle SOA Suite describes how to configure SSL communication between Oracle SOA Suite and Oracle HTTP Server in the mod_ssl.conf file. In addition to protecting the /integration/worklistapp/* URL, also protect the /sdpmessaging/userprefs-ui/* URL. This is essential for accessing notification preferences.

<Location /sdpmessaging/userprefs-ui/>
      WebLogicPort 8002
      SetHandler weblogic-handler
      ErrorPage http://host.domain.com:port/error.html
</Location>

14.3.3 Accessing Messaging Preferences from Oracle BPM Worklist

Table 16-1 of Section "16.2 Introduction to Notification Channel Setup" of Chapter 16, "Using the Notification Service" of the Oracle Fusion Middleware Developer's Guide for Oracle SOA Suite provides an overview of notification channel setup. The fourth row in this table describes how to register the devices used to access messages by specifying user preferences. Under the User Interface column for this row of the table, the way to navigate to the messaging preferences is by selecting Preferences > Notification in Oracle BPM Worklist.

14.3.4 Configuring the User's Preferred Language and Time Zone for Worklist in LDAP

The following information clarifies the discussion of worklist languages and time zones in Section 27.12, "Accessing Oracle BPM Worklist in Local Languages" of Oracle Fusion Middleware Developer's Guide for Oracle SOA Suite.

The worklist language is configured from the identity store or the browser. See the following sections of Oracle Fusion Middleware Developer's Guide for Oracle SOA Suite for how to select Browser or Identity Provider in the worklist interface:

However, the time zone is configured from the identity store.

If no preference information is available, then the user's preferred language and time zone are determined by the system defaults. System defaults are based on the server settings for language and time zone.

If an LDAP-based provider such as OID is used, then language settings are changed in the OID community. Steps 1 - 2 in Section 14.2.1.2, "Seeding Users or Groups through LDAP Browser" describe how to connect to the embedded LPAP server, where you can change language settings in the OID community. To change a user's preferred language, navigate to the user entry, and add/set the preferredLanguage attribute. See Table 27-11, "Languages Supported in Oracle BPM Worklist" in Oracle Fusion Middleware Developer's Guide for Oracle SOA Suite for a list of supported languages. To change the time zone setting, add/set the orclTimeZone attribute. The format of the time zone string is Continent/Region. You can find the time zone values in the $JAVA_HOME/jre/lib/zi directory. The directories specify the continent names, for example, Africa, Asia, America, and so on, while the files within the directories specify the regions. Note that some regions include subregions, for example America/Indiana/Indianapolis.

When a user logs in, the worklist pages are rendered in the user's preferred language and time zone.

14.3.5 Corrections to Oracle BPM Worklist Documentation

The following incorrect images in the Help are updated in Chapter 27, "Using Oracle BPM Worklist" of Oracle Fusion Middleware Developer's Guide for Oracle SOA Suite.

The following incorrect image in the Help and in the guide will be updated in the next release.

  • The Evidence Store

    The Evidence Store is accessed from the Evidence Search tab of the Administration link. Administrator privilege is required.

The image in the section "To specify application preferences" in the Help and the guide should not contain the Approval Groups and Task Configuration tabs.

The description of Tabs in Table 27-2 and the description of the Administration page in Table 27-3 in the Help and in the guide should not include references to approval groups. Approval groups are not a feature of this release.

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