SharePoint 2013 introduces the renewed workflow engine. In this session, you learn some advanced topics about developing workflows with Microsoft Visual Studio 2012/2013. In particular, you learn how to create custom actions to extend SharePoint Designer 2013, how to create custom workflow forms, and how to leverage the Workflow Services Manager engine to automate and manage workflows. This session targets .NET developers with a good experience in the fields of workflows development and/or process management.

1. Advanced SharePoint 2013 Workflow for
Developers
PAOLO PIALORSI, PIASYS
PAOLO@PIALORSI.COM
SHAREPOINT AND PROJECT CONFERENCE ADRIATICS 2013
ZAGREB, NOVEMBER 27-28 2013

2. sponsors

3. Something about me
• Consultant, project manager and trainer
• More than 40 Microsoft certification exams passed
• Microsoft Certified Solution Master – Charter SharePoint
• Focused on SharePoint since the beginning
• Author of 10 books about XML, SOAP, .NET, LINQ
and SharePoint
•
•
•
Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Developer Reference, Microsoft Press
Microsoft SharePoint 2013 Developer Reference, Microsoft Press
Build Windows 8 Apps with Microsoft Visual C# and
Visual Basic Step by Step, Microsoft Press
• Speaker at main IT conferences

4. Agenda
• SharePoint 2013 and Workflow Manager (quick recall)
• Advanced workflows with SharePoint Designer 2013
• Custom actions and activities with Visual Studio 2013
• Workflow Security
• Workflow Forms

5. SHAREPOINT 2013 AND WORKFLOW
MANAGER

6. SharePoint 2013 and Workflow Manager
Access Control
SharePoint 2013
Content
People
Sharing
2010 WF
OAuth
_API (REST OM)
Workflow
Manager
Workflow Services Manager
Instances
Deployment
Interop
Messaging
WF Service Application Proxy
Workflow Client
SharePoint Designer
Visual Studio
Events
Service Bus

7. ADVANCED WORKFLOW WITH
SPD2013

8. Native Actions/Conditions are not enough …

9. But something is missing …
• Move File
• Upload File
• Search
• Publish/Approve Document
• Save data on a backend database
• Etc.

10. BUT WE HAVE
REST APIS
• Support XML/OData/JSON format
• Can be used to query (OData)
contents
• Can be used to manage
(add, update, delete) content
• Make the Client Side Object
Model (CSOM) remotely available
via REST
• Useful for JavaScript/jQuery
consumers
• But also for workflows in
SPD2013 or Visual Studio
2012/2013
_api is new alias for _vti_bin/client.svc
Server
Client
REST
OData
JSON
CSOM
JavaScript
Library
Silverlight
Library
Custom Client Code
.Net CLR
Library

11. _api Reference
Web Application Hostname
API Namespace
http(s)://{Host Name}/{site}/_api/{namespace}/
{object}
{property}
{indexer(index)}
{method({parameter},{parameter},…)}
Site Collection (Optional)
Operation

12. Sample URLs
• _api/web/lists
• _api/web/lists/getByTitle(‘Documents')
• _api/web/Lists/getByTitle('Documents')/Items
• _api/web/Lists/getByTitle('Documents')/Items(4)
• _api/web/CurrentUser
• _api/web/SiteUsers
• _api/web/getAvailableWebTemplates(lcid=1033)
• _api/web/RoleAssignments/GetPrincipalId(1)/Member

13. USING REST API FROM WORKFLOWS IN
SPD2013

14. CUSTOM ACTIONS AND ACTIVITIES WITH
VISUAL STUDIO 2013

15. Custom Activities vs Custom Actions
Custom Activity
Custom Action
• Custom element from Visual
Studio perspective
• Minimal functional element of a
workflow definition
• Custom element from SPD2013
perspective
• Wraps an activity or an
aggregation of activities
• Can be an Action or a Condition
• Reusable in SharePoint Designer
• Deployable through Sandboxed
Solutions
• Supported in Office 365!
• Defined one time, reusable many
times
• Come in two flavors
• Declarative: XAML
• Code based: .NET Type
• Reusable in Visual Studio and in
SharePoint Designer
• Complex deployment
• Not available in Office 365!

16. We can create libraries of custom actions
• Reusable in multiple workflow definitions
• Reusable in multiple site collections
• Maintainable (are based on WSP, and WSP are upgradable …)
• Some «common» examples
•
•
•
•
Create New List/Library
Delete List/Library
Publish a document «Pending» approval
Invoke remote HTTP services (REST/JSON/OData)

17. CREATING A CUSTOM ACTION FOR SPD2013 IN
VS2013
(PART 1)

18. Creating a Custom Action (recap)
• Create a Sandboxed Solution
• Add a «Workflow Custom Activity»
• Design the markup-based activity
• You can’t use code
• Define the .actions4 file
• It will be registered in the target site collection
• Package and deploy the WSP
• Close SPD2013 and clear cache
• C:Users{UserName}AppDataLocalMicrosoftWebsiteCache{site}
• Restart SPD2013 and use the custom action

19. Creating a Custom Activity (reference
only) a Workflow «Activity Library» project
• Create
• Add a class and inherit from the proper base Activity type
• CodeActivity, CodeActivity<T>
• AsyncCodeActivity, AsyncCodeActivity<T>
• NativeActivity, NativeActivity<T>
• Implement .NET code
• Create an .actions4 file
• It will be placed in TEMPLATE{LCID}Workflow folder
• Add the assembly to the Global Assembly Cache (GAC)
• Create an AllowedTypes.xml file
• %ProgramFiles%Workflow Manager1.0WorkflowArtifacts
• %ProgramFiles%Workflow Manager1.0WorkflowWFWebRootbin
• IISRESET + Restart «Workflow Manager Backend» service
• Close SPD2013, clear cache, restart SPD2013 and use the activity

20. WORKFLOW SECURITY

21. A Workflow is like an App
• The workflow engine has an App Principal
• You can manage app principals:
• https://{hostname}/sites/{site}/_layouts/15/appprincipals.aspx?Scope=Web
• https://{hostname}/sites/{site}/_layouts/15/appinv.aspx
• https://{hostname}/sites/{site}/_layouts/15/appregnew.aspx

22. Default permission model
• By default a workflow has write only permissions
• And while working leverages both
• User permissions
• Workflow App permissions
User
Permissions
App
Permissions
Workflow
Permissions

23. CREATING A CUSTOM ACTION FOR SPD2013 IN
VS2013
(PART 2)

24. App Step and AppOnlySequence (recap)
• You can configure a web site to «Allow workflows to use app
permissions»
• Assign «Full Control» to the workflow App Principal
(appinv.aspx)
<AppPermissionRequests>
<AppPermissionRequest Scope="http://sharepoint/content/sitecollection/web" Right="FullControl" />
</AppPermissionRequests>
• And Trust it!

25. WORKFLOW FORMS

26. Understanding Workflow Forms
• Every workflow definition can have
• Association Form: to associate a workflow definition to a target (0 or 1)
• Initiation Form: to start a workflow instance on a target (0 or 1)
• Task Forms: to provide custom UI for tasks (0 or more)
• Are common ASPX pages
• Visual Studio 2012/2013 provides item templates for
• Association and Initiation
• You need to manually define task forms
• Leveraging custom Workflow Task content types and custom task lists

27. Workflow Forms and Kind of Projects
• In Full Trust workflow projects
• Can run server-side code (SharePoint Server Object Model)
• Can do averything (they are full-trust)
• Are not support for cloud-based (Office 365) deployments
• In App for SharePoint projects
• Workflows are available in app-web only
• In a SharePoint-hosted app-web you can run only JavaScript code (!)
• The form templates provided by Visual Studio are JavaScript based
• You will have to interact with the Workflow Services Manager

28. Workflow Services Manager
Workflow Services Manager
Deployment
Service
Instance
Service
Subscription
Service
Messaging
Service
Interop
Service

29. CREATING CUSTOM WORKFLOW FORMS

30. questions?
HTTP://WWW.SHAREPOINTREFERENCE.COM/BLOG/
@PAOLOPIA

31. thank you.
SHAREPOINT AND PROJECT CONFERENCE ADRIATICS 2013
ZAGREB, NOVEMBER 27-28 2013