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Data Element Types

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String

String elements allow for short to medium length text data. String elements can hold data up to 255 characters long. For larger amounts of information, use the Memo data type.

Numeric

Numeric data types hold numbers. Numbers can be used in various calculations in a process. Numbers can be either integers (no decimal point), or rational (with a decimal point).

Date

Date fields hold date and time information. Dates will be displayed using the format specified in the format property. See the possible date formats below.

Memo

Memo fields hold textual information of an arbitrary length. They are displayed in the Web Interface using a scrolling text box. Memo fields can be used to store large amounts of data if necessary.

Log

Log fields are similar to memo fields in that they can hold and display large amounts of information. The difference is that log fields are intended to hold sequential type of information. Information added to a log field is stored with the user's name that is entered in the information along with a date and timestamp. New information is added to the end. Any information already entered into a log field is not editable; information can only be appended to the end.

Document

Document fields are designed to hold other types ofdocuments and/or files. Microsoft Word documents, graphic or picture files, and PDF files are all examples of the type of item than can be stored in a Document field.

Assignment

An assignment data type is for storing a dynamic group or user name in the processes. This assigned user or group can then be used later for assigning a task. When an Assignment data field is shown in a web page, the user can select a security group from a dropdown. This selected group can be used later when defining a task assignment in the Task Dialog.

Line Item Tables

A Line Item Table is a unique type of data element that stores a specially formatted table of data. Line Item Tables can hold information such as invoice line items, hour tallies, or other types of information where there are consistent columns with multiple rows of information.

Text Label

Labels can be placed on Task/Forms to break up the data entry into sections. The content of the label is stored in the Default Data property of the Data Element. This means that simply renaming the data element will not usually change the label on the form.

Approval

An Approval data type can be used to request or indicate approval by an individual, or a member of a specific security group.

When an Approval data element is added to a form, it will either allow a user to perform an approval by typing in their password (assuming correct security), or display the current approval status in read-only field.

To indicate which user or group can perform the approval, select the appropriate group under the Formatting tab.

Dynamic Group

A Dynamic Group acts as a placeholder security group that can be used in place of a pre-defined security group throughout the workflow. Dynamic groups can be changed and updated on a per-instance basis.

Each instance of a process can have its own unique group members that make up a Dynamic Group. This allows the process user to create a group on the fly to be used in the current instance of a process without having to define a security group through the User Administrator screen.

By adding a Dynamic Group data element to a task, the person working the task can build and edit the list of members in the group.

Tasks can be assigned to a Dynamic Group, and members of that group will be allowed to take ownership and complete the task.

A workflow can have multiple Dynamic Groups if necessary.

Encrypted Strings and Memos

Encrypted String and Memo data elements act very similar to their unencrypted counterparts. Their main difference is that the data is stored in the underlying database using an encryption algorithm. The key used to encrypt and decrypt the data is stored separately from the database itself and provides a means of protecting the data in the event the database storage was compromised.

Data is decrypted any time it is used within a workflow, or if it is exported directly through the web interface. Behind the scenes, the data is stored as encrypted text. Database backups will have encrypted data for these types of data elements.

Due to the nature of the encryption algorithm and storage method, String data types are limited to a length of 126 characters. Memo fields do not have a length limitation.

Data such as social security numbers, credit and debit card numbers, salary information, etc. should be stored encrypted in the database. This restricts access to the information through Quik Flow BPM and protects it from personnel who may have access to the underlying database.

 

 

Data Element Types
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