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How To: Export a Workflow

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This how-to guide will focus on how to export an existing Advvy workflow into Excel.

Reasons for Exporting:

  • An existing workflow needs tasks to be re-arranged into different stages, or bulk editing of existing workflow tasks
  • A new workflow needs to be created and there is currently an existing workflow that can be used as a base that can be edited and re-imported to save time.

Overview:

Using Advanced Find Queries

  1. Export Media Workflow Definition
  2. Export Media Workflow Stage Definition
  3. Export Media Workflow Activity Definitions

These files can then be edited and imported as a new workflow, or imported to update/overwrite an existing workflow. Refer to the Advvy – How to Import a Workflow guide.

  • Export Media Workflow Definition

On the Navigation Bar – select Advanced find

  1. Look For: Media Workflow Definitions
    From here, you want to tell the system what specific workflow you’re trying to export, and that you want stages, tasks and sub-tasks.
  2. Use the “Select” drop-down menu and select Media Workflow Definition.
  3. Make sure the box next to it is set to “Equals” and, to the right of that, click “Enter Value” once, then click the magnifying glass that appears. A “Look Up Records” box will appear that allows you to search for the workflow you want to export. You may need to use the “look in” drop-down to select active
    media workflows. Click “Add” to exit out of the window. Note: a workflow will not appear here if it hasn’t been created.
  4. Click Edit columns
  5. Click Add columns
  6. Check all the Advvy custom fields starting with a1a_. The best way to do this is by sorting by the name and ticking anything with a1a_ in front of it. Press ok when finished.
  7. Click Results! to display the Media Workflow Definition record.
  8. Click the export media workflow definition from the drop-down and select static workbook.
  9. You’ve now downloaded the workflow definition, basically the name of the workflow.
  10. Continue to download the Stage and Activity Definition.

  • Export Media Workflow Stage Definition

  1. Go back to Advanced Find
  2. Look For: Media Workflow Stage Definitions
  3. Select: Workflow (It will be the first one on the drop-down list which is under the “Fields” section. DO NOT use the one under the “related” section.)
  4. Set to Equals.
  5. Select the same workflow as above.
  6. Edit Columns
  7. Add Columns
  8. Sort by name and, tick all names that begin with a1a, EXCEPT Stage Auto-Number Lookup, and press ok.
  9. Click Configure Sort Order
  10. In the “Sort by” drop-down menu, select Order, Click OK
  11. Click Results!, to display your stages and you’ll notice they appear in the sort order
  12. Export to Excel static worksheet

Now it’s time to export the tasks and sub-tasks, which are all labeled as activity definitions.

  • Export Media Workflow Activity Definition

  1. Go back to Advanced Find
  2. Look For: Media Workflow Activity Definitions
  3. Select: Workflow (It will be the first one on the drop-down list which is under the “Fields” section. DO NOT use the one under the “related” section.)
  4. Set to Equals
  5. Select the same workflow as above.
  6. Edit Columns
  7. Add Columns
  8. Sort by name and, add all the a1a, EXCEPT auto-number lookup
  9. Now we need to add some additional fields for any workflows that have sub-tasks – these are identified as “complex” tasks in the export. Click on Add columns again
  10. From the Record Type drop-down menu select Stage (Media Workflow Stage Definition)
  11. Add the following Advvy a1a_ Stage fields: Order, Code, Name,
  12. Click Configure Sorting – the configure sort order box will display
  13. In the sort by drop down select Order Complex, in the Then By drop-down, select Order.
  14. This ensures the results of the query will display the tasks in their correct order within each stage – it saves you having to re-sort in excel.
  15. Click Results! To display the Task list.
  16. Export the static worksheet.

Note: If the results displayed aren’t what you expected you can always go back to check your query and check the fields you have added and re-run the results again.

Editing an Existing Workflow

Note the first 3 columns, A B C, are hidden – these tie to the existing workflow in the system, and the file can be saved AS IS. Re-importing this file will overwrite the existing workflow, stage, or activity definition data within the workflow. The following can be done to edit and overwrite an existing workflow:

File 1 – Media Workflow Definition – no change required to this file – no need to re-import.

File 2 – Media Workflow Stage Definition – can rename stages, remove stages, add new stages, re-order stages

File 3 – Media Workflow Activity Definition – can rename existing tasks, remove existing tasks, move tasks from one stage to another, add new tasks, re-order tasks

FILE 2 – STAGE DEFINITION TIPS

  • Renaming existing stages: Edit the Name field in File 2, and then update the stage name column in File 3 Activity Definition.
  • Removing existing stages: Delete the row in File 2, and then ensure any activities that were linked to the deleted stage are updated in File 3 Activity Definition to link to an existing stage in File 2.
  • Adding new stages: Insert a new row in File 2 and define the key fields for the stage such as Name, Workflow, Order, Reporting Pillar (the Reporting Pillar must exist within the system and match the excel document exactly) Media Workflow Type (set to Campaign). The name of the new stage will need to be copied to File 3 to add any subtasks to that stage.
  • Re-ordering stages: Copy and paste the row within File 2 and update the Order field column.

FILE 3 – ACTIVITY DEFINITION TIPS

  • Renaming tasks: Edit the Name field in File 3. Note: Names cannot exceed 144 characters (including spaces).
  • Removing tasks: Delete the row in File 3.
  • Moving tasks: Copy and paste the row in File 3, update the Code, Order, and Order Complex columns. If copying the task to a new stage, be sure to update the Stage field.
  • Adding new tasks: Insert a new row in File 3 and define the key fields for the task such as Name, Workflow, Code, Order, Order Complex, Stage, Media Workflow Role, Activity Type (set to Standard).
  • Re-ordering tasks: Update the Order column in File 3.

Creating a New Workflow based on an Existing Export

Note the first 3 columns, A B C, are hidden – these tie to the existing workflow in the system and they MUST BE DELETED FROM ALL THREE EXPORTED FILES in order to allow the system to create a new workflow.

File 1 – Media Workflow Definition – requires a new Name

File 2 – Media Workflow Stage Definition – can rename stages, remove stages, add new stages, re-order stages

File 3 – Media Workflow Activity Definition – can rename existing tasks, remove existing tasks, move tasks from one stage to another, add new tasks, re-order tasks

FILE 1 – WORKFLOW DEFINITION TIPS

  • Renaming existing Workflow: Edit the Name field in file 1, you then need to update the Workflow column for the new workflow name in File 2 Stage Definition and File 3 Activity Definition.

FILE 2 – STAGE DEFINITION TIPS

  • Renaming existing stages: In File 2 edit the Name field, you then need to update the stage name column for the tasks in File 3 Activity Definition.
  • Removing existing stages: In File 2 delete the stage row, however you then need to ensure in File 3 Activity Definition, any activities that were linked to the deleted stage need to be updated with an existing stage in File 2.
  • Adding new stages: In File 2, insert a new row and define the key fields for the stage such as Name, Workflow, Order, Reporting Pillar (the Reporting Pillar must exist within the system and match the excel document exactly), Media Workflow Type (set to Campaign). The name of the new stage will need to be copied to File 3 for any tasks that are part of that stage.
  • Re-ordering stages: Only the Order column in File 2 needs to be updated.

FILE 3 – ACTIVITY DEFINITION TIPS

  • Renaming tasks: Only the Name field needs to be edited.
  • Removing tasks: Delete the task row in File 3; consider updating the Code and Order for remaining tasks (optional).
  • Moving tasks: To move tasks from one stage to another, only the Stage field needs to be updated; consider updating the Code and Order and Order Complex.
  • Adding new tasks: Insert a new row and define the key fields for the task such as Name, Workflow, Code, Order, Order Complex, Stage, Media Workflow Role, Activity Type (set to Standard) in File 3.
  • Re-ordering tasks: Copy and paste the row in File 3 and update the Order column.

Check that the Name field is in column A to ensure you are not overwriting existing workflow tasks.

Saving Excel Format

  • Keep the original

For editing, it is recommended that you retain your original export file to refer back to or to use as a baseline for another workflow design.

  • Save as New Excel XLSX

Before making any changes to the files, select Save As as an xlsx file with a new filename for ease of identification. The Excel spreadsheet will display the fields and table options are available for use if you want to edit the workflow again in the future.

  • Save as CSV

Once all edits have been made, for importing into Advvy, each of the 3 excel files covered above will ALSO need to be saved as a CSV file.

Select Save As and choose the CSV file type from the available options.

Next Steps: Import. Refer to the Advvy How to – Import a Workflow guide.

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