User action task
A User Action task creates an action item. The action item can be assigned to a specific person or to a group.
The User Action shape is in the task palette only if the workflow is asynchronous. This aspect of a workflow is specified by its Concurrence property which is described in "Start task".
- Label
This is the label used to identify this task. This field's text appears on the shape in the drawing that represents this workflow task. Use the standards in "Workflow naming conventions".
This label is also what the person who gets the action item as a result of this task sees as a description of what to do in his Action Items portal section.
- Description
- A description of this task goes in this field.
- Lock Record For Other Users
If this check box is checked, the record identified by this task is locked for the assignee(s) identified by this task from the time that the action item is created until the time that the action item is completed. If any other user tries to access the record while it is locked, they will not be able to perform any actions on the record.
Note that a user lock does not prevent other workflows from modifying the same record. Also, users with administrator privileges will still be able to perform actions on the record.
- Action
- This field contains a drop-down list to select the specific action that will complete action items created by this workflow task. Action items will only be considered complete when the specified action is performed on the action item's record.
Use record locking carefully
It is important to lock records when more than one person at a time may be changing the contents of the same record. Otherwise, changing the contents of a record can produce confusion.
Be careful how you manage locked records, or the locks can produce their own sort of confusion. If a record is locked for use by a user who has gone on vacation, others may be inconvenienced because they cannot modify the record until the person on vacation comes back.
The usual way to get a record unstuck in this situation is for a user who is a member of the Admin Group to perform the action that will end the user action.
Multiple actions
The Action field allows you to specify a single action that will complete an action item. Occasionally you have a situation where you want to have two or more ways to complete an action item.
There is an indirect way of creating action items that can be completed with more than one action. The way to do it is make the action specified in the Action field a hidden action. For each action that you want to complete the action item, attach a workflow that performs the hidden action. The mechanism for performing an action on a record from a workflow is discussed in "Trigger action task".