Configuring Rules-Based Workflows Through the Rules Engine

Workflow rules are used to define what should happen to a document in a particular workflow state when a specific operation is selected on the Document > Change State menu in ProjectWise Explorer.

Normally, a workflow is assigned to a folder and users change the states of documents as needed by selecting the standard Next, Previous, and Change options on the Document > Change State menu. When workflow rules are in place, the standard Next, Previous, and Change options are disabled, and instead the user has new options or operations to select from on the Document > Change State menu. The selected operation triggers a rule, which is a defined set of actions configured to run in a specific, sequential order. As a simple example, when a document is in a particular state in a particular workflow, the 'Revise' operation might be configured to 'place this document in a specific state of the workflow' AND 'create a new version'.

Workflow rules are imported through the Rules Engine node in ProjectWise Administrator. Any user who has the Workflow Rules Engine extension installed in ProjectWise Explorer will be able to use the rules, assuming they also have access to the workflows that are using the rules.

Key uses of workflow rules and the rules engine:

Administrators can configure document processing actions for each state in a workflow which allows the implementation of non-linear workflows.
It allows the use of non-standard version strings, and the ability to increment them automatically.
Drawing version history attributes can be added to an environment which can be maintained automatically in order to update issue attributes or tags in a drawing sheet.

An example rules file is delivered to get you started. This file is an Excel workbook which contains pre-configured workflow rules. To get this file, you must first install the example dataset (see the ProjectWise Implementation Guide for instructions on installing the example dataset and importing the workflow rules). You can import these workflow rules as is or customize them first and then import them.

Workflow rules can be configured to work with your existing workflows and states. Workflows must first be enabled for the Rules Engine, before they can be used with it. The enabling of a workflow is done inside the workflow rules file, before it is imported into ProjectWise Administrator.

Note: The Rules Engine is only enabled for specific workflows as defined by the configuration settings. Any workflow that is not enabled for the Rules Engine will behave as a default ProjectWise workflow.

Note: While enabling the Rules Engine overrides or disables some standard ProjectWise commands such as New Version and the State Change commands, a user still needs to have the appropriate ProjectWise permissions to carry out these actions for the Rules Engine to work if these actions are configured.