Start Step

You may notice a yellow warning indicator on the Start step and a corresponding warning message in the error console. This warning indicator is a visual reminder that you have not configured how your workflow starts. The warning indicator goes away as soon as you select a start option and does not stop you from deploying your workflow.

In this example, the Start step is configured to start with a Form. Notice the yellow warning indicator no longer shows.

For more information on different ways to start a workflow, see the Starting a Workflow topic.

1. The Start step is automatically added onto the canvas.
   
2. Select the added step and click the expand / collapse toggle to expand the Configuration Panel. You can also double click the step to expand the panel.
   
3. With the Start step selected, click the Start tab.
   

From the Start tab, select how the Start step starts the workflow. The following table explains the available options:

Option	Explanation	How to Use
How will this workflow be started?
Start with a Form	When submitting a form you can configure it to start a workflow.	Click the Start with a Form link.
Start with a SharePoint List	Use this option to start the workflow by configuring a SharePoint event.	Click the Start with a SharePoint List link.
Under what conditions should this workflow be started?
Always Start	Select this option to make sure the workflow always starts when triggered. By default, this option is selected.	Select the Always Start radio button.
Conditionally Start	Select this option to define a conditional start rule. The workflow does not start unless the conditions of the rule are met. For more information on how to configure the rule, see the Conditional Start Rule topic.	Select the Conditionally Start radio button and click Edit Start Rule to define the rule.

4. For detailed information on how to start a workflow with a form or with a SharePoint event, see the Start a Workflow with a Form and the Start a Workflow with a SharePoint Event topics.
5. With the step selected, select the Properties tab.
   

   The following table explains the options available in this section:

   Option	Explanation	How to Use
   Process Name	Use this option to change the workflow name.	Enter value into the Process Name field.
   Description	Use this field to add a detailed description for the selected step. This field allows you to add multiple lines of text.	Add a value into the Description field.
   Priority	Use this field to select the priority level for the selected step. You can select between Low, Medium, or High priority.	Select the value from the Priority drop-down menu.

6. Click the Errors tab.
   

Different types of exceptions can occur on a step, such as:

Type	Description
Known exceptions	Any SmartWizard or standard wizard that has Boolean options for handling known exceptions have these options displayed as check boxes in the Known exceptions section of the Exceptions tab.
Unhandled exceptions	Any unknown runtime exceptions.

The tab contains the following unhandled exception:

Exception	Explanation	How to Use
Log Exception	Logs the exception to the error log.	Check the box to log the exception.

7. Your changes are automatically saved.

When working with the Start step keep in mind the following considerations:

• The start step can only have one outgoing line
• You can not add an incoming line to the start step
• The start step cannot be added to a multi-step
• The start step cannot be made into a multi-step
• The start step cannot be deleted
• You can only have one start step per workflow