Call Sub Workflow Step

1. From the Toolbox click the Basic category and then drag the Call Sub Workflow step onto the canvas.
   
For more information on how to use the error console, see the Error Console topic.
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. Select the Call Sub Workflow tab. Use this tab to configure the sub workflow details.
   

The following table explains the options available on this tab:

Option	Explanation	How to Use
Select Workflow	Contains a list of recently picked workflows or browse to the required workflow. You can browse and select deployed workflows. You need to have Admin rights to the workflow you want to add. For information on workflow rights, see Rights. Use the dynamic mode to create your own. Type values or create dynamic values by dragging Functions, Fields, SmartObjects and Workflow-related items from the Context Browser into the fields.	Select a workflow from the Which workflow? menu. Click the Browse option to browse to the workflow Click the toggle button to switch between the menu and a dynamic field.
How many workflows?	Use this section to specify how many sub workflows you want to start from within the current workflow. You can use the Select from the following: Single - start a single sub workflow Multiple - start multiple sub workflows for each item in a list so you can process items in parallel By default, the Single tile is selected.	Click to select one of the tiles.
Single Sub Workflow
Start Sub Workflow	Use input mappings to set fields, Item References, and the folio of the sub workflow from the main (parent) workflow. Type values or create dynamic values by dragging Functions, Fields, SmartObjects and Workflow-related items from the Context Browser into the fields. A lock icon next to the property name indicates that this row cannot be deleted.	Click the down arrow to open this section. Select fields and supply values. Click the Add button to add additional property fields. Select Create New from the added property drop down to add a new variable. Click the pen icon to toggle between select and dynamic mode. To delete a property select it and click the Trash Bin The Add button is disabled if there are no properties that you can set.
Finish Sub Workflow	Use this to return values from the sub workflow after it has completed. Setup mapping between the sub workflow's fields and the main workflow. Make sure to check the Wait for the sub workflow to finish check box to show the return values in the Finish Sub Workflow section. The return value property mapper shows when this option is selected.	Click the down arrow to open this section. Select properties and supply return values. Click the Add button to add additional property fields. To delete a property select it and click the Trash Bin The Add button is disabled if there are no properties that you can set.
Wait for sub workflow to finish	Allows you to specify if the main (parent) workflow waits for the sub (child) workflow to complete before continuing. By not selecting this option, the main workflow continues to the next step while the sub workflow runs. This is not selected by default.	Check or uncheck the check box.
Multiple Sub Workflow
What list of data?	This control is only available when you select the Multiple tile option. Use this to specify a list of data to use for each sub workflow instance. You can add a SmartObject Get List property, Variable, or type a delimited list into the field. Drag a SmartObject property into the field and configure it with the Smartfield Composer. Configure with the Smartfield Composer and select the All items as a collection option from the drop down menu. Example of SmartObject Get List property: You can switch between select and dynamic mode. In dynamic mode, you can use a semi-colon delimited list by typing or dropping a field that contains a delimited list. When working with the control in dynamic mode, keep in mind the following: You can also drop a list objection (collection) such as the result of a SmartObject Get List function or a list reference field When you do not specify an object (collection) SmartField in the control, the entire input is seen as a delimited list at runtime When you drop a list object (collection) into the dynamic list text box, the collection is used as the list at runtime When you drop a list SmartField into the dynamic list text box, a warning indicator shows in the text box when there are also other fields or text Example of a delimited list: You can also drag a Variable into the What list of data? field. This variable needs to be contain a semi-colon delimited list. Example of Variable: If you leave this field blank, the workflow considers the list empty.	Drag a SmartObject Get List method property or a Variable into the field. Click the pen icon to toggle between select and dynamic mode. Type values separated by a semi-colon to created the delimited list.
Start Sub Workflow	Use input mappings to set fields, Item References, and the folio of the sub workflow from the main (parent) workflow. Type values or create dynamic values by dragging Functions, Fields, SmartObjects and Workflow-related items from the Context Browser into the fields. A lock icon next to the property name indicates that this row cannot be deleted. Select the List Item option from the drop down menu to map the reference back to your sub workflow when using a delimited list.	Click the down arrow to open this section. Select fields and supply values. Click the Add button to add additional property fields. Click the pen icon to toggle between select and dynamic mode. To delete a property select it and click the Trash Bin The Add button is disabled if there are no properties that you can set.
Finish Sub Workflow	Use this section to decide what happens when the sub workflows finish. Select from the following: Don't Wait - when you select this option, the main workflow continues without waiting for the sub workflows to finish. This is the default selection All - when you select this option, the main workflow waits for all sub workflows to complete First - when you select this option, the main workflow waits for the first sub workflow. Use this to return values from the sub workflow after it has completed. Setup mapping between the sub workflow's fields and the main workflow.	Click the down arrow to open this section. Select properties and supply return values. Click the Add button to add additional property fields. To delete a property select it and click the Trash Bin The Add button is disabled if there are no properties that you can set.

4. From the drop down menu, select or browse to the sub workflow.
   
5. Note the Start Sub Workflow section.
   
6. Use the Start Sub Workflow section to configure input mappings and select fields, item references, and the folio for the sub workflow. In the added property field, type a value, use inline functions, or dynamic fields, by clicking on the Add button to expand the Context Browser. Within the Context Browser, select inline functions and fields from the Functions, Fields, SmartObjects and Workflow categories. Click and drag the function into the property field. To add more properties, click the Add button.
   

To create a new variable, select Create New from the property drop down menu.


7. To configure the return values check the Wait for the sub workflow to finish depending on your scenario.
   
8. Use the Finish Sub Workflow to return values from the sub workflow after it completes. In this example, the sub workflow updates details in a SharePoint list and returns values required in this scenario.
   

This is an example that allows you to store a task action result from the sub workflow in a variable of the main workflow.


9. Select the Deadline tab. You can expire a step at a future date, or after an amount of time, to stop waiting for a sub workflow to complete. After the deadline, the main workflow moves to the next step.
   

The table below explains the options available on this tab:

Option	Explanation	How to Use
Deadline
No Deadline	Use this to indicate if step deadline is added. This option is on by default.	Click No Deadline to wait indefinitely for the sub workflow to complete.
On Date	Use this to indicate if step deadline is added for a specific date.	Click On Date to configure a deadline: Click the calendar icon to display the date picker. Select a date. Drag and drop inline functions and field properties (from the Context Browser) into the field to create dynamic functions
After Time	Use this to indicate if a step deadline is added after the specified time.	Click After Time to wait for an amount of time before moving on. Enter values in the Days, Hours, Minutes or Seconds fields. Enter values individually or in a combination.
Within Working Hours Only	This function only works when the After Time option is selected. It allows you to set the deadline to happen within working hours. If you select this option, the step expires after the set time within the working hours. If you don't select this option, the deadline does not take working hours into account which may expire your workflow sooner than expected. For instance, if working hours do not include weekends, it could be that the time accumulation over a weekend is used in determining the deadline and then your workflow will be expired a couple days sooner than you may have wanted. Example: You've setup your working hours as Monday - Friday, 8 am - 5 pm. You set up the Call Sub Workflow step to expire after three days, but you do NOT check the Working Hours check box. In this scenario if your sub workflow is triggered on Friday, it would expire three days later on Monday. If you had checked the Work Hours check box it would be three working days, and not expire until Wednesday. To define the working hours for your business, click the working hours link. You need access to K2 Management to set the working hours. For more information on how to set working hours, see the Work Hours topic. The Default working hours drop down menu has a list of working hours defined in K2 Management by a K2 Administrator. If you have not defined any working hours, the Default working hours option is selected. Example: You select the After Time option and specify that the step needs to expire after 30 minutes. You also select this to happen within working hours. The working hours option you select is for the Sales team, which means Monday to Friday 8 am - 5 pm. If this step starts on a weekday and is not completed within 30 minutes, the deadline is reached and the step expires. If this step starts on a Saturday or Sunday, it falls outside of the specified working hours. This means the workflow waits until Monday at 8 am (within working hours) and then expires the step after 30 minutes. By default, the Within Working Hours Only option is checked.	Check the Within Working Hours Only box. Click the working hours link to edit or add the working hours parameters. Click the Default working hours drop down menu to select a pre-configured set of working hours.

10. With the step selected, select the Properties tab.
    

The following table explains the options available on this tab:

Option	Explanation	How to Use
Title / Name	By default, each step on the canvas has a step title. You can change this title to suit your workflow logic and show it on the canvas by checking the Show Label box.	Enter a value into the Title field.
Reset link	Use the link to reset any changes to the title.	Click the Reset link to reset the Title field to default value.
Show Label	Allows you to see the step label on the canvas. The label shows the value of the title.	Check the check box to display step label on the canvas.
Description	Allows you to add a detailed description for the step.	Enter a value into the Description field.
Notes	Allows you to add additional notes for the step.	Enter a value into the Notes field.

11. 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.

12. Your changes are automatically saved.

In this example, you work with two workflows called Workshop Main Workflow and Workshop Contact Details. The Workshop Contact Details workflow is added and configured to the Workshop Main Workflow in a Call Sub Workflow step and referred to as the sub or child workflow. This then makes the Workshop Main Workflow the main or parent workflow.

The Workshop Main Workflow (parent) contains the following:

• The workflow starts with and moves on to an approval task
• The approved path sends an email
• The rejected path calls a sub workflow
• The main workflow ends when the sub workflow completes

The Workshop Contact Details (child) contains the following:

• This workflow contains a step that creates a list item in a SharePoint list
• The sub workflow starts when the rejected path is followed in the main workflow

1. In this example, start the main workflow (Workshop Main Workflow) from K2 Management site. Click Start New.
   
2. Add folio name and click Start to run the workflow.
   
3. The workflow starts and is active.
   
4. From the Workshop Main Workflow Process Details click the Reports tab. To view the active instance, scroll down to the Activities section of the report. Notice the main workflow is active.
   
5. Open Workspace, and from the Denallix Administrator task list, select Reject and click Submit.
   
6. After rejecting the task, select the Workshop Main Workflow Details Reports tab. Scroll down to the Activities section. Make sure the Include System Activities check box is checked. The main workflow is no longer active and the sub workflow is started.
   
7. Find the sub workflow in the Related Processes section and click the link.
   
8. From the Process Overview report for the sub workflow, scroll down to the All Instances section. Notice that the sub workflow started and completed successfully. This is also true for the main workflow because it ends after the sub workflow completes.
   

For more information on reports, see the Reports topic.

9. From the SharePoint Workshop Contact Details list, the sub workflow executed successfully and updated the list item as expected.
   
Images in this section might differ depending on your version of SharePoint. For more information on the recent changes to SharePoint Online user interface (UI), see SharePoint Online User Interface Changes.

For more information on adding SharePoint steps to your workflow canvas go to the Toolbox SharePoint topic.

In this example, you work with two workflows called HR Workflow and Leave Approval. The Leave Approval workflow is added and configured in the HR Workflow in a Call Sub Workflow step and referred to as the sub or child workflow. This makes the HR Workflow the main or parent workflow. This example shows how you can use data returned from the child workflow in the main workflow. You then use the data in a recipient rule to route a task correct recipient.

The HR Workflow (parent) contains the following:

• The workflow starts and then calls the sub workflow
• A value within a variable is returned to the main workflow after the sub workflow completes
• This variable determines who receives the task. This is set up using the variable in a custom recipients rule

The Leave Approval (child) contains the following:

• This workflow contains a Manager Approval step. The actions on this step are Approved and Rejected
• Depending on what action is selected, the variables are set accordingly
• An Approved action sets the variable to True. This value is sent to the main workflow
• A Rejected action sets the variable to False. This value is sent to the main workflow

1. In this example, the main workflow starts and calls the sub workflow. The sub workflow handles the Manager Approval part of the workflow. The manager approves the leave request and the Approved variable sends a True value back to the main workflow, and the sub workflow ends.
   
2. The Finish Sub Workflow section, within the main workflow, handles the mapping of the return value from the sub workflow. In this example, the value is passed through to the Child WF Return Value field.
   
Make sure when passing values between the main workflow and sub workflow that the variable types are the same, for example match Text to Text, Date to Date, and Number to Number.
3. The custom recipient rule makes sure that the Final Approval task (in the main workflow) is assigned to the correct recipient. This means that if the value passed through from the sub workflow is True, the task goes to the Human Resources department for approval. If the value form the child workflow is False, the task goes to Bob Maggio.
4. Use the Edit Recipient Rule to create the rule.
   
5. After the Final Approval tasks is actioned, the main workflow ends.

When working with the Call Sub Workflow step, keep in mind the following considerations:

• When you configure the step and select a deployed workflow, select recently picked workflows from the list or browse to the required workflow. You need to have Admin rights to the workflow you want to add. For information on workflow rights, see Rights.
• A Call Sub Workflow step cannot be added into a multi-step
• Use the same variable types between main and sub workflow
• There is no validation done on the variable types between the main and sub workflow configuration. You might run into runtime errors if you have setup a main to sub workflow (or vice verse) mapping using invalid variable types. Example mapping a Text type to a Number type variable