Instances

An instance is an occurrence of a workflow. Use the Instances page to:

  • Find workflow instances of interest.
  • Terminate instances that you don't want to run any longer.
  • Drill down to instance details to determine which activities remain.

By default, this page shows running workflow instances initiated during the last five days. For each workflow instance, the list indicates the name of the associated workflow, and the initiated and completed dates.

Note: The Instances page lists instances for your workflows and those shared with you. Users with the Administrator role can see instances for all workflows across the tenancy.

Jump to: 

Access the Instances page

  1. On the top navigation bar, click Automate.

  2. On the left, click Instances.

Resubmit workflows

Use workflow resubmission to Failed, Completed, and Terminated workflow instances. The workflow is resubmitted with the same start data as the original and a new instance of the workflow is created.

The original instance and the resubmissions are grouped together and shown in a drop-down list in the Instances page with the latest submission at the top.

You can easily see a history of all resubmissions of an instance by expanding this drop-down list or in the Instance history section on the Instance details page.

Note: 

  • Only Failed, Completed, and Terminated workflow instances can be resubmitted.

  • Any instance that is resubmitted will always run the latest version of the published workflow. This allows a designer to resolve any issues with their workflow and resubmit them.

There are several ways you can resubmit a workflow:

  • Resubmit one or multiple instances from the Instances page. Follow the instructions below to resubmit through the Instances page.

  • Resubmit a single instance from the Resubmit a workflow page.

  • Business owners of workflows can resubmit an instance of a workflow from the Resubmit a workflow page in My Nintex.

  • Resubmit a submitted form from My Nintex. This can be from anywhere in My Nintex that gives access to the original form submission, such as from the Dashboard, Form submissions page, or via the Tasks page.

Important: 

Submission of files when resubmitting workflows is impacted by the File upload storage setting selected at the time the original instance is completed. If the setting selected is:

  • For 7 days after workflow instances complete: If the resubmission is done more than 7 days after the original instance is completed and the file is referenced in the workflow, the workflow will fail because the file has been deleted. If resubmission is done within the 7 after the instance is completed, the workflow runs as expected because the file is still available.

  • Indefinitely: Resubmission is not impacted because the file is stored and available when the workflow is resubmitted.

Resubmit a workflow from the Instances page

  1. Open the Instances page.

    The instances are displayed. If there are any instances that have been resubmitted, the original instance and resubmitted instances are shown together in a drop-down list.

  2. Click Select to resubmit. Check boxes are enabled to select instances with Failed, Completed, or Terminated status.
  3. Select the check boxes next to the instances that you want to resubmit. You can select multiple instances.
    Note: 

    • The Resubmit button is enabled when at least one instance is selected.

    • When you select instances the number of instances selected is shown in brackets on the Resubmit button.

    • If you select an instance with resubmitted versions, only the latest instance is resubmitted.

    • For form based instances the form is resubmitted on behalf of the original submitter and will be displayed in the original submitters Form submissions list in My Nintex.

    • You can select a maximum of 50 instances.

  4. Click Resubmit.

The resubmission starts and a message is displayed showing the progress of the resubmission. The instance is resubmitted with the same start data. You can continue to work in Nintex Automation Cloud while the resubmission is in progress.

Important: The resubmission fails if you end the session before it's completed.

After the instance is resubmitted a new instance of the workflow starts. The new instance and original instance are grouped and shown in a drop-down with the latest submission at the top. View the Status column to see the progress of the instance. The Status is shown as Starting till the instance starts.

Find and terminate instances

On the Filters section, click Custom filter, complete the search parameters that you want, and then click Apply filter.

You can also click any of the default search links:

  • Started last 5 days
  • Failed last 5 days
  • Running last 5 days

For more information on Custom filter, see Custom filter fields and selections.

  1. On the Instances page, click Select to terminate.
  2. Select the check boxes to the left of instances that you want to terminate.
  3. Click Terminate.

You can also terminate instances from the Instance details page.

Drill down to instance details

  1. On the Instances page, click one of the search links:
    • Started last 5 days
    • Failed last 5 days
    • Running 5 last days
    • Custom filter
  2. Click the name of the instance that you want to view (instance names are listed in the first column).

    3. The Instance details page appears. To go back to your search results, click Back to instances at the top of the page.

The following columns or selections are displayed when you view the Instances page.

Section

 Column or selection Description

Filters

Started last 5 days

(Default search on page load.) Runs a search with the following parameters: 

Workflow name = (blank)

Status = All

Date = Initiated

Date range = Five days to today

 

Failed last 5 days

Runs a search with the following parameters: 

Workflow name = (blank)

Status = Failed

Date = Completed

Date range = Five days to today

 

Running last 5 days

Runs a search of instances that run for the previous five days.

 

Custom filter

Click to run a search of instances based on search criteria:

  • Workflow name

  • Instance name

  • Status

  • Date range

  • Date: Initiated or Completed

  • Include instances of deleted workflows

 

Terminate

Click to stop running instances that you selected.

 

Refresh

Click to refresh the page.

(table)

 Instance name

The name of the instance, which is derived from the following information:

  • The workflow name that is specified when the workflow was published

  • The date and time when the instance began running

  • The custom instance name that is specified in the Set instance name action

Click the name of the instance to display the Instance details page.
  Workflow name The name of the workflow associated to the instance.

 

Status

Current state of the instance. Possible values follow.

  • All
  • Running
  • Completed
  • Failed
  • Terminated

 

 Date initiated Date and time when the instance began running.

 

Date completed

Date and time when the instance reached completion.

The following fields or selections are displayed when you click Custom filter.

Field or selection Description
Workflow name Type the name of the workflow from which you want to search instances.
Instance name Type the name of the instance that you want to search.
Status

Choose one of the following options:

  • All: (Default) Does not limit search results by instance status.
  • Running : Limits search results to currently running instances.
  • Completed: Limits search results to instances of the status "Completed."
  • Failed: Limits search results to instances of the status "Failed."
  • Terminated: Limits search results to instances of the status "Terminated."

Start date range

Click the Date picker to select a date range.

Default value: Six days that includes the previous five days and today. For example, if the date today is September 30, then the default Start date range is from September 25 to 30.

Include instances of deleted workflows

Select this check box to include instances of deleted workflows.
Apply filter

Click to start the search.