Workflow scope and context
The scope and context of a workflow in Nintex Workflow 2013 determines various aspects of that workflow, such as the set of workflow references available to a workflow and its workflow actions.
Scope in SharePoint
The logical architecture for SharePoint 2013 provides a hierarchy of scopes - farm, web application, site collection, site, list (or document library) - within which Nintex Workflow 2013 operates. For more information about SharePoint 2013 architecture, see SharePoint Server 2013 Architecture.
Site workflows
A site workflow is a workflow that is associated with a SharePoint site collection or site. Site workflows are most commonly used for business processes that run independently of a specific SharePoint item or document, such as site maintenance and reporting.
Site workflows can be started either immediately, in response to either user interaction or other workflows, or by using a workflow schedule managed for the SharePoint site collection or site. Site workflows can also be run interactively, by using the Run Now feature.
Site workflows run within the context of the SharePoint site collection or site to which it is associated.
List workflows
A list workflow is a workflow that is associated with a SharePoint list or document library. List workflows are most commonly used for business practices that depend on a specific SharePoint item or document, such as feedback or approval.
List workflows can be started either immediately, in response to either adding a new item or document, updating an existing item or document, or other workflows, or by using a workflow schedule managed for a specific SharePoint item or document.
List workflows run within the context of the SharePoint list or document library to which it is associated.
Reusable workflows
A reusable workflow is a workflow that is associated with a SharePoint content type. Typically, a reusable workflow can be associated to multiple lists within a single SharePoint site, if the lists use the corresponding SharePoint content type. If a reusable workflow has been created at the root level of a SharePoint site collection, it can be implemented in SharePoint as a globally reusable workflow, and can be associated to multiple lists across all sites within the site collection, if the lists use the corresponding SharePoint content type.
Reusable workflows can be started either immediately, in response to either adding a new item or document, updating an existing item or document, or other workflows, or by using a workflow schedule managed for a specific SharePoint item or document.
Similar to list workflows, reusable workflows also run within the context of the SharePoint list or document library to which it is associated, but only for the content type to which the reusable workflow is associated.
User-defined actions
A user-defined action (UDA) is, internally, a special Nintex workflow that can be incorporated into other Nintex workflows as an action. User-defined actions are different from custom workflow actions, in that user-defined actions are a predefined set of workflow actions, created in the Workflow designer, that can be treated as a single workflow action in other Nintex workflows. User-defined actions are also different from workflow snippets, in that a user-defined action is a self-contained workflow that can be used as a single workflow action, whereas a workflow snippet is just a subset of a workflow that can be pasted into other workflows for the purpose of convenience.
For more information about user-defined actions, see the Nintex Workflow 2013 product documentation.
Using the Run Now feature
The Run Now feature provides a way to immediately and interactively run a workflow action for a workflow from within the Workflow designer, so that a user can interactively test a single workflow action without running or publishing the entire workflow. For more information about the Run Now feature, see the Nintex Workflow 2013 product documentation.
The scope of the workflow action is determined by the corresponding scope of the workflow in which the workflow action is contained. For example, if the workflow action is contained in a site workflow, then the scope of the workflow action is set to the SharePoint site collection or site for that site workflow. The context of the workflow action, however, depends on the functionality of the workflow action itself. For example, if a workflow action interacts with an external resource, such as a web service, the configuration settings provided to that workflow action typically drive the execution context. The Workflow designer allows the user to change the values of the configuration settings available to that workflow action, thus possibly changing the context of that workflow action for the duration of the Run Now action.
The Run Now feature must be explicitly supported by a workflow action to take advantage of the feature. Custom workflow actions require additional functionality to support the Run Now feature. For more information, see Supporting the Run Now feature.