Workflow action adapters
Workflow action adapters provide additional Nintex-specific functionality, such as design-time rendering and configuration, in Nintex Workflow 2013, and manage the instantiation, configuration, and inclusion of associated workflow activities to the parent workflow.
The workflow action adapter is responsible for the following functionality in Nintex Workflow 2013:
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Rendering the workflow action in the Workflow designer.
When the Workflow designer is loaded, the designer retrieves the information stored in the Nintex Workflow configuration database for each workflow action. If a workflow action is allowed for use, the designer displays the toolbox icon for that workflow action in the Controls Toolbox.When the workflow action is dragged from the Controls Toolbox to the design canvas, the designer sends a request to the server, detailing the action that was selected. The server then invokes the workflow action adapter to obtain the HTML needed to render the workflow action on the design canvas.
When a workflow is rendered, Nintex Workflow 2013 reads the Extensible Object Markup Language (XOML) that defines the workflow. For each workflow activity contained in the workflow, the corresponding workflow action adapter is instantiated, so that it can render the HTML for workflow action as required for the run-time, design-time, or preview view of the workflow.
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Providing configuration information
When a workflow action is added to a workflow in the Workflow designer, the default configuration for that workflow action is retrieved and used to initially configure that instance of the workflow action.
When a user attempts to configure a workflow action in the design canvas of the Workflow designer, the configuration dialog is displayed, in which the configuration page for the workflow action is populated and shown. The user can then modify the configuration settings for that workflow action instance. When the configuration dialog is closed, the configuration is serialized and sent to the server for validation. If validation fails, the warning icon is displayed on the design canvas for that workflow action.
When a workflow is rendered, the corresponding workflow action adapter for each workflow activity provides the configuration details for that activity so that they can be available as needed for the run-time, design-time, or preview display of the workflow.
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Adding the workflow activity to the workflow
When the workflow is published from the Workflow designer, the configuration settings for all of the workflow actions in the workflow are sent as a single batch, and then the workflow action adapter for each workflow action instantiates and configures its corresponding workflow activity. If successful, the workflow activity is added to the parent activity for the workflow, and the resulting workflow is converted to Extensible Object Markup Language (XOML) and sent to the server.
For more information about creating custom workflow action adapters, see Implementing the workflow action adapter.