Preface (Oracle Workflow User's Guide)

Oracle Workflow User's Guide
Release 2.6.3.5
Part Number B12162-02


	Previous	Next		Contents	Index	Glossary

Preface

Welcome to Release 2.6.3.5 of the Oracle Workflow User's Guide.

This guide contains the information you need to use Oracle Workflow.

Chapter 1 provides an overview of Oracle Workflow.

Chapter 2 describes the Oracle Workflow home page, where users can centrally access all the web-based features of Oracle Workflow.

Chapter 3 discusses how to view and act on a workflow notification.

Chapter 4 describes how to use the Workflow Monitor to administer or view the status of a workflow process.

Appendix A describes the navigation paths to Oracle Workflow user Web pages in the seeded Oracle Workflow responsibilities for Oracle Applications.

Appendix B lists features that you can add to Oracle Workflow user Web pages through Oracle Applications Framework Personalization.

At the end of this guide, we include a glossary of Oracle Workflow terms.

Documentation Accessibility

Our goal is to make Oracle products, services, and supporting documentation accessible, with good usability, to the disabled community. To that end, our documentation includes features that make information available to users of assistive technology. This documentation is available in HTML format, and contains markup to facilitate access by the disabled community. Standards will continue to evolve over time, and Oracle is actively engaged with other market-leading technology vendors to address technical obstacles so that our documentation can be accessible to all of our customers. For additional information, visit the Oracle Accessibility Program Web site at

http://www.oracle.com/accessibility/

Accessibility of Code Examples in Documentation

JAWS, a Windows screen reader, may not always correctly read the code examples in this document. The conventions for writing code require that closing braces should appear on an otherwise empty line; however, JAWS may not always read a line of text that consists solely of a bracket or brace.

Accessibility of Links to External Web Sites in Documentation

This documentation may contain links to Web sites of other companies or organizations that Oracle does not own or control. Oracle neither evaluates nor makes any representations regarding the accessibility of these Web sites.

Other Information Sources

You can choose from many sources of information, including online documentation, training, and support services, to increase your knowledge and understanding of Oracle Workflow.

If this guide refers you to other Oracle Applications documentation, use only the Release 11i versions of those guides.

Online Documentation

If you are using the version of Oracle Workflow embedded in Oracle Applications, note that all Oracle Applications documentation is available online (HTML or PDF).

Online Help - Online help patches (HTML) are available on OracleMetaLink.

About Documents - Refer to the About Document for the mini-pack or family pack that you have installed to learn about new documentation or documentation patches that you can download. About Documents are available on OracleMetaLink.

If you are using the standalone version of Oracle Workflow, note that this guide is available online in HTML format. The HTML documentation is available from a URL provided by your system administrator or from the help icon in the Oracle Workflow web pages.

Guides Related to All Products

Oracle Applications User's Guide

This guide explains how to enter data, query, run reports, and navigate using the graphical user interface (GUI) available with this release of Oracle Workflow (and any other Oracle Applications products). This guide also includes information on setting user profiles, as well as running and reviewing reports and concurrent processes.

You can access this user's guide online by choosing "Getting Started with Oracle Applications" from any Oracle Applications help file.

Oracle Workflow Documentation Set

Oracle Workflow Administrator's Guide

This guide explains how to complete the setup steps necessary for any Oracle Applications product that includes workflow-enabled processes, as well as how to monitor the progress of runtime workflow processes.

Oracle Workflow Developer's Guide

This guide explains how to define new workflow business processes and customize existing Oracle Applications-embedded workflow processes. It also describes how to define and customize business events and event subscriptions.

Oracle Workflow API Reference

This guide describes the APIs provided for developers and administrators to access Oracle Workflow.

User Guides Related to This Product

Oracle Workflow is used by other Oracle Applications products to provide embedded workflows and business events. Therefore, if you are using the version of Oracle Workflow embedded in Oracle Applications, you may want to refer to other user's guides when you set up and use Oracle Workflow to learn more about the embedded workflows and business events.

Oracle Assets User Guide

In Oracle Assets, you can post capital project costs to become depreciable fixed assets. Refer to this guide to learn how to query mass additions imported from Oracle Workflow to Oracle Assets and to review asset information.

Oracle General Ledger User Guide

Use this manual when you plan and define your chart of accounts, accounting period types and accounting calendar, functional currency, and set of books. The manual also describes how to define journal entry sources and categories so you can create journal entries for your general ledger. If you use multiple currencies, use this manual when you define additional rate types, and enter daily rates. This manual also includes complete information on implementing Budgetary Control.

Oracle HRMS Documentation Set

This set of guides explains how to define your employees, so you can give them operating unit and job assignments. It also explains how to set up an organization (operating unit). Even if you do not install Oracle HRMS, you can set up employees and organizations using Oracle HRMS windows. Specifically, the following manuals will help you set up employees and operating units:

Using Oracle HRMS - The Fundamentals

This user guide explains how to set up and use enterprise modeling, organization management, and cost analysis.

Managing People Using Oracle HRMS

Use this guide to find out about entering employees.

Oracle Payables User Guide

Refer to this manual to learn how to use Invoice Import to create invoices in Oracle Payables from Oracle Workflow expense reports data in the Oracle Payables interface tables. This manual also explains how to define suppliers, and how to specify supplier and employee numbering schemes for invoices created using Oracle Workflow.

Oracle Projects Implementation Guide

Use this manual as a guide for implementing Oracle Projects. This manual also includes appendixes covering function security, menus and responsibilities, and profile options.

Oracle Purchasing User Guide

If you install Oracle Purchasing, refer to this user guide to read about entering and managing the requisitions and purchase orders that relate to your projects. This manual also explains how to create purchase orders from project-related requisitions in the AutoCreate Documents window.

Oracle Receivables User Guide

Use this manual to learn more about Oracle Receivables invoice processing and invoice formatting, defining customers, importing transactions using AutoInvoice, and Defining Automatic Accounting in Oracle Receivables.

Oracle Business Intelligence System Implementation Guide

This guide provides information about implementing Oracle Business Intelligence (BIS) in your environment.

BIS 11i User Guide Online Help

This guide is provided as online help only from the BIS application and includes information about intelligence reports, Discoverer workbooks, and the Performance Management Framework.

Using Oracle Time Management

This guide provides information about capturing work patterns such as shift hours so that this information can be used by other applications such as General Ledger.

Installation and System Administration

Oracle Applications Concepts

This guide provides an introduction to the concepts, features, technology stack, architecture, and terminology for Oracle Applications Release 11i. It provides a useful first book to read before installing Oracle Applications.

Installing Oracle Applications

This guide provides instructions for managing the installation of Oracle Applications products. In Release 11i, much of the installation process is handled using Oracle Rapid Install, which minimizes the time to install Oracle Applications and the technology stack by automating many of the required steps. This guide contains instructions for using Oracle Rapid Install and lists the tasks you need to perform to finish your installation. You should use this guide in conjunction with individual product user's guides and implementation guides.

Upgrading Oracle Applications

Refer to this guide if you are upgrading your Oracle Applications Release 10.7 or Release 11.0 products to Release 11i. This guide describes the upgrade process and lists database and product-specific upgrade tasks. You must be either at Release 10.7 (NCA, SmartClient, or character mode) or Release 11.0, to upgrade to Release 11i. You cannot upgrade to Release 11i directly from releases prior to 10.7.

Maintaining Oracle Applications

Use this guide to help you run the various AD utilities, such as AutoUpgrade, AutoPatch, AD Administration, AD Controller, AD Relink, License Manager, and others. It contains how-to steps, screenshots, and other information that you need to run the AD utilities. This guide also provides information on maintaining the Oracle Applications file system and database.

Oracle Applications System Administrator's Guide

This guide provides planning and reference information for the Oracle Applications System Administrator. It contains information on how to define security, customize menus and online help, and manage concurrent processing.

Oracle Alert User's Guide

This guide explains how to define periodic and event alerts to monitor the status of your Oracle Applications data.

Oracle Applications Developer's Guide

This guide contains the coding standards followed by the Oracle Applications development staff. It describes the Oracle Application Object Library components needed to implement the Oracle Applications user interface described in the Oracle Applications User Interface Standards for Forms-Based Products. It also provides information to help you build your custom Oracle Forms Developer forms so that they integrate with Oracle Applications.

Training and Support

Training

Oracle offers a complete set of training courses to help you and your staff master Oracle Workflow and reach full productivity quickly. These courses are organized into functional learning paths, so you take only those courses appropriate to your job or area of responsibility.

You have a choice of educational environments. You can attend courses offered by Oracle University at any of our many Education Centers, you can arrange for our trainers to teach at your facility, or you can use Oracle Learning Network (OLN), Oracle University's online education utility. In addition, Oracle training professionals can tailor standard courses or develop custom courses to meet your needs. For example, you may want to use your organization structure, terminology, and data as examples in a customized training session delivered at your own facility.

Support

From on-site support to central support, our team of experienced professionals provides the help and information you need to keep Oracle Workflow working for you. This team includes your Technical Representative, Account Manager, and Oracle's large staff of consultants and support specialists with expertise in your business area, managing an Oracle Database, and your hardware and software environment.

Do Not Use Database Tools to Modify Oracle Applications Data

Oracle STRONGLY RECOMMENDS that you never use SQL*Plus, database triggers, or any other tool to modify Oracle Applications data unless otherwise instructed.

Oracle provides powerful tools you can use to create, store, change, retrieve, and maintain information in an Oracle database. But if you use Oracle tools such as SQL*Plus to modify Oracle Applications data, you risk destroying the integrity of your data and you lose the ability to audit changes to your data.

Because Oracle Applications tables are interrelated, any change you make using Oracle Applications can update many tables at once. But when you modify Oracle Applications data using anything other than Oracle Applications, you may change a row in one table without making corresponding changes in related tables. If your tables get out of synchronization with each other, you risk retrieving erroneous information and you risk unpredictable results throughout Oracle Applications.

When you use Oracle Applications to modify your data, Oracle Applications automatically checks that your changes are valid. Oracle Applications also keeps track of who changes information. If you enter information into database tables using database tools, you may store invalid information. You also lose the ability to track who has changed your information because SQL*Plus and other database tools do not keep a record of changes.

About Oracle

Oracle provides an integrated line of software products for database management, applications development, decision support, and office automation, as well as Oracle Applications, an integrated suite of software modules for financial management, supply chain management, manufacturing, project systems, human resources management and customer relationship management.

Oracle products are available for mainframes, minicomputers, personal computers, network computers and personal digital assistants, allowing organizations to integrate different computers, different operating systems, different networks, and even different database management systems, into a single, unified computing and information resource.

Oracle is the world's leading supplier of software for information management, and the world's second largest software company. Oracle offers its database, tools, and applications products, along with related consulting, education, and support services, in over 145 countries around the world.

Your Feedback

Thank you for using Oracle Workflow and this implementation guide.

Oracle values your comments and feedback. At the end of this guide is a Reader's Comment Form you can use to explain what you like or dislike about Oracle Workflow or this implementation guide. Mail your comments to the following address or contact your Support representative.

Oracle Applications Documentation Manager Oracle Corporation 500 Oracle Parkway Redwood Shores, CA 94065 U.S.A.

Contents

Index

Glossary