Visual Guide

Design and customize a SharePoint

workflow

Before you begin• Contact your

SharePoint site administrator if you have any questions.

• Make sure that you have SharePoint Server 2010 Enterprise Client Access License (ECAL), Visio Premium 2010, and SharePoint Designer 2010.

In this guide

Create a SharePoint workflow diagram in Visio Premium 20101

Customize the SharePoint workflow in SharePoint Designer 20102

Create a SharePoint workflow diagram in Visio

In Visio, click File, and then click New.

Create a SharePoint workflow diagram in Visio

Under Choose a Template, click Flowchart, and then double-click Microsoft SharePoint Workflow.

Create a SharePoint workflow diagram in Visio

With the SharePoint workflow template open, …drag a Start shape onto the drawing page, …

and then drag a Terminate shape onto the page.

select the SharePoint Workflow Terminators stencil, ...

Create a SharePoint workflow diagram in Visio

Drag additional shapes from the SharePoint Workflow Conditions and SharePoint Workflow Actions stencils onto the drawing page to build the SharePoint workflow.

Create a SharePoint workflow diagram in Visio

When the workflow diagram is complete, …

click Process, ...

and then click Check Diagram.

This scans the diagram using the SharePoint Workflow diagram validation rules.If any errors are found in the diagram, correct them and re-check the diagram. A diagram must be successfully validated before it can be exported to SharePoint Designer.

Create a SharePoint workflow diagram in Visio

After the diagram is validated, …

In the Export Workflow dialog box, enter a file name for the workflow, ...

on the Process tab, click Export.

and then click Save.

Customize the workflow in SharePoint Designer

In SharePoint Designer, open the SharePoint site you want to publish the workflow to.

Customize the workflow in SharePoint Designer

In the Navigation pane, click Workflows.

Customize the workflow in SharePoint Designer

In the Import Workflow from Visio Drawing dialog box, select the workflow, ...

On the Workflows tab, click Import from Visio.

enter a name, select a type of workflow, ….

and then click Finish.

Customize the workflow in SharePoint Designer

Customize the workflow by clicking each setting and specifying new values.

In this example, the workflow begins when an item is created in a SharePoint list titled “Expense report.”

It checks a field in the item and, depending on the field value, it either creates a new item in another SharePoint list titled “Orders” or it begins an approval process.

Customize the workflow in SharePoint Designer

When the workflow is complete, on the Workflow tab, in the Save group, click Check for Errors.If any errors are found, fix the errors.

Customize the workflow in SharePoint Designer

On the Workflow tab, in the Save group, click Publish.

For more information

• “Create, import, and export SharePoint workflows in Visio”

(article)

• “SharePoint Workflow template shapes guide” (article)

• “SharePoint Workflow validation issues in Visio” (article)

• “Create an approval workflow in SharePoint Designer 2010”

(video)

• “Introduction to designing and customizing workflows”

(article)

• "SharePoint Workflow Authoring in Visio Premium 2010 (Part

1)”

(blog post)

© 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Windows, Windows Vista and other product names are or may be registered trademarks and/or trademarks in the U.S. and/or other countries.

The information herein is for informational purposes only and represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation as of the date of this presentation. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information provided after the date of this presentation.

MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION.