Workflow overview

To use workflows, you must first enable the Workflow attribute on the desired object definitions. This creates a default record status named Created and a workflow process you can modify based on your specific needs. The Workflow attribute is in the Advanced Attribute section of an object definition:

There are three basic workflow concepts:

• Workflow status — Indicates the current state of a record. A current record's status determines the set of currently available workflow actions.
• Workflow action — An operation that a user can perform on a record. The action can change the status of a record, invoke one or more triggers, send an email, etc.
• Workflow process — A container for a set of statuses and actions that as a whole make up a particular workflow

The following diagram illustrates a sample workflow process for handling orders. By defining workflow statuses, it is possible to trigger actions based on an order's status change.

The following topics describe each component of a workflow in detail.