Create workflow definitions

When you go to the Sitefinity CMS administrative backend Administration -> Workflow menu, and define a workflow, you are configuring the properties of a workflow definition object. You can do the same thing using the Workflow API, for example when you need to load a different workflow for different items, without this workflow being already created. To create a workflow definition, you need to specify its Title, Scope, Levels of approval, and all additional properties that determine the workflow behavior.

The following sample demonstrates creating two workflow definitions:

A 1-step approval workflow called “1-step workflow for Bloggers”, where users that are assigned to the Backend users role can approve content

and
A 2-step approval workflow called "2-step workflow for Restricted Users", where users that are assigned to the Designers role can approve content, and users that belong to the Editorsrole can publish it

using System;
using Telerik.Sitefinity.Configuration;
using Telerik.Sitefinity.News.Model;
using Telerik.Sitefinity.Pages.Model;
using Telerik.Sitefinity.Security;
using Telerik.Sitefinity.Security.Configuration;
using Telerik.Sitefinity.Services;
using Telerik.Sitefinity.Workflow;
using Telerik.Sitefinity.Workflow.Model;

namespace SitefinityWebApp.CustomWorkflow
{
   public class WorkflowDefinitionSamples
   {
       private IWorkflowExecutionDefinition CreateSimpleApprovalWorkflowDefinition(Guid definitionId)
       {
           var workflowManager = WorkflowManager.GetManager();
           var backendUsersRole = Config.Get<SecurityConfig>().ApplicationRoles[SecurityConstants.AppRoles.BackendUsers];

           // "Approve" is the only level in 1-step approval process.          
           var workflowDefinition = workflowManager.CreateWorkflowDefinition(definitionId);
           workflowDefinition.Title = "1-step workflow for Bloggers";
           workflowDefinition.WorkflowType = WorkflowType.StandardOneStep;
           workflowDefinition.AllowAdministratorsToSkipWorkflow = false;
           workflowDefinition.AllowPublishersToSkipWorkflow = false;
           workflowDefinition.AllowNotes = true;
           workflowDefinition.IsActive = true;

           // Levels section
           var approvePermission = workflowManager.CreateWorkflowPermission();
           approvePermission.ActionName = "Approve";
           approvePermission.PrincipalType = WorkflowPrincipalType.Role;
           approvePermission.PrincipalId = backendUsersRole.Id.ToString();
           approvePermission.PrincipalName = backendUsersRole.Name;

           var level1 = workflowManager.CreateWorkflowLevel();
           level1.ActionName = "Approve";
           level1.Ordinal = 1;
           level1.NotifyAdministrators = true;
           level1.NotifyApprovers = true;
           level1.Permissions.Add(approvePermission);

           workflowDefinition.Levels.Add(level1);

           // Scopes section - determines whether the workflow is valid for a specific site or language
           var workflowScope1 = workflowManager.CreateWorkflowScope();
           // You can specify whether the workflow is valid for a specified site only
           // If you omit this line the workflow is valid for all sites by default
           workflowManager.Provider.AddItemLink(SystemManager.CurrentContext.CurrentSite.Id, workflowScope1);
           // You can specify whether the workflow is valid for a specified language only
           // If you omit this line the workflow is valid for all languages by default
           workflowScope1.Language = "en";

           //TypeScope section - determines whether the workflow is valid for a specific item type or specific page(s) if the item type is PageNode
           var typeScope1 = workflowManager.CreateWorkflowTypeScope();
           //Specify this workflow to be valid for Newsitems
           typeScope1.ContentType = typeof(NewsItem).FullName;

           var typeScope2 = workflowManager.CreateWorkflowTypeScope();
           //specify this workflow to be valid for Pages
           typeScope2.ContentType = typeof(PageNode).FullName;
           // If you want to specify only selected pages, pass a comma separated list of PageNode Ids to the ContentFilter
           typeScope2.ContentFilter = "";
           //Ste the IncludeChildren property to true/false to determine whether to include child pages of the selected page(s)
           typeScope2.IncludeChildren = true;

           workflowScope1.TypeScopes.Add(typeScope1);
           workflowScope1.TypeScopes.Add(typeScope2);

           workflowDefinition.Scopes.Add(workflowScope1);

           workflowManager.SaveChanges();

           return new WorkflowDefinitionProxy(workflowDefinition);
       }

       private IWorkflowExecutionDefinition CreateTwoStepApprovalWorkflowDefinition(Guid definitionId)
       {
           var workflowManager = WorkflowManager.GetManager();
           var backendUsersRole = Config.Get<SecurityConfig>().ApplicationRoles[SecurityConstants.AppRoles.BackendUsers];

           // In 2-level approval the steps are "Approve" and "Publish".
           // In 3-level approval the steps are "Review", "Approve" and "Publish".
           var workflowDefinition = workflowManager.CreateWorkflowDefinition(definitionId);
           workflowDefinition.Title = "2-step workflow for Restricted Users";
           workflowDefinition.WorkflowType = WorkflowType.StandardTwoStep;
           workflowDefinition.AllowAdministratorsToSkipWorkflow = false;
           workflowDefinition.AllowPublishersToSkipWorkflow = false;
           workflowDefinition.AllowNotes = true;
           workflowDefinition.IsActive = true;

           // Levels section
           // Level 1 - Approve
           // Allow everyone in the role "Designers" to approve content.
           var approver1 = Config.Get<SecurityConfig>().ApplicationRoles[SecurityConstants.AppRoles.Designers];

           var approvePermission = workflowManager.CreateWorkflowPermission();
           approvePermission.ActionName = "Approve";
           approvePermission.PrincipalType = WorkflowPrincipalType.Role;
           approvePermission.PrincipalId = approver1.Id.ToString();
           approvePermission.PrincipalName = approver1.Name;

           var level1 = workflowManager.CreateWorkflowLevel();
           level1.ActionName = "Approve";
           level1.Ordinal = 1;
           level1.NotifyAdministrators = true;
           level1.NotifyApprovers = true;
           level1.Permissions.Add(approvePermission);

           workflowDefinition.Levels.Add(level1);

           //Level 2 - Publish          
           var level2 = workflowManager.CreateWorkflowLevel();
           level2.ActionName = "Publish";
           level2.Ordinal = 2;
           level2.NotifyAdministrators = true;
           level2.NotifyApprovers = true;

           // Allow everyone in the role "Editors" to publish content.
           var publisher1 = Config.Get<SecurityConfig>().ApplicationRoles[SecurityConstants.AppRoles.Editors];

           var publishPermission1 = workflowManager.CreateWorkflowPermission();
           publishPermission1.ActionName = "Publish";
           publishPermission1.PrincipalType = WorkflowPrincipalType.Role;
           publishPermission1.PrincipalId = publisher1.Id.ToString();
           publishPermission1.PrincipalName = publisher1.Name;
           level2.Permissions.Add(publishPermission1);

           // Allow user "johnsmith" (if exists) to publish content.
           var publisher2 = UserManager.FindUser("johnsmith");

           // In 2-level approval the second step is "Publish"
           if (publisher2 != null)
           {
               var publishPermission2 = workflowManager.CreateWorkflowPermission();
               publishPermission2.ActionName = "Publish";
               publishPermission2.PrincipalType = WorkflowPrincipalType.User;
               publishPermission2.PrincipalId = publisher2.Id.ToString();
               publishPermission2.PrincipalName = publisher2.UserName.ToString();
               level2.Permissions.Add(publishPermission2);
           }

           workflowDefinition.Levels.Add(level1);

           // Scopes section
           var workflowScope1 = workflowManager.CreateWorkflowScope();
           workflowDefinition.Scopes.Add(workflowScope1);

           workflowManager.SaveChanges();

           return new WorkflowDefinitionProxy(workflowDefinition);
       }
   }
}

Want to learn more?

Enhance your Sitefinity skills by enrolling in free training sessions. Become Sitefinity certified through Progress Education Community to strengthen your professional credentials.

Get started with Integration Hub | Sitefinity Cloud

This free lesson teaches administrators, marketers, and other business professionals how to use Sitefinity Integration Hub to create automated workflows between Sitefinity and other business systems.

Web Security for Sitefinity Administrators

This free lesson teaches administrators the basics about protecting your Sitefinity instance and your sites from external threats. Configure HTTPS, SSL, allow lists for trusted sites, and cookie security, among others.

Foundations of Sitefinity ASP.NET Core Development

The free on-demand video course teaches developers how to use Sitefinity ASP.NET Core and take advantage of its decoupled architecture and modern development model.