I'm excited to announce that the newest version of Workflow Conductor is now available for download from Bamboo. This release includes a slew of new and improved features that users have been requesting. If you were daring enough to read about the upcoming features a couple of weeks ago, now is your chance to take them for a spin. If you wanted to be surprised by all of the new features, here is a more complete list of what's new:
Perform actions on other site collections – Workflows are no longer limited to only items in the same site. Widgets can now update items in other sites or even other site collections. This includes reading and editing SharePoint data, triggering external workflows, and more.
Run steps under different credentials – You can now set a workflow step to impersonate the workflow initiator, the workflow designer, or any other account. This means workflows don’t have to be limited to only what the end-user can do.
Repeat a set of steps for each item in a list – A new Widget called Repeat For Each Item allows designers to create a miniature workflow-within-a-workflow that runs a sequence of steps once for each item in a list. There a tons of uses for this Widget, and we’ll be featuring some of them in an upcoming article.
Manage users and groups – These Widgets are the first batch in a series of upcoming Widgets that let workflows manage users, groups, and profiles in Active Directory & SharePoint. This set includes:
- Create an AD Account – Create new accounts and set property values in Active Directory, including password creation options.
- Disable an AD Account – Automatically disable Active Directory accounts.
- Add a User to an AD Group – Add users to Active Directory groups.
- Add a User to a SharePoint Group – Add users to SharePoint groups.
- Get User Info – Retrieve SharePoint user profile properties and use that data in the workflow.
Perform advanced calculations – The Calculate Widget has been updated to allow for Excel-style date, mathematical, and string functions.
Test workflow in Simulation Mode – Designers can now test workflows by running them in a special Simulation Mode that skips pauses and reroutes all tasks and notifications to the designer.
Set workflow start options – SharePoint workflow start options can now be selected at design time, so workflows are deployed with them already enabled.
Specify deployment windows – Administrators can now limit workflow deployments to scheduled days and times. Workflow designers can publish any time, but the workflows will wait and deploy during off-peak hours.
Limit who can create workflows – Administrators can allow all designers to create workflows, or they can designate specific users or groups as workflow designers.
Delegate access to Active Directory – Administrators can define multiple pre-approved Active Directory paths, supply credentials for each of them, and define which users and groups have permission to use them when creating workflows.
Get more details from reports – Reporting components and web parts now link to detailed information about workflow and item details.
Use more Easy Reference lookups – Pull even more metadata into workflows using 11 new Easy Reference lookups.
Read whole database records – Query databases using SQL, and write whole or partial records to SharePoint using the Query Database and Create Item Widgets.
Write to databases – Database queries with the Query Database Widget now support INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE SQL statements, giving data a round-trip ticket.
Retract workflows – Administrators can now view and retract any workflow solutions that were deployed with Workflow Conductor right from Central Administration with just a few clicks.
Edit default e-mail templates – Administrators can control the content of different task notifications for Request Approval and Request Feedback tasks.
Change logging levels at run time – Designers can run a workflow instance with different logging levels to help troubleshoot issues.
Create workflows faster – Performance improvements to the Workflow Conductor Studio UI mean speedier workflow design, especially on larger workflows.
Create workflows more easily – Lots of UI improvements add up to more intuitive workflow design. From simplified Widget interfaces to improved workflow start screens, we’ve listened to our users and cleaned up some of the trickier elements in earlier versions.
In addition to all of these updates, Workflow Conductor 1.5 also includes lots of smaller changes and bug fixes, not to mention all of the great features that were already in before this release. Stay tuned to Bamboo Nation for a series of upcoming blog posts highlighting some of the of the coolest new features.To check out all of the new updates and changes for yourself, download your free 30-day trial now and see what Workflow Conductor can do for you!