Document Approval WF - Error

Hi community members,

I am currently working on a document approval workflow. The wf starts if a document is added to the library. It is actually pretty straightforward. However, I experience workflow errors and I don't have a clue where to make any further adjustments. I've spent the whole day on looking for any good recommendations here and on other sites. Unfortunately, it didn't help much.

Further, the workflow history does not say very much, only that an error occured.

Here is what I got so far:

Part I

Part II

Part III

Any ideas?

Thank you in advance!

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On which action is the error occurring?

Also, as a tip, I would not use the workflow to check out the item then immediately "Wait on check out status change". It would be better to use the "Commit Pending Changes" actions instead to push the check out through.

There are also times you may want to put in place a pause for 1 minute action. This is because SharePoint could think the file was checked out and continue the workflow, but the activity is Asynchronous and can take just a half second.

Thanks for your quick response Andrew!

The weird thing here is that the workflow completes sometimes. I then just receive an email "workflow error". Looking at the workflow message, there is no further explanation on where the exact error takes place, only that one occurs.

Applying your suggestion to my workflow: Where in the WF would it be necessary / most effective (see sequence below)? I've tried it several times with a pause, it didn't help much. I am sure I've applied it on the wrong spot.

- Start

- Check out item

- Commit pending changes

- Query actions + Update Actions

- Wait for item update

- Commit pending changes

- Flexi Task

Approve

- Set approval status (is it relevant if the item is checked out or checked in?)

- Wait for item update

- Commit pending changes

- Check in item

Again, thanks a lot for your help!

It looks like you have the Commit in the right places, but the Wait for item update doesn't seem necessary. You would use that action only when you want the workflow to wait for end user involvement and changes, not workflow based changes.

Alright, I remove the "Wait until" actions and give it a try at work on Monday.

Where would you recommend to integrating the "pause" actions?

You can use them in place of the commit pending changes. They will accomplish the same goal. I only use the pause when I start to get errors that I cannot update the item because it is not checked out, which means the workflow was going too fast.

No matter how many pause actions I add or how long I wait, the workflow errors. Even without a specific error message: