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Nintex workflow for office 365-How to get the task ID of start a task process?


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Hello Nintex Ninjas! happy.png

I have been working on an app that contains complex approval process(serial then parallel) with multiple level of approvers. Been making good progress, until I got stuck in this action.(issue explained in the image as well, but in case it wasn't readable, its added below)

- Got a requirement for workflow wherein a whole group wantd to be assigned task and anyone could then approve/reject it.

 

- Start a task process to SharePoint group works great for the requirement. When anyone from the group approves the task, the rest of the groups get theirs tasks cancelled.

 

- But I want to collect data for two fields from approvers, that I then want to save it back in the list.

 

-I  have been able to get the description, comments of approvers via GUID=taskID(WF variable) in 'Assign a task' action but, option to save task ID from 'Start a Task process' seems to be unavailable.

 

- I thought I could get Description and use Reg. Expression to get UserID & Email and though reg expression works great for stripping text, because the taskID couldn't be saved, I am not able to get value of 'Descirption' of the task in 'Start a task process', split it and save it back to list. Main requirement for the app is that I get the User ID and Email once one of the approvers in SharePoint group has acted on it. I know I must be missing something or overlooked a setting, either ways, am sure you guys will know the answer and steer me in the right direction towards the solution!

As always, thanks for all the help and support happy.pngEmily Billing Jeremy Jaya Raj

Start a task process-ID of task completed.png

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Best answer by swethasan 24 June 2015, 23:55

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10 replies

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Swetha,

I hope I didn't miss something, but you should be able to capture the information from the task.  If you are generating the Task ID and capturing that in the assigned task action, you can take that ID and use the query list action to query the task list for that specific action.  Then when the user responds, you should be able to capture that and grab the information from that task and push it back into the originating item.

Another thing is that you can modify the approval form. You can create your own content type and add whatever fields you want which means you can have the user enter their name and email as well as select approve or reject.  This customization allows you to specify what you want returned and you should be able to again capture that.

A final though is that you could also run a separate workflow on the item, such that when its approved, it queries the task list for the ID, then retrieves the right information from that and pulls it back into the originating item.

Hope that helps you find the right solution.

Badge +6

Hi Eric,

Thanks for answering.

1. I have captured Task ID from 'Assign a Task' and got comments of approver without any glitch. I am not able to do the same in 'Start a task process' action which is where my problem lies. Any user in sharepoint group should be able to complete the task. And I couldn't figure out how to collect data from them for a couple of fields in the list.

2. I would like to modify the approval form. I haven't done this before. Are they any example links that describes the steps to create our own content type and adding custom fields? I think that will help us a lot.

3. Separate wokrlfow is cool, but then again, I couldn't figure out how to capture id from 'Start a task process' so won't be able to query based on task ID.

I have the same problem with the Start a Task Process vs. Assign a Task. There are several fields I am unable to capture that seem so logical to be able to do. Yet, the Start a Task Process is unable to capture these items.

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Yeah. I'm sorta stuck I have requestedVadim Tabakman​ for guidance. Nintex Workflow for Office 365 - Available Actions - Vadim Tabakman

I will keep looking and if I find a solution will definitely share. Please share if you find an answer before I do as well!

Swetha

Badge +6

Hi Kristi,

I found a workaround until we find a way to get ID of task from 'Start a task process' action. Check out the blog

Nintex workflow for office 365-How to get the task ID of ‘start a task process’? | Sleep, Coffee, SharePoint and a sprin…

In case you are still trying to find a solution, wanted to share mine-trust it helps someone!

-Swetha

Badge +6

So, been playing with different methods to ease approvers approval options. Because, opening a task form and then clicking 'Show more' and then typing a 'description' following a format and then clicking 'approved' was a wee bit too long time spent for some approvers and they wanted a way to be redirected to the form where they can simply type and update. Well, thats what they got!

Dynamic Build String Action in Workflow: I just added a dynamic hyperlink for Edit item in the notification email for the approvers.

Edit Form also contains a Panel that is set to be visible only for a SharePoint user group. (approvers are in this group)

How-tos on hiding the panel are thanks to: http://nintexdownload.com/Nsupport/NF2010_Tutorial_How_to_show_hide_controls.pdf

Now all they have to do is fill the controls, click Update and then go their task and 'Approve"

Everyones happy or not -I tried my best!

Trust this helps someone looking for such solution.

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LOVE it! Glad I could help. BTW what was your problem?
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Gotcha. That is the first thing I tried in Nintex as well. Check out my blog post on the topic. It does exactly what your requirement calls for.

Nintex Office 365 Workflow for SharePoint Online: Approval Comments Capture | Sleep, Coffee, SharePoint and a sprinkle o…

Swetha

Userlevel 7
Badge +17

I came here by an accident, discussion is a bit old though I don't know whether this has ben answered or solved

You can get a collection of tasks created for the "Start a task process" action by simply querying the tasks list with a filter set to "Instance ID = Workflow Context:InstanceID":

Best regards,

Tomasz

Userlevel 5
Badge +12

Hello ‌ is there an answer here that I may mark as correct for you?

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