You can use a Search activity to perform a search against directory data to find objects, such as users or groups, that match the criteria you specify based on object properties, object location and other information available in the execution environment of the workflow, and to pass these objects to other activities so that the workflow can perform the appropriate actions on them. You can insert activities into a Search activity and have those activities process the objects found by the Search activity.
To add an activity to a Search activity
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In the Active Roles Console tree, expand Configuration > Policies > Workflow, and select the workflow containing the Search activity.
This opens the Workflow Designer in the Details pane, representing the workflow definition as a process diagram.
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In the details pane, drag the activity from the left panel onto Search activity in the process diagram.
To configure a Search activity, right-click the name of that activity in the process diagram and click Properties. Then, perform the following tasks in the “Search” Activity Properties dialog:
Use the Scope and filter settings to define where you want the activity to search and what you want the activity to search for. These settings are configured on the Search and scope tab in the “Search” Activity Properties dialog.
To configure Scope and filter settings
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From the Use this activity to list, choose the option appropriate to your search scenario:
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Choose Search in the Organizational Unit or container to search a certain OU or container for objects that match your search criteria.
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Choose Search for resources managed or owned by the user or group to search for the managed objects of a particular user or group that match your search criteria. Managed objects of a user or group are those for which the user or group is the primary owner (manager) or a secondary owner.
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Choose Search the group for its members to search for the members of a certain group that match your search criteria.
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Choose Search for direct reports of the user to search for the direct reports of a particular user that match your search criteria. Direct reports of a given user are the users for which that user is the manager.
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From the Find list, choose the type of object to search for.
Depending on the search scenario option, you can choose from the following object types:
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Users: Search for user accounts.
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Contacts: Search for contact objects.
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Groups: Search for groups.
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Computers: Search for computer accounts
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Printers: Search for printer objects.
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Organizational Units: Search for Organizational Units.
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Shared Folders: Search for shared folder objects.
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Exchange Recipients: Search for mailboxes or mail-enabled users, groups, or contacts.
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Inactive Accounts: Search for users computers that have not logged in more than a certain number of days, have the password age of more that a certain number of days, or are expired for more than a certain number of days.
Some of these object types are unavailable for certain search scenario options. For example, with the option to search for direct reports, the only available object types are Users and All Objects. To see what object types are available for a given search scenario option, see Object type.
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Click in the In box to specify where you want the activity to search.
The role of the object you configure in the In box depends upon your search scenario option:
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With the Search in the Organizational Unit or container option, the activity will search the OU or container specified in the In box.
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With the Search for resources managed or owned by the user or group option, the activity will search for the managed objects of the user or group specified in the In box.
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With the Search the group for its members option, the activity will search for members of the group specified in the In box.
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With the Search for direct reports of the user option, the activity will search for direct reports of the user specified in the In box.
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With the Search within the object's attribute (ASQ search) option, the activity will search for objects listed in a certain attribute of the object specified in the In box. You can choose the attribute to search.
Table 61: Configure scope and filter settings
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Search in the Organizational Unit or container |
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Fixed container in directory: Search in the given OU or container. You can select the desired OU or container in Active Directory when you configure a Search activity.
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Parent OU of workflow target object: Search in the OU that holds the target object of the request that started the workflow.
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Object identified by workflow parameter: Search in the OU or container specified by the value of a certain parameter of the workflow. You can choose the desired parameter when you configure a Search activity.
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Object from workflow data context: Search in the OU or container that will be selected by the Search activity on the basis of the data found in the workflow environment at the time of running the workflow. When configuring a Search activity, you can specify which OU or container you want the activity to select at workflow run time.
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Object identified by DN-value rule expression: Search in the OU or container whose Distinguished Name (DN) is specified by the string value of a certain rule expression. By using a rule expression you can compose a string value based on properties of various objects found in the workflow environment at the time of running the workflow. You can create the desired rule expression when you configure a Search activity. |
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Search for resources managed or owned by the user or group |
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Workflow target object: Search for resources managed or owned by the target object of the request that started the workflow.
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Object identified by workflow parameter: Search for resources managed or owned by the object specified by the value of a certain parameter of the workflow. You can choose the desired parameter when you configure a Search activity.
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Object from workflow data context: Search for resources managed or owned by the object that will be selected by the Search activity on the basis of the data found in the workflow environment at the time of running the workflow. When configuring a Search activity, you can specify which object you want the activity to select at workflow run time.
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Object identified by DN-value rule expression: Search for resources managed or owned by the object whose Distinguished Name (DN) is specified by the string value of a certain rule expression. By using a rule expression you can compose a string value based on properties of various objects found in the workflow environment at the time of running the workflow. You can create the desired rule expression when you configure a Search activity. |
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Search the group for its members |
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Workflow target object: Search for members of the group that is the target object of the request that started the workflow.
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Object identified by workflow parameter: Search the group specified by the value of a certain parameter of the workflow. You can choose the desired parameter when you configure a Search activity.
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Object from workflow data context: Search for members of the group object that will be selected by the Search activity on the basis of the data found in the workflow environment at the time of executing the workflow. When configuring a Search activity, you can specify which group object you want the activity to select at workflow run time.
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Object identified by DN-value rule expression: Search the group whose Distinguished Name (DN) is specified by the string value of a certain rule expression. By using a rule expression, you can compose a string value based on properties of various objects found in the workflow environment at the time of running the workflow. You can create the desired rule expression when you configure a Search activity. |
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Search for direct reports of the user |
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Workflow target object: Search for direct reports of the target object of the request that started the workflow.
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Object identified by workflow parameter: Search for direct reports of the object specified by the value of a certain parameter of the workflow. You can choose the desired parameter when you configure a Search activity.
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Object from workflow data context: Search for direct reports of the object that will be selected by the Search activity on the basis of the data found in the workflow environment at the time of running the workflow. When configuring a Search activity, you can specify which object you want the activity to select at workflow run time.
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Object identified by DN-value rule expression: Search for direct reports of the object whose Distinguished Name (DN) is specified by the string value of a certain rule expression. By using a rule expression you can compose a string value based on properties of various objects found in the workflow environment at the time of running the workflow. You can create the desired rule expression when you configure a Search activity. |
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Search within the object's attribute (ASQ search) |
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Fixed object in directory: Search in a certain attribute of the given object. You can select the desired object in Active Directory when you configure a Search activity.
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Workflow target object: Search in a certain attribute of the target object of the request that started the workflow.
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Object from workflow data context: Search in a certain attribute of the object that will be selected by the Search activity on the basis of the data found in the workflow environment at the time of running the workflow. When configuring a Search activity, you can specify which object you want the activity to select at workflow run time. |
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Select the appropriate option to further define your search scenario.
If you chose to search in an Organizational Unit or container, then, under When searching the Organizational Unit or container, select one these options:
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Retrieve only immediate child objects of the Organizational Unit or container: Restricts the search to objects for which the given OU or container is the immediate parent in Active Directory.
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Retrieve any objects held in the Organizational Unit or container: Search in the entire directory tree rooted in the given OU or container.
If you chose to search for resources managed or owned by a given user or group, then, under When searching for managed resources, select any combination of these options:
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Retrieve objects managed by the user or group (primary owner): Search for objects that have the given user or group specified in the Managed By property.
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Retrieve objects for which the user or group is a secondary owner: Search for objects that have the given user or group specified in the Secondary Owners property.
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Retrieve objects managed or owned due to membership in groups (indirect ownership): Search for objects for which the given user or group is a direct or indirect member of the group specified in the Managed By or Secondary Owners property.
If you chose to search for members of a given group, then, under When searching the group for its members, select any combination of these options:
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Also retrieve indirect members: Have your search results include indirect members of the given group. With this option, the activity searches not only for objects that are directly added to the group (direct members) but also for indirect members-objects that belong to the group because of their membership in other groups which are direct or indirect members of the given group.
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Also retrieve pending members: Have your search results include objects that are scheduled to be added to the group by using the Temporal Group Memberships capability of Active Roles.
If you chose to perform an ASQ search, then click in the Search within this attribute box to select the attribute for the ASQ search. This must be an attribute that stores Distinguished Names, such as the Member Of or Managed By attribute. The search is performed against the objects that are identified by the Distinguished Names found in that attribute. For example, a search within the Member Of attribute of a user account looks for groups in which the user is a member.
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Click in the Search options box to restrict your search to objects with particular characteristics. The available search options are specific to the object type you chose to search for.
If you chose to search for users:
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Click the hyperlink under Retrieve only these Exchange recipients to restrict your search to Microsoft Exchange mailbox-enabled users or Microsoft Exchange mail-enabled users.
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Click the hyperlink under Retrieve only inactive user accounts to restrict your search to user accounts that meet certain inactivity conditions. In the dialog box that opens, you can choose the inactivity conditions as appropriate.
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Click the hyperlink under Retrieve only expiring user accounts to restrict your search to user accounts that will expire within a certain number of days. In the dialog box that opens, you can set the number of days you want.
If you chose to search for contacts:
If you chose to search for groups:
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Click the hyperlink under Retrieve only these Exchange recipients to restrict your search to Microsoft Exchange mail-enabled contacts.
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Click the hyperlink under Retrieve only these group types to restrict your search to groups that meet certain conditions, such as groups of certain type and scope, empty groups, deprovisioned groups, or groups controlled by Active Roles. In the dialog that opens, you can choose the conditions for groups as appropriate.
If you chose to search for computers:
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Click the hyperlink under Retrieve computers in this role to restrict your search to workstations or servers, or domain controllers.
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Click the hyperlink under Retrieve only inactive computer accounts to restrict your search to computer accounts that meet certain inactivity conditions. In the dialog that opens, you can choose the inactivity conditions as appropriate.
If you chose to search for printers:
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Click hyperlinks under Retrieve only printers with these features to restrict your search to printers with certain features, such as the printer model, paper size, print resolution, print speed, and other capabilities including the ability to print double-sided, the ability to print multiple colors, and the ability to staple. In the dialog box that opens, you can choose the printer features as appropriate.
If you chose to search for Exchange recipients:
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Click the hyperlink under Retrieve only these Exchange recipients to restrict your search to recipients that meet certain conditions, such as users with Exchange mailbox, users with external email addresses, mail-enabled groups, contacts with external email addresses, mail-enabled Public Folders, Query-based Distribution Groups, room mailboxes, equipment mailboxes, linked mailboxes, or shared mailboxes. In the dialog that opens, you can choose the conditions for Exchange recipients as appropriate.
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Click the hyperlink under Retrieve mailboxes matching this storage filter to restrict your search to mailbox hosted on a certain mailbox server or held in a certain mailbox database. In the dialog that opens, you can choose the desired server or database.
If chose to search for inactive accounts, click a hyperlink under Retrieve these account types or Retrieve accounts that meet any of these conditions, and then, in the dialog that opens, view or change the following search options specific to inactive accounts:
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Under Retrieve these account types, select the appropriate option depending on whether you want to search for inactive user accounts only, inactive computer accounts only, or both user and computer accounts that are inactive.
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Under Retrieve accounts that meet any of the selected conditions, choose and configure the account inactivity conditions. Accounts that meet any of the conditions you choose will be considered inactive. The following condition options are available:
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Account has not logged on in the past <number> days: This option allows you to specify the period, in days, that an account is not used to log on, after which the account is considered inactive. The search retrieves a given account if no successful logons to that account have occurred for more days than specified by this option.
The search activity uses the lastLogonTimeStamp attribute to determine the last time that a given user or computer successfully logged on. Active Directory updates that attribute only periodically, rather than every time that a user or computer logs on. Normally, the period of update is 14 days. This means that the lastLogonTimeStamp value could be off by as much as 14 days, so the true last logon time is later than lastLogonTimeStamp. Hence, it is advisable to choose the logon inactivity period of more than 14 days.
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Account’s password has not changed in the past <number> days: This option allows you to specify the password age, in days, after which an account is considered inactive. The search retrieves a given account if the password of the account remains unchanged for more days than specified by this option.
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Account expired more than <number> days before the current date: This option allows you to specify the number of days after which an expired account is considered inactive. The search retrieves a given account if the account remains in the expired state for more days than specified by this option.
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(Optional) Configure a filter to further refine your search, as described in Configuring a search filter.
Search filters allow you to refine your search in order to locate directory objects based on the properties (attributes) of the objects. You can use a search filter to look for specific values in the object properties, thereby ensuring that the search results contain only the objects with the desired properties.
A search filter is composed of conditions combined using AND or OR logic. Each condition is a certain statement that specifies the criteria the activity must use to determine whether a specific object is to be included in the search results. The Workflow Designer provides a condition builder for configuring filter conditions, located in the “Search” Activity Properties > Scope and filter > Search options setting when selecting a Search activity.
When you configure a search filter, you need to add at least one condition. By default, a single, implied condition group is created when you add a filter condition. You can create additional condition groups to group a set of conditions and nest grouped conditions within other condition groups.
A condition group contains one or more conditions connected by the same logical operator. By grouping conditions, you specify that those conditions should be evaluated as a single unit. The effect is the same as if you put parentheses around an expression in a mathematical equation or logic statement.
To add a condition to a condition group
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In the Search options box, under Filter, click the name of the condition group and then click Insert condition.
Click the plus sign (+) next to the name of the condition group.
You can remove a condition, if needed, by clicking X on the right side of the list item representing the condition in the Conditions box.
To add a condition group into another condition group
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In the Conditions box, click the name of the condition group, point to Insert condition group, and then click an option to specify the logical operator:
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AND group: The condition group evaluates to TRUE if all conditions in the group are TRUE.
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OR group: The condition group evaluates to TRUE if any condition in the group is TRUE.
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NOT AND group: The condition group evaluates to TRUE if any condition in the group evaluates to FALSE.
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NOT OR group: The condition group evaluates to TRUE if all conditions in the group evaluate to FALSE.
By default, AND is the logical operator between the conditions in a condition group. It is possible to change the logical operator by converting the condition group to a different group type: Click the name of the group, point to Convert condition group to, and then click the option appropriate to the desired logical operator.
You can remove an entire condition group, if needed, by clicking the name of the group and then clicking Delete condition group.
Once you have added a condition to a condition group, you can use the following steps to configure the condition.
To configure a condition
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Click Configure condition to evaluate, and then choose the property you want the condition to evaluate.
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Click the current comparison operator, if needed, and then click the operator you want the condition to use.
By default, a condition is configured to use the equals operator. The list of operators that are available depends upon the property you originally selected.
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Click Define value to compare to, and then choose an option to specify the desired comparison value. The following options are available:
Table 62: Search filter options
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Text string |
A literal string of characters. You can type the desired string when you configure a filter condition. |
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Property of workflow target object |
The value of a certain property of the target object of the request that started the workflow. You can select the desired property when you configure a filter condition. Normally, this should be a string-value property. |
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Property of workflow initiator |
The value of a certain property of the user whose request started the workflow. You can select the desired property when you configure a filter condition. Normally, this should be a string-value property. |
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Changed value of workflow target object property |
The value that is requested to be assigned to a certain property of the target object of the request that started the workflow, which represents the requested change to the property of the target object. You can select the desired property when you configure a filter condition. Normally, this should be a string-value property. |
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Property of object from workflow data context |
The value of a certain property of the object that will be selected by the Search activity on the basis of the data found in the workflow environment at the time of executing the workflow. When you configure a filter condition in a Search activity, you can choose the desired property and specify which object you want the activity to select upon evaluating the condition at workflow run time. |
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Value generated by rule expression |
The string value of a certain rule expression. By using a rule expression you can compose a string value based on properties of various objects found in the workflow environment at the time of executing the workflow. |
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Fixed object in directory |
A certain object, such as a user, group, or computer. You can select the desired object in Active Directory when you configure a filter condition. This comparison value is applicable to filter conditions for DN-value properties. |
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Object from workflow data context |
The object that will be selected by the Search activity on the basis of the data found in the workflow environment at the time of running the workflow. When you configure a filter condition in a Search activity, you can specify which object you want the activity to select upon evaluating the condition at workflow run time. This comparison value is applicable to filter conditions for DN-value properties. |
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Object identified by DN-value rule expression |
The object whose Distinguished Name (DN) is specified by the string value of a certain rule expression. By using a rule expression, you can compose a string value based on properties of various objects found in the workflow environment at the time of running the workflow. You can create the desired rule expression when you configure a filter condition. This comparison value is applicable to filter conditions for DN-value properties. |
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Object identified by workflow parameter |
The object specified by the value of a certain parameter. You can choose the desired parameter when you configure a filter condition. This comparison value is applicable to filter conditions for DN-value properties. |
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Workflow initiator object |
The user account of the user whose request started the workflow. This comparison value is applicable to filter conditions for DN-value properties. |
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Workflow target object |
The target object of the request that started the workflow. This comparison value is applicable to filter conditions for DN-value properties. |
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Fixed date and time |
A literal date and time value. You can choose the desired date and time when you configure a filter condition. This comparison value is applicable to filter conditions for Date/Time-value properties. |
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Workflow date and time |
A certain point in time relative to the date and time of the Search activity run. You have the option to specify a date that occurs a particular number of days before or after the Search activity run. This comparison value is applicable to filter conditions for Date/Time-value properties. |
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True |
The literal Boolean value of True. |
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False |
The literal Boolean value of False. |
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Value generated by script |
The value returned by a certain script function. You can choose the desired script function when you configure a filter condition. The Search activity will run that script function upon evaluating the condition at workflow run time. |
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Workflow parameter value |
The value of a certain workflow parameter. You can choose the desired parameter when you configure a filter condition. |
You can configure a Search activity to subscribe recipients to the notifications of the following events:
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Activity completed successfully: When configured to notify of this event, the activity causes Active Roles to send a notification email if no significant errors occurred during the run of this activity.
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Activity encountered an error: When configured to notify of this event, the activity causes Active Roles to send a notification email if any significant errors occurred during the run of this activity.
To configure notification for a Search activity
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In the process diagram, right-click the name of the Search activity and click Properties.
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Go to the Notification tab in the “Search” Activity Properties dialog, and use the steps for Configuring a Notification activity to configure the notification settings.
The notification settings specify the event to notify of, and notification recipients. When initiated by the workflow, the activity prepares a notification message appropriate to the specified event. Active Roles retains the message prepared by the activity, and sends the message to the specified recipients upon occurrence of that event.
