Workflow Sharing

9 minute read Last updated on December 21, 2021

Using the DP Web’s Sharing app, you can assign (or revoke) permissions to users or user groups to edit or view a workflow. This allows the owner of the workflow to share and control workflow access (granting permissions to only specific people or departments).

Dispatcher Phoenix provides the ability to share workflows to:

  • None - Only the creator of the workflow has access to the workflow. This is the default.
  • Everyone - The running workflow can be accessed by anyone who has access to the computer.
  • Specific Users/Groups - Only assigned users/groups will have view/edit access to the workflow.

For information on accessing shared workflows at the MFP, click here.

Permissions

Using the Sharing app, you can do the following:

  • Grant View Permissions. When the owner of a workflow assigns View permissions to a particular user or user group, that user/group has read-only access to the workflow for use. In other words, workflows cannot be started, stopped, scheduled, etc.

  • Grant Edit Permissions. When the owner of a workflow assigns Edit permissions to a particular user or user group, that user/group can do the following to the workflow: edit, start, stop, pause, schedule, export, resume, copy and paste the workflow. Note that users with Edit permissions will not be able to delete workflows.

    Note: If a user who has been granted “Edit” permissions copies/pastes a workflow, that copied workflow becomes local for that user only. No one will have access to the copied workflow.

  • Revoke View/Edit Permissions. The owner of a workflow can remove view or edit permissions for a particular user/group.

    Note: If a user within a group has already been assigned a specific permission (“Edit” or “View”), that permission takes priority over the group-assigned permission. For example, if User A has “View” permissions and User A is part of a group that has “Edit” permissions, User A will still retain only “View” permissions for that workflow.

Sharing Icons

Workflows that have been shared (either to everyone or specific users/groups) will be identified by icons displayed next to the workflow in the Dispatcher Phoenix client application’s Workflow List the next time the application is launched.

  • If a workflow has been shared with a specific user(s), the following icon will appear:

If a workflow has been shared with all users, the following icon will appear:

Configuring for LDAP Look Up

If configuring for LDAP card look up, you must first set up a connection to your AD/LDAP server using the Workflow Services Manager.

Do the following:

  1. Launch the Workflow Services Manager (Start Program > Workflow Services Manager). If prompted, enter the domain’s administrator credentials.

  2. On the Workflow Services Manager, make sure the Windows Authentication tab is selected. See the below illustration for an example:

  3. Click on the Stop Service button.

  4. Check the Enable LDAP Lookup box to enable support for LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol). Once enabled, connection, search and authentication options must be entered to match the LDAP server, as follows:

    • Host - Enter the name of the server where the Active Directory (AD) server is hosted.
    • Port - Enter the AD server port.
    • LDAP User Search Base - Enter your search starting point in the LDAP server tree structure.
    • Use SSL Secured Connection - Check this box to enable SSL connections to the LDAP server, if necessary.
    • Simple or Anonymous Authentication - Specify the type of LDAP authentication (Anonymous, which specifies that the connection should be made without passing credentials, or Simple, which specifies that basic authentication should be used on the connection).
    • Bind DN - Enter the user on the external AD server permitted to search the LDAP directory within the defined search base.
    • Password - Enter the bind password.
    • Default Search - Configure the search attributes.
    • Fallback Search - Enter additional search strings, if necessary.

  5. You can test the search settings by selecting the Test LDAP Connection button.

  6. Select the Save Settings button when you are done.

  7. Click on the Start Service button.

Access the Sharing App

From Dispatcher Phoenix Web, select the Sharing button or the Tools > Sharing option from the slide out menu.

Using the Sharing App

The Sharing App displays the following by default:

  • A My Workflows area that displays the logged-in user’s running or scheduled to run workflows along with controls that allow you to assign workflow permissions to everyone or specific users/groups.
  • A Workflows Shared With Me area that displays all workflows that have been shared with the logged-in user, displaying the workflow’s name and owner. The workflows that are shared with the logged-in user are read only.

Note: If a workflow is shared with a group, individual members of the group will not be able to view the shared workflow under the Workflows Shared With Me section when logged into Dispatcher Phoenix Web; however, that workflow will be accessible at the MFP to those group members.

The default view is the Workflows Perspective.

See the following illustration for an example:

Using the Workflows Perspective

Granting Permissions To Specific Users

To grant edit/view permissions to a specific user or users within an Active Directory group, do the following:

  1. Click on a workflow from the My Workflows area.

  2. In the Available Users/Groups area, enter a specific user/group name in the empty field provided OR leave the field blank to return all users/groups from the authentication server; then click on the Search button.

    Note: To return any groups to which the user belongs, check the Include Groups to which a matching User belongs box.

  3. From the Available Users/Groups area, check the Permission box next to the user/group that you are interested in. The box will turn green and have a plus sign in it.

  4. Next to the Permission box, click on the down arrow to select the permission that you would like to grant (View or Edit). See the following illustration for an example:

    You can specify a default Permission behavior to always appear by selecting an option in the top Default on click area, as shown in the following illustration:

  5. Click on the Apply button.

The assigned user/group will be displayed in the Assigned Users/Groups area. In the following illustration, Carla has been assigned Edit permissions to the workflow:

Sharing Workflows To All Users

To share the workflow with all users, slide the Share With control to Everyone in the My Workflows area. The color of the control will change to orange.

See the following illustration for an example:

Any workflow that is shared to Everyone will appear disabled.

Removing Workflow Permissions

To remove a user’s edit/view access to a workflow using the Workflows Perspective, do the following:

  1. Click on a workflow from the My Workflows area.

  2. Check the box next to the user in the Assigned Users/Groups area; then choose the Remove option. You can specify a default Permission behavior to automatically appear by selecting an option in the “Permission” area, as in the following illustration:

  3. Click on the Apply button. The user will no longer have edit/view rights to that workflow, and the user’s name and email address will be removed from the Assigned Users/Groups area.

Changing Workflow Permissions

To change a user’s edit/view access to a workflow using the Workflows Perspective, do the following:

  1. Click on a workflow from the My Workflows area.

  2. Check the box next to the user in the Assigned Users/Groups area; then choose the permission that you would like.

  3. If you have specified a default behavior by selecting from the top Permission area, you can check the Permission box next to the user. The box will turn blue and the permission behavior will automatically change to the default behavior assigned. See the following illustration for an example:

  4. Click on the Apply button.

Change Perspectives

You can switch the perspective to display users/groups on the left-hand side of the page instead of workflows by clicking on the Users/Groups tab on the top, as in the following illustration:

The page will change to display a Users/Groups area on the left-hand side of the page. This area displays the users/groups detected by the system from the configured authentication server (e.g., Active Directory, LDAP, etc.)

Using the Users/Groups Perspective

Assigning Workflow Permissions To Specific Users

To assign workflow permissions to specific users using the Users/Groups perspective, do the following:

  1. In the Users/Groups area, enter a specific user/group name in the empty field provided OR leave the field blank to return all users/groups from the authentication server; then click on the Search button.

    Note: To return any groups to which the user belongs, check the Include Groups to which a matching User belongs box.

  2. Select a user from the search results. Any workflows that have been already assigned to that user will display in the Assigned Workflows area on the right-hand side of the window.

    Note: Any workflows that are currently shared to “Everyone” will not be displayed in the Available Workflows list.

  3. From the Available Workflows area, check the Permission box next to the workflow that you are interested in; then choose the permission that you would like to grant (View/Edit). You can specify a default Permission behavior by selecting an option in the “Default Permission” area, as in the following illustration:

  4. Click on the Apply button.

The user will now have edit/view access to that workflow. The workflow will appear under the Assigned Workflows area.

Removing Workflow Permissions

To remove a user or group’s access to a workflow using the Users/Groups perspective, do the following:

  1. Select the user from the Users/Groups area on the left-hand side of the window.

  2. Under the Assigned Workflows area, check the Permission box next to the workflow that you are interested in; then choose the Remove option. The Permission box will turn red and an X will appear in it.

  3. Select the Apply button. The user will no longer have edit/view access to that workflow, and the workflow will be removed from the Assigned Workflows area and will be added back to the Available Workflows list.

Changing Workflow Permissions

To change a user or group’s access to a workflow using the Users/Groups perspective, do the following:

  1. Select the user from the Users/Groups area on the left-hand side of the window.

  2. Under the Assigned Workflows area, check the Permission box next to the workflow that you are interested in; then choose the permission that you would like. The Permission box will turn green and a + will appear in it.

  3. If you have specified a default behavior by selecting from the top Permission area, you can check the Permission box next to the workflow. The box will turn blue and the permission behavior will automatically change to the default behavior assigned.

  4. Select the Apply button.