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General Tab, Transition Property Page

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This content is no longer actively maintained. It is provided as is, for anyone who may still be using these technologies, with no warranties or claims of accuracy with regard to the most recent product version or service release.

The following properties are available when a transition is selected. They are also available in the Property Grid.

Name This is an ANSI string. It is the name that is used to identify the shape uniquely. The default name is "Transition1", incrementing the number as required.

The maximum name length is 40 characters (plus null char). If you reach the maximum length, the text box will stop accepting characters. If you paste a value into the field that is longer than 40 characters, it will be truncated to the maximum length. In addition, the name must start with a letter and can consist only of letters, numbers, and underscores (_). The name must be unique; if you enter a name that is in use already, an error will occur.

The name cannot be empty. If you enter an empty name or an invalid name, an error will occur.

Caption This is the caption that is displayed on the diagram surface. The default name is dependent on the type of connector that the user has chosen:

  • If the transition created is "Create", then the name is Create1, incrementing the number as required, to ensure a unique name.
  • If the transition created is "Delete", then the name is Delete1, incrementing the number as required, to ensure a unique name.
  • If the transition created is "Change", then the name is Change1, incrementing the number as required, to ensure a unique name.
  • If the transition created is "Receive", then the name is Receive1, incrementing the number as required, to ensure a unique name.
  • If the transition created is "Expire", then the name is Expire1, incrementing the number as required, to ensure a unique name.

To change the Caption

  • Select (as one would an edit box) the caption of the shape directly on the diagram surface. This will put it in to Edit mode, and the user can make changes directly on the surface. There is a "virtual" edit box in this in-place edit area, and entering text beyond what fits on the area will scroll until the user is done editing.
  • Change the property value in the Properties Grid.
  • Changethe property value in the Property Pages.

The maximum string length is 255 characters (plus null char).

The caption is not case-sensitive, and, other than length, there are no limitations to what the user can enter, as long as it is a valid Unicode string.

If you change the Type of the transition, the caption and icon of the transition will be changed to the new type selected.

State Transition Begins In This is an unalterable drop-down list of all the available states.

State Transition Ends In This is an unalterable drop-down list of all the available states.

Type This is a combo-box list of transition types. The following types are available.

  • **Create   **Occurs when an item is created in the folder or the table. This transition always runs from the Start shape to a state. There can be multiple Create transitions entering a state in exchange workflow projects.
  • **Delete   **Occurs when an item is deleted in the folder or the table. This transition always runs from a state to the End shape. There can be multiple delete transitions exiting a state for exchange project type.
  • **Change   **Occurs when an item advances to the next state, based on a validated change to the item. There can be multiple Change transitions between states. Change transitions can occur from a state back to itself, but they cannot be connected to the Start shape or the End shape, because those shapes require Create or Delete transitions respectively.
  • **Receive   **(Exchange only) Occurs when an item advances to the next state, based on receipt of mail (in response to) a document. There can be multiple Receive transitions between states. Receive transitions can occur from a state back to itself. Receive transitions cannot be connected to the Start shape or the End shape.
  • **Expire   **Occurs when the specified expiry time interval elapses. There can be multiple Expire transitions exiting a state. Expire transitions cannot be connected to the Start shape or the End shape.

The default Type is as follows:

  • If the connection is drawn from the Start shape to the state, then Type=Create.
  • If the connection is drawn from a state to the End shape, then Type=Delete.
  • If the connection is drawn between states, then Type=Change.

See Also

Developing Office Developer Applications | Creating Projects | Developing Workflow Applications for Exchange Server | Developing Workflow Applications for SQL Server