General Tab, State Property Page

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The following properties are available when a state is selected. In addition, they are 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 "State1", 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 caption is the same as the default name.

The caption will not change automatically if the user changes the name.

You can change the caption by

• Selecting (as one would an edit box) the caption of the state directly on the diagram surface. This will put it into 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.
• Changing the property value in the Properties Grid.
• Changing the 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.

ExpiresIn (Exchange workflow only) This is the elapsed time during which the state must be completed. There is no expiry by default.

When ExpiresIn has been set, clearing the value (that is, setting it to NULL) will indicate no Expiry.

The Properties Grid will show a read/write copy of Expires (Value + unit), plus the "…" button to make it possible for you to change the value and/or unit. "…" button will bring the user to the Property Page, where you can change the value or unit. Value will be an edit box where you can enter any positive number (decimal included). Unit will be a drop down list containing three values: Minutes, Hours, and Days. Days is the default.

Left (Not in Property Page, only in Property Grid in SQL Server workflow.) This is the distance from the left edge of the canvas to the left side of the shape. It is measured in pixels.

Top (Not in Property Page, only in Property Grid in SQL Server workflow.) This is the distance from the top edge of the canvas to the top of the shape. It is measured in pixels.

Height (Not in Property Page, only in Property Grid in SQL Server workflow.) This is the height of the shape. It is measured in pixels.

Width (Not in Property Page, only in Property Grid in SQL Server workflow.) This is the width of the shape. It is measured in pixels.

See Also

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