Plugins

The article describes what to do when you need much more than out-of-the-box document generation features offered by Word Add-in.

Microsoft Outlook is one of the basic tools used by office workers. Outlook Classic and Outlook Modern add-ins are responsible for its integration with WEBCON BPS Portal. They allow users to access their tasks, view the contents of selected forms, and use many other Portal features from within their e-mail correspondence, without having to close the e-mail application.
This article describes the method of installing Outlook Modern in Microsoft 365 Outlook web application and presents the add-in's main features.

Outlook Classic is an add-in that allows WEBCON BPS to integrate with the Outlook desktop application available as part of Microsoft Office, which is one of the most widely used applications for managing e-mail correspondence in enterprises. Upgrading it with a dedicated WEBCON add-in will allow users to efficiently handle tasks and processes from within the e-mail application itself, especially when working with external entities.
This article describes how to install the Outlook Classic add-in and provides examples of its use.

From version 2021.1.3.163 onwards WEBCON BPS offers a variable returning information whether a form is opened in the mobile app. This information can be used within the created form rules to adapt its view to the mobile app specification. The variable’s name is “Is this a mobile device?” and it works only within the “WEBCON BPS” mobile app.

When using the "WEBCON BPS Outlook Add-In" on high-definition displays, problems may appear - especially when the Outlook window is shifted between high and low DPI monitors. There are problems with displaying the process instance form and as a result, the form disappears or is displayed outside the Outlook window. Currently, the only solution to this problem is to set the "Optimize for compatibility" option in the Outlook settings. 

The „Analysis” tab available in WEBCON BPS Designer Studio allows you to see the time of the instances being in a given step and the time of their edition at individual steps. You can also set the planned time of editing an element and the time in which the element should be in a given step. It allows you to check if individual people with the assigned task do not hold it longer than they should, or if the form is created in non-intuitive manner, which will result in a longer than the assumed time of editing. This article describes the analysis functionality in WEBCON BPS Designer Studio 2020. The analysis of statistical data at individual steps allows you to draw conclusions that can improve the efficiency of business processes. Examples of observations may concern e.g. finding places where editing the form is more time-consuming than expected.

In WEBCON BPS there is the ability of creating a dedicated SDK plugin. For example, these can be dedicated plugins: converting PDF to jpg/jpeg/png format, merging several PDFs into one, generating Excel based on the SQL query, creating/deleting SharePoint groups based on the query, changing the form type, settlement of business trips. To upload a plugin package to Designer Studio you need go to the Plugin packages section, click “New package", use the „Upload” button to indicate the plugin location - the name is automatically set.

There are situations in which, after going through a path, you will need to go back to one of the previous steps of the workflow e.g. when the form has been incorrectly completed or you forgot to add an attachment to the instance. The article describes two basic configuration methods: Moving back an instance to the defined step and Moving back an instance to the previous step using the “Back to the previous step” predefined option. Using using more advanced types of configuration e.g. using the system step where, on the appropriate condition, the instance moves back to the defined step – you can create intricate combinations specifically tailored to your scenario.