9 - Add 2nd Approval With Custom Variables, Conditions and Form Events

1. Go back to your process project.

   Make sure you are in the Editable version.

   

2. In the Badge Process, with nothing selected, open the side panel.

   

3. Click Variables.

4. Under Custom Variables, click Configure.

   

5. Click Add Variable

   Enter the following (the identifier is automatically generated).

   Field	Value
   Name	LocalApprover
   Type	Boolean

   Click Apply.

   

6. Click Save (upper right).

We want by default that the flag be set to True, in case there is no need to add a local approver. If the local approver is needed and they reject the item, then we will set the flag to False.

This is a very simple use of the Script Task, but we wanted to introduce it to you, because it is very powerful for processing data, for example, lists of backend data returned via action, and making it available to the rest of the process. The results of the data manipulation are generally stored in custom variables.

1. Right after the trigger step, click the plus sign, +.

   

   Select Script Task.

   

2. Rename the Step Name to Set Local Approver to True.

   Click Open Editor.

   

3. In the code area on the right, add a few blank lines at the top, and then set the cursor at the top.

   On the left, click Custom Variable > LocalApprover to a reference to that custom variable.

   

   Then add code so the line is the following:

   JavaScript Copy

   $.context.custom.localapprover = true;

   

4. Let’s explore the Script Task a little.

   Click Validate Script to check the syntax, including variable references. Any errors will be shown in the Script Console.

   

5. Once the script is valid, you can test the script with different data. Select the Test Variable tab.

   

   Add test input values by clicking the plus sign, +, setting the variable name to $.context.custom.localapprover, and setting the value to false.

   Click Run Test. The results, including the values for the custom variables, are shown in the Test Console.

   

6. Click Apply

7. Click Save.

1. Under the Approve branch of the first approval form, click the plus sign, +.

   

2. Select Control and Events.

   

   Select Condition.

   

3. Rename the Step Name to Check Country.

   

4. In the side panel, click the 3 dots next to If, then click Condition Editor.

   

5. Set the condition as follows:

   Field	Value
   1st Operand	Retrieves business partner > result > Business Partner > Ctry/Reg. for Format
   Operator	is equal to
   2nd Operand	US

   Click Apply.

   

1. Under the new condition, in the If, click the plus sign, +.

   

2. Click Approval.

   

   Instead of creating a new form, you will reuse the existing form but change its binding slightly.

   Click Approval Form.

   

3. For the Subject field, enter the following (including trailing space):

   Text Copy

   Badge Request - Local Approver - 

   Then, with the cursor still at the end of the field, select Process Inputs > data > BusinessPartner.

   For the Users field, enter the email address you used to create your SAP BTP trial.

   

4. Under the Inputs tab, bind the following fields:

   Field	Value
   BP ID	Process Inputs > data > BusinessPartner
   Community ID	Process Inputs > data > YY1_SAPCommunityDisplayName
   Country	Retrieves busines partner > result > Business Partner > Business Partner
   First Name	Process Inputs > data > FirstName
   Grouping	Retrieves busines partner > result > Business Partner > Grouping
   Last Name	Process Inputs > data > LastName

   

5. Click Save.

In the case that the local approver rejects the badge, we must set the flag to false.

1. Under the new Approval Form 1, and then under the Reject branch, click the plus sign, +.

   

   Select Script Task.

2. Rename the Step Name to Set Local Approver to False.

   Click Open Editor.

   

3. In the code area on the right, select all the text, and delete it.

   Copy in the following:

   JavaScript Copy

   $.context.custom.localapprover = false;

   Click Apply.

   

4. Under the Script Task, click the plus sign, +.

   

   Add the step Controls and Events > End.

   It should look like this:

   

5. Click Save.

We want to give the local approver a chance to reject the badge, but only for 24 hours. So we will make use of form events, also known as timer events, which allow us to break into the flow after a certain period has elapsed without the form being completed.

For the sake of this exercise, we will give the local approver just 1 minute.

1. Click the 3 dots next to Approval Form 1, and click Handle Events.

   

   The form will now have a third path, in addition to Approve and Reject – a path for events when neither of the other two paths are taken.

   

2. Click Timer Event.

   This will create a small subflow in case the timer event is triggered.

   

3. Click Timer Event to open the side panel.

4. Set Count to 1.

   Set Unit to Minutes.

   Under After the event is handled, change the select to Skip to Next Step.

   If you cannot see this option, reduce the zoom of your browser.

   

5. Click Save (upper right).

1. Click Release.

   

   In the dialog, you can add some release notes if you want.

   Click Release.

2. Click Show project version (upper left).

   

   This will take you to the released version of your project, so you can deploy it.

   You can navigate between the versions of your project at the very top using the dropdown (assuming there is more than one version).

3. Click Deploy.

   

   Select the Public environment.

   Select Upgrade.

   You get a message that your deployment will update the existing trigger.

   

   Click Deploy.

   You again get a dialog to select the destination for the action. The previous selection from the previous deployment should still be there. If not, select S4HANA_Badges.

   Click Deploy.

   

1. Again, go back to the Create Business Partner app we provided to you.

   

2. Enter the following:

   Field	Value
   First Name	Anything you want
   Last Name	Anything you want
   Country	United States
   SAP Community Username	Your user name in the SAP Community

   Click Create.

   Your business partner is created.

3. Check that the event was received into SAP Build by going to Monitoring > Acquired Events > Business Events.

   You should see an event created for your new business partner, including the business partner ID that you saw when you created it.

   

1. Go to the Inbox.

   You will see an approval form. Click Approve.

   

2. Refresh the Inbox and you will get a second, approval, because the business partner is in the United States.

   Do not approve, and wait for a minute until the timer event triggers.

   

3. Now go to Monitoring > Processes and Workflow Instances.

   Click on the latest instance.

   

   Let’s look at the log more closely. The log is in chronological order, from bottom to top. So let’s review what happened.

   

   From the bottom to top, you will see these steps:

   • The process was triggered.
   • You tried to set the local approver flag to true.
   • You set the local approver flag to true successfully.
   • You tried to retrieve business partner data with an action.
   • You retrieved business partner data with an action successfully.
   • The 1st approval task was triggered.
   • The 1st approval task was completed.
   • The country was checked.
   • The 2nd approval task was triggered (because the country was the US).
   • The 2nd approval task was not completed in the specified time (1 minute).
   • The 2nd approval step was canceled.
   • The process went to the next step.
   • The notification form was triggered.

• Raise and Handle Escalation and Timer Events (Help Portal)

• Create and Configure a Script Task (Help Portal)

• Transform Data with JavaScript in SAP Build Process Automation (Devtoberfest video)

Things to Ponder

What are the 2 types of process events inside SAP Build Process Automation?

What specifically would you use a Script Task for?

How could you make use of an escalation event?