InfoPath Dev

Hello,

I set up a workflow to use the pause for duration then send email.  The pause for duration doesn't work.  It seems to get stuck and not go further.  Is there a workaround for this?

 Lisa

It does work.  What duration are you using?  It can't be less than 5 minutes, because the Timer Service runs every 5 minutes by default, and workflows like this are executed by the Timer Service.  Anything less than 5 minutes will take 1-5 mins depending on when it is triggered relative to the Timer Service itself.  For anything beyond 1-5 mins, it will pretty much be the same situation of taking 1-5 mins after the point in time that the workflow stops pausing.

What exact scenario do you have?  Share the logic statement if you wish.

I have the pause duration set up for 7 mins.

 This is my logic statment

 If Training Status = "In Progress"

Email Training Result:Created By

Then Pause for: 0 days, 0 hours, 7 mins (i set this up this way to test it first...I would like it to pause for 30 days eventually)

Then Email Results Still In Progress Step 2: Created By

Else if Training Status = "Completed"

Email Training Results: Created By

Stop workflow and log Training "Complete"

 This workflow is set in motion by an InfoPath form that is item created.

 Your assistance is greatly appreciated.

 Thanks!

Lisa

Probably should set it to a 1 minute pause for now for testing purpose.

• Ok, so what happens after 10 mins currently?
• When the workflow starts, does it say "In Progress," and if you click on "In Progress," does it show that it's pausing for 7 minutes?
• Put extra actions throughout the SPD workflow design that Log to History List and put descriptions of what is happening.  This way, you can see what actions have fired (or not)
• Show a screenshot of your workflow step that shows the logic, too, if you want

So it is currently set for 7 mins.

Yes it does say it is "In Progress".  When I click on "in Progress", it shows that it's pausing for 7 minutes.  But no outcome.

Lisa

so after 10 minutes or more, it still says In Progress and still shows that it's waiting 7 minutes from the time it was initially kicked off?

Did you add the Log to History List actions before/after the pause and before/after the next steps?

Yes, I added the log to history list action after the pause....ugh

nothing!

 When I clcked on In Progress to view Run Activity Report,I get an error saying the report contains no data?!

That is strange.  The problem with SPD is you can't give me a "template" to analyze.  If this were InfoPath-related, then we could probably work it out.  As it stands, all i can tell you is that this function DOES work, so maybe your best bet is to go create another workflow on a different list and see if it works when set to the minimum duration.  Use a simple workflow that does nothing except pause and then log a message to the history list when done.  Also, be sure the Windows SharePoint Services Timer Service is active.  If so, check the Time Job Definitions in Central Admin to see if something is stuck.  AFter all is said and done, consider rebooting the SharePoint server (the one with Central  Admin) if you can do so without interrupting others.

Ok, I've recreated a simple list  with just pause duration and logging on a different list and on a different portal.  We've had issues with portals....

It is using an InfoPath form but there is nothing in the form itself to make it get stuck.  It's purely on the SharePoint designer side that I'm doing the workflow since out of the box workflow on SP didn't give me much to offer.

Will let you know in a couple of mins if this worked or not.  I'm such a skeptical person now...

Interesting, I recreated a test list on a different portal and got it to work just fine.  Doesn't work on the original portal...will have the team look at the server tomorrow and have them reboot if necessary....

Thanks for your insight.  I really do want to believe in SharePoint....I do....just so many wrong things have happened.  Lol!

I've seen your unique struggles and hope that I can help you keep the faith.

Thank you so much!

I did some testing and the pause duration workflow does work on one portal but not the other.  Because of this and the lack of time to fix the broken portal, is there another solution that would work instead of using pause duration workflow?  I know the issue had to do with the Timer Services on the server.   I don't have the time to have my team fix the situation and need to come up with another solution in the meanwhile.  We are presenting to the client tomorrow morning.

 Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Lisa

SharePoint enthusiast (want to be but having a love/hate relationship with it)

Lisa, hear me out, because I'm struggling with this.  I hope you've seen that I have a strong, genuine desire to help anyone without prejudice.  I even go beyond what most are willing to do in terms of providing direct, marketable expertise towards resolving issues directly within templates and solutions (that's the point at which payment is typically expected).  I haven't really drawn my line, because I'm new to the "giving" side of SharePoint/InfoPath after years of only consuming.  However, this situation is giving me pause.  Please verify that I have these factoids right:

• You and an entire team of people are being paid by a client as IT consultants to deliver some solution or set of solutions within SharePoint that includes InfoPath
• Your team has the ability, rights, and responsibility to fix the broken "portal," which means to me that your team is the one who architected it, built it, and maintains it.  Is some of that not true?  Is that portal a client portal that you were paid to deliver?
• You were working on something close to the deadline that I was able to help you figure out
• You know exactly what is causing your problem and keeping you from delivering the desired solution
• You can't or aren't willing to try and fix the root of the problem, which is the responsibility of your team anyway (maybe?) due to perceived time constraints
• You present to the client tomorrow and are asking random strangers to provide a solution to you overnight  for free in their free time that can be presented to your client - the client who will pay for your entire team's work that was actually solved by the unpaid stranger

Am I off?  I have a hard time helping, and I know that the folks who run this forum are incredibly talented (several MVPs and near-MVPs) - probably well-beyond my own talent.  However, they do this for a living and have an entire service that allows customers to pay for them to solve problems through consulting or through development (code or not).  The even worse part is this is not an InfoPath issue, but rather a SharePoint admin/architecture issue that is causing an SPD issue, so it's not relevant to this forum at all really.

I'm not saying I could even think up an alternative solution overnight or even in weeks.  What I do know is that if you are trying to deliver or present something on that broken portal, you have far more things to worry about than paused workflows.  The Timer Service is critical to the health and success of SharePoint as a whole.  If it's busted, then the entire list of timer jobs will not run - indexing, alerts, and tons of other jobs.  My opinion is that the moment you became aware of that being the root cause, it needed to be addressed with the full attention of everyone even if it meant getting an expert architect online for a fee.  That wasn't done, but i still contend that the best way to fix this is to at least LOOK for some simple solutions to fixing the Timer Service, because that would fix a lot of other things while also allowing your pause duration workflow.

You may have just left out the fact that your team already did some basic troubleshooting, but I think that if I had the chance, I could have a decent shot at figuring it out quickly enough for you to present on time.  You could concurrently look for alternative workflow solutions, but I imagine it will require custom coding from scratch for the whole workflow.

</soapbox>

Dear Clayton,

It's not that I want to take advantage of the good nature of your technical expertise or the InfoPath forum community, I simply was trying to get feedback from others to figure out if there is another solution to the problem.  I don't know of any and am not beyond asking for help from others to figure out these issues.  I really do appreciate the effort and help that you have offered up.  My thought was that this forum would be a place to bounce ideas off with others...not a free services call.

Yes, my team has troubleshooted this issue and we are aware that it may have something to do with the Timer Services issues.  Our alerts are being wonky and the portals are just weird in themselves.  No, we are not consultants to a company, rather we are the "IT" services to an organization that needs SharePoint services.  We maintain our own portals for our company as well as do all the troubleshooting, systems maintenance as well as tools development and deployment.  The client is our own internal client...

It's not that I am unwilling to try to fix the root of the problem.  One, I really don't know the back end of the servers themselves and I don't have access to them.  I was just brought on board less than 2 months ago.  I did address looking at the Timer Services to the team, which I suppose they are looking at...sent the email, waiting for a reply...getting annoyed at no answer....

My apologies again for coming across like I want free help.....just wanting to talk with others

Lisa