Task Workflow Manager#

Overview#

Task Workflow manager is a tool consisting of task manager and workflow manager to either edit a single task and/or to create and manage groups of “tasks.”

When using Finplicity, users may want more than just one-time clicks to do data import, data manipulation, optimization, etc. Instead, you might also want a tool to help you “remember” those one-time clicks (we call them tasks), so that you can redo some specific functions without redoing those clicks one more time. Task workflow manager is a powerful tool for you to achieve that goal.

In general, task manager records and manages “tasks” – a timeline of clicks from users when they are using individual functions. You can record a task in for any function after you fill all fields with a form, and then edit or run the task later in task manager.

Users may also want to combine several tasks and redo them together to achieve some “step by step” calculation. For example, one might want to first run a Data Import task to import data, then run a data manipulation task to manipulate the data and in the last run an optimization task to do an optimization. In Finplicity, the combinations of the tasks are called workflows. You can seamlessly integrate one workflow into another. For instance, if your analysis entails common tasks like data reading and manipulation, but you need to experiment with different forecast models, you can streamline your process. Begin by consolidating the data reading and manipulation tasks into a standalone workflow. Then, incorporate this workflow into others as a pre-processing step. This approach eliminates the need to repeatedly include these tasks in every workflow.

In general, workflow manager records and manages “workflows” – a sequential run of a group of tasks. You can create a workflow in desired order after you get a bunch of tasks, and then edit or run the workflow later in workflow manager. You can also run workflows in Control Board Manager (See Control Board Manager)

Creating a Task#

Here is a step-by-step example of creating a task for data reader from web. You can also apply the same steps to creating tasks for other functions.

  1. Prepare an Excel sheet with necessary contents.

In this example, we start with an empty worksheet named Task_workflow_manager_exp1.

  1. Open a form for the function you need. In this example, we will use the Data Reader > From Web function. You will see the New + function name sign on the top.

  2. Fill all the fields of the form to get your function ready to go. In this example, we will use Fred and detailed steps to fetch data from Fred can be found in Example 1 in Web Reader. The data is displayed below.

  3. Click the “Save” button to save your task. You will see a popup window asking you to name the new task and add the description for it.

  4. Type the name in the text box and click “Save.” You’ll see a notification that you have saved the task successfully.

  5. Now you’ll see the task name + [saved] as the form title on the top of your form. Your task is saved now, you can either run the task, make changes to the task, or close the form for now and come back to it later.

Running, Editing, Renaming, Deleting and Undeleting a Task#

After you create a task, you can go to task workflow manager to run the task again whenever you want. You can also edit the task, rename the task and delete the task in task workflow manager.

  1. Open the correct Excel Workbook with the necessary worksheets.

  2. Open Finplicity, and then click Task Workflow Manager. The form of Task Workflow Manager will appear, as shown below. You will see the list of all tasks you saved on the Task Manager panel at the left. Check the task you want to run/edit/rename/delete/undelete.

  3. (a) For running a task, click the “Run Task” button on the bottom. For example, you will get the following results for running “task_workflow_manager_web_reader_example” task.

(b) For editing a task, click the “Edit Task” button on the bottom. The task form will reappear. Do necessary changes.

Note that your form title will become task name + [unsaved] after you make changes to an existing task. Click “Save” to save your changes. Choose “Yes” in the popup message box to save it as the original task.

(c) For renaming or editing the description of a task, click the “Rename” button on the bottom. The popup window for naming a task and editing its description will appear, as shown below.

Type the new name to the text box and click “Rename” button. You will see your renamed task in the task manager.

(d) For deleting a task, click the “Delete” button on the bottom. Choose “Delete” in the popup message box if you are ready to delete the task. You will see your task deleted. You can check multiple tasks to delete together.

(e) For undeleting a task, check the “Include Deleted Tasks” check box on the bottom. You will see all the previous deleted tasks in the list.

Check the deleted task which you want to recover and click “Undelete” button. You will see the previous deleted task turns from gray to black. And the task is recovered.

Creating a Workflow#

Here is a step-by-step example of creating a workflow with 2 tasks. You can also apply the same steps to creating workflows from all other kinds of tasks.

  1. Create an Excel workbook/sheet with necessary contents.

In this example, we start with an empty worksheet named Workflow.

  1. Save the tasks you want to use in your workflow.

In this example, we save a “Web Reader” type function task as the first step, the same one as Example 1 in Web Reader.

And we save a Scenario Setup task as the second step, the same one as Example in Scenario Setup.

  1. Open Finplicity, and then click Task Workflow Manager. The form of task workflow manager will appear, as shown below:

  2. Click “Create Workflow” button. A popup window will ask you to fill in the workflow name and description.

  3. Type the name and description for the new workflow and click “Create.” You’ll see the workflow is automatically selected in the top workflow manager dropdown.

  4. Click the “Add” arrow in the middle to add tasks you want to add to the workflow one by one or in a group by checking multiple tasks.

  5. After you’re done with adding the tasks, the workflow will be automatically saved. You can either run the workflow, make changes to the workflow, or close the form for now and come back to it later.

Running, Editing, Renaming and Deleting a Workflow#

After you create a workflow, you can go to task workflow manager to run the workflow again whenever you want. You can also edit the workflow, rename the workflow and delete the workflow in workflow manager.

  1. Open the correct Excel workbook/sheet with necessary contents.

In this example, we start with the empty worksheet named Workflow.

  1. Open Finplicity, and then click Task Workflow Manager. The form of Task Workflow Manager will appear. You will see the list of all workflows you saved by clicking the dropdown on the top of workflow manager. Click on the workflow you want to run/edit/rename/delete. In this example, click on “workflow_example.” You will see the list of tasks included in this workflow.

  2. (a) For running a workflow, click the “Run Workflow” button on the right. For example, you will get the following results for running “workflow_example.” Note that the data is imported task by task and displayed at selected locations.

(b) For editing a workflow by adjusting tasks, check the task or workflow you want to move and then click “Move Up” or “Move Down” on the right. If you no longer want a particular task or workflow, click the task or workflow you want to remove and click “Remove.” If you want to edit a task or a workflow in this workflow, check the task or workflow and click “Edit.” If you want to run some task or workflow in this workflow, check the task or workflow and click “Run tasks and workflows.” Do necessary changes as you want. Here I adjust the task orders by moving the task_workflow_manager_web_reader_example task up.

(c) For renaming a workflow or editing the description of a workflow, click the “Edit Workflow” button on the right. The popup window for naming a workflow will appear, as shown below.

Type the new name to the text box and click “Save.” You will see your renamed workflow in the workflow manager.

(d) For deleting a workflow, click the “Delete Workflow” button on the right. You will be led back to the task workflow manager with the previous workflow deleted.

FAQ#

  • Is there a difference between running a task in the form and running it in task manager?

No. They are equivalent if the content in the form is not changed.

  • Does the order in the workflow matter?

Yes. The tasks in your workflow will run one by one in the order you listed in your workflow.

  • If I rename a task, what will happen to the workflow including the task?

The tasks are recognized by their ID, not their names. Each task will get a unique ID when it is created, and the workflows will look for the ID, not the task names. For example, you created a task named Summary1, and you created a workflow named Workflow1, with Summary1 in the workflow. You then go to task workflow manager to rename Summary1 to Summary2. You will be able to run the workflow with the task successfully without any further actions needed. If you go to workflow manager and view Workflow1, you will see your Summary1 became Summary2 automatically.

  • What would happen if I created a workflow and then deleted a task included in the workflow?

The task will be automatically removed from the workflow.

  • Do I need to run a workflow before saving it, or save a workflow before running it?

Neither is required. Once you created a workflow, all the modification in the workflow will be automatically saved.

  • Can I name a workflow to a name of some other workflow that already exists in the workflow manager?

Yes. Like the tasks, workflows are recognized by their ID, not their names. You can create multiple workflows with the same name and use description to recognize them.

  • What is “Repeat While True” on the bottom of the workflow manager?