Expiration in Schedules

You can set an expiration date and/or time for workflow tasks, subprocess task steps, and scheduled tasks.

An expiration is a visual indication about how much time is available to perform a workflow task (or a subprocess task step). Expirations determine the duration of a task or task step when a workflow or a subprocess is in a run-time state.

In a workflow instance, if a task or task step expires, you can still complete it. The entire process is not lost; however, the task or task step is logged as having timed out, and the workflow state changes and initiates an event that you can hook into. This event can also be used as a means of escalation. If required, you can then run the task or task step again. A running task is not interrupted if a task expires.

Example

During the execution of a task, one of the task steps expires because of an equipment maintenance issue. The task supervisor can, during the execution of the subsequent task steps, go back and complete or restart the expired task step when the employee and equipment are available to complete the task step.

AttributeValueDescription
Original Task/Task Step ExpirationSystem-definedDisplays the original expiration type and time configurations for the selected task or task step.
OverrideN/ASelect this check box to update the schedule.

Expiration Options

Note: The Absolute and Relative expiration types allow you to build an expression or perform a bind.
ActionValueDescription
NoneSystem-defined; Default selectionNo expiration is set for the selected item.
AbsoluteUser-definedSelect this option to define an exact date and time when this item expires. In the Duration field, select a date and time.
RelativeUser-definedSelect this option to provide a countdown timer to indicate how long this item has to complete. In the Duration field, you can set the number of days, hours, minutes, or seconds for this item to expire.
Tip: Insert a condition event to: provide the completion countdown, or ensure a condition is met to expire this item.
Relative: Condition EventUser-definedSelect this check box to configure a condition event for the item's relative time. Click the Configure Event link to configure the conditional event. For information, see Condition Events.