uwosh.northstar 0.5b2

Provide a better mechanism to create and manage workflows for Plone TTW.

Introduction

Our vision for uwosh.northstar is as a complete through-the-web (TTW) tool for generating workflow applications, ie. a custom content type combined with an assigned custom workflow.

Right now it adds a control panel entry Workflow Manager where you can access the workflow tool. It also adds a Workflow App Generator control panel entry where you can generate your workflow app products.

Creating content types is easily done by using Dexterity. The tool will simply dump your dexterity content type. If you can not use dexterity, the tool also supports using PloneFormGen as your modeling tool in which it’ll create a corresponding Archetype for the PloneFormGen form you’ve created.

uwosh.northstar is strictly for add-on product workflows and content types. By design, the tool cannot be used to edit default Plone workflows.

It provides all the functionality you need to manipulate workflows easily through the web, using an AJAX-powered interface and to generate the products of the content types and workflows you’ve created TTW.

Tested with

• Firefox

• Google Chrome

• Safari

• Opera

Check out the youtube video of the workflow manager in action. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-Cks1zeHXc

Installation

Just add uwosh.northstar to your buildout eggs sections and then install the “North * “ product in the add/remove products control panel. In order for the workflow application generator to work, you’ll need to also add ZopeSkel, PasteScript and Paste to the eggs section in your buildout. Additionally, you’ll need to activate PloneFormGen or Dexterity in your site.

Produced by Secret Laboratory Number 1 at UW Oshkosh.

Changelog

0.5b2 ~ April 15, 2010

• fixed zopeskel being imported when it shouldn’t be [Nathan Van Gheem]

• table row was omitted from workflow application generator table so it showed up in one row. [Nathan Van Gheem]

• generated product now generates a bit more correctly according to the archetype zopeskel template [Nathan Van Gheem]

• remove locales declaration from generated product configure.zcml since it doesn’t actually include a locales directory [Nathan Van Gheem]

• better documentation about enabled the workflow application generator functionality. [Nathan Van Gheem]

0.5b1 ~ April 14, 2010

• can now export products with content types generated TTW using PloneFormGen or Dexterity [Nathan Van Gheem]

0.4 ~ March 30, 2010

• tightened up everything [Nathan Van Gheem]

• fixed Plone 4 support [Nathan Van Gheem]

• better toolbar and layout [Nathan Van Gheem]

0.3 ~ March 25, 2010

• fixed bug for firefox where you’d get a “script stack space quota is exhausted” error if you had a lot of transitions and states. [Nathan Van Gheem]

• now slides to newly created transition or state [Nathan Van Gheem]

• added icon for control panel [Nathan Van Gheem]

• reorganization and a little better styles [Nathan Van Gheem]

• more transition properties [Nathan Van Gheem]

• added advanced mode checkbox [Nathan Van Gheem]

• js wasn’t working correctly for everything in non-firefox browsers [Nathan Van Gheem]

• added ability to assign workflows to a type [Nathan Van Gheem]

• improved uninstall profile [Nathan Van Gheem]

0.2 ~ March 22, 2010 r1942

• fixed error message showing up in two places [Nathan Van Gheem]

• better testing [Nathan Van Gheem]

• Now have mail actions [Nathan Van Gheem]

• various html output improvements [Nathan Van Gheem]

• added sanity check button [Nathan Van Gheem]

• handles deleting states, transitions and workflows in a smarter way [Nathan Van Gheem]

0.1 ~ March 17, 2010

• Initial Release