Message Workflow Rules

Message rules are called from the user interface, for instance, by using <command type="workflowRule">.

Message rules can:

• retrieve records to be displayed in the view.
• prepare custom content, such as localized messages, to be displayed in the view.
• return application configuration parameters to the view.
• save records changed by the user.
• create new or delete existing records.
• send email notifications.
• create files.
• call third-party Web Services.

Because the view is blocked while the message rule is running, it is very important to make sure that message rules do not perform any long-running tasks, such as generating PDF reports with hundreds of pages. If the message rule must start a long-running operation, it should spin off a Job that will run in background, and immediately return to the view. The view will be able to obtain the Job status and results later, as needed.