CodeActivity & general process

Question

I have several code activities, which  can be selected in workflow designer (these are exposed to the end users).

But the each of these code activities, must follow some generic logic which I want to define in a custom activity

e.g. (simplified)

if users adds code activity A, workflow should execute
   
   do while
code activity
       wait for bookmark
   check bookmark result and loop if necessary

how would i do this, without having to design this generic workflow over and over again in designer?
I just want the users to be able to drop a custom activity inside the designer and that it automatically follows the generic logic.

Answer 1

Hi,

You can create a configured instance of activity colletions by using your own ActivityTemplateFactory. The code looks like:

using System;
using System.Activities;
using System.Activities.Statements;

namespace Microsoft.Samples.IActivityTemplateFactory
{
    public sealed class MyFactory: System.Activities.Presentation.IActivityTemplateFactory
    {  

        public System.Activities.Activity Create(System.Windows.DependencyObject target)
        {
            return new DoWhile()
            {
                Body = new Sequence()
                {
                    Activities = {
                       new YourCodeActivity()
                    }
                }               
            };           
        }
        public MyFactory()
        {
        }    
    }
}

---

Leo Tang [MSFT]
MSDN Community Support | Feedback to us
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Answer 2

Will the whole structure (DoWhile..,Sequence,...) be visible in the designer?  I don't want to show the implementation (dowhile etc) in the designer, but I want one activity in the designer (mycodeactivity, which has it's own designer for custom properties and custom arguments), so the user does not have to bother with the implementation...

Answer 3

Hi,

->Will the whole structure (DoWhile..,Sequence,...) be visible in the designer?

Yes, the whole structure will be visible in the designer with ActivityTemplateFactory . If you don't want it visible, you'll need to create a custom activity which has its own designer and its own child activities. You can refer to the following sample:

Custom Composite using Native Activity

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd759031.aspx

---

Leo Tang [MSFT]
MSDN Community Support | Feedback to us
Get or Request Code Sample from Microsoft
Please remember to mark the replies as answers if they help and unmark them if they provide no help.