How to ensure a workflow will continue running after showing results in VertiGIS Studio Web apps

Problem

Workflows that use the Display Form activity will occupy space in the VertiGIS Studio Web app where they run.  If that space gets disrupted, it can cause the workflow to quit running abruptly.  The most common way this happens is when the workflow runs a Show Results activity (or a command like results.display-details), and the results occupy the same space in the app layout that the workflow was using.  In this scenario no error message will appear, but the workflow quits right after the Show Results activity, so downstream activities do not run.

The "Web GIS Default" app template from the File > New menu in Web Designer is susceptible to this issue.  In this template, the Workflow component is located in the same Panel as the Result List and Result Details components.

Example Solutions

These examples will use the "Web GIS Default" template app layout.  The same principles can be applied to other apps, but the exact steps may not be the same for them.

Option 1: Change the Order of the Components in the Panel

1. Open the app in Web Designer
2. Locate the Workflow component (named "Forms") in the Components List
3. Drag the Workflow component just above the Results List and Result Details components

This should allow a workflow to continue running after the results load.  But if the workflow has any additional Display Form activities after displaying results, they will close the results components when they run.

Option 2: Use Tabs for Workflow Forms and Results

With this option, the results won't disrupt the workflow, and the workflow won't disrupt the results.  Users will be able to freely switch between the results tab and workflow tab.

1. Open the app in Web Designer
2. In the Components list, minimize any items nested inside the Tabs component. This will help the readability of the Components List for the next steps.

3. Drag the Workflow component (named "Forms") up and nest it inside the "Tabs" component.  Place it somewhere below "Home", so that it does not become the first tab.

4. Use the "Add Component" button, and drag a new Panel component into the "Tabs" component. Place it somewhere below "Home", so that it does not become the first tab.
5. Drag the Result Details component into the new panel
6. Drag the Results List component into the new panel, and place it above Results Details

7. Configure the new Panel component:
   • Change its title to "Results".  This sets the name that users will see on the tab.
   • Turn off the "Show Maximize Button" toggle
   • Turn off the "Show Minimize Button" toggle

Note: the results tab's name is set by configuration in Web Designer, but the workflow tab's name gets set by the workflow itself.  It will use the title set in the Header element of the workflow's Display Form activities.