Adding New Data Types: Overview

You add new data types (also called package types) to Content Server if you want to include new types of information in the work packages that accompany your workflows. By default, work packages can contain three data types: attachments, attributes, and comments. However, you can create a data type for any new type of information that you want to add to a work package.

Adding new data types to Content Server also lets you customize the Content Server interface. For example, if the work packages that you include with your workflows usually contain many attributes, you can create a data type that creates the attributes and groups them on tabs in the Content Server interface. This makes it easy for workflow participants to locate and use the attributes in the work package.

You add new data types to Content Server by orphaning three objects:

• The WFMain:WFRoot:WFObjectTypes:WFDataTypes object is the API object for the task type.

• The WebWFP:WebWFPRoot:WFPackage object controls the information required by the Workflow Designer to add the data type to a workflow map and to support the transport capability of Content Server.

• The WebWork:WebWorkRoot:WFPackage object controls the operation of the data type in executing workflows.