Emails alerts for workitems inInbox (RSWUWFML)

[Rickayzen, Alan]

Robin,
I've described RSWUWFML in my column in the latest edition of SAP Insider. This is free in the US so there's no excuse for not having a copy :-) - P&P for the rest of the world. If you've lent your copy to someone else then you can still access it at www.sapinsideronline.com . You have to register but it is still free.
 
I think I've answered most of your questions in that article, except for the attachments. There were problems with the attachments so we've disabled this option, even though in some versions it is still selectable in the report selection criteria. I agree that we need a note about this.
 
BTW, newer versions use a text-block (create your own in transaction SE61) instead of the 10 lines single lines of text. This gives you much more flexibility.
 
Kind regards,
 
Alan Rickayzen
 
WebFlow Product Manager
SAP AG
 
-----Original Message-----
From: Robin Sahasranam [mailto:Rsahasranam at worldbank.org]
Sent: Dienstag, 23. Juli 2002 21:27
To: SAP-WUG at MITVMA.MIT.EDU
Subject: Emails alerts for workitems inInbox (RSWUWFML)
 
 
Hello Workflow Experts,
 
I am testing (in 4.6c) the program RSWUWFML to send email alerts when workitems
are present in my inbox.  It basically works, in the sense that I do receive the
collective or individual emails.  However, I have a few questions, on the
options available for use in our scenario.
 
1.   Using the 'With executable attachment' option, does not show any executable
attachment or link. In fact the email text is the same, whether  'With
executable attachment'  or 'Without executable attachment is selected'. Is this
meant to launch SAP GUI or provide a link to the ITS Inbox? If so, what do I
have to configure to enable it? We currently have ITS installed, but do not use
the Web Inbox. Also we have not implemented the Notes-SAP Inbox.
 
2.   I am investigating this program, because some of our infrequent users would
like an email alert as soon as they have a new workitem in their Inbox. I do not
want to run this program for all users, especially for those who get several
items per day. It is impractical to schedule this job separately for every user
who wants this - the selection parameter does allow user selection, but only one
userid can be entered. I don't find much use for the collective email once a day
in our situation, as the emails carry no details about the workitem , are not
timely enough, if run once a day.
 
3.   The other practical problem, is that the users should not get repeated
email alerts for the same workitem. The only way I can see this is to schedule
this program with progressively incrementing timestamps. I would need an ABAP
program and custom table to hold the last timestamp used.
 
4.   I like the way automatic forwarding works for Office Documents. Is there a
similar service available for workitems, where a user can choose via private
settings, to receive email alerts whenever a new item shows up in the Inbox?
Basically, the user would directly set up the options, and it would work
automatically without scheduling the program  RSWUWFML.
 
5.   I would also like to hear how you use this program or other technique to
alert users of workitems. Thanks in advance for your  expertise and time to
respond to this.
 
Regards.
 
Robin Sahasranam
World Bank