Workflow event-specific functions

reference australia Updated Sep 10, 2026 4 min read r_WorkflowEventSpecificFunctions.md
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There are several functions that relate specifically to workflow events.

Function Description Purpose Use Thread Source
registerForEvent (eventName) Function in the workflow environment that writes events represented as strings to the wf_executing.registered_events field. The workflow events are just strings. When an activity that has registered for an event executes, a comma delimited set of events is stored with the Workflow Executing Activity [wf_executing] record. When the event is triggered in the workflow context, the wf_executing table looks for all executing records that contain the string that represents the event in the wf_executing.registered_events field The global variable workflow that is available to all Workflow Activity [wf_activity] records is the source of the call. For example, from inside a Run Script activity, a designer can write: workflow.registerForEvent('myEventName'); Current thread, current mutex Global variable workflow
unRegisterForEvent (eventName) Function in the workflow environment that removes a string value representing an event that has been written to the wf_executing.registered_events field. The workflow events are just strings that are written to the wf_executing.registered_events field. When an activity unRegisters for an event, the comma delimited set of events stored with the Workflow Executing Activity [wf_executing] record is searched, and if that string is found, it is removed. The global variable workflow that is available to all Workflow Activity [wf_activity] records is the source of the call. For example, from inside a Run Script activity, a designer can write: workflow.unRegisterForEvent('myEventName'); Current thread, current mutex Global variable workflow
fireEvent (eventName) Function in the workflow environment that examines the contents of the wf_executing.registered_events field, comparing its contents to the eventName passed in. The workflow events are just strings that are written to the wf_executing.registered_events field. When fireEvent(eventName) is called by a workflow activity, the workflow engine queues up any executing records that contain the string in the registered field. The global variable workflow that is available to all Workflow Activity [wf_activity] records is the source of the call. For example, from inside a Run Script activity, a designer can write: workflow.fireEvent('myEventName'); Current thread, current mutex Global variable workflow
fireEvent (eventRecord, eventName) Function in the workflow environment that sends an event to a specific Workflow Executing Activity [wf_executing] record. The eventRecord is a GlideRecord of the type wf_executing. This event call expects an onMyEvent event handler in the activity represented in the event record (Workflow Executing Activity [wf_executing] table). When fireEvent(eventRecord, eventName) is called by a workflow activity, the workflow engine queues up the specific executing record with that event and passes the event into the activity definition for the on<eventName> handler to manage. This event is queued up in its own mutex, so the current queue completes before this event is processed. The workflow script include contains the call for this. For example, from inside a Run Script activity, a designer can write: var w = new Workflow(); w.fireEvent(executing, eventName); Current thread, current mutex Workflow script include
fireEvent (eventRecordSysId, eventName) Function in the workflow environment that sends an event to a specific Workflow Executing Activity [wf_executing] record. The eventRecordSysId is the sys_id of a GlideRecord of the type wf_executing. This is the same as the fireEvent above, except that it accepts an ID and returns the Workflow Executing Activity [wf_executing] record. The Workflow script include contains the call for this. For example, from inside a Run Script activity, a designer can write: var w = new Workflow(); w.fireEvent(executing, eventName); Current thread, current mutex Workflow script include
fireEvent (eventRecordSysId, eventName, optionalJSONObject) Function in the workflow environment that sends an event to a specific Workflow Executing Activity [wf_executing] record. The eventRecordSysId is the sys_id of a GlideRecord of the type wf_executing. This is the same as the fireEvent above, except that it accepts a JSON object as a third parameter. This object can specify any data expressible as JSON. You can also specify additional functionality when creating a workflow activity. The Workflow script include contains the call for this. For example, from inside a Run Script activity, a designer can write: var w = new Workflow(); w.fireEvent(executing, eventName, JSONObject); Current thread, current mutex Workflow script include
broadcastEvent (contextId, eventName) Function in the workflow environment that sends an event to all currently running Workflow Executing Activity [wf_executing] records in a specified context, regardless of their state. This is the same as the fireEvent above, except that it accepts an ID and returns the Workflow Executing Activity [wf_executing] record. The Workflow script include contains the call for this. For example, from inside a Run Script activity, a designer can write: var w = new Workflow(); w.broadcastEvent(contextId, eventName); Current thread, current mutex Workflow script include
broadcastEvent (eventName) Function in the workflow environment that sends an event to all currently running Workflow Executing Activity [wf_executing] records in the current context, regardless of their state. This should not be confused with broadcastEvent above. This event is only available to current Workflow Executing Activity [wf_executing] records. This is available only through the global workflow variable of the current context. The following is an example of its use from within an activity definition's script: workflow.broadcastEvent(eventName) Current thread, current mutex Global variable workflow

Parent Topic:Workflow events in the base system

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