In SharePoint Designer 2010 I have discovered that this activity does not activate when the workflow you are calling is a reusable workflow that is associated to a specific content type. It only works if you are calling a list workflow or a reusable workflow that is associated to “all” content types.
A possible workaround is to use the “copy and modify” function to copy the workflow and then associate to “all” content types. Hope this helps someone, took me a while to work out what was going on!
http://sharepointslade.wordpress.com/2012/12/09/start-another-workflow-spd-workflow-activity/

I want to do this exact same thing in SharePoint Designer 2010. Is there an update or will this same project work in 2010? Thanks.

I am using Sharepoint Designer 2007 and have tried many different security settings etc. and different users within the Sharepoint server settings with no success. I am aware that the System Account that assigned to the application pool has to be different than that user to which I am logged into Sharepoint with. The steps to reproduce the problem is this:

1.) List one is called "New Employee" and an item is manually created by a user.
2.) When an item is created in the "New Employee" list, a new item is automatically created in the "Task" list which collects data from the user.
3.) If the data collected equals a specific value then I use the "Start Another Workflow" method to start another workflow called "Navision Task".
4.) The "Navision Task" workflow is started within the "Task" list.
5.) There is another workflow running at the same time that starts automatically if a new item is created in the "Task" list, and will send an email out if the content type is "Navision Task".

The issue is that the workflow mentioned in step 5 above is occuring only when the item in step 2 is created, but does not run again when the item in Step 4 is created and no errors are reported. Also, the task that is created in step 4 states that it was created by the "System Account". I have also applied the following potential fixes to no avail:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/947284/en-us
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;953289

Any assistance is much appreciated. Thanks.

I figured out why my SPDActivities weren't working: Activate them in the CA - Web Application Features....duh.

Hi all, for users having issue with the declarative start issue, please read up on it here. I did modify the source for this so that we're specifying which account we want to start the workflow under. However, you can essentially achieve the same thing by modifying the app pool identity for your site to another domain account. Check out my detailed post here: http://blog.qumsieh.ca/2011/05/03/sharepoint-designer-2007-workflows-system-account-and-declarative-starts/. Again, I couldn't modify the source, because we've hard coded our account in there. If anyone is still unclear on how to fix this issue, please contact me directly and I'll assist you.

@maddehaan ok i'll post it today. sorry for the delay, i didn't see this until now. I ran into the issue again today for a client, so I've got to apply the same fix.

I was able to make this work by doing the following:
- Go to "Settings > Workflow Settings > Remove a Workflow" from the Form Library / Doc Library / List menu
- Delete all versions of the workflow you're trying to start with "Start Another Workflow"
- Re-publish the workflow from SharePoint Designer.

Anyway, installed the package, activated the features, can click the items in the list, but nothing happens. Possibly doesn't work on WSS 3.0?

@shereenqumsieh, why not post the solution as everyone else has done? this is an opensource initiative.

Hi all,

I have a fix for this if anyone is unable to get this working post SP1, I was running into the declarative workflow errors when starting Workflow B from Workflow A in the same list. If anyone is interested in fix, please contact me.

In trying to launch "Workflow B" from within "Workflow A" using Start Another Workflow, I get a ULS error that says "Declarative workflows cannot automatically start if the triggering action was performed by System Account". I don't see a way of changing the credentials of Start Another Workflow. Has anyone here found a workaround for this?

Microsoft.SharePoint.SPException: Workflows cannot be started on this document because it is currently being edited. Does anyone have a answer to this. I need to use "start another workflow because i need the workflow/system account to access secure list. The problem is when a multiple submissions are done at the same time, i get a stop error as indicated above. Out of the box WSS works wiith multiple instants of a workflow being initiated as it appears, this tool does not. any help would be apreciative.

For those of you having troubles getting Workflow B to start, bear this discovery in mind: It appears that changes to an item made by Workflow A do not commit until either a commit point is reached (such as the Pause) or Workflow B starts succesfully and, itself, reaches a commit point. Thus, if Workflow B is reliant on a value in an item wherein that value is set by Workflow A, you're going to have problems because the item won't yet have the value set. Our Workflow A kept erroring with description "Error updating a list item" and outcome "Unknown error" followed by an immediate seccond error of "An error has occured in Workflow A." I added a Pause in Workflow B to create a commit point and everything started working normally again.

How does one set an instantiation variable when starting another workflow? I need to set some date values to null/blank, and the only way I have found to do this with SPD is to create an instantiation variable and leave it blank. This does not work for a standard workflow variable. Any ideas?

Start Another Workflow across sites. Any ideas? I'm staring a workflow on site A but I need to pass values to workflow on site B. I just don't know how to set location for workflow on site B

"Start Another Workflow" does not work.

I do the following in my workflow (named WorkFlow A) which is tied to List A:

1) Log a message to the Workflow History List
2) Start Another Workflow on List A, named WorkFlow A (effectively creating a loop)

I then create a new item associated with List A and the workflow fires. A message is logged to the WorkFlow History List..However, I would expect two messages to be logged since I have made a call to Start Another Workflow.

Does anybody have a solution to this problem?

Thanks.

I keep getting stuck at the actual install, stating "Could not find the specified solution file 'DP.Sharepoint.Workflow.wsp'. I know the Install notes state to access CA->AM->Manage Web App, but I don't have an option to activate any features. So I tried to just copy the file over to my SP Template\LCID\Workflow folder, but still no luck. Can anyone help me out?

Thanks.

I'm having the same issue "I have installed and activated the software as a feature in my web application. The new actions show up in SPD, but when I attempt to add them to a workflow, they are not added...it is as if I didn't select anything. Any thoughts as to why this might be happening?"

I've activated the feature, this used to work at one point. Now I can add any other custom action except Move ListItem. When i click to add it, nothing happens. Doesn't add it in the branch.
thanks

pjcolbeck,

you need to activate the feature on the site that you wish to use the action along with.

I have installed and activated the software as a feature in my web application. The new actions show up in SPD, but when I attempt to add them to a workflow, they are not added...it is as if I didn't select anything. Any thoughts as to why this might be happening?

How define property in Sharepoint Designer for start anower workflow?

I am define how can, and when start workflow in log view:
System.ArgumentException:
в Microsoft.SharePoint.SPListItemCollection.GetItemById(Int32 id)
в DP.Sharepoint.Workflow.StartAnotherWorkflow.<>c__DisplayClass2.<Execute>b__0()
в Microsoft.SharePoint.SPSe

As with a number of other users, I find this only fires the original version of a workflow, not subsequent versions.

How do we get the latest version of a workflow to fire? Cheers...

I've also found that the Start Workflow action only starts the 1st version of the created workflow. If anyone has found a way to force the action to use the current workflow, please post your solution. This could be a really powerful action allowing almost state machine type functionality w/o VS.

SPD has a built-in activity called "Send an Email" and applied "User who created current item" in the To: field . As my approval workflow gets approved/rejected, I send an email with a short message. I haven't figured out how to create links back to the List item, but I'm working on that.

"Instead, I'm having to customize the workflow in SPD to kick off e-mails to the originators."

how do you do that?

The problem with starting a workflow as System Account is that person adding a document that assigns a task loses the ability to track the workflow. System Account instead receives the notifications. So they aren't notified that their Item is in workflow and if it was approved/rejected. Instead, I'm having to customize the workflow in SPD to kick off e-mails to the originators. Of course, when the users are viewing My Tasks, they don't see anything because they didn't trigger the workflow that assigns tasks.

I need to subscribe to this project so I can be alerted when updates are made to these great Activities!

The problem is that the workflow starts with the user account system. How do I start with the user who created the item?

i can't find this workflows in my own spd how can i find them?

It seems that the "Start another workflow" action starts the first version of the worklow given by name.
If you change the workflow in sharepoint designer it will create a new version on your site, but the action will still start the previous one!

to respond to kpinhack's comments:
1. in order to get a list of workflows for this activity one would have to extend sharepoint designer (vs WSS's list of avail. custom activities). If you know of a way to do it please let me know.
2. When you modify a list item value in SPD workflow, the change is not actually made until the workflow is complete and the transaction is commited. That is why you are not seeing the changes in the workflow that you start

The "Start Another Workflow" don't work! Anyone? Thanks

it works if you type in the name of the wf you would like to start from current wf. There is a drop down list but it does not work.

Yes, "Start Another Workflow" does start the named workflow (at least in the Release 0.4.0).
I've got 2 remarks:
- why does one have to type the name of the workflow to start ( why no drop-down list ? )
- when i change a value in one workflow and then start another workflow, the other workflow does not see the changed values

Have you actually gotten the Start Another Workflow to work? How? I tried repeatedly to use this action option and the designer just does not deliver....?