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Workflows in Windows SharePoint Services

This content is outdated and is no longer being maintained. It is provided as a courtesy for individuals who are still using these technologies. This page may contain URLs that were valid when originally published, but now link to sites or pages that no longer exist.

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 provides a robust, customizable work environment for users to create, collaborate, and store valuable business information. Windows SharePoint Services now enables you to attach custom business processes to these documents or list items.

Custom business processes are represented by workflows. A workflow is a natural way to organize and run a set of work units, or activities, to form an executable file representation of a work process. This process can control almost any aspect of an item in Windows SharePoint Services, including the life cycle of that item. The workflow is flexible enough to model both the system functions and human actions necessary for the workflow to complete.

Workflows can be as simple or complex as your business processes require. You can create workflows that the user initiates, or workflows that Windows SharePoint Services automatically initiates based on some event, such as when an item is created or changed.

Use the following links to learn more about developing custom workflows to control the life cycle of your documents.

In This Section

Introduction to Workflows in Windows SharePoint Services

Learn more about the conceptual architecture of workflows, including how the various technologies involved interact.

Workflow Development for Windows SharePoint Services

Learn how to develop workflows, including using the Visual Studio 2005 Designer for Windows Workflow Foundation and forms technologies such as Microsoft ASP.NET.

Workflow Object Model in Windows SharePoint Services Overview

Learn about the Microsoft.SharePoint.Workflow namespace, and how to programmatically associate, initiate, and modify workflows.