{"id":82721,"date":"2021-10-07T17:34:21","date_gmt":"2021-10-07T08:34:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/support.questetra.com\/?p=82721"},"modified":"2026-04-14T15:19:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T06:19:16","slug":"service-task-calculation-datetime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/support.questetra.com\/en\/developer-blog\/service-task-calculation-datetime\/","title":{"rendered":"Let\u2019s Set a Deadline"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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When creating a workflow App you can set the date and time a Task will occur and the deadline date. For example, consider a business trip request; it may be a little inconvenient if the Task \u201cReport the content of the business trip\u201d arrives immediately after the business trip request is approved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are still a few days until my business trip, will the notification of the Content Report Task stay in My Tasks until then?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may also want a deadline for submitting business trip reports. You can tell employees by group chat, email, or verbally that they should submit the report by a certain date, but that\u2019s not very efficient. If you set a deadline for the task itself Questetra BPM Suite will automatically manage the deadline. In this tutorial, we will create an App that handles a series of workflows related to business trips by using Timer Intermediate Events<\/strong> and deadlines for Update Data<\/strong> and Human Tasks<\/strong>. By designing an App using these functions effectively, you can control the creation of tasks and their deadlines according to a schedule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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However, this time we will focus on how to control the progress of tokens according to the date and time, so we will just create a simple Travel Request\/Report App. When actually using it for business it will be necessary to devise conditional branching on the workflow diagram, and to configure the User settings in the Swimlanes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advance Preparation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To create the App please refer to the Travel Request App described in the Get Started<\/a> guide. Create a new App in accordance with the contents of chapter 2<\/a> and chapter 3<\/a> up to the section \u201cSettings related to input values\u201d. Chapters 1<\/a> and 2 are almost independent in terms of contents, but the User \/ Organization registration information prepared in chapter 1 is also used in chapter 2 and thereafter. For Users and Organizations, read as appropriate according to your environment, or prepare new ones by reading chapter 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Workflow Diagram<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Edit the App you created so that it looks like the diagram below. The round icon labelled \u201cBusiness Trip Start\u201d is the Timer Intermediate Event. You can find this in the palette of Intermediate Events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In order to make the App we require it is necessary to set the Human Tasks, so please set the App up like this for the time being. We will touch on the Confirmation Task branch later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Data Items<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Set up 7 Data Items as below. Let\u2019s re-use the Data Items already set.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Data Item Name<\/strong><\/td>Data-type<\/strong><\/td>Field name<\/strong><\/td>Remarks<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
Title<\/td>String-type \/ single line<\/td><\/td><\/td><\/tr>
Business trip start date<\/td>Date-type \/ Y\/M\/D<\/td>q_trip_start<\/td>\u201cDate from\u201d in \u201cYour first step\u2026\u201d<\/td><\/tr>
Business trip end date<\/td>Date-type \/ Y\/M\/D<\/td>q_trip_end<\/td>\u201cDate until\u201d in \u201cYour first step\u2026\u201d<\/td><\/tr>
Applicant<\/td>User-type \/ Search select box<\/td>q_trip_user<\/td><\/td><\/tr>
Request details<\/td>String-type \/ multiple lines<\/td>q_purpose<\/td>\u201cContents\u201d in \u201cYour first step\u2026\u201d<\/td><\/tr>
Amount<\/td>Numeric-type<\/td>q_budget<\/td><\/td><\/tr>
Report deadline<\/td>Date-type \/ Y\/M\/D<\/td>q_report_deadline<\/td><\/td><\/tr>
Report content<\/td>String-type \/ multiple lines<\/td>q_report<\/td><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Data Editing Permission<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Set as follows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/td>Request Travel<\/strong><\/td>Approve<\/strong><\/td>Report<\/strong><\/td>Confirmation<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
Title<\/td>Editable <\/i><\/span><\/td>Display only <\/i><\/span><\/td>Display only <\/i><\/span><\/td>Display only <\/i><\/span><\/td><\/tr>
Business trip start date<\/td>Editable <\/i><\/span><\/td>Display only <\/i><\/span><\/td>Display only <\/i><\/span><\/td>Display only <\/i><\/span><\/td><\/tr>
Business trip end date<\/td>Editable <\/i><\/span><\/td>Display only <\/i><\/span><\/td>Display only <\/i><\/span><\/td>Display only <\/i><\/span><\/td><\/tr>
Applicant<\/td>Editable <\/i><\/span><\/td>Display only <\/i><\/span><\/td>Display only <\/i><\/span><\/td>Display only <\/i><\/span><\/td><\/tr>
Request details<\/td>Editable <\/i><\/span><\/td>Display only <\/i><\/span><\/td>Display only <\/i><\/span><\/td>Display only <\/i><\/span><\/td><\/tr>
Amount<\/td>Editable <\/i><\/span><\/td>Display only <\/i><\/span><\/td>Display only <\/i><\/span><\/td>Display only <\/i><\/span><\/td><\/tr>
Report deadline<\/td>No display <\/i><\/span><\/td>No display <\/i><\/span><\/td>No display <\/i><\/span><\/td>No display <\/i><\/span><\/td><\/tr>
Report content<\/td>No display <\/i><\/span><\/td>No display <\/i><\/span><\/td>Editable <\/i><\/span><\/td>Display only <\/i><\/span><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBusiness Trip Start\u201d Settings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Timer Intermediate Event<\/strong> is an object that pauses the token mid-flow until a specified date and time. By inserting this event in the middle of the workflow diagram you can pause the Process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This time, we will use the Timer Intermediate Event to prevent the Report Task from occurring until the business trip begins. Set the timer to \u201cDatetime specified by a data item\u201d in the Settings window and select the Data Item \u201cBusiness trip start date\u201d. With this, the token will stay on \u201cBusiness Trip Start\u201d until the date which has been entered at the Request Travel Task.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After the \u201cBusiness trip start date\u201d, the token proceeds to the Report Task. This prevents the Report Task from entering the applicant\u2019s My Tasks list before the trip begins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To specify the timer with a Data Item, either of the Date-type or Datetime-type is used. When the Date-type is used like in this example, the timer starts operating at 00:00.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDeadline Calculation\u201d Settings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We will use the Update Data<\/strong> to calculate the deadline date to be set in the Report Task. With Update Data you can calculate numbers, characters, and date\/time. For example, if you want the Report Task to be completed within 7 days after the Business trip end date<\/strong> it is necessary to calculate that date + 7 days<\/strong> for the deadline of the Human Task described later. The formula looks like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#q_trip_end.addDays(7)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s save the calculated date in the Date-type Data Item \u201cReport deadline\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For functions that can be used to calculate Date and Datetime-type Data Items, see the following page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n