Using the TypeScript Workflow SDK with Web Applications

The Geocortex Workflow for Web Applications SDK consists of a TypeScript project that eases development of Workflow activities and custom form elements. It produces a Workflow activity pack that can be consumed by web applications that use Workflow.

Download

You can download the Workflow Activity SDK for TypeScript here.

Requirements

  • The latest LTS version of Node.js.
    • Run node -v in the terminal to confirm the version.
  • npm which is included with Node.

Setup

  1. Open the activity-sdk folder found in the SDK in your favorite IDE. We recommend using Visual Studio Code for the best experience.
  2. Run npm install in the terminal of this folder to install the project's dependencies.

Building

Run npm run build in the terminal to compile the TypeScript project.

  • The dist folder will contain the compiled activity pack output.
tip

Check out Implement Custom Activities for Web Applications to learn how to make activities for your activity pack.

Deployment

Deploying Workflow activities consists of two steps:

  1. Hosting the Workflow activity pack on a server accessible to the Geocortex Workflow Designer
  2. Making the Workflow activity pack known to Geocortex Workflow Designer and Workflow Applications by registering it as an ArcGIS item.

Host the Activity Pack

The dist folder produced by running npm run build can be directly hosted with the web server technology that is most appropriate for your use case, such as IIS. Activity packs must be hosted by a web server that supports SSL and CORS.

Server Requirements

note

If you sign in to Geocortex Workflow Designer using Portal for ArcGIS your server will need to allow CORS requests from your custom origin. For example, https://acme.apps.geocortex.com.

Hosting Workflow activity packs in this manner allows Geocortex Workflow Designer to read the list of custom activities and their metadata from the source files.

Development Web Server

For ease of development, this project includes an Express web server that supports SSL and is suitable for most development purposes.

To start the development web server and enable a compile-on-save watch task:

  1. Run npm start in the terminal to start the build and the development web server.
    • Note: You can press CTRL+C in the terminal to stop the watch and the development web server.
    • The development web server is only available while the start task is running.
    • The development web server is available at https://localhost:57999/ by default.
      • You can change the port by modifying .build/tsc.js. Edit the first line:
        var PORT = 57999;
    • The development web server serves the content of the dist directory.
    • The SSL certificate of the development web server is not valid. To work around this, do one of the following:
      • Open https://localhost:57999/ in a web browser and allow the invalid certificate as an exception.
      • Trust the .build/ca.crt file (add it to your Trusted Root Authority store).
      • Replace the .build/localhost.crt and .build/localhost.key files with a known valid certificate.
    • The development web server supports CORS requests from any origin by default.
note

As localhost is only accessible to your host machine, activity packs hosted in this manner will not be accessible when running Geocortex Workflow Designer on a different machine.

Register the Activity Pack

To make an activity pack available to workflow authors in Geocortex Workflow Designer you must create a special item in ArcGIS Online or Portal for ArcGIS that references it.

  1. Sign in to ArcGIS Online or Portal for ArcGIS.
  2. Go to My Content.
  3. Select Add Item > An application.
    • Type: Web Mapping.
    • Purpose: Ready To Use.
    • API: JavaScript.
    • URL: The URL to your activity pack.
      • Use https://localhost:57999/ for the development server.
    • Title: Your desired title.
    • Tags: Must include geocortex-workflow-activity-pack.
important

The activity pack will not be registered unless it includes the tag geocortex-workflow-activity-pack.

Sharing the Activity Pack

As a workflow author, you will see custom activities in Geocortex Workflow Designer from the activity packs you have registered. You will also see activity packs that have been shared with you via groups you are a member of.

To share an activity pack with other workflow authors in your organization share the ArcGIS item that represents the activity pack with a group that contains the target users.

note

You do not need to share activity packs with the end users of your applications that run workflows containing custom activities.

Next Steps

Implement a Custom Activity

Implement a custom activity for web applications

Get Started

Implement a Custom Form Element

Implement a custom form element for web applications

Get Started

Reference a Third Party Library

Reference a third party library in web applications

Get Started

Integrate the ArcGIS API for JavaScript into custom activities

Integrate the ArcGIS API for JavaScript into custom code

Get Started
Edit this page