Custom Workflow Actions: Structure of the .ACTIONS file

When you create a custom workflow activity, you need to create a so-called .ACTIONS file. But a very common questions to beginners is What is the schema of that XML file? In this article I would provide an overview of the .ACTIONS file's structure and some useful documentation links. A. Structure of the .ACTIONS file The following sketch displays the elements contained in the Workflow Actions Schema. Each node links to the corresponding element's documentation page on MSDN. WorkflowInfo Element | |__Conditions Element |.....| |.....|__Default Element |.....| |.....|__Condition Element | |__Actions Element ......| ......|__Default Element ......| ......|__Action Element ............| ............|__RuleDesigner Element ............|.....| ............|.....|__FieldBind Element ............|.....| ............|.....|__Option Element ............| ............|__Parameters Element ............ .....| ............ .....|__Parameter Element B. Useful Links Workflow Actions Schema Overview http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb897626.aspx .ACTIONS File Example http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb897811.aspx Actions Schema Reference http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb897833.aspx Out-of-the box Workflow Actions http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb897644.aspx Out-of-the box Workflow Conditions http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb897890.aspx