Do I need Workflows if I want to...

[Sugar-Daddy]

Hello Knowledgeable SugarCRM users,

Newbie to SugarCRM, so this will seem like a strange question. First, a little background. We're using 5.1 CE, and we've already decided to upgrade to Pro. That is not the question. In Pro, however, there are what are called 'workflows', but in all the podcasts and reading I've done, this feature/functionality does not sound liek traditional workflow at all. It sounds more like conditional triggers, or user based activities/actions, and very little liek workflows-or at least the kind I need to know if Sugar can do.

What I need in the way of a workflow is a few things, but basically I can summarize like this kind of user experience:

1. The user is given a form to, lets say, enter a sales opportunity. The form is not a list of every possible field there could ever be. It has the basics, and lets say a field that asks whether it is domestic or international.

2. When the user saves the form's entries, the values chosen determine that the oppy is intl., and the specific country. Knowing this, the system looks up the specific restrictions for that kind of sale, such as terms, export restrictions, and several other steps/info needed because of this.

3. The user is now presented with a form that has many fields/sections visible based on the previous form's choices. The user fills these in, and you see where this is going...

So the idea is, what feature(s) of Sugar (or what versions) allow this kind of guided tour through screens/modules to dynamically ensure the correct data is asked for (some required, of course), so that I don't have a huge "New Opportunity" screen/form presented for every opportunity (what we have now)?

Mind you, the modules/forms/fields/sections need to be hidden until needed. Judgeing by the page-based way that SugarCRM renders it's forms.modules, Should I assume that on-page dynamics is also not the correct way?

By this, think web2.0/Ajax style, where there is 'code behind' the single page to make the single module/page react to the user's choices without having to save the form/module, and then have another page rendered. Again, this is not simply required fields.

I would very much appreciate any info/guidance/ideas on/for this kind of an approach, as my company really likes Sugar, but needs it to be a little smarter, as our reps cause the admins & sales support a lot of headaches with improperly filled in opportunities, and all the bad stuff doing so creates down the line.

My most sincere thanks in advance for your input.

[kbrill]

This doesnt sound like workflows but it does sound like conditional fields, you would not have to SAVE but when you select international some more fields would show up. Its new to 6.2 so it's not familiar to everyone yet but it sounds like it will do what you need it to do.

It would not be 2 forms it would be one form with fields hidden until certain dropdowns are selected to a certain value or something like that.

[Sugar-Daddy]

Kenneth,

Thank you for writing! It would be even better if the user could stay on the single form's page. I'll try to find an example of toggling the visible attribute of a field, or even section. I'd already looked for this kind of attribute but as I got no joy, I figured it had to be done via multiple modules/forms, workflows, or perhaps something painful!

Thanks again for the valuable pointer!