The Access Workflow Designer Databases

See Also

The Access Workflow Designer uses Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 for the storage and retrieval of information. There are two types of databases:

• The modSystem database stores the tables and information to support all team solutions.
  
  
• Solution databases (one for each team solution) store information about each specific team solution, including tables, stored procedures, and triggers required to run the solution, as well as the data the team solution tracks.

For information about how to expose the team solution database to an end user, see The Team Web Site.

The modSystem Database

Each of Access Workflow Designer server components installation includes a single SQL Server database that acts as the registry for the team solutions on the server. This special system database, named modSystem, is a repository for team templates and other system-level components, such as the User Directory. The modSystem database also stores meta data for all team solutions created on the server.

Initially, the modSystem database contains the Issue Tracking template. A team template defines a database and Web that can be used to create an instance of a team solution. The Issue Tracking template can be used to create instances of Issue Tracking team solutions. It can also be used as a starting point for creating new team solutions and even other templates. Unlike team templates, team solutions are not stored in the modSystem database. Instead, they are recorded (registered) in the modSystem database.

The Access Workflow Designer handles maintenance of the modSystem database. Do not directly modify any tables in the modSystem database.

Warning   Manually modifying the modSystem database is not recommended, because it can break current functionality in the team solution. Forward compatibility with future versions of Microsoft Office Developer cannot be guaranteed if you manually modify this database.

For more information about the modSystem database tables, see "System Database Tables" in the Reference section of the Access Workflow Designer Developer's Guide.

The Team Solution Database

A SQL Server database can support many applications, only some of which have anything to do with business processes. A team solution is a SQL Server database containing data and standard database objects (such as views, stored procedures, and tables) and workflow designer objects that enforce rules and actions on data processing.

A team solution database contains all the database tables necessary to run the team solution. The entire team solution database or a subset of all objects in the database may be replicated to clients for offline use.

The objects within a team solution database fall into two categories: system objects and user objects.

• System objects store information about the schema or structure of the team solution. This includes information about the database tables used by the solution, the relationships between columns in those tables, and information used to replicate data for offline use. The Access Workflow Designer uses the modSystem tables to define and control what is presented to the user when they access the team solution. The modSystem tables are automatically created and maintained by the Access Workflow Designer, so when changes are made to a team solution, the modSystem tables are updated accordingly.
  
  
• User objects are defined by the database developer and are organized hierarchically. Every team solution has at least one main user table that is the top-level or root of the hierarchy. It may also have one or more detail user tables that contain related information. For example, an Issue Tracking solution might have a main table that stores issues and a detail table that stores multiple comments related to each issue. Most simple applications have only a single main user table, however more complex applications may require two or more main tables and numerous detail tables.
  
  
• The Access Workflow Designer uses a third type of object, workflow-system tables, internally. For more information about workflow-system tables, see "Solution Database Tables" in the Reference section in the Access Workflow Designer Developer's Guide.