Legacy Knowledge Base
Published Jul. 2, 2025

As an Administrator, I cannot add or modify a Workflow in a non-default Virtual Instance

Written By

Tímea Bihari

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Issue

  • I go to: Control Panel → Configuration → Virtual Instances
  • I create a new Virtual Instance
  • I log in to the new instance
  • I go to: Control Panel → Workflow
  • I try to modify the Single Approver workflow or add a new workflow
  • Result:
  • In Portal 6.2 and DXP 7.2, you have no option to add a new workflow or modify the existing one (the buttons don't appear)
  • In DXP 7.0 and 7.1, when you try to click 'Publish', an error message is displayed at the top of the screen ‘Error: An error occurred in the workflow engine.’

Environment

  • Liferay Portal 6.2 (Fix Pack 170)
  • Liferay DXP 7.0 (Fix Pack 82)
  • Liferay DXP 7.1 (Fix Pack 12)
  • Liferay DXP 7.2

Resolution

  • Users who publish (or edit) workflow definitions containing scripts can get access to any data within the reach of the JVM, such as data contained in a separate Virtual Instance of Liferay DXP itself.

  • Because of this far-reaching access, permission to create or edit workflow definitions is limited to Regular Administrators of the Default Virtual Instance.

  • For Liferay DXP 7.0+: We have added a System Setting with which you can provide this access to Administrators:

    1. Make sure you understand the access you’re granting these admins.
    2. Navigate to Control Panel → System Settings → Workflow → Workflow Definition.
    3. Check the box for the setting Allow Administrators to Publish and Edit Workflows.

 

  • For Liferay Portal 6.2: Add the following property to portal-ext.properties file:
    workflow.company.administrator.can.publish=true

Additional Information

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