Through the Category field in the Workflow Code file, you can create an association between a workflow category and a workflow code. This means that when you assign a workflow code to a workflow or form letter, IQ automatically associates any categories linked to it to that workflow or form letter as well.
An example of the way in which the association between codes and categories might work with academy nominations is as follows. You would create a workflow category code called ACADEMY, and you would code all of the members of the Academy Selection Committee as Agency Contacts with this workflow category. Then, through the workflow code file, you would link the ACADEMY category to the workflow codes for your individual academies (USNA, USAFA, and so forth). You would code all contacts at the Naval Academy, Air Force Academy, etc. with the appropriate workflow code (USNA, USAFA).
The end result of all this coding would be that when you create a workflow for an academy applicant, for example the Naval Academy, and assign the USNA code to that workflow, both your selection committee members and Naval Academy contacts would be attached to the workflow and available for correspondence. (The Naval Academy contacts&emdash; as a result of assigning the USNA code to the workflow and the selection committee because the ACADEMY category is linked to the USNA code.) Whenever you assign a workflow code that is associated with the ACADEMY category, all People records associated with both the code and the category are available for correspondence. Additionally, all form letters associated with both of these codes are available.
One advantage of using category coding is that it saves time. In the above example, you do not have to code every Selection Committee member with all the academy workflow codes&emdash;you simply assign a single category (ACADEMY) to each member’s People record and link all the academy workflow codes to that category. This is true for form letters as well. If you use one letter to initially respond to all academy applicants, assign the ACADEMY contact code to it instead of all the individual academy workflow codes.
Note: The Category field is also available for Workflow Status Codes. This allows you to identify which Status codes should appear for each workflow template so that when you close, for example an Academy workflow, the Close Status list only contains the codes that are associated with the Academy template.