---
sourceDocument: Australia ServiceNow AI Platform Capabilities
sourceDocumentLink: https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/r/de-DE/servicenow-platform

 Release :

    - australia

ft:locale :

    - de-DE

ft:publication_title :

    - Australia ServiceNow AI Platform Capabilities

ft:clusterId :

    - platcap

bundleId :

    - platcap

workflow :

    - Platform


---

# Generate workflow activity

# Generate workflow activity {#ariaid-title1}

* Freigeben Version: Australia
* 
* Aktualisiert 12. März 2026
* 
* ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 3 Minuten Lesedauer

The Generate activity immediately creates task or approval records from any task or approval activities placed after the Generate activity in the workflow path. These pre-generated tasks and approvals start when the task and approval activities are reached during flow execution. This allows a task to have a set of associated pre-generated sequential tasks or approvals, but still require them to be completed in order.{#r_Generate__wf-generate-shortdesc}
Hinweis:  
This activity is only available when the workflow runs on a table that extends Task.

By default, the workflow does not create any tasks or approvals until it reaches them in
the workflow.  
The Generate activity follows all transitions through the workflow to each activity. For each activity:

* If it is a [task activity](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/~ruvFXLIxlhgimSo6S3rCQ "Task activities create and modify workflow tasks."), creates the task and sets:
  * The State to Pending
  * The Expected Start Date
  * The Due Date

  {#r_Generate__ul_n54_syc_x4}  
  Hinweis:  
  Task activities run as the user whose actions complete the task the workflow was waiting for and advances the workflow.
* If it is an approval activity, creates the approvals and sets:
  * The approval State to Not Requested
  * The Expected Start Date
  * The Due Date

  {#r_Generate__ul_bxf_wyc_x4}  
  Hinweis:  
  Approval activities run as the user whose actions match the approve or reject conditions the workflow was waiting for and advances the workflow.
{#r_Generate__ul_elb_syc_x4}

Expected start dates and due dates are calculated based on the Expected Duration of all of the tasks and approvals between the
Generate activity and the activity being updated. In the case of a
branched path (between a Branch and Join
activity), the longer duration will be used for any post-branch activities.

The Generate activity can be used more than once, and any tasks or
approvals will be refreshed with updated information. This is useful in situations where the
list of approvers or other important information is still editable while the workflow is in
process and it may be necessary to update or correct the generated approvals or tasks.  
To exclude a set of activities from the Generate activity, select the Skip during generate check box on any condition and its transitions will not be followed during the generate process. By default, the following conditions have the Skip during generate check box selected:

* Rejected (for any of the approval activities)
* No condition of If activity
* Continue condition of Turnstile activity
* Incomplete condition of Join activity
{#r_Generate__ul_slf_2zc_x4}

## Input variables

Input variables determine the initial behavior of the activity.
{#r_Generate__table_xql_rnw_w4__entry__2}

| Field | Description |
|-|-|
| Generate approvals | If selected, approvals are created when running the Generate activity. If cleared, the approvals are used to compute their estimated duration, but no approvals are created. |
| Generate tasks | If selected, tasks are created when running the Generate activity. If cleared, the tasks are used to compute their estimated duration, but no tasks are created. |
[Tabelle : 1. Generate activity input variables]

{#r_Generate__table_xql_rnw_w4}

## States

The activity state tells the workflow engine what to do with the activity.{#r_Generate__table_jr2_15w_w4__entry__2}

| State | Description |
|-|-|
| Executing | The activity is executing. |
| Finished | The activity finished running. See the result value for the outcome of the activity. |
| Cancelled | This activity, or the workflow that contains this activity, was canceled. |
[Tabelle : 2. Generate activity states]

{#r_Generate__table_jr2_15w_w4}

## Example

Abbildung : 1. Generate workflow  
In this example, the following approvals are generated:

* Approval-2
* Approval-3
{#r_Generate__ul_ljs_t1d_x4}

Approval-4 is skipped since the Rejected condition of Approval-3 has
Skip during generate selected.  
Here is an example of using the Generate activity that describes the expected start and due dates:Abbildung : 2. Generate workflow start and due date  
In this example, if the Generate activity is run on Jan 1, 2016, the following expected start dates and due dates would be set for the generated tasks.{#r_Generate__table_ckh_jbd_x4__entry__4}

| Task | Expected Start Date | Reason | Due Date |
|-|-|-|-|
| Task 1 (1 day) | Jan. 1, 2016 |   | Jan. 2, 2016 |
| Task 2 (1 day) | Jan. 2, 2016 | Task 1 is 1 day | Jan. 3, 2016 |
| Task 3 (2 days) | Jan. 1, 2016 |   | Jan. 3, 2016 |
| Task 4 (1 day) | Jan. 3, 2016 | Task 3 is 2 days | Jan. 4, 2016 |
| Task 5 (1 day) | Jan. 4, 2016 | Task 4 ends the latest before the Join | Jan. 5, 2016 |
[ ]

{#r_Generate__table_ckh_jbd_x4}

Notice that Task 5 starts on Jan. 4, 2016 since the longest path (based on due dates) to
the Join is Task 3/Task 4.