How do I create a sequential workflow in visual studio to update a list column?

Question

I have list in SharePoint with a field that I want to auto-populate based on values of other fields in the row. I would normally use a calculated field but the calculated field doesn't have everything I need to do that. Therefore, instead I would like to use a workflow on the list that is triggered when an item is created/changed and that will set the value of my calculated field. I've already done this by creating the workflow through the SharePoint UI but I would now like to do this using visual studio for ease of deployment.

Answer 1

The event receiver is much better suited for your task. You need to create an event receiver and handle ItemAdding/ItemUpdating or ItemAdded/ItemUpdated events in synchronous mode. Workflow is more useful for long-running operations whti often some people interaction involved.

Answer 2

I personally would recommend doing this in an event receiver instead of a workflow. Visual Studio 2010 has a nice project template you can use if you have SharePoint 2010 - otherwise look into a VS plugin tool called WSP Builder. This link can provide you some insight on how to create the event receiver.

Answer 3

I'm assuming this is for SharePoint 2010.

Using SharePoint Designer 2010 you can create workflows and then export them for ease of deployment. A workflow this simple will be easier in SPD vs Visual Studio.

If you want to do it in VS, you'll need VS2010, installed on a box with SharePoint installed. You can then create a SharePoint workflow project, then create some actions and using custom code you can modify the columns accordingly. There are a load of great tutorials to walk you through this process online.