Feature request: CALL WORKFLOW statement in microflows

[engalar]

Feature Request

MDL microflows cannot call (start) a workflow. The CALL WORKFLOW statement is only supported inside workflow definitions (as a workflow activity), not inside microflows.

Use Case

A microflow creates an entity (e.g., OrderIssue) and needs to programmatically start the corresponding workflow based on business logic:

CREATE MICROFLOW OrderManagement.Tool_CreateIssue (
  $OrderNumber: String,
  $IssueType: String,
  $IssueDescription: String
)
RETURNS String AS $Result
BEGIN
  -- ... create OrderIssue entity ...

  -- This should work but doesn't:
  IF $IssueType = 'DeliveryDelay' THEN
    CALL WORKFLOW OrderManagement.WF_DeliveryDelay (WorkflowContext = $Issue);
  END IF;

  RETURN 'Issue created';
END;

Current Error

Syntax error: no viable alternative at input 'CALL WORKFLOW'

CALL WORKFLOW is parsed inside workflow definitions (e.g., ALTER WORKFLOW ... INSERT ... CALL WORKFLOW SubProcess) but rejected inside CREATE MICROFLOW ... BEGIN ... END.

Current Workaround

Created a Java Action that calls Core.workflows().start():

CREATE JAVA ACTION OrderManagement.StartWorkflowByName(
  WorkflowName: String NOT NULL,
  ContextObject: OrderManagement.OrderIssue NOT NULL
) RETURNS Boolean
AS $$
IContext context = getContext();
com.mendix.core.Core.workflows().start(context, WorkflowName, ContextObject.getMendixObject());
return true;
$$;

Then in the microflow:

$WfOk = CALL JAVA ACTION OrderManagement.StartWorkflowByName(
  WorkflowName = 'OrderManagement.WF_DeliveryDelay',
  ContextObject = $Issue
);

This works but requires a custom Java Action for something Studio Pro provides as a built-in microflow activity ("Call workflow").

Expected Syntax

-- Option A: Direct call (matches Studio Pro's "Call workflow" activity)
CALL WORKFLOW OrderManagement.WF_DeliveryDelay (WorkflowContext = $Issue);

-- Option B: With return value (workflow instance)
$WorkflowInstance = CALL WORKFLOW OrderManagement.WF_DeliveryDelay (WorkflowContext = $Issue);

Context

In Studio Pro, the "Call workflow" activity is a first-class microflow activity, alongside "Call microflow" and "Call Java action". MDL supports the latter two in microflows but not "Call workflow".

The CALL WORKFLOW statement already exists in the MDL grammar for workflow-to-workflow calls (sub-workflows). Extending it to microflows would complete the coverage.

Environment

• mxcli: 0.1.0
• Mendix: 11.6.4

[github-actions]

Issue Triage

Summary:
The user requests adding the CALL WORKFLOW statement to microflows in MDL so that workflows can be started directly from a microflow, mirroring the built‑in “Call workflow” activity in Studio Pro.

Checklist for feature request completeness

Required info	Present?	Details
Use case – why the feature is needed / problem it solves	✅	Describes needing to start a workflow after creating an entity, currently requiring a custom Java Action.
Proposed syntax or behavior (if applicable)	✅	Shows two options: direct call and call returning a workflow instance, matching Studio Pro’s activity.
Mendix version relevance (if version‑specific)	✅	Mentions Mendix 11.6.4 and notes the feature would apply to versions where the “Call workflow” microflow activity exists.

Conclusion:
All required information for a feature request is provided. Thank you for the clear and detailed issue!

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