SharePoint Workflow: Quickly cancel SharePoint workflows using PowerShell

In this SharePoint Workflow tutorial, we will learn about how to cancel SharePoint workflows using the PowerShell script.

Business Scenario: SharePoint Workflow

Your farm has lots of sites and each site has lots of list workflows, there could be scenarios where we could see there are many workflow instances that are in a running state however, the status is error out or there are many long-running workflow instances that are running over the years, for both the scenario if we try to cancel those workflows which will be a hectic task. So, we can automate this process by running this script which will cancel all running workflows in SharePoint or it will check the error out workflow then the script will cancel those said workflows.

Cancel SharePoint workflow using PowerShell

#The below script is used to cancel all error out running workflow using the PowerShell script.
cls

$PSshell = Get-PSSnapin "Microsoft.SharePoint.PowerShell" -ErrorVariable err -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
if($PSshell -eq $null)
{
Add-PSSnapin "Microsoft.SharePoint.PowerShell"
}

$fileName = "CancelWorkflowReport"
#'yyyyMMddhhmm yyyyMMdd
$enddate = (Get-Date).tostring("yyyyMMddhhmmss")
#$filename = $enddate + '_VMReport.doc'
$logFileName = $fileName +"_"+ $enddate+"_Log.txt"
$invocation = (Get-Variable MyInvocation).Value
$directoryPath = Split-Path $invocation.MyCommand.Path

$directoryPathForLog=$directoryPath+"\"+"LogFiles"
if(!(Test-Path -path $directoryPathForLog))
{
New-Item -ItemType directory -Path $directoryPathForLog
#Write-Host "Please Provide Proper Log Path" -ForegroundColor Red
}
#$logPath = $directoryPath + "\" + $logFileName

$logPath = $directoryPathForLog + "\" + $logFileName

$isLogFileCreated = $False

function Write-Log([string]$logMsg)
{
if(!$isLogFileCreated){
Write-Host "Creating Log File..."
if(!(Test-Path -path $directoryPath))
{
Write-Host "Please Provide Proper Log Path" -ForegroundColor Red
}
else
{
$script:isLogFileCreated = $True
Write-Host "Log File ($logFileName) Created..."
[string]$logMessage = [System.String]::Format("[$(Get-Date)] - {0}", $logMsg)
Add-Content -Path $logPath -Value $logMessage
}
}
else
{
[string]$logMessage = [System.String]::Format("[$(Get-Date)] - {0}", $logMsg)
Add-Content -Path $logPath -Value $logMessage
}
}

#######The below function cancel all running workflow from the given site and list/library.############################

function CanCelAllWorkflow()
{
param
(
[Parameter(Mandatory=$true)] [string] $SiteURL,
[Parameter(Mandatory=$true)] [string] $ListName

)

#Site URL
$myWeb = Get-SPWeb $SiteURL
#List Name
$myList = $web.Lists[$ListName]

# Iterate through all Items and all Workflows on Items
foreach ($oneItem in $myList.Items)
{
foreach ($wf in $oneItem.Workflows)
{
#Cancel Workflows
[Microsoft.SharePoint.Workflow.SPWorkflowManager]::CancelWorkflow($wf)
}
}

}

 

#######The below function cancel all running workflow from the given site and list/library based on the error condition.############################

function CancelAllErrorOutWorkflow()
{

param
(
[Parameter(Mandatory=$true)] [string] $SiteURL,
[Parameter(Mandatory=$true)] [string] $ListName

)

#Site URL
$myWeb = Get-SPWeb $SiteURL
#List Name
$myList = $myWeb.Lists[$ListName]

# Iterate through all Items and all Workflows on Items
foreach ($oneItem in $myList.Items)
{
foreach ($wf in $oneItem.Workflows)
{

if($wf.InternalState -match 'Error')
{
#Cancel Workflows
[Microsoft.SharePoint.Workflow.SPWorkflowManager]::CancelWorkflow($wf)
}
}
}

}

####################Testing - calling the function########################################################

try
{

CancelAllErrorOutWorkflow "https://yoursiteURL" "YourListName"

$message="The CancelAllErrorOutWorkflow execution has been completed successfully."
Write-Host $message -BackgroundColor Green

}
catch
{
$ErrorMessage = $_.Exception.Message +"in the CancelAllErrorOutWorkflow execution script!: "
Write-Host $ErrorMessage -BackgroundColor Red
Write-Log $ErrorMessage
}
####################Testing - calling the function ends here####################################

Summary: Cancel SharePoint Workflow using PowerShell

Thus, in this article, we have learned about how to cancel SharePoint workflows using the PowerShell script.

See Also: SharePoint Workflow

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About Post Author

SP Maven

As a SharePoint and Power Platform Maven, my greatest joy comes from sharing my expertise with colleagues, friends, and the tech community, helping them navigate the ever-evolving world of technology and guiding them through the dynamic landscape of modern technology.

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