Workflow Basics

Automate actions with the visual workflow editor.

Workflows let you automate actions when events occur in your forms. Send emails, update values, generate PDFs, call extension actions, and more - all without writing code.

What Are Workflows?

A workflow is an automated process that runs when triggered by an event. Workflows are visual — you build them by connecting triggers and steps on a canvas.

Workflow Structure

Trigger → Step → Step → Step → (End)
                ↘ Step → (End)

Each workflow has:

• One or more Triggers - Events that start the workflow
• Multiple Steps - Actions to perform
• Connections - Links between steps

Creating a Workflow

Open the Workflow Editor

1. Go to your form in the builder
2. Click the Workflows tab
3. Click Add Workflow
4. The visual editor opens

Add a Trigger

1. Click Add Trigger on the canvas
2. Select a trigger type (e.g., “Form Submitted”)
3. Configure trigger options
4. The trigger node appears

Add Steps

1. Click the + button on a trigger or step
2. Select a step type
3. Configure the step
4. Connect to more steps as needed

Save and Publish

Workflows are part of the form version:

1. Click Save to save your draft
2. Publish the form version to activate workflows

Workflow Canvas

Navigation

• Pan: Click and drag the canvas
• Zoom: Scroll or use zoom controls
• Select: Click nodes to select
• Multi-select: Shift+click or drag box

Nodes

Nodes represent triggers and steps:

• Trigger nodes: Blue, starting points
• Step nodes: Gray, actions to perform
• Connections: Lines between nodes

Editing Nodes

Click a node to:

• View/edit configuration
• See input/output information
• Delete the node

Connections

Creating Connections

1. Hover over a node’s output port
2. Drag to another node’s input
3. Release to create connection

Connection Types

Multiple Connections

A step can connect to multiple downstream steps:

• All connected steps execute
• Use conditions to branch

Execution Flow

Execution Timing

Workflow steps run shortly after the trigger fires:

1. Trigger fires
2. Each step executes in order
3. Entry is updated with results
4. Process completes

Email delivery may continue asynchronously after the workflow records the email action.

Execution Context

During execution, workflows can access:

• Current entry data
• Form field definitions
• Previous step outputs
• Data tables

Workflow Runs

Every workflow execution creates a run record:

Viewing Runs

1. Go to entry detail
2. Click Workflow Runs tab
3. See all runs for this entry

Run Information

Each run shows:

• Start and end time
• Duration
• Status (completed/failed)
• Step-by-step execution log

Debugging

Click into a run to see:

• Which steps executed
• Inputs and outputs for each step
• Error messages if failed
• Connection paths taken

Example Workflows

Simple Notification

Trigger: Form Submitted
↓
Step: Send Email to [email protected]

Conditional Routing

Trigger: Form Submitted
↓
Condition: category = "sales"
├─ True: Send to [email protected]
└─ False: Send to [email protected]

Multi-Step Process

Trigger: Form Submitted
↓
Step: Calculate total price
↓
Step: Update "total" field
↓
Step: Send confirmation email
↓
Condition: total > 1000
└─ True: Send to manager for approval

Best Practices

Keep Workflows Focused

• One workflow per logical process
• Break complex processes into multiple workflows
• Use descriptive workflow names

Test Before Publishing

• Use preview mode to test
• Check workflow runs for errors
• Test edge cases

Error Handling

• Plan for failures
• Use error paths where needed
• Log important data for debugging
• Extension actions can use an error path for non-success responses

Performance

• Minimize external API calls
• Cache where possible
• Consider step execution time
• Keep workflows focused on work the respondent or admin needs immediately