Workflow

Add Triggers to a rule

Workflow monitors your site for changes, and following the conditions set in the rule, can
Trigger
 actions defined in the
Actions
 tab.
The rule builder consists of three tabs,
Details
,
Triggers
 and
Actions
.

Example video - Using the File trigger

Watch our video on using workflows with, for example, the File trigger:

Adding triggers

The
Triggers
 tab is an essential step when creating a rule. First, add a rule, then name and describe the rule in the
Details
 tab before adding one or more triggers.
Triggers tab
The
Triggers
 tab sets the condition or conditions that trigger the rule - i.e. the event that starts the action, or actions, defined in the
Actions
 tab.
In the
New rule
 window, click
Triggers
.
Selecting an object and the type of change
You must select an 'object' (the element on your site that is monitored) and the type of change that triggers the rule.
Select the type of object that will be monitored:
iSheet record
,
File
,
Task,
Date
or
Schedule
.
  • iSheet record
     - monitor a column from an iSheet
  • File
     - monitor a folder on the site, or monitor files for specific authors or filenames
  • Task
     - monitor a task list or task status
  • Date
     - monitor an iSheet date column and compare it to the current date
  • Schedule
    - set rules to trigger upon daily, weekly, monthly or yearly frequencies, with or without iSheet conditions
Type of change
The next drop-down menu selects the type of change that will trigger the rule - for example, when a File or iSheet record is either
Added
 or
Updated
.
These options change depending on the object of the rule, for example, if you choose an
iSheet record
, the two options are
Added
 or
Updated
. If you choose a
Date
, the only option is
Reached
.
After choosing the object to monitor you can add conditions. Set the first trigger condition from the drop-down box (or boxes). If displayed, click
Add condition
 or
Add column
 to add additional triggers to the rule.

Setting trigger conditions

Each trigger has conditions that are specific to the type of object: iSheet record, File, Task, Date or Schedule.
As described above, select
iSheet record
, then specify if the trigger should occur when an iSheet record is
Added
or
Updated
.
Add conditions
Select an iSheet to monitor then click
Add condition
.
If necessary, change if
All
 conditions must be met (i.e. every top-level condition must be met to trigger the action), or if
Any
 conditions can be met (i.e. just one condition can be met to trigger the action).
Set the condition: Select a column from the iSheet, you can set the type of change (operator) and the target value. The options change according to the type of column selected. For example, an image column only allows
Blank
 or
Not Blank
 options; a choice column with set values only allows those set values.
Click
Save
 to finish.
The
New rule
 window displays a summary of the saved condition.
You can add further conditions on columns from the same iSheet, which will act as an alternative or additional condition ('any' or 'all'). Click
Add condition
 and create a second condition as described above. If you need more precise, multi-level, triggers you can add nested conditions.
Once you have created your triggers and conditions, click
Save and continue
 to add Actions to the rule.
As described above, select
File
, then specify if the trigger should occur when a file is
Added
or
Updated
.
Select a
Folder
,
Author
,
File status
 or
File name
 that will act as a trigger.
In addition to the above, you can add additional conditions to the rule. To do so, click
Add condition
.
And a new condition section is displayed.
Once you have created your triggers and conditions, click
Save and continue
 to add Actions to the rule.
As described above, select
Task
. A task trigger only provides an
Added/Updated
 option.
Select
List
 or
Status
 that will act as a trigger.
Once you have created your triggers and conditions, click
Save and continue
 to add Actions to the rule.
Monitor the date, a date column and define date ranges that act as a trigger.
As described above, select
Date
. A date trigger only provides a
Reached
 option.
Select an
iSheet
, the date range and an iSheet date column that acts as the trigger (typically
Created date
 or
Modified date
).
In addition to the above, you can add additional conditions to the rule. To do so, click
Add condition
.
And a new condition section is displayed.
This section follows the steps described for an iSheet record trigger
Once you have created your triggers and conditions, click
Save and continue
 to add Actions to the rule.
Schedule
A schedule trigger can start an action following a set frequency: select daily, weekly, monthly or yearly, with a multiple if needed (i.e. 'every 3 days'). You can also set the time of day you want the trigger to start the action.
As of August 2022, by default,
Continue until site is archived
 is selected, so that the rule will repeat indefinitely (until the site is archived or the rule is otherwise disabled).
You may also specify the number of occurrences before the rule is stopped. Deselect
Continue until site is archived
, then set the number of occurrences (maximum 999).
Additional conditions
Click
Add condition
 to set additional iSheet conditions.
If you add iSheet conditions, the rule is triggered on the selected frequency if a specified iSheet column matches the condition. This is based on the 'passive' data that exists in an iSheet at a particular point in time (as opposed to a user action triggering a change in an iSheet record which is available in the iSheet trigger).
Use an
iSheet record
 trigger to perform an action when a user adds or updates data that matches the conditions.
Click
Add Column
to add a condition on another iSheet column.
Save your rule
Once you have created your triggers and conditions, click
Save and continue
 to add Actions to the rule.

Adding nested conditions

As described above, select
iSheet record
, then specify if the trigger should occur when an iSheet record is
Added
or
Updated
.
Select the
iSheet
 that the rule monitors, then click
Add condition
.
After you create your top-level/parent condition, click the
Save
 button to save it.
The
New rule
 window displays a summary of the saved condition.
Hover over the summary bar to display icons to
Edit
,
Add
 or open
More actions
.
  • Add 'Or' condition
     and
    Add 'And' condition
     add further 'nested' conditions to the selected condition.
Nested conditions
You may add up to two levels of additional sub-conditions under a top-level condition. These allow you to specify more complex conditions for rules that require greater precision.
These conditions are nested under the parent condition with indents; they only apply to the parent condition and other conditions at the same level.
For example, in the above example, the conditions first check that the
Type
 is equal to a
Sales agreement
. Then a second condition checks the
Region
 is equal to
EMEA
 and, as a sub-condition, that the
Value
 column must also be greater than or equal to
1000
 the action is triggered - note that the sub-condition (
Value
) only applies to the
Region
 condition.
Add further conditions to a trigger to build a more precise rule.
For example, in the above image, four top-level (or parent) conditions exist, triggered if:
  • the
    Type
     is a
    Sales agreement
    , and one of:
    • the
      Region
       is
      EMEA
       and, as a sub-condition, the
      Value
       column is
      1000
       or greater.
    • the
      Region
       is
      LATAM
       and, as a sub-condition, the
      Value
       column is
      1250
       or greater.
    • the
      Region
       is
      APAC
       and, as a sub-condition, the
      Value
       column is
      1500
       or greater.
In this example, the conditions ensure that a sales agreement complies with minimum values, that vary in different regions, before the rule is triggered.
Creating sub-conditions with indents
If you have created a parent condition, or have created multiple conditions, you can create a sub-condition, or use indents to change a condition from a top-level condition to a sub-condition.
Create a new indented condition
Hold the cursor over the parent condition summary, then select the plus sign to add a new condition, or click
More actions
 then select
Add 'Or' condition
 or
Add'And' condition
.
Indent an existing condition
Hold the cursor over the condition summary, then select the right arrow to add an indent, or click
More actions
 then select
Indent
.
This changes the relationship with other conditions; e.g. a top-level condition becomes a sub-condition of the condition above it.
The 'Any' and 'Or' tags to the left of the summary describe how the sub-conditions are applied.
Select the indent arrow again to further change the sub-condition.
Removing an indent
To remove an indent, click the
More actions
 button, then select
Remove indent
. This removes one level of indent from the sub-condition.
List of operators
Below is a list of operators that are available when building conditions:
  • is equal to
     - Exact match on the text string
  • is not equal to
     - Does not contain the exact test string
  • is before
     - Is earlier than a selected date
  • is after
     - Is later than a selected date
  • is within
     - Is inside a date or number range
  • is greater than
     - Is greater than a selected number
  • is less than
     - Is less than a selected number
  • is equal to or greater than
     - a selected number
  • is equal to or less than
     - a selected number
  • is blank
     - Contains no value at all
  • is not blank
     - Contains anything
  • begins with
     - The text string matches the beginning of the input value
  • does not begin with
     - The text string does not match the beginning of the input value
  • contains
     - The text string is contained within the input value
  • does not contain
     - The text string is not contained within the input value
  • changes
     - The input value changes
  • changes to
     - The input value changes to an exact match of the text string