Workflow steps

A workflow is made of steps connected on a canvas. Each step does one job: read records, send an email, make a decision, build a PDF, or calculate a value. This page explains how steps work. The pages below list every step by category.

Steps and values#

There are two kinds of building blocks.

• Steps that run happen when the workflow reaches them, one after the other along the execution connections. Some of them take time, such as an HTTP request, a wait, an approval, or building a file. Their results are available to every step after them.
• Values have no place in the order. They are calculated the moment a later step needs them. Arithmetic, text, dates, comparisons, and fixed values work this way.

For example, a Send Email step runs in order. The Concat value that builds its subject line is calculated just before the email is sent.

Inputs and outputs#

Each step has inputs on its left and outputs on its right. Connect an output to an input to pass a value along. If an input isn't connected, you can usually type a value into it directly.

Values have types, such as text, number, date, a record, a user, or a list. Connect outputs to inputs of the same type. Use the conversion values, such as To String or To Number, when you need to change a type.

Add a step#

• Open Palette and drag a step onto the canvas, or search for it by name.
• Right-click the canvas to open the step picker at that spot.
• Drag a connection from an output and drop it on empty canvas to pick a step that fits.

Common steps have single-key shortcuts when the canvas has focus:

To remove a step, select it and press Delete or Backspace.

Steps by category#

Tips#

• Plan the path a person would describe, including what happens when something fails. Wrap risky steps in Try / Catch / Finally.
• When several writes must succeed or fail together, put them inside a Begin Transaction step.
• Use Log to record what the workflow saw at a given point. Logs appear in the run's details.
• Group steps you use in several places into a function, from the Functions panel.