Creating a Workflow

In this article, you’ll learn the basics of how to set up a workflow in LOIS Workflows, including setting your trigger, adding action steps, and reviewing sample workflows. Once you’ve created a workflow, you can test and launch it.

• Workflows Overview
• 1. Add a Trigger
• 2. Add Action Steps
• Fields and Variables
• Edit a Workflow

In the LOIS Workflows dashboard, click the + New Workflow button in the top right to open the workflow editor. In the workflow editor, click the pencil icon next to the default “New Workflow” name to edit it. Type your desired name and click the checkmark to save, or X to cancel.

Workflows Overview

Every workflow includes a trigger and at least one additional action step.

• the trigger is what kicks off, or triggers, the workflow. The trigger can be based on a schedule or on a specific event. For example, your workflow could trigger anytime an activity item is created, or every Monday at 9 AM

• the action steps of the workflow will depend on what you are trying to achieve. A common step sequence is one step to retrieve some information followed by a step to change that information in some way.
  
  More complex workflows may have many steps, including branching logic dependent on conditions, and steps using LOIS prompting.

1. Add a Trigger: When this happens

Every workflow starts with a trigger. Click + Add trigger in the When this happens section. A side panel opens with the Trigger configuration. In this panel, you can select the options for initiation.

Select the Type of Trigger

If you run the workflow On a schedule, the workflow runs on a recurring schedule. When a schedule trigger is active, the flow diagram shows a calendar icon with the trigger label "Schedule" and a summary like "At 08:12 AM America/Denver, only on Tue..."

If you run the workflow Based on a trigger event, the workflow fires when a specific event occurs in the Filevine App. You configure:

• Which app should this start in?: Currently, only "Filevine App" is available as a trigger source. Selecting “Filevine App” auto-links to your Filevine Org. If you have more than one Filevine Org, you can click the Org name to change the Filevine organization.
• Trigger when: Select the Event Type and Event Name. The Event Type selects the item in Filevine you want to trigger—for example, roles, section, taskflows, comments. The Event Name is the action being taken on that entity—for example, “Created” or “Updated.”

Add Conditions

If your trigger is based on an event, rather than a schedule, you can add conditions to filter when the trigger fires. These conditions will appear directly on the trigger node in the flow diagram (e.g., "IF {{trigger.ProjectId}} equals 992419010").

Click + Add Conditions beneath the event type and name selections. For each condition, select a field, the condition (equals, does not equal, contains, etc.), and the value of that field. Use the slash command /v to input a variable from the trigger event, or hard code a value.

Trigger Example

Let’s use a simple workflow as our example. Let’s say that any time you created a project of a certain type, you wanted to automatically include the project ID in the project’s name. 

For this workflow, you would want your trigger to be project creation. In the trigger, you’d select Based on a trigger event, and then select Filevine App, Project, Created. 

2. Add Action Steps: Then Do this

After the trigger, add one or more action steps. Click + Add step in the Do this section. A side panel opens where you can give the step a name and description, and then choose your Step Type. 

Choose the Step Type

Choose Additional Selections

After choosing the step type, select and fill configuration fields specific to the step type. For example, if you selected Action in App, you’ll be asked to select the action type and name, and then fill the relevant fields. One Action in App selection, for example, could be “Appointments,” “Get Appointment,” and then the appointment ID.

Read more about filling out fields and using variables.

Create

Select the options for your desired step, and then click Create to add the step to the workflow. Multiple steps can be added.

Example of Action Steps

Note

This example is a very simple one. You can use different step types to create more complex workflows, including LOIS prompts, if/then rules, and array variables.

Continuing from the example in the last section, you want to automatically include the project ID in the project’s name once it’s been created. 

Since you’ve already gathered the “project ID” and “project name” information in your trigger step, you don’t need to gather that information in an action step. Instead, you can add a single action step to update the information.

Update the project name in an Update Project step:

• Step Type: Action in App
• App: Filevine App
• Action Type: Projects
• Action Name: Update Project
• Project Id: [project Id > Native] variable

Click Show Optional Fields to find the field you want to update. For this workflow, we’re looking for Project Name. In this field, you’ll input the [project name] and [project ID > Native] variable, with a dash between them. This action will take the current project name and append the project ID to the end of the name.

Fields and Variables

Fields are typed with visual indicators: "abc" icon for strings, "123" icon for numbers, toggle icon for booleans, and calendar icon for dates. Required fields are marked with a red asterisk (*). Complex actions may have nested/expandable field groups. Some fields also include a blue "Documentation" link that can be toggled for reference.

Every field supports variables. Type the slash command /v to input a variable from the trigger or a previous step. Variables insert as visual chips—click “x” to remove a variable from a field.

Tip

You can use keyboard shortcuts to navigate fields and select variables:

• Tab moves the cursor from the field to the popover's search box (continue to tab between the popover’s search, the popover’s close option, and the field)
• ↑ / ↓ move the highlight through the visible rows
• Enter inserts the highlighted variable, or expands/collapses a group
• → / ← expand and collapse a group
• Esc closes and returns focus to the field

Read Workflows Reference Expressions or refer to our API documentation (for US users | for Canada users) to learn more.

Tip

You may see the option for "Native" and "Partner" ID variables. In most cases, choose the "Native" ID. Partner ID are useful only if you have an in-house integration that utilizes partners IDs. Learn more.

Edit a Workflow

You can edit an existing workflow by clicking on it in the Workflows tab to open its Overview page. In the Overview page, click Edit to open the editor. 

Edit Triggers and Steps

Click on the node in the editor canvas. The selected node is highlighted in the flow and the panel opens pre-populated with current settings. Make the desired changes and click Save to apply or Cancel to discard.

When selected, an action step node has an ellipsis menu in its top-right corner. Clicking reveals a Delete option.

Read more about testing and launching workflows.