Workflow triggers
Each workflow has one trigger: by hand, on a schedule, from a webhook, an event, a signal, a record or another workflow. Four need the workflow in Live.
Choosing or changing a workflow's needs an account administrator.
Workflows isn't open in Filmo yet: the sidebar shows it as coming soon and its pages can't be opened. This article describes how it works once it's available in your account.
Every automation answers one question first: when should it start? After a reservation, every weekday at eight, when your website sends a form, or when someone clicks a button.
In Filmo, the is that answer. Each workflow has exactly one, chosen when you create it and changeable in the first block of the editor. The one that counts is the trigger of the : changing it in the draft changes nothing until you publish.
The Landmark Venues workflow uses the «Event» trigger with «Order reserved». A second workflow, “Send delivery reminder”, uses on orders, so someone can launch it from the order page.
The seven triggers
| Trigger | When it starts | What the steps receive | Needs Live? |
|---|---|---|---|
| «Manual» | When someone clicks «Run workflow» in the editor or «Run» in the home widget, or through the public API. | The execution form's fields, if it has any. | No |
| «Scheduled» | On a schedule, in a time zone. | The date and time of that occurrence. | Yes |
| «Webhook» | When another system sends a POST request with JSON to the workflow's address. | The request body. | Yes |
| «Event» | When something happens in Filmo or in a connected app. | The record affected and its fields. | Yes |
| «Signal» | When another workflow emits that signal. | The data the signal declares. | Yes |
| «Manual execution» | When someone clicks «Run workflow» on a record of that type. | That record. | No |
| «From another workflow» | Only when another workflow's «Trigger workflow» step calls it. | Its form's fields, filled in by the calling step. | No |
The last column means the workflow must be in , have a published version and not be archived. Pausing a workflow stops its schedule, its events, its and its address; the other three triggers still start while it's paused.
Each trigger in detail
Run a workflow on a schedule
A starts the workflow at set times. Pick a preset («Every minute», «Every 5 minutes», «Every 15 minutes», «Every 30 minutes», «Every hour», «Every day», «Every day at 08:00», «Weekdays at 08:00», «Every week», «Every month») or «Custom» for your own expression, and a time zone.
- Filmo checks schedules once a minute, and each occurrence runs at most once.
- Occurrences missed while the workflow was paused aren't made up later.
- If Filmo can't understand a custom expression, publishing fails with «La expresión cron no es válida» (shown in Spanish).
Manual, with an execution form
The «Manual» trigger can ask for data before it runs with an : fields with «Label», «Variable name» and «Type» (yes/no, number, text or date). With no fields, it runs straight away; with fields, Filmo asks for them in a dialog. The next read each field as a .
A variable name starts with a letter, uses only letters, numbers or underscores, and can't be repeated.
Manual execution on a record
«Manual execution» runs the workflow on the record you launch it from: an order, project, quote, invoice, proforma, credit note, purchase order, supplier invoice, subrental, contact, opportunity, item, serialized unit, kit, staff member, vehicle, service, incident, repair ticket, treasury account, task and more. The record is the input, so there's no form. The record type can't be changed once chosen, because the steps refer to it.
From another workflow
This trigger can't be launched by hand. Only another workflow's step calls it, filling in its form; that step can also call a «Manual» workflow. Unlike a , it's a direct call to one workflow.
Events, webhooks and signals
Each has its own page: Start a workflow when something happens in Filmo, Start a workflow from a webhook and Launch workflows with signals.
Good to know
- A workflow isn't started by the events its own steps cause, nor by those of an earlier workflow in the same chain.
- Chains of workflows that start each other are cut off at 10.
- Changing the trigger in the draft doesn't change what starts the workflow until you publish.
If you see an error
| Message | What it means |
|---|---|
| Este workflow solo se dispara desde otro workflow (shown in Spanish) | You tried to launch by hand a workflow with the «From another workflow» trigger. Launch it from a «Trigger workflow» step. |
| Desde un paso solo se puede disparar un workflow manual o con trigger «Desde otro workflow» (shown in Spanish) | The «Trigger workflow» step points to a workflow with another trigger. Change the target or its trigger. |
| Se alcanzó el límite de 10 workflows encadenados… (shown in Spanish) | Workflows are starting each other in a loop. Review the chain. |
| La expresión cron no es válida (shown in Spanish) | The «Custom» schedule can't be understood. Correct it. |
| The webhook answers 404 | The workflow isn't in «Live», has no published version, or its trigger is no longer a webhook. |
Up next
React to an order being reserved: Start a workflow when something happens in Filmo.