Starting a workflow run
Start a workflow from the Workflows page, fill in its inputs form, and follow its runs.
A workflow is a fixed series of steps that a Coworker carries out for you. Each time a workflow starts, it is a run. A run keeps its own conversation with the Coworker, so everything the run does and says is written down in one place you can read later.
Start a run#
- Open your profile menu and select Workflows.
- Find the workflow and select Run now.
- If the workflow asks for inputs, a form opens titled Run followed by the workflow's name. Fill it in and select Start run.
A workflow with no inputs starts as soon as you select Run now. After the run starts, the run's page opens.
The run belongs to a Coworker, the one attached to the workflow. If the workflow has no Coworker attached, the run does not start and you are told why.
The inputs form#
The form shows one field for each input the workflow declares. A field can be a short text box, a long text box, a number, a checkbox, a choice list or a file. A workflow that simply needs some text from you shows a single long text box labelled Input.
- Fields are required unless the workflow marks them optional. A missing value shows a message such as "Topic is required." next to the field.
- A number field must contain a number.
- For a file field, select Choose file and pick the file. Once attached, the button reads Replace file, and you can remove the file with the remove button beside its name.
What you enter is shown at the top of the run as its inputs, and the Coworker reads it as the first message of the run's conversation.
Follow your runs#
On the Workflows page, select All runs to open Workflow runs. It lists every run you can open, newest first. You can open a run if the run is for you, if you started it, or if a review step names you or your team as reviewer. Administrators see only runs that fit one of these.
Use the filter buttons to narrow the list: All, Awaiting review, Awaiting approval, Running, Failed and Succeeded. Each row shows the workflow name, a short run number, when it started, how many reviews are waiting, and its status. A run that was started again from an earlier run says which run it came from. Runs that are waiting for a review or have failed are marked with a coloured edge, and a failed run shows the start of its error message. Select a row to open the run. Select Show more to load further runs.
The list refreshes on its own every few seconds.
When a run reaches a step that needs a person, it appears in your review queue. For what you can do on a run's page, see Reviewing a run.