Introduction
In this lesson, we’ll explore the building blocks of Workflow and the key actions you can take to manage your work effectively. The aim is to help you understand what makes up a Project in Workflow, how data is structured, how to navigate it, and then we’ll cover everything from customizing fields to sending emails—all in a simple flow. Ready? Let’s dive in!
What Are Jobs and Tasks?
All data used in your project is stored within Jobs and Tasks, or Documents. Jobs and Tasks provide a structured way to organize and carry out work, ensuring clarity and accountability. Each Job and Task acts as the single source of truth for all project-related data.
Jobs provide a structured way to manage complex projects by consolidating all related information in one place and contain all of the data in the project.
Tasks ensure your work is broken into manageable pieces, making progress measurable and responsibilities clear. Tasks are smaller items that make up a job.
Here’s what you need to know:
Every Job and Task has a unique ID (automatically generated).
You can give your Jobs and Tasks a name—but names don’t have to be unique.
Jobs and Tasks can be identified by their ID, name, or both.
Jobs and Tasks are valuable for your project as they:
Improve project visibility by breaking down complex work into manageable components.
Enhance collaboration by centralizing data in easily accessible items.
Reduce errors and duplication by using unique IDs for accurate referencing.
Pro Tip: You’ll find all your Jobs and Tasks in the Tables, where you can use filtering and sorting to quickly locate them.
Document Details
Every Job and Task has a clear structure designed for easy navigation and efficient data management. The Details page consists of three main sections:
Header
Always visible.
Holds up to 5 fields and some system functions.
Great for quick reference.
Form
Contains editable fields you’ll update as you work.
Input all your data in the forms.
Organized into collapsible subsections for easy navigation.
Side Panel
Holds reference fields, History, and Files tabs.
Could be collapsed for a cleaner view.
Reference fields provide background or supporting details that will help you understand the documents without requiring them to change such as client names, locations, dates, etc.
Working on Documents
Updating fields ensures your project stays accurate, up-to-date, and aligned with your project’s goals. Fields come in different types depending on your project’s needs. Fields are important as they provide:
Customization: Adapt fields to fit your unique project requirements.
Efficiency: Automations triggered by field updates save time, reduce manual work, and errors.
Visibility: Accurate field data provides real-time insights for better decision-making.
Collaboration: Centralized, structured data ensures everyone works from the same source of truth.
Important:
Changes don’t save automatically!
Click on the Save Changes button to keep your updates. Leaving without saving work will make you lose all your hard work.
Tip: Automations only run when you save. These automations can update statuses, create new tasks, and trigger other workflow actions automatically. Click here to see all valid Automation Events.
Quick Details vs Full View
Quick Details Panel
You can open the Quick Details side panel by clicking anywhere on a Job or a Task except the purple JOB-ID link. This is a way to quickly view the contents of a Job or Task and make changes without leaving the job or task table.
You can make the following changes from the Quick Details menu:
Edit Fields
Update Statuses
Assign work
Upload Files (by clicking on the paper clip icon)
Full View
For a full-screen view you can click on the purple JOB-ID link and see the complete Job Details page for that Job.
In this page you can add, edit, and review all the sections for that job and the tasks attached to it.
You can add, edit, and review the Reference panel.
You can also see the Associated Assets related to that job in a separate tab.
Updating Fields
Fields contain the data that is written or input into your Jobs and Tasks, such as text, dates, names, or dropdown selections. Each field works differently but has these basic elements:
Name (the title of a Field)
Data (the information within a Field)
Your Project Administrator decides which fields appear and where they go. You can edit the data inside these fields when working on a document.
Bulk Update
If you need to update multiple Jobs and Tasks at once, click on the "..." button then Bulk Update button. This saves you time and reduces redundancy for updating the same fields for Jobs and Tasks.
Select documents
Documents must be of the same document type
Click the 3-Dots icon above the table.
Choose what to update—Field, Assignee, or Status
Choose operators and a method of updating
Click Apply
Important: Updating fields can trigger automations. Updating fields in bulk can set off multiple automations at once. Be aware of what automations interact with your fields.
Assigning Work
Every job or task can have an assignee— the assignee for a job or task is notified when assigned and becomes the person responsible for the work that occurs on the job or task.
To assign someone to a Job or Task, click the Assignee box and pick from the user list.
This is for reference only to know who will be performing or has performed the Job or Task.
Others can still edit the document, if required.
Table Field
Some Jobs and Tasks may have Table fields for organizing data in rows and columns. Table fields are great for capturing multiple or repeat entries to fields.
To add a row manually, click Create Table Entry, fill in the fields, and hit Create.
To import rows, click Import Table Entries, download the CSV template, fill it out, and upload it.
Tip: Make sure your data matches the correct field types—wrong data will cause the import to fail.
Reference Panel
In addition to reference fields, the Reference Panel is your quick-access area for:
History Log: See who made changes and what was updated.
To access the History Log: Click on the Table icon to view updates and automation details.
Tip: Check Automations! If you want to check to see if any automations ran, open the History Log in the Reference Panel and see the list of Automations
File Upload: Add files to a job or task.
To access the File Upload: Click on the Paperclip icon, drag files in, and preview or rename them easily.
Important: Tasks will share the same file directory as their parent job. A file uploaded at the job level will be available to their child tasks and vice versa.
Updating Statuses
Statuses tell you where a job or task is in its workflow—like “In Progress” or “Complete.” Statuses may follow a status workflow, meaning you can only move to certain statuses if certain conditions are met. This helps guide you through the right steps.
To update a status, click on the Status Box at the top of the document and choose from the list. All statuses belong one of 3 status types. Status Types all have an associated color, so you can spot right away where your Job or Task is at.
Status Types
New: marked in Orange color, so you know the Job or Task is just getting started.
Only the New status can be of a New status type
In Progress: shown in Blue, which means you can keep editing the job or task.
Complete: Highlighted in Green, indicating the document is locked and no further changes can be made.
Important:
Status changes are able to be automated; your project may not require you to manually change statuses.
Statuses are customizable; there can be many statues under each type
A job can’t be put into a complete status type until all its tasks are completed.
Once a job is completed, you cannot add new tasks to it.
Working with PDFs
Finished Documents contain data that you can share with others (such as other team members or your customers) in a polished format with our in-house PDF system. Create templates with prepopulated data for different processes to generate professional PDFs quickly.
Generate your PDF: Click on the Generate PDF button. Select from the list of available templates for your Jobs or Tasks.
Make sure to give your file a name.
Add Images: You can add, rearrange or remove images in your PDF without affecting your original files. This gives you the flexibility to customize the final output for your audience.
Append additional files: If you want to add supporting documents, you can easily attach additional files to your generated PDF, creating a single, comprehensive package ready to share with anyone who needs this information.
Sending Emails
over.vu makes emailing easy with Email Templates. Templates will exist only if your project has configured them. Permissions for using emails is also set by your project administrator.
How are emails sent?
Automated emails: Some emails are sent automatically based on triggers in the Workflow.
Manual emails: Decide when an email needs to be sent and send one directly from your document.
Click on the 3-Dots icon next to Save, then select Send Email.
Templates can be still be chose and modified through this method.
Choose a template will auto-fill its layout and can be edited.
Emails can include field tags like {{JobName}} to pull data from your document.
Tip: Always check whether an email is automated before sending it manually to avoid duplicates.
Recipients of the emails
You can select who you want to send your emails to. A single email or multiple email address (separated by a comma) can be added to an email template.
Add people manually or use People Selections (pre-set by your admin).
You can also add Lists of contacts.
Before sending your email
Click on the Preview Recipients button to check who will receive the email.
Send via Open in Client (your email client) or Send from over.vu
over.vu emails come from our mailbox: [email protected]
Task Module
Tasks are document types for work that can be used for Jobs. They are Documents that reside within a 'Parent' Job document and function mostly the same as a Job. Users can edit Task documents similarly to Job documents. Use the Task Module to see all tasks for a job in the table.
To create a task, click Create and choose a task type.
Jobs can have multiple task types, and you can create more than one of the same types if appropriate.
When you click on a Task in a table anywhere except on the purple TASK-ID link that will open the Quick Details Panel. This will allow you to make quick edits to the Task without leaving the page.
For full details, click on the TASK-ID to open the complete task page.
Important:
Task creation is able to be automated; your project may not require you to manually change statuses.
Task creation can be limited by roles and permissions, if you don't see the option, you may not have the permission to create tasks.
Wrap up
Now that you have reviewed the essential actions to manage your work from quick edits to your Jobs and Tasks to generating polished PDFs, here is a quick recap:
Quick Details Panel: Make fast updates without leaving the page.
Edit Fields: Keep your job and task data accurate.
Assign Work: Identify who’s responsible for each job or task.
Manage Tasks: Create, edit, and organize tasks easily.
Table Field Section: Structure your data in rows and columns.
Bulk Update: Save time by updating multiple items at once.
Reference Panel: Upload files and track changes in the History Log.
Check Automations: See if emails or status changes were triggered automatically.
Update Statuses: Move jobs and tasks through their workflow correctly.
Generate PDFs: Share your work in a professional, branded format.
Send Emails: Communicate quickly using templates and dynamic data.
Up Next: Lab: Workflow Operations to view an in-app walkthrough of Course 2's content.