Introduction
In this lesson, you will learn about automations and additional Workflow features for Projects. The goal is to help you understand how to use automations and how to configure different Templates for your Project.
Automations
Automations execute logic on behalf of your users. They can automate actions such as:
Creating Tasks
Updating statuses
Sending emails
Enforcing process rules
Automations are most effective when aligned with the hand-off points, status changes, and conditions you identified while preparing your configuration.
Every automation consists of three components:
Event
Conditions
Actions
Automation Canvas Overview
The Automation Canvas is a visual interface that displays Events, Conditions, and Actions as connected nodes.
Each automation has exactly one Event
Automations are evaluated from left to right
Nodes are connected to form logical paths
This structure mirrors the process maps you created earlier, but now applies logic and execution.
Events
The Event defines when an automation begins. It represents the change or update that triggers evaluation.
Examples include:
A status update
A field update
Document creation
Assignee Update
Events are required for all automations.
To create an Event:
Click Add Automation
Give the automation a name and description
Select a Job or Task for the Event
Click Create Event
Open the automation
Click See All Settings
Conditions
The Event alone defines that something happened—not whether an automation should run.
Conditions allow you to narrow execution to specific scenarios, such as:
A status being set to Complete
A field containing a specific value
Data unrelated to the triggering Event
Conditions can be:
Stacked in series, where all must evaluate as true
Branched, allowing multiple logical paths
Automations evaluate every path until:
The end of the path is reached, or
A condition evaluates as false
This allows different actions to occur based on different data outcomes.
Example:
Your process categorizes items as Big or Small. Depending on the category, different actions should occur. Branching conditions allow both scenarios to be handled within a single automation.
To add a Condition:
Select a node to build from
Click the +
Click + Condition
Fill out the Condition details
Click Save Condition
Actions
Actions define what happens once the Event occurs and all Conditions are met.
If every condition between the Event and an Action evaluates as true, the Action is executed.
Key rules:
An automation can have up to 10 Action Nodes
Actions in one automation cannot trigger Events in another automation
Actions are often aligned with process completion, hand-offs, or outputs.
Example:
When closing a document, you may want to:
Send a closing email
Update the Task status to Finalized
To add an Action Node:
Select a node to build from
Click the +
Click + Action
Fill out the Action details
Click Save Action
Click Publish Change when finished
Email Templates
Email Templates allow information stored in Workflow to be communicated externally in a consistent, repeatable way.
They are especially useful for:
Standardized notifications
Status-based communication
Client-facing messages
Email Templates can directly reference data from a Job or Task and are selected when sending an email from a Document.
Recipients can be modified at send time or dynamically selected.
To create an Email Template
Click Add Email Template
Give it a Name, Description, and Select a Job or Task to link it to
Click Create Email Template
Click on the newly created email template
Click See All Settings
Fill out your template
Save Changes when complete
People Selection
People Selection is a dynamic audience builder that determines email recipients based on data in a Document.
It uses a decision-tree structure to evaluate fields and select recipients accordingly. This is especially useful for automating communication at scale.
Example:
A Document includes a field for Car Type. When sending invoices:
Luxury cars route emails to the Luxury Department
Standard cars route emails elsewhere
This logic allows emails to adapt automatically based on document data.
PDF Template
PDF Templates allow you to generate standardized, portable outputs from Document data.
They are commonly used for:
Reports
Invoices
Summaries
Compiled documentation
Templates are built using a rich text editor and can reference Document fields dynamically.
Referencing Fields
Document fields use the format:
{{Job.FieldName}}System fields use the format:
{{Created At}}
Dynamic Tables
PDF Templates can also include Dynamic Tables, which automatically pull and display selected fields in a structured table format.
Dynamic Tables provide flexibility in how document data is presented while staying synchronized with the source fields.
To create a PDF Template:
Click Add PDF Template
Enter a Name and Description
Select a Job or Task
Click Create PDF Template
Open the template
Click See All Settings
Build the template content
Click Save Changes
Wrap up
Now you know:
Parts of an Automation
Different Template features in Workflow
How to build Recipient Lists
Check your Understanding
In this lesson you learned about:
How to use Automations to optimize a Workflow Project
Using templates for consistent and standardized outputs
Next up: Lab: Workflow Configuration to view an in-app walkthrough of Course 4's content.
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