Create an automated playbook, which is a process that runs whenever a record is created or updated by the app's specified form.

Before you begin

Playbooks run on the records generated by catalog items you create for the app, so you must add forms to the app before you can add automation. For more information, see Working with forms in Creator Studio.

To add a playbook, you must be given permission to work on the app.

About this task

Note: You can build a travel request app where people can ask for permission for different types of travel, which automatically routes the request to a manager for approval.

Procedure

  1. Go to All > App Engine > Creator Studio to see all the apps on the Creator Studio home page.
  2. Open the app that you want to add automation to.
  3. Select to Preview how different forms appear in various experiences, or select the View or Edit button to view or edit the application experience.
    Select different previewing options if you want to make sure that you've selected the correct application and see how it will appear in the following formats:
    • Portal (see a preview of how it'll appear on a desktop website)
    • Now Mobile (see a preview of how it'll appear on a mobile phone or device)
    • Virtual agent (see a representation of how it'll appear on a chatbot interface)
      Note: Your organization should have the correct plugins installed to see how the form will appear in Virtual Agent. If you're interested, ask your admin and see Catalog builder preview topic conversation for more information on previewing forms and their catalog items in Virtual Agent.

    The View button displays forms that have been published and doesn't explicitly create a new draft form for development. The Edit button takes you to a development form, for example, a new draft version of a form that's already been published.

    Figure 1. Preview the app's experience
    Preview how your app will look

    You can also check out a representation of how the form submissions workspace will appear by selecting the Submissions preview, as well as the records your app generates for it (by selecting the Record preview).

  4. Select the Automations tab in the application header.
    Select the Automations tab
  5. Select the Create a playbook button.
    If an automation already exists, select the Automations tab and then select Add new playbook.
  6. Specify the playbook's General attributes in the Create playbook modal.
    Table 1. General playbook definition fields
    Field Description
    Playbook name Descriptive name for the playbook you're creating.
    Description Brief explanation of what the playbook does, for example, the end goal for the record type.
    Figure 2. Create a playbook
    Settings for creating a playbook
  7. Specify the Schedule for the playbook.
    1. Select the Form whose catalog item generates the record type that you want the playbook to run on.
      The table for the form you choose is always the app’s task table, which is specified when the app is created.
    2. Select the type of Trigger that initiates the playbook.
      Table 2. Playbook trigger options
      Trigger Description
      Form submitted Start running the playbook when a user submits the form you chose.
      Form updated Start running the playbook when a user updates the form you chose.
      Form submitted or updated Start running the playbook when a user submits or updates the form you chose.
      Note: You can't change an playbook's trigger type after you finish creating the playbook. Instead, create a new playbook with a different trigger.

      However, you can edit the trigger condition, such as making the playbook run conditionally based on a specific answer to a question. For more information, see Edit the trigger for a playbook in Creator Studio.

    3. If you chose a trigger that includes a form being updated, specify how often that app should Run your playbook.
      The options are:
      • Once
      • For each unique change
      • Only if not currently running
      • For every update
    4. Specify the conditions that must be met for the playbook to begin running by selecting Add condition set.
      • If you want to trigger the playbook based on the value of a column in a table, select the Field that you want to be the trigger, as well as its condition Operator and the specific trigger Value. For example, when a Start date is after the Date needed.
      • If you want to trigger the playbook based on the response from a form, select Questions as the trigger Field. Then select the question you want in the Question field, the condition Operator and the answer's Value.
        Figure 3. Question answer as trigger for an automation
        Use a specific answer to a form's question as trigger

      Add as many conditions as you need. For more information, see Create a condition statement using the condition builder.

  8. Select Save.

Result

Congrats: Congratulations, you've created an automation!

What to do next

Next, you need to add activities to the playbook. For more information, see Add activities to an app's playbook in Creator Studio.