Finding the Right Action

The topics under Work Trigger Action Types are grouped the same way the action editor groups them, by category. This topic is grouped by what you are trying to do instead. Scan the heading that matches your goal, read the one-line descriptions, and follow the link to the full topic. Every action here is found in the same action editor, whether you are building a workflow trigger, an Action Set, an Add-In, or an E-form button.

Most actions accept variables in their settings. To find the variable that reads or transforms the value you need, see Finding the Right Variable. If you are not sure which heading fits, the administrator version of the AI Help Assistant (Ask DoM) will take a plain-language description of what you want and point you at the action by name.

Change data on the record you are working with

  • Record Field Update sets or adds one field on the active record, or on the alternate record. See Record Field Update.
  • Record Multi-Value Update sets several fields in one action instead of chaining single updates. See Record Multi-Value Update.
  • Rename Record Field changes a field's name without touching its value. See Rename Record Field.
  • Add Record Note writes a note, optionally with a category, onto the record. See Add Record Note.
  • Set Record Thumbnail makes a chosen document's first page the record's thumbnail. See Set Record Thumbnail.
  • Save Record and Reload Current Record are for the rare case where you must write pending changes to the database mid-sequence, or discard them. See Save Record and Reload Current Record. Most sequences never need either.

Find other records and do something with them

  • Search and Update finds matching records and updates them, or updates the active record with values from what it found. This is the default choice for "find X and change Y". See Search and Update.
  • Search and Run Actions finds matching records and runs a list of actions against each one, with the found record as the active record. Use it when each match needs more than a field update. See Search and Run Actions.
  • Search and Run Action Set does the same but runs a saved Action Set per match. See Search and Run Action Set.
  • Search and Calculate finds matching records and writes totals, averages, counts, minimums, or maximums back to the active record. See Search and Calculate.
  • Search and Create finds matching records and creates a new record for each one. See Search and Create.
  • Search and Create CSV finds matching records and writes them out as a CSV document. See Search and Create CSV.
  • Search and Name Record finds the first matching record and keeps it under a name you choose so later actions can read from it. See Search and Name Record.
  • Workflow Assignment Lookup is a narrow tool that appends values to fields on matching records during assignment lookups. It is not a general search and update. See Workflow Assignment Lookup.

Create, copy, restore, or delete records

  • Create Record makes a new record with the fields you specify and can route it into workflow. See Create Record.
  • Copy Record duplicates an existing record's data into a new record, with optional overrides. See Copy Record.
  • Create Temp Record builds an in-memory record for sequences that run with no record in context. It is never saved. See Create Temp Record.
  • Delete Record and Restore Record soft-delete a record and bring it back. See Delete Record and Restore Record.

Work with line items

  • Record Field Update writes to a line item when you put the line number in Line #. Leave it blank or 0 to write to the header, or set it to a number, or a variable that resolves to one, to update that line's field. See Record Field Update.
  • Record Multi-Value Update does the same for several fields at once, and each row in the list has its own Line #, so one action can update fields on different lines. See Record Multi-Value Update.
  • Inside a Line Item Loop the current line number is [LINECTR], so a Record Field Update with [LINECTR] in Line # updates every line in turn. See Line Item Loop.
  • Insert Line Items opens blank rows at a position, shifting the rest down. Pair it with a field update to fill them. See Insert Line Items.
  • Delete Line Items removes one line by number, or all of them. See Delete Line Items.
  • Reset Line Numbers and Renumber Line Items fix numbering after rows have been removed or moved. See Reset Line Numbers and Renumber Line Items.
  • Line Item Loop runs actions once per line item. It is listed under Repeat something below.
  • To read line item values in any action, use the Line Item Variables.

Move data between records and hold values for later

Actions work with one active record, one alternate record, and any number of named records. Understanding these three slots is the single most useful thing to know about building sequences.

  • Set Active Record switches which record the sequence is working on, by ID, or back to the original. See Set Active Record.
  • Set Alternate Record loads a second record so you can read from it with the [<Field>] syntax and write to it with the Alternate options on update actions. See Set Alternate Record.
  • Swap Alternate Record trades the active and alternate records. See Swap Alternate Record.
  • Name Record and Search and Name Record keep records under names you choose, readable anywhere later through [NAMEDRECDATA(Name|Field)]. See Name Record.
  • Move/Copy Data in Memory copies field values between the active, alternate, and named records without a database write. See Move/Copy Data in Memory.
  • Move/Copy Data in Database copies field values straight between records in the database, immediately. See Move/Copy Data in Database.
  • Single Temp Variable holds one value for the rest of the sequence, read back with [DMTempValue]. See Single Temp Variable.
  • Multiple Temp Variables holds any number of named values, read back with [DMTMP(name)]. See Multiple Temp Variables.
  • Server Field Update stores a system-wide value that every record and sequence can read with [SERVERDATA(name)]. See Server Field Update.

Create, convert, combine, and manage documents

  • Merge Document Template fills a merge template with record data and saves the result as a new document, optionally as PDF. See Merge Document Template.
  • Merge Data into Document fills an existing Word, Excel, or PDF document on the record rather than a stored template. See Merge Data into Document.
  • Create Text Document writes a document from text you supply, which can include variables. See Create Text Document.
  • Convert Document to PDF makes a PDF, optionally searchable and compressed, and can replace the original. See Convert Document to PDF.
  • Convert Document to Images renders a document to PNG, JPG, GIF, BMP, or TIFF. See Convert Document to Images.
  • Convert Spreadsheet to CSV turns a worksheet into a CSV document. See Convert Spreadsheet to CSV.
  • Combine Existing Documents joins several documents into one new PDF and leaves the originals alone. See Combine Existing Documents.
  • Create ZIP File of Document(s) bundles documents into a ZIP on the record. See Create ZIP File of Document(s).
  • Move/Copy Document(s) moves or copies documents to another record, or re-files them within the record. See Move/Copy Document(s).
  • Change Document Properties sets a document's category, sub category, name, or file name. See Change Document Properties.
  • Document Field Update and Rename Document Field change data stored on a document rather than the record. See Document Field Update and Rename Document Field.
  • Add Document Note writes a note on the active document. See Add Document Note.
  • Set Active Document chooses which document later actions work on, by ID or by category and name. See Set Active Document.
  • Delete/Purge Document(s) removes documents, recoverably or permanently. See Delete/Purge Document(s).
  • Extract Document Data pulls values out of Word, Excel, PDF, or CSV content into record fields. See Extract Document Data.
  • Add Data to CSV appends a row to a CSV document or to a temp value. See Add Data to CSV.
  • Render Document(s) for View pre-builds viewer images so the first open is fast. See Render Document(s) for View.
  • Lock Document and Unlock Document restrict editing of documents to a user or team. See Document Locks.

Annotate and archive PDFs

Send something to someone

Control the workflow

  • Initiate Workflow Route starts a record on a workflow at a chosen trigger, now or queued. See Initiate Workflow Route.
  • Reassign to Users/Teams and Reassign to Default move a work item to other people or back to the trigger's defaults. See Reassign to Users/Teams and Reassign to Default.
  • Set Due Date resets the current item's due date or the workflow's global due date. See Set Due Dates.
  • Cancel Work Item cancels the active item, or all items on the record. See Cancel Work Item.
  • Hide/Show Work Item hides an item from the inbox without cancelling it. See Hide/Show Work Item.
  • Process Other Work Items completes, rejects, cancels, hides, or shows work items other than the current one. See Process Other Work Items.
  • Direct Trigger Link forces the next trigger instead of letting the workflow evaluate. See Direct Trigger Link.
  • Parallel Merge joins a parallel branch back into the main workflow. See Parallel Merge.
  • Work Item Field Update stores a value on the work item itself, visible only while it is in workflow. See Work Item Field Update.
  • Stop Processing ends the action list at that point. See Stop Processing.
  • Throw Exception stops the workflow with an error message of your choosing. See Throw Exception.
  • Set Users' OOO Status marks users or whole teams out of office, with an alternate to receive their work. See Set Users' OOO Status.

Work with E-forms

Read documents with OCR and AI

  • AI/OCR/Barcode Processing queues documents for text extraction, barcode reading, or structured recognition. Almost every indexing sequence starts here. See AI/OCR/Barcode Processing.
  • Delete OCR/Barcode Data clears extracted text so a document can be re-read. See Delete OCR/Barcode Data.
  • AI Generic Extraction pulls any fields you describe out of a document. See AI Generic Extraction.
  • AI Invoice Extraction pulls invoice header and line item fields. See AI Invoice Extraction.
  • AI Record Type Detection decides which Record Type a document belongs to. See AI Record Type Detection.
  • AI Document Classification assigns category, sub category, and name to documents. See AI Document Classification.
  • AI Data Match and AI Data Validation compare extracted values with data you already hold and flag differences. See AI Data Match and AI Data Validation.
  • Auto-Index Record extracts field values with anchors, regions, barcodes, and pattern matching, without AI. See Auto-Index Record.
  • Invoice Indexing, Generic Indexing, Receipt Indexing, Bank Statement Indexing, Identity Indexing, Business Card Indexing, W-2 Indexing, Contract Indexing, and General Forms Indexing map recognized fields from a structured read into record fields. Start with the one that matches the document. See Invoice Indexing and Generic Indexing.

Split and classify incoming pages

Validate against lookup data

  • Lookup Table Validator checks a field against a lookup Record Type and applies different updates depending on whether it matched. See Lookup Table Validator.
  • Lookup Table REVERSE Validator walks the lookup table and tests each entry against the record instead. See Lookup Table REVERSE Validator.
  • Line Item Matching performs a three-way match between the record's header and line items and another record's. See Line Item Matching.
  • Lookup List Sync refreshes a lookup list from record data. See Lookup List Sync.

Talk to other systems

  • Make REST Call sends GET, POST, PUT, or DELETE requests with JSON, form fields, or a document. Read the response with [RESTVALUE] and the JSON variables. See Make REST Call.
  • Build JSON assembles a JSON body from record data for a REST call or a document. See Build JSON.
  • Run Connection as Loop runs a saved SQL or REST Connection and repeats actions for each row it returns. See Run Connection as Loop.
  • SFTP File Upload sends documents to an SFTP server. See SFTP File Upload.
  • QBO Bill Save, QBO Invoice Save, QBO Purchase Order Save, and QBO Check Lookup push transactions to QuickBooks Online and read check numbers back. See QBO Bill Save, QBO Invoice Save, QBO Purchase Order Save, and QBO Check Lookup.
  • QBO Vendor Sync, QBO Customer Sync, QBO Account Sync, QBO Class Sync, QBO Item Sync, QBO Location Sync, QBO Terms Sync, and QBO Custom Fields Sync copy QuickBooks lists into lookup Record Types. See QBO Vendor Sync and QBO Customer Sync.
  • DocuSign - Send for Signature, DocuSign - Check Status, and DocuSign - Get Documents send documents out, wait for the outcome, and bring the signed copies back. See DocuSign - Send for Signature, DocuSign - Check Status, and DocuSign - Get Documents.

Repeat something

  • Action Loop runs its inner actions a set number of times, with [LOOPACTIONCTR] as the counter. See Action Loop.
  • Line Item Loop runs its inner actions once per line item. See Line Item Loop.
  • Document Loop runs once per matching document on the record. See Document Loop.
  • Table Row Loop runs once per row of a named table. See Table Row Loop.
  • CSV Line Loop runs once per line of a CSV document. See CSV Line Loop.
  • JSON Array Loop runs once per element of a JSON array, such as a REST response. See JSON Array Loop.
  • Annotation Loop runs once per annotation on a document. See Annotation Loop.
  • Run Connection as Loop runs once per row returned by a Connection. See Run Connection as Loop.
  • Search and Run Actions runs once per record found. See Search and Run Actions.

Inside every one of these, the item being processed becomes the active record and the record that started the sequence becomes the alternate, so [Field] reads the current item and [<Field>] reads the original. When the loop finishes the slots return to how they were.

  • Run Action Set runs a saved Action Set as one step, now or queued, so you can reuse a sequence from many places. See Run Action Set.

Users, teams, assets, retention, and locks

  • Add New User creates a user account with team memberships and options. See Add New User.
  • Set Active User changes which user the rest of the sequence runs as. See Set Active User.
  • Assign Asset, Return Asset, and Cancel Asset Request manage asset tracking records. See Asset Actions.
  • Add Retention Hold and Remove Retention Hold stop or allow the retention system acting on a record. See Record Holds.
  • Lock Record and Unlock Record make a record read-only for everyone but a chosen user or team. See Record Locks.

Produce reports

  • Create Record Report File runs a report scoped to one record and saves the output as a document. See Create Record Report File.
  • Create System Report File runs a saved system report or a storage report and saves the output. See Create System Report File.