The Search and Create action allows you to search for Records and create a new Record for each Record that is returned

This is a unique action in that it was originally built to look for records that were missing and create them. One main use case is to search for yearly employee testing requirements. First search up the tests required. Then in the Create Filters you would do a search to see if the employee in question already has a test for this year of this type. If not then create the new test record and route it.



Options

 

Search


    • Search In - This field allows you to select the Record Type to search in. This is handy to limit your search to only that Record Type. If you want to make your configuration more portable consider selecting "Skip Record Type Check" here and specify the RecordType variable directly in the "Search For" fields.


    • By Values - You can specify all the fields necessary to perform your search. This can include ranges on dates and numbers as well. It is common to use this to search for the proper person(s) to approve a given item (i.e. an Invoice or New Hire). Search the approval matrix (Record Type that holds your approver data). Alternatively you can just specify a Record ID if you already know it. 


    • Security - If you turn this ON then the search will not be limited by the current User's security to find Records.


Advanced Search


    • By Record ID - If you want to find a specific Record by ID, enter it here.


    • By Record IDs - You can search for multiple Records by their ID by specifying a list of IDs separated by ; (semi-colon).


    • Has Documents - You can further refine your search by specifying the Record(s) to find must have Documents, No Documents or Either.



Filters


    • These filters are just like the workflow Activation Rules. For each record found we evaluate these rules to see if the record should be used to create a new one. If the rule matches then the new record is created. Else it is skipped.


New Fields


    • Specify all the fields to use for the new Records created. Make sure to add in the RecordType value at a minimum to ensure the new Record is saved into the right place.



New Fields


    • Duplicates - You can choose to NOT add duplicate records. This can be useful in the employee testing scenario above to ensure no tests are duplicated.


    • Routing - You can choose whether or not the new Records are routed after being created.



The Search For fields, Create Filters and New Record Fields can all contain static values or variables.


IMPORTANT NOTE ON VARIABLE USAGE IN NEW RECORD FIELDS


For whichever record is being updated, the "other" one can be referred to using [ and ] variables. For instance, if you are updating the Found Record and want to put into it a value that is stored in the NAME field of the Current Record then you would use [NAME]. Likewise, if you are updating the Current Record and want to put into it a value that is stored in the NAME field of the Found Record then you would use [NAME]. 


There is a scenario where you want to update a Record with a value in the same Record or more likely a combination of that record and the other record. In that case refer to the "other" record with [ and ] as normal but use [< and >] for the Active Record (the one being updated). For example, if you are wanting to update a vendor record with the total amount of all invoices processed for them you would want to add the AMOUNT of the invoice (the active Record) to the TOTAL in the vendor record (the other Record). To do this you would set the vendor's AMOUNT = [MATH([AMOUNT]+[<TOTAL>])].