Automations - Create & Editor
Package: BASIC
1. Creating an automation
Without an existing automation, the "Automations" area appears as follows:
Automations view without an existing automation
To create a new automation, click the "Create automation" button. The "New automation" popup opens.
"New automation" popup
The "New automation" popup provides the following fields:
- Name → Name of the automation
- Description → Short description of the automation
- Organizations → Restricts the automation to specific Organizations. If no Organization is selected, the automation applies to all Organizations.
- Category → Category of the automation
After clicking the "Save" button in the "New automation" popup, the editor for creating the automation is displayed.
Automation editor view
Newly created automations are initially inactive and must generally be explicitly activated using the "Automation active" toggle.
All further steps for creating an automation, in particular the configuration of
are described in detail on the linked pages and the following sections.
2. Editor functionalities
The following screenshot and brief description serve to explain the general functionalities in the editor.
Automation - functionalities in the editor
2.1. Overview of the functionalities
- Name of the automation → Displays the name of the automation
- Save/Cancel buttons
- Save button → Save settings/changes
- Cancel button → Cancel editing; the list view of the automations is displayed
- Trigger/Condition/Action → Inserting Triggers, Conditions and Actions into the editor area via Drag & Drop
Info: In the following descriptions, triggers, conditions and actions are also generally referred to as "nodes". - Automation sidebar → general information about the automation
- Editor area
2.2. Automation sidebar
The automation sidebar displays details of the opened automation:
- General
- Name → Name of the automation
- Description → Short description of the automation
- Category
- Category → Category of the automation
In the automation sidebar there are two action icons at the top right as well as a toggle at the bottom:
Automation sidebar
- Show actions ("three dots" icon) → after clicking, a flyout menu with the following actions is displayed:
- Edit → After clicking the "Edit" action, the "Edit" popup opens, in which the name, description and category can be changed.
- Delete → After clicking the "Delete" action, a prompt opens ("Do you really want to delete the automation? This action cannot be undone.") asking whether the automation should really be deleted. After clicking the "Confirm" button, the automation is deleted.
- Show/hide sidebar → the sidebar can be shown/hidden by clicking the action icon "arrow with vertical bar"
- Automation active/inactive toggle → the automation can be set to active/inactive using the toggle
2.3. Editor area
In the editor area, an automation is configured in detail. The most important components here are triggers, conditions and actions, which are connected to each other.
The configuration of these components ultimately controls the entire flow of an automation.
When creating a new automation, there is one trigger, one condition and one action in the editor, which, however, are not yet configured.
Additional/further triggers, conditions and actions can be added via Drag & Drop. To do this, simply drag the action icon of a node (trigger, condition or action) from the upper area into the editor area.
The individual nodes can then be configured, positioned and connected in the editor.
After saving, each tile of a trigger, a condition and an action is given a system-side numbering, which is displayed at the bottom right of the tile.
Example - numbering of the tiles
The numbering is assigned in the order of creation and serves for unique identification as well as orientation for administrative users when creating, editing and managing automations.
The numbering of the tiles has no influence on the order in which triggers, conditions and actions are processed!
2.3.1. Trigger configuration
The trigger defines when a particular part of the automation should start. The detailed description of the configuration of triggers, including all available events and setting options, can be found on the subpage Automations – Triggers.
2.3.2. Condition configuration
Conditions define whether actions should only be executed under certain prerequisites. The detailed description of the configuration of conditions, including comparison operators, condition groups and the abort condition, can be found on the subpage Automations – Conditions.
2.3.3. Action configuration
Actions determine what should happen when an event occurs and any prerequisites are met. The detailed description of all available actions and their configuration can be found on the subpage Automations – Actions.
The following procedures apply when editing an action in the editor:
- Inserting a successor node: The menu for inserting a successor node opens directly after clicking the corresponding element – without an additional intermediate step.
- Selecting a new action: After selecting a new action, the configuration screen opens immediately. A separate Next button is no longer required. The selection can be changed at any time via Back.
2.3.4. Connection arrow
Triggers, conditions and actions are connected with connection arrows.
In the rectangular graphical representation of triggers, conditions and actions there are "connection points" ("grey dots") on the left and right. By "holding the left mouse button + dragging" a connection point, it can be connected to another connection point.
The procedure is as follows: "hold" the connection point (left mouse button pressed) → drag with the left mouse button pressed to the next connection point → release the mouse button.
Adding a connection arrow
By clicking a connection arrow (the arrow is highlighted in red) and pressing the "Delete key", a connection arrow can be deleted again.
If connection arrows are deleted, new connections should be created first, otherwise all subsequent nodes are reset!
To avoid accidental deletion, the following note is displayed before a connection arrow is deleted: "Do you really want to delete this connection? Subsequent nodes may be reset as a result if they lose the module binding of a trigger.".
Only after clicking the "Confirm" button is the connection arrow deleted.
2.3.5. Reset editor position
The displayed editor area can be moved in any desired direction by "holding the left mouse button + dragging". The current selection of nodes is retained in the process.
After clicking the action icon "Reset editor position" ("four arrows with dot" icon), the position of all elements in the editor is reset to the default position.
2.3.6. Increase zoom
By clicking the action icon "Increase zoom" ("Plus" icon), the view is enlarged.
2.3.7. Reset zoom
By clicking the action icon "Reset zoom" ("circle" icon), the view is reset to the default setting.
2.3.8. Decrease zoom
By clicking the action icon "Decrease zoom" ("minus" icon), the view is reduced.
2.3.9. Operating instructions
After clicking the action icon "Operating instructions" ("question mark" icon), a popup with brief operating instructions is displayed.
Node actions
A node can be selected with a single click. Details are then displayed, and it can be deleted with the "Delete" key. A double click opens editing of the node's settings directly.
Multiple move
Several nodes can be selected and moved together by holding down the "Shift" key.
Delete connection
A connection can be selected by clicking and deleted via the "Delete" key.
Keyboard operation
After a node has been selected with the "Tab" key, it can be moved with the arrow keys; the "Spacebar" activates it, and "Enter" opens editing.
2.3.10. Numbering of the elements
After insertion or configuration, each element (trigger/condition/action) is given a number by the system. The numbering serves for better identification of the individual elements.
The numbers are displayed at the bottom right of the elements.
Numbering of elements
The numbering is assigned in the order of creation, regardless of whether it is a trigger, a condition or an action.
If elements that have subsequent elements are deleted, the numbers are no longer reassigned when further elements are created. For this reason, numbers may "be missing", which is merely an indication that the automation has been edited.
2.3.11. Highlighting the nodes
All nodes and connections connected to a selected node – both preceding and subsequent – can be highlighted.
The highlighting is activated via a toggle at the bottom of the editor and remains saved.
If several nodes are selected at the same time, all predecessor and successor nodes connected to the selection are highlighted.
Highlighting connected nodes
2.3.12. Context menu
2.3.12.1. Context menu in the editor area and on connections
A context menu is available in the editor via right-click. Which functions are displayed depends on where you click.
Right-click on an empty area in the editor area
- Select all nodes → all nodes of the automation are selected
- Reset editor position → the editor area jumps back to the default position (see Reset editor position)
- Reset zoom → the view is reset to 100 % (see Reset zoom)
Right-click on a connection arrow
- Delete connection → the connection arrow is deleted (see Connection arrow)
Right-click on a node (Trigger, Condition or Action)
- Edit node → the popup for editing the node opens
- Copy → the node is copied
- Select following nodes → the clicked node and all subsequent nodes of its strand are selected. The selection is retained when the editor area is moved.
- Remove from group → only for nodes that belong to a group
Right-click on a selected node when several nodes are selected
- Create group → the selected nodes are combined into a group
- Move out into new automation → see Moving out a strand
- Add to existing automation → see Moving out a strand
- Align left
- Align top
- Deselect
Right-click on the group header
- Edit group
- Activate all nodes / Deactivate all nodes
2.3.12.2. Moving out a strand
Using the functions Move out into new automation or Add to existing automation, a strand is extracted from an automation – either into a new automation or as an addition to an already existing one.
Only runnable strands can be moved out: The selection must begin with a trigger and contain all subsequent nodes in the correct order. The quickest way to make the selection is by right-clicking the trigger → Select following nodes.
When moving out, it is defined what happens to the original strand:
- As a copy → the strand remains unchanged in the previous automation and is additionally copied into the new automation
- Move out and deactivate → the strand is retained in the previous automation but is deactivated there
- Move out and delete → the strand is removed from the previous automation
When moving out into a new automation, the fields Name, Description, Organizations and Category are available.
A new automation created by moving out is inactive and must be manually activated after review.
If several evolved automations contain identical parts, these can be moved out instead of copying the entire automation and subsequently deleting the nodes that are not needed.
2.3.13. Groups
Several nodes can be combined into a named, coloured group. Groups help to structure extensive automations clearly – both when building a new automation and when subsequently structuring an existing one.
Automations - groups
2.3.13.1. Creating a group
Select the desired nodes and, by right-clicking a selected node, choose the Create group function. To quickly form a group from an entire branch, the selection can first be extended by right-clicking → Select following nodes.
The Node group popup provides the following fields:
- Name → Name of the group, displayed in the group header
- Colour → Colour of the group frame and the group marking on the nodes
- Description → Short description of what the group's nodes do (optional)
Node group popup
2.3.13.2. Editing a group
The following functions are available via the group header:
- edit the name, colour and description of the group
- activate or deactivate all nodes of the group at once
- move group → by dragging the group header, all nodes of the group are moved together, regardless of whether they are selected
- dissolve group → the nodes are retained unchanged, only the grouping is removed
2.3.13.3. Membership of nodes
A small coloured dot in the group colour on the node card indicates that a node belongs to the group. A node that is only placed within the group frame does not automatically belong to the group.
A node becomes part of the group if
- it is attached directly to a node of the group (e.g. New trigger after an action of the group) or
- it is dragged into the group area and connected to a node of the group.
By right-clicking a node → Remove from group, a node is taken out of the group again. Its connections are retained in the process. Connections across group boundaries are generally possible, so that groups can be connected to each other.
- A node can only ever belong to one group.
- If a connection is drawn from within a group to a node outside a group, this node automatically becomes part of the group. This does not happen with a connection into a different group.
2.3.13.4. Size of the group
The frame of a group automatically adapts to the outermost nodes of the group (left, right, top, bottom). If nodes within the group are pushed closer together, the group also becomes smaller.
Activating or deactivating all nodes via the group header is suitable for switching between alternative flows. Example: In the supplied automation 2.7 | Inventory management, this is used to define whether the stock withdrawal is posted via Sales Orders or via Delivery Notes (see Product block - Inventory management).