Understanding the New Record Create Node

When setting up a Workflow, you will first need to set up a trigger event to determine when the Action will run. For a list of Trigger Events see our article here: Workflow Trigger Events

This post focuses on the record create node. This facilitates the creation of new records in the same or a different app on the site. When the workflow is triggered, it can automatically create new records based on specified criteria and input data. This is particularly useful for workflows that require the generation of related records, such as tasks or follow-up items, when certain conditions are met.

To start, drag the create record action node on top of the trigger/filter node to open up the configuration screen. 

Configuration Options:

Target App: This setting allows you to select the app within which the new record will be created. A dropdown list provides all available apps to ensure the correct destination for the new record. This app could be the current one or another app on the site.

Update Field: In this section, you specify a field in the app you previously selected and add in an expression for this. This could mean that you can set a default value or a new expression-based value. This acts as a default initial value in the record, so the expression is processed only when the record is created and then is editable in the record, so is not a fixed, read-only field as expressions are usually in Softools.

You can add as many update fields as you want to, with one being the minimum for the workflow to be saved. To add more fields, click on the Add another field update button:

You can reference the app that you are creating the workflow from by using the [Source.FieldIdentifier] option - this means that you can transfer a field value from within the current record to the new record that is created.

Use rolling updates: This automatically switched on and means that any values that have been changed as part of this workflow will be accounted for in the expression/field updates for the create record node. If it is unclicked, then the expressions/field updates will not account for any previous changes in the workflow. So if the workflow also has an update field node, for example, that affects the new update field section of this create record node, then this will be accounted for if the toggle is switched on.

Inherit source record access rights: This will mean that the new record created will have the record access rights as the record that this workflow is triggered from. So for example, if the record that triggers this workflow has security only for one user, then this user will be able to see the new record created.

Include target app default access rights: This will mean that the record access will be set from the default security set-up in the app that the new record is in. Therefore, the record will have the security dictated by the Security in App Studio.

Note: You can have both the inherit source record access rights and the include target app default access rights toggled on together, which will mean that the new record created will have the security of both the record that the workflow triggers as well as the default security of the app that the new record is created in.

Target record owner: This will determine who the record owner is for the newly created record. There are three options – the current user, the source record owner, and a user from a person field in the current app. 

The current user -This is the user whom the workflow is triggered by. For example, if the trigger node is a button click, whichever user clicks the button will be the record owner in the new record. If the trigger node is a field update, whichever user updated the field to start the workflow will be the record owner for the new record.

The source record owner - This means that whoever created the record that triggers this workflow will become the record owner for the new record. For example, if a button is clicked to trigger the workflow from an existing record, whoever created that record (record owner) will now be the record owner for the newly created record.

User in person field - This means that you can select a person field that is in the current app of the workflow and this user will become the record owner for the newly created record. For example, you may have a person field which shows the approver of the current record and this approver will then be the record owner of the newly created record.

Note: If you select the User in person field option and there is not a value/user in the person field that you selected, then the Workflow will not run because the new record cannot be created without a record owner.

Best Practices:

Detailed Notes: Utilize the notes section to document the purpose and specifics of the record creation node within your workflow. This helps in understanding the workflow’s logic and maintaining it over time.

Example Use Case:

Imagine a workflow designed to initiate a series of quality checks whenever a new product is added to your catalogue. Using the Record Create Action Node, the workflow can automatically generate a new record in the Quality Checks app for each new product, mapping relevant product information to the quality check record and ensuring a consistent process for assessing product quality.