Workflow Actions
Configuring Actions
Using the Form Layout Dialog (Select Fields)
Several workflow actions use the Form Layout Dialog to select fields and layout items. This dialog provides a visual representation of your application's form structure.
Actions That Use Form Layout Dialog:
- Set Field Read/Write - Uses "Select Fields" button
- Set Field Required/Optional - Uses "Select Fields" button
- Modify Layout (Show/Hide) - Uses "Select Layout Items" button
How to Access:
- Configure a workflow action (Read/Write, Required/Optional, or Show/Hide)
- Click the Select Fields or Select Layout Items button
- The Form Layout dialog opens in a modal window
Dialog Structure:
The Form Layout dialog displays:
- Dialog Header:
- Application/applet icon and acronym
- Application/applet name
- Apply button (saves selections and closes dialog)
- Form Layout Section:
- Shows all fields and sections as they appear in your application form
- Maintains hierarchical structure (sections, tabs, nested sections)
- Fields display with their type icons
- Sections show their names and structure
- Hidden Fields Section (if applicable):
- Shows fields that exist but are not currently in the form layout
- Useful for selecting fields that are not visible in the main layout
Interaction:
- Click a field or section to toggle its state
- Fields cycle through available states (for example, Lock β Edit β Unselected)
- Selected items are highlighted and show state icons
- Unselectable items are grayed out
- Click Apply to save your selections
State Indicators:
Each action type shows different state icons:
- Read/Write: π Lock (read-only), βοΈ Edit (write)
- Required/Optional: β Required, ? Optional
- Show/Hide: ποΈ Show, ποΈβπ¨οΈ Hide, β¬οΈ Collapse, β¬οΈ Expand
Field Restrictions:
Some fields cannot be selected (grayed out):
- History/tracking fields
- System fields (Created Date, Updated Date, Created By, Updated By)
- Certain field types depending on the action (Reference, Comments, Attachments for Required action)
Best Practices:
- Use the visual layout to understand field organization
- Select multiple fields by clicking each one
- Fields maintain their state until you change it
- Click Apply only when you've finished selecting all fields
Workflow Action Types
Set Field Value
This workflow action updates a field value.
Configuration:
- Select Set Field Value action type
- Choose the target field
- Set the value based on field type:
- Text fields: Enter a value or use Mustache templating with {{fieldName}} to reference other fields
- Date fields: Select a date modifier (previous, current, next, or specific date) and configure offset if needed. Values will be relative to dates and times.
- Numeric fields: Enter a numeric value
- Selection fields: Select from available options. You will see the defined values (for example, incident types) as multiple values.
- User/Group fields: Select users or groups
- List fields: Add items to the list
The value for the field you select changes according to the inputs available for the field type.
Use Cases:
- Auto-populate fields based on other field values
- Set default values for new records
- Set user/group assignments automatically
Set Field Read/Write
Use this workflow action to set a field as read-only or as an editable field.
Configuration:
- Select Set Field Read/Write action type
- Click Select Fields button to open the Form Layout dialog
- In the Form Layout dialog:
- View the application's form layout structure with a view of the fields in the application
- Click on a field to set it to read-only status
- Click it again to set it to an editable status
- You can see the existing status of the field by hovering over the field
- Fields cycle through states: Lock (read-only) β Edit (write) β Unselected
- Selected fields show an icon indicating their state
- Click Apply to save your selections
Form Layout Dialog Features:
- Form Layout Section: Shows all fields organized by sections and tabs as they appear in the application form
- Field Icons: Each field displays its type icon (text, numeric, date, and so on)
- State Indicators: Selected fields show their current state:
- π Lock icon = Read-only (field cannot be edited)
- βοΈ Edit icon = Write (field can be edited)
- Visual Feedback: Selected fields are highlighted, unselectable fields are grayed out
- Layout Structure: Maintains the same hierarchical structure as your form (sections, tabs, nested sections)
Restrictions:
- Cannot be applied to: History, JSON, Created Date, Updated Date, Created By, Updated By fields
- These fields are automatically grayed out and cannot be selected
Use Cases:
- Lock fields after record reaches a certain state
- Make fields editable only under specific conditions
- Prevent editing of calculated or system fields
Set Field Required/Optional
Use this workflow action to specify whether a field is required or optional.
Configuration:
- Select Set Field Required/Optional action type
- Click Select Fields button to open the Form Layout dialog
- In the Form Layout dialog:
- View the application's form layout structure with a view of the fields in the application
- Click on a field to set it to required status
- Click it again to set it to an optional status
- You can see the existing status of the field by hovering over the field, or by the checkmark or question mark icon on the field upon update
- Fields cycle through states: Required β Optional β Unselected
- Selected fields show an icon indicating their state
- Click Apply to save your selections
Form Layout Dialog Features:
- Form Layout Section: Shows all fields organized by sections and tabs as they appear in the application form
- Field Icons: Each field displays its type icon (text, numeric, date, and so on)
- State Indicators: Selected fields show their current state:
- β Checkmark icon = Required (field must have a value)
- ? Question icon = Optional (field can be empty)
- Visual Feedback: Selected fields are highlighted, unselectable fields are grayed out
- Layout Structure: Maintains the same hierarchical structure as your form (sections, tabs, nested sections)
Restrictions:
- Cannot be applied to: History, Reference, Comments, Attachments, JSON, Created Date, Updated Date, Created By, Updated By fields
- These fields are automatically grayed out and cannot be selected
Use Cases:
- Make fields required based on other field values
- Conditionally require fields in multi-step forms
- Enforce data completeness based on record state
Validation on Save
Starting in Turbine 26.2.0, when a Set Field Required/Optional action marks a field as required, Turbine enforces that requirement when the user saves the record. Users do not need to click, hover, or focus the field first.
Earlier releases (for example 26.1.x) | Turbine 26.2.0 |
|---|---|
A field optional in Application Builder but required by workflow could be saved empty unless the user interacted with the field first | Save validates workflow-required fields as soon as the user clicks Save |
Required state from workflow might not apply to form validation until field focus | Validators refresh when the record loads and when workflow conditions change |
Incomplete records could be saved on first save or after condition changes | Save is blocked until every workflow-required visible field has a value |
This behavior applies when the field is optional in Application Builder and workflow marks it required when conditions are met. After upgrade to 26.2.0, re-test save behavior for workflows that conditionally require fields. No workflow configuration changes are required for the fix to apply.
Workflow applies required and optional states at runtime on the record form. These changes are not stored as Application Builder field settings. Each time the record loads or field values change, workflow re-evaluates and updates which fields are required.
Topic | Behavior |
|---|---|
When validation runs | On Save and Save and Close, after workflow evaluates current conditions |
Field interaction | Not required β validation applies even if the user never clicked or focused the field |
Visible fields only | Fields hidden by Modify Layout are excluded from save validation |
Error display | Standard field-level required messages; record-level notification The record has validation error(s)! on save failure |
Workflow timing | Validators update when the record opens and when field changes trigger workflow re-evaluation |
Supported field types | Text (including rich text), numeric, date, values list, list, and user/group fields that workflow marks required |
What users see when save fails:
- The user clicks Save (or Save and Close).
- Turbine validates all visible fields, including fields made required by workflow.
- Empty workflow-required fields show validation errors (for example, {Field name} is required.).
- A notification shows The record has validation error(s)!
- The record is not saved until required fields have values.
Fields hidden by Modify Layout are removed from validation when they are not visible on the form layout.
Situation | Validation behavior |
|---|---|
New record β workflow requires a field on open | Save blocked if the field is empty |
Existing record β a value change newly requires a field | Save blocked if the newly required field is empty |
Hidden fields β workflow hides a field | Hidden fields are not validated on save |
Conditional tabs or sections β workflow shows a tab with required fields | Save blocked if required fields on the visible tab are empty |
If save fails on a field the user did not edit, check whether workflow recently changed that field to required. Enter a value or change the triggering field so the condition no longer applies.
Examples that now work as expected:
- Require a Resolution Summary text field only when Status is Closed
- Require fields on a conditional tab when the tab becomes visible
- Enforce required selections on first save of a new record without a click-through of every field
Modify Layout (Show/Hide)
Use this workflow action to specify whether a field displays in the record.
Configuration:
- Select Modify Layout action type
- Click Select Layout Items button to open the Form Layout dialog
- In the Form Layout dialog:
- View the application's form layout structure that displays the fields available in the application
- Click on a field to have a field exposed to view, or hidden from view
- For Fields: Cycle through states: Show β Hide β Unselected
- For Sections: Cycle through states: Show β Hide β Collapse β Expand β Unselected
- For Tabs: Cycle through states: Show β Hide β Collapse β Expand β Unselected
- You can use this action on sections, tabs, and HTML elements
- Selected items show an icon indicating their state
- Click Apply to save your selections
Form Layout Dialog Features:
- Form Layout Section: Shows all fields and sections organized as they appear in the application form
- Field Icons: Each field displays its type icon (text, numeric, date, and so on)
- Section Indicators: Sections show their hierarchical structure
- State Indicators: Selected items show their current state:
- ποΈ Eye icon = Show (visible)
- ποΈβπ¨οΈ Eye-disabled icon = Hide (invisible)
- β¬οΈ Shrink icon = Collapse (sections only)
- β¬οΈ Expand icon = Expand (sections only)
- Visual Feedback: Selected items are highlighted
- Layout Structure: Maintains the same hierarchical structure as your form (sections, tabs, nested sections)
State Options by Item Type:
- Fields: Show, Hide
- Sections: Show, Hide, Collapse, Expand
- Tabs: Show, Hide, Collapse, Expand
Use Cases:
- Show relevant fields based on record type
- Hide fields that are not applicable
- Organize forms with collapsible sections
- Progressive disclosure of information
Filter Selection Options
Use this workflow action to specify the values to update on a field that has multiple values available.
Configuration:
- Select Filter Selection Options action type
- Choose the target selection field
- Configure filter criteria based on other field values
Use Cases:
- Show only relevant options based on record context
- Filter options based on user permissions
- Dynamically update dropdown options
Toggle Time Tracking
Enable or disable time tracking for records.
Configuration:
- Select Toggle Time Tracking action type
- Choose to enable or disable time tracking
Use Cases:
- Enable time tracking for billable work
- Disable time tracking for certain record types
- Control time tracking based on record state