Automation pipeline steps: delays, emails, and push notifications
Multi-step automations run a pipeline of steps that you build in the automation form. Add delays, emails, and push notifications, then reorder or edit them as needed.
Which automations have pipeline steps?
Only triggers marked Multi-step in the Select Trigger Type picker run a pipeline, for example the mandatory training triggers and the user onboarding trigger. When you pick one of these, a Pipeline Steps section appears in the automation form. Single-action triggers, such as New User, do not have pipeline steps: their action (adding to groups, removing from groups, or assigning a career) is set directly in the form.
How do I add steps to a pipeline?
Go to Automations and select Add Automation, or open an existing automation and select Edit.
Choose a multi-step trigger if you are creating the automation.
In Pipeline Steps, select Add Step.
In Step Type, choose the step you want to add and fill in its fields.
Select Create (or Update when editing a step) to add it to the list.
Select Create or Update at the bottom of the automation form to save the automation with its steps.
Steps are only saved when you save the automation. Steps run from top to bottom in the order shown.
Which step types can I use?
Delay: waits a set time before the next step.
Send Email: sends an email to the chosen recipient.
Push Notification: sends a push notification to the chosen recipient.
Each trigger decides which of these it allows, so the Step Type list only shows the relevant options.
How do I set a Delay step?
Select Delay as the Step Type.
Enter the Duration (at least 1).
Choose the Unit: Seconds, Minutes, Hours, or Days.
Optionally choose a Relative to reference offered by the trigger, such as the user hire date for onboarding, or leave Not relative (absolute delay) to simply wait the duration.
Save the step.
How do I set an Email or Push Notification step?
Choose Send Email or Push Notification as the step type.
Select the Recipient.
Write the subject and body (email) or title and body (push) on each language tab. Only the first (default) language is required.
Insert values from Allowed variables and check the Preview as you type.
For push steps, optionally turn on Show in in-app notifications center and choose Linked content.
Save the step.
If the trigger provides a ready-made template, a new email or push step starts pre-filled so you can adjust it. If you leave some languages empty, you are asked whether to proceed, and the default language text is used for the missing languages.
How do I show a push in the in-app notifications center?
On a Push Notification step, turn on Show in in-app notifications center so the notification also appears in the user's in-app notifications center, where they can find it later. Leave it off for messages that only need to arrive as a device notification.
How do I link a push notification to content?
Under Linked content, choose a content type and then an item, so tapping the notification opens it in the app:
Articles & News: an article or news item.
Communities: a community.
Forms: a form, for example an onboarding form.
Only the content types whose module is enabled for your organization are shown. Choose No linked content if you do not want a link. In emails, use Add linked content instead, which inserts a link to the item into the body at the cursor position.
How do I reorder or edit steps?
Open the automation and select Edit.
In Pipeline Steps, drag a step by its handle to change its position.
Use the edit action on a step to change it, or the delete action to remove it.
Select Update to save the automation.
To pause the whole automation, switch off Enabled in the same form. A disabled automation is never triggered until you enable it again.
Where can I check what happened when a step ran?
Open the automation and review Executions. Select View Details on a run to see the Execution Pipeline: each step's status and times, the current step, and what was delivered by email and push steps. If a step fails, the run stops and the remaining steps are marked Skipped.