Automation rules feature allows you to create rules to automate specific actions when certain events occur.
Currently, we only support the "when a custom field is updated" event. Based on the type of your custom field you can create rules, which when triggered can perform specific actions. We currently support the following actions:
Send email - This could be either the form creator, submitter, organization members or any specific email address.
Send SMS - This could be either to the form submitter or any specific phone number.
Send to API - Send the data to a specific API endpoint.
Set up an automation rule to send email
Consider the following use case:
You are the HR manager of a company that has created an application form for potential interns to apply at your company. Based on the data submitted by the applicants, you have to decide if the applicant qualifies for the interview. If the applicant is a possible fit then you need to send him an email with details of the interview. Plus you would also need to send an email to the interviewer with the details of this applicant.
Here's how you can automate this using neetoForm's automation rules.
Firstly, you need to create a custom field "Qualification status" with the field type single option and add Passed and Failed as options.
Go to Configure from the top menu, under General configurations click on Automation rules, and click on Add new rule.
Add in a name for the rule and ensure that the status is active.
Under When, ensure "When custom field is updated by any" is present and then click on the + icon.
Set the rule as "and Qualification status is passed"
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Under Then, set the following action
email to responder to email address as email
and then email to form creator as email
Add in the subject and body for each of the emails and save the rule.
Your saved automation rule should look something like the following.
Now, whenever you mark a submission as Passed by updating the "Qualification status" custom field, the above automation rule will get triggered and perform the actions.
Set up an automation rule to send SMS
Consider the following use case:
You are a professor at a university that has created a form where students have to submit their assignments. Based on the responses submitted by the students and your evaluation, you have to send an SMS to the students if they need to resubmit who failed to make the cutoff.
Here's how you can automate this using neetoForm's automation rules.
Firstly, you need to create a custom field "Evaluation status" with the field type single option and add Accepted and Unsatisfactory as options.
Go to Configure from the top menu, under General configurations click on Automation rules, and click on Add new rule.
Add in a name for the rule and ensure that the status is active.
Under When, ensure "When custom field is updated by any" is present and then click on the + icon.
Set the rule as "and Evaluation status is unsatisfactory"
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Under Then, set the following action
sms to responder to phone number as sms
Add in the body for the SMS and save the rule.
Your saved automation rule should look something like the following.
Now, whenever you mark a submission as Unsatisfactory by updating the "Evaluation status" custom field, the above automation rule will get triggered and perform the actions.
You can add multiple automation rules. In the case of the above example, if you want to send out SMS to students whose assignments have been marked as Accepted, then you can create a separate automation rule.
Set up an automation rule to send submission data to an API
Consider the following use case:
You have a form that accepts orders for T-shirts with customizable prints. Your customers can submit their designs and/or include taglines to be printed on the T-shirts. Based on the responses submitted by your customers, you first have to evaluate the feasibility of the design. If everything looks good, then you need to forward the order to a 3rd-party or your manufacturing facility that accepts orders via an API.
Here's how you can automate this using neetoForm's automation rules.
Firstly, you need to create a custom field "Order status" with the field type checkbox and label Approved.
Go to Configure from the top menu, under General configurations click on Automation rules, and click on Add new rule.
Add in a name for the rule and ensure that the status is active.
Under When, ensure "When custom field is updated by any" is present and then click on the + icon.
Set the rule as "and when approved is checked"
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Under Then, set the following action
sms to api as data
Add in the endpoint URL. By default, all the fields present in the form are included in the body of the API request. You can include any additional data if you want by entering those as key-value pairs. Save the rule.
Your saved automation rule should look something like the following.
Now whenever you mark a submission's "Approved" custom field as checked, it will send the submission's information along with the additional fields configured to the specified endpoint.
Troubleshooting
My automation rules are not working
Ensure that your automation rule is active. Inactive automation rules won't be triggered.
Ensure that your form is not archived or disabled. Automation rules won't be triggered for archived forms or disabled forms.
For automation rules involving sending emails to form submitters, ensure that you have an Email field in your form.
For automation rules involving sending SMS, ensure that you have a Phone Number field in your form along with Twilio integration enabled.
My automation rules are not getting executed immediately
We execute the automation rules after a delay of 2 minutes. Let's say you wanted to mark a submission as Qualified, but by mistake, you marked it as Failed. This can trigger the wrong automation rule. The 2-minute delay ensures that you have enough time to correct the mistake. If the same submission is marked as Qualified now, we will trigger the automation rule matching the Qualified scenario.