Assign User Action

The Assign User action allows the transfer of part or the remainder of a workflow to another user. This article discusses the Assign User action in more detail.

Table of Contents

• Understanding the Assign User Action
• Setting Up an Assign User Action
• How an Assign User Action Appears in the User Application

Understanding the Assign User Action

The Assign User Action will stop the workflow for the current user and start it for the user who has been assigned to the next task in the workflow. This process can be repeated as many times as needed.

NOTE: The Task Email action is similar to the Assign User action except that it sends an email with Yes/No or multiple-choice questions so that the assigned user can respond directly from the email. For more information, see Task Email.

In workflows where different users are responsible for separate tasks, the number of Assign User actions often correspond to the number of sets of users and tasks.

For example, in a simple workflow that involves a Salesperson (User A) filling up the commercial terms, then passing on the workflow to an Engineer (User B), who then fills up the Schedule of Work (SOW) section of the form from User A, there will be two Assign User actions:

1. The first Assign User action is inserted after the Form action where User A enters the details of the commercial terms. With this Assign User action, User A turns over the workflow to User B, with the latter getting informed about the action via an email notification.
2. The second Assign User action is inserted after the Form action where User B inserts the SOW. With this Assign User action, User B turns the workflow over to User A, who then generates the document with the commercial terms and the SOW sections already filled up.

NOTE: When previewing an Assign User Action, the workflow is turned over to the User assigned to the Action. This allows you to test this step before putting the workflow in production.

Below is an image of a workflow corresponding to the above scenario, as seen in the Workflow Editor. 

IMPORTANT! When users are given responsibility for a part of the workflow through the Assign User action, they will get a notification at the email address they used when registering with AUTTO. For this reason, the Assign User Action cannot be used on public Workflows. For more information, see Publishing a Workflow.

Setting Up an Assign User Action

An Assign User action is used anytime a new user is assigned to the next task in the workflow.

To set up an Assign User action:

1. Drag an Assign User action to the canvas of the Workflow Editor, and connect it to the prior action in the workflow.
2. Position your cursor over the action, then click the Edit icon when it appears.
3. On the Action Editor, enter a headline and message that will be displayed to the workflow's current user.
   
   
4. Under the Assign Workflow to Next User section, you can either choose the next user from the list of Admins and Managers, or enter the email address manually or via a square bracket. For more information about square brackets, see Working with Square Brackets.
   
   
   
   
5. Enter a subject for the email that will be sent to the next user.
6. Under the Attachments section, select a file/s that will be attached to the email, if applicable. For more information, see Attaching Files to Actions.
7. Under the Message box, enter a message for the next user. If you want to set the optional steps in the Assign User action, proceed to the next step. Otherwise, skip to Step 10.
   
   
8. Optionally, enter the text that will be displayed on the button in the email. The next user will click this button to open and view the workflow on a browser.
9. To set email reminders for the next user, click the Enabled box under the Email Reminders section, select the period in days between reminders, the number of times a reminder will be set, and the time the reminder will be sent to the next user.
   
   
10. Click the x button on the top-left to save your changes and close the Action Editor.

How an Assign User Action Appears in the User Application

Once the current user triggers the Assign User action, they get a notification on the User Application and the next user gets an email with a link to the Workflow. The next user then logs on to the User Application for the next step in the process.

Workflows start when a user triggers them, i.e. accessing them through the provided links and opening them on the User Application. Once the Workflow reaches the Assign User Action, the original user ends their interaction with the workflow and the user assigned to the task will pick up the Workflow, either continuing with it until the end or the next Assign User Action. In all instances, the Assign User action triggers an email notification to the next assigned user in the workflow.