Set up your first automation

Introduction

This tutorial will guide you through the set up of a simple automation for a common workflow, sending notifications when a new record is added to a form. In this tutorial, we will assume the role of a Country Manager who is responsible for coordinating projects in a humanitarian response. As the Country Manager, we would need to be notified as soon as new projects are submitted so that we can conduct our project review process in a timely manner.

Before you start

This tutorial makes use of the Who's doing what where (3W) database template. Create a copy of this template so you can follow the steps below.
Ensure you have access to an application that supports webhooks and notification workflows. These include Power Automate, Pipedream, Webhook.site and others.

Setting up the automation

Step 1: Create a notification workflow in your external application

Log in to your external application and follow the steps to create a new workflow for sending email notifications.
For the trigger, select the option that refers to Webhook requests.
For the action, select the option that refers to email notifications and enter an email address that you have access to for testing.

In Pipedream, you would select “HTTP/Webhook” as your trigger.

Copy the webhook URL generated by your application.

Step 2: Add an automation in ActivityInfo

Go to your Database settings in ActivityInfo.
Click on “Database design” to reveal the list of forms.
Select the “Projects” form.
On the right-hand panel, click on the “Automations” tab, then click on the “Add automation” button.

Give your automation a label. Use a label that clearly describes what the automation will do. In our case, we will use “Notify country manager when new record is added”.
Select the “On record added” trigger.
In the Webhook URL field, paste the URL generated from your external application.
Select “Active” to immediately enable the automation.
Click on the “Save” button.

Step 3: Test your automation

Add a new record in your “Projects” form.
Check the email address you used for your notification to see if an email was sent.
You can also check the application you used to set up the notification to see if an event was logged.

In Pipedream, this is how a new event would appear.

Check the event details to see if all the expected information from the record you added was included.

In Pipedream, this is what the event details would look like.

If the action has been executed correctly, then no further action is required. Any new records added to your “Projects” form should automatically send an email to your designated email address.

There you have it! You have just created your first automation.

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Explanation