Build a process

Process files enable you to automate a workflow by assigning tasks and requesting approvals, all in one place. In this article, you'll learn how to create a process and add actions.

Create a process

Before assigning your tasks and content requests, you’ll need to create a process file.

Note: While multiple collaborators can edit a process, only one user at a time can make edits. If multiple users are editing a process at once, some updates might not be saved.

To create a new process:

From Home, click Create .
From the menu, select Process to open the process builder.
Double-click the process name to edit.
Expand the drop-down menu to select the action sequence.
- All at the same time starts all actions as soon as you run your process
- One after another waits for the first action in the process to finish before starting the next one

You can also click Properties in the toolbar to:

Change the process Name
Select a Process due date as a goal for when the process should be completed. The process continues to run if the due date passes and the process still isn't complete.
Change the Action sequence
Change the Certifications options

Add actions

After creating your process, you can add your first action from the Add action button in the toolbar or within the editor. There are four types of actions:

Tasks notify collaborators of an assignment to complete
Content requests are tasks attached to a specific section of a file, automatically granting the selected user permission to add their content
Certifications are tasks specifically for sending out letters to be signed
Bulk certifications are for sending out copies of a single letter to multiple people at once. A separate certification action for each assignee will be added to the process.

Note: Content requests are currently only available in ESG solutions and in the Data Collection or ESG Compliance add-ons.

Note: The new Certifications experience is being introduced gradually. If you don’t have it yet, you can continue using the classic experience, but will need to migrate when possible before June 30th, 2023.

Add action

For content requests, assignees receive Editor permission to the selected file location once the action starts. After the assignee completes the task, the approver (if assigned) receives a task to review their work, as well as Viewer permission to your file.

Note: After marking the task complete, both the assignee and approver will retain Viewer access. Learn more about permissions in Process tasks.

For more information about certification actions, see Add certification actions to processes.

After adding an action, fill out the fields directly in the row or in the Action details right panel. Click a row to view more details in the panel. Each action must include the following information:

Title: The name of your action
Assigned to: The collaborator that needs to complete the task

From the Action details panel, you can also add:

Due date (optional): Let your assignee know when the task needs to be completed
Approval by (optional): Assign a collaborator to approve the assignee’s content or return it for further rework
Approval due (optional): Let the approver know when they should submit their approval by

If your action is a Content request, you'll also need to add a File and Section. This is optional for a Task.

File: Select the file where content is needed
Section: Link your assignee to a specific section in the file

Add a file and section to assign a location in the file

You have the option to add Instructions or any additional information your assignee might need to complete the task.

To add more actions to the process, click Add action in the toolbar. Adding an action from the toolbar places it at the bottom of the list.

When you add an action from the toolbar, it gets added to the bottom of the list of actions

To change the order of your actions, move them up or down using the toolbar.

Rearrange actions using Move up and Move down in the toolbar

Duplicate an action

You can duplicate actions using the drop-down menu next to each action. Duplicate actions to quickly create tasks attached to the same file location.

To duplicate an action:

Click the arrow next to your action.
Select Duplicate action.

Click the drop-down arrow and select Duplicate action

When you duplicate an action, it is placed directly below the selected action. You can also select Add action after to create a copy of the same action type with all fields empty.

Bulk edit action dates

If you have multiple actions with the same due date or approval due date, you can edit the assigned date in bulk.

To bulk edit action due dates:

From the Edit toolbar, click Bulk edit and select the date you’d like to edit–Due date or Approval due.
Select the new dates in the TO column. Expand the row to see all the actions where the date will be changed.
Click Save to make the changes.