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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, 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:

1. From Home, click Create .
2. From the menu, select Process.
3. Double-click the process name to edit.
4. Expand the drop-down menu to select the action trigger.
   • 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
   • Manual allows you to manually start each action once you run your process

Add an action

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 users 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. Learn more about adding content requests to processes.
• Certifications are tasks specifically for sending out letters to be signed. Learn more about adding certification actions to processes.
• 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.

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 the action
• Assigned to: The assignee that needs to complete the task

You can also add:

• Due date (optional): When the assignee needs to complete the task by
• Assignee reminders: By default, automated reminder emails with default content are sent to assignees three days before, the day of, and every day for three days after the assignee due date. You can instead choose to not send reminders at all or customize the reminders according to your personal needs. See Send reminders in Processes for more details.
• Approval by (optional): The approver who will approve the assignee’s content or return it for further rework
• Approval due (optional): When the approver needs to approve the task by
• Approver reminders: If you add an approver, you can customize the approver reminders. By default, automated reminder emails with default content are sent to approvers three days before, the day of, and every day for three days after the approval due date. You can instead choose to not send reminders at all or customize the reminders according to your personal needs. See Send reminders in Processes for more details.
• File (optional for a Task): The file where content is needed
• Section (optional for a Task): The specific section in the file where content is needed
• Instructions (optional): Add any additional information needed to complete the task
• Tags (optional): Identifying information about the action using a category and a value (ex: Priority: Low)

To change the order of your actions, click on an action’s row item and move one action at a time using Move down or Move up in the toolbar.

Duplicate an action

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

To duplicate an action:

1. Click the dropdown arrow next to your action.
2. 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 actions

You can edit various fields for multiple actions at once. Select one or more actions to edit, click the Edit actions dropdown, and select the field you want to edit.

Learn more about bulk editing actions in a process.

Delete an action

To delete an action from the process:

1. Click the dropdown arrow next to your action.
2. Select Delete action. 

You can also select one or more actions and click Delete action in the toolbar.

Process properties

You can 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 will continue to run even if the due date passes and the process still isn't complete.
• Change the Action trigger
• Choose how you want to Close the process (closed processes can be reopened if needed). This setting can be changed at any time while a process is still running.
  • Select Automatically if you want to automatically close the process once all actions are completed or canceled (default)
  • Select Manually if you want a process owner to manually close the process when they’re ready

If your process has certification actions, you can also manage the certification properties here. Learn more about certification properties.

Run a process

Note: Before running your process, we recommend that you verify that all actions and their details are correct by exporting all process actions as a CSV file.

After building your process, click Run in the toolbar. Running a process starts your actions according to your process’s action trigger, and each assignee will receive an email with a link to view their task.

Note: Only a process owner can run the process (this process owner will become the process manager). Furthermore, if any process actions contain assigned files, the process owner must have owner permissions to those files in order to run the process.

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Monitor a process