Workflow Triggers Explained
A workflow trigger defines when a workflow runs. Choosing the right trigger ensures your automation fires at the correct moment — not too early, not too late.
Available Triggers
Document Created
Fires whenever a new document enters the system for the first time. This includes documents uploaded manually, imported via email, or imported from a connected scanner or folder.
Best used for: - Auto-classifying incoming documents (assign correspondent, type, tags) - Adding an Inbox tag to all new documents - Sending a notification when a new document of a certain type arrives
This is the most commonly used trigger. Most automation happens at the moment a document first arrives.
Document Updated
Fires whenever a document's metadata is changed — by a user editing it, by another workflow, or by auto-matching.
Best used for: - Triggering a second-stage action after a first workflow has classified a document - Removing a tag when a specific field is set (e.g. remove Unreviewed when a correspondent is assigned) - Granting permissions when a document type is assigned
Caution: Workflows triggered by Document Updated can cause loops if their actions themselves trigger further updates. For example, a workflow that adds a tag on update will itself cause another update event. Use filters carefully to prevent unintended recursive triggers.
Document Added to Workflow
Fires only when a document is manually added to this specific workflow by a user. This trigger is not automatic — it requires a user action.
Best used for: - On-demand actions a user triggers selectively, not on every document - Review or approval steps where a human decides when to trigger the next action - Ad-hoc processing (e.g. "archive this document" workflow run on selected documents)
Trigger + Filter Combination
The trigger determines when to evaluate, but filters determine which documents actually get processed. A "Document created" trigger with a filter set to "Correspondent = Acme Supplies" runs for every new document, but only takes action on those from Acme.
Without any filters, the workflow acts on every document that matches the trigger event — use this only when you truly want to apply the action universally (e.g. adding an Inbox tag to all new documents).
Execution Order
When multiple workflows share the same trigger, they run in order from lowest to highest Order number. The order matters when: - One workflow sets a correspondent that a second workflow then evaluates - One workflow removes a tag that another workflow checks for
Plan your workflow order to ensure earlier workflows' outputs are available to later ones.