Automations in projects

You can build "if-then" automations for tasks within a project to map automatic workflows.

Lucas Bauche avatar
Written by Lucas Bauche
Updated this week

Automations allow you to perform specific actions on projects and project tasks when certain triggers occur.

Example: When a new task is created in the list New list, assign Julia to the task.

You can create these automations extremely easily because they are shown to you as a simple whole sentence. πŸ™Œ

You can create and manage automations in your project in the Settings > Automations section.

Each project can have any number of automations.

Set up a new automation

Open your project and go to the Settings > Automations section. Click on the blue 'add' button. A window will open to select your trigger.

Each automation always consists of only one trigger but can contain any number of actions.

Set trigger

The trigger is the event that must occur for the automation to start. You can choose from a variety of triggers in awork, as you can see in the list.

Depending on the trigger, you will then have to add specific conditions. You can see this with the underlined fields in the window. Click on the field to add the desired condition.

Define action

In the next step, you choose which action(s) should be triggered. Again, there is a long list of possible options.

For some actions, it is also necessary to enter additional information. Again, pay attention to the underlined fields and fill them in.

You can add as many actions as you want for each automation.

Then click the Save button, and your automation is created and immediately active.

Project automations vs. task automations

You can create automations based on project triggers as well as on tasks triggers. Depending on the trigger you chose, you will see a specific set of actions.

Example: When a project budget is reached, notify Julia and set project status to blocked.

☝️Hint: Project automations can be especially helpful to maintain a good overview of specific project statuses.

Automations in project templates

You can even create your automations in project templates. When creating a new project with the template, the automations will appear in your project.

To add an automation to the project template, go to the template (Settings > Templates > Project Templates), and click on the blue add button for automations. The creation process is exactly the same as described above for the project.

Any number of automations can be predefined in a project template.

Note that changing an automation in the template won't retroactively change the automations in the projects previously created with the template. The contents of the template are only copied to the project at the moment when the project is created.

☝️Hint: You can also create deactivated automations in your template. These are also copied into the project for new projects but are not active until they are switched on. This way, you can predefine optional automations that can be used or ignored depending on your preferences.

☝️Hint: If you make changes to the automations in an existing project template or create new automations, awork will ask you whether you want to apply the changes to all projects that have been created using this template.

Switch off automation instead of deleting

You'll also be able to simply switch off your automations instead of deleting them. Do this using the switch button in the automation overview.

This is useful, for example, if you are cleaning up your project once and want to suppress all actions until then.

Frequently asked questions

Can one automation trigger another automation?

No, an automation with one action triggering another automation is technically prevented in awork to prevent recursive ping-pong effects. If you want to execute multiple actions by the same trigger, you have to create these actions in the same automation.

My automation doesn't seem to be running anymore. Why?

This can happen due to several reasons. Check if your automation has switched itself off due to an error. This can happen, for example, if a task list used in the automation has been deleted.

Go to the Settings > Automations section in your project. Is your automation switched off there? If it has been turned off due to an error, you'll see a red exclamation mark next to it. If you move the mouse pointer over it, you'll see the reason for the automatic shutdown. Correct your automation and turn it on again.

I have a due date trigger. When is this triggered?

If you build an automation with a due date trigger (e.g., When a task is due...), then the actions will be triggered when the date reaches the specified morning in CET. In this case, the due time of the task is irrelevant. For instance, even if the task is not due until 6PM in the evening, the automation will still be triggered on the morning of the due date.

For whom is the time tracked in the automation "When a new task is created via email, then start time tracking on the task"?

The time is tracked for the person who sends the e-mail, provided that this person also has awork access. The time is recorded for this person, regardless of whether and which user is assigned to the task.

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