Automations overview

An automation does something to an order on its own, every time the same thing happens. Each one reads as a sentence: When something happens, if the order fits, then do these steps. For example: when an order is paid in full, if it has no shipment yet, then create the shipment, print the label and set the status. You find automations under Automations in the menu: Packers use automations through Floor mode, a full-screen view of one order at a packing station. See Floor mode.

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What an automation is made of

The triggers, conditions and steps you can choose come from the modules your organization uses. The full list is in What you can choose.

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What automations act on

In this version, automations act on orders only. Automations on products are not available yet.

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States

An automation is in one of four states. The list shows it as a switch, and as a tag for Trial and Paused. A new automation starts Off. In the editor you choose Off, Trial or On under Whether it runs. You pause an automation from the Automations list or from Activity, and resume it from the list. Switching an automation off, or deleting it, cancels its runs that are still waiting: “Cancelled: the automation was switched off.”

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Trial

A trial shows what an automation would do on real orders before it does anything. It runs the same checks as a live automation and records each run, but no step acts: nothing is set, booked, printed or sent.

• On the Automations list, a trial’s row counts the “times it would have run. Nothing was changed.”
• On the order card, its runs show Trial: nothing was changed.
• On Activity, its runs are in the Trial tab.

When you switch a trial automation on, Omnilinker asks first: “Switch “…” on? It has only been trying until now: from now on it acts for real.”

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Run order

When several automations start on the same trigger, they all look at the order as it was at that moment, then run one after another, from the top of the Automations list to the bottom. Automations in groups run first, group by group; the ones not in a group run after them. See Order and groups.

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Holds

You can hold automations on one order, for example while someone sorts it out by hand. While an order is held, nothing starts on it by itself: runs wait as Waiting: held until someone releases it. When the hold is released, each waiting run checks its conditions again and runs only if the order still fits. A custom trigger pressed on that one order still runs, because a person chose to press it. A press on several orders at once, from the order list, leaves held orders out. You hold an order from its card, an automation can hold it with the Hold automations step, and floor mode holds it with Hand to a person. See Hold automations on an order.

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When a step fails

A step that fails for a passing reason, such as a carrier that does not answer, is tried again by itself after 5, 15, 30 and 60 minutes: five tries in about two hours. A step the module refuses, for example a status that does not exist, is not tried again, because trying again would not change the answer. When a step has failed for good, Omnilinker sends a notification to the person who made the automation, and to the people and role chosen under If a step fails. You can then retry the step from the order card or from Activity. See Runs and activity.

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Loop protection

Automations can start each other: a step that sets a status starts the automations that wait for The status changes. To stop two automations from setting a status back and forth for ever:

• A chain stops after 5 automations in a row: “Stopped: automations triggered each other 5 times in a row.”
• An automation acts on an order at most once in the same chain: “Stopped: this automation already acted on this record in the same chain.”

A stopped run shows Stopped by the loop guard on the order card, and the person who made the automation gets a notification. Activity lists the loops it stopped. The editor warns you before you save, under Worth knowing, when an automation’s steps start other automations.

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Permissions

Automation permissions are in the Automations group in the role editor. See Users and roles.

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Switching automations on for your organization

Automations are one feature, Automations, in the Automations group. It is on by default. When it is off, the Automations menu is hidden, the pages say “Automations aren’t switched on for this account.”, and nothing is recorded or run. Omnilinker switches features; see Modules and feature availability.

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Next steps