Automated Workflows
An automated workflow carries out a job without someone performing every file operation. The job might be collecting reports each morning, delivering orders as they arrive, or preparing a document for someone to review. Files.com provides connections, file operations, processing, and monitoring that you can combine with your own applications.
Start by describing the file journey. Identify where the input comes from, what makes it ready, what must happen to it, where the result belongs, and how you will know the work succeeded. Then choose the features that perform each part.
Follow a File Through the Work
Suppose suppliers submit invoices to a finance team. Suppliers upload to their assigned intake folders. Finance staff review the submissions and place approved files in a separate ready folder.
A scheduled Sync copies those files to the accounting system's pickup location. The accounting application imports them and records whether each invoice was accepted.
The review is a human decision inside an otherwise automated process. Files.com does not infer approval from an upload: the ready folder is a boundary this team deliberately establishes, with access limited to the people who can approve invoices. A different organization could validate a structured feed automatically before delivery.
The destination might be an SFTP server, cloud storage, or an internal server connected through the Agent. These connection choices do not change the business stages.
Choose What Performs the Work
A Sync replicates a source folder to a destination in one direction. An Automation performs actions such as copying, moving, renaming, or importing files according to its trigger and selection rules.
A mount provides access to remote files; by itself, it does not create a recurring transfer.
Automations v1 performs one action type per Automation. Several Automations can participate in a process, but independently triggered Automations do not form an ordered sequence merely because they watch the same folder.
Automations v2 connects actions and controls into a multi-step workflow. Use its versioned reference when evaluating branching and transformation features; do not assume those features are available in v1.
An external script or application can also own the sequence, using the API, SDKs, CLI, or an integration platform to work with Files.com. This is useful when the file transfer is part of a larger application process.
Establish Identity and Timing
The person configuring a workflow, the permissions used when it runs, and the credentials used to reach a Remote Server are separate concerns. Test the actual execution permissions, including replacement and deletion operations, rather than relying on an administrator's successful manual upload.
Choose timing and triggers to match the work: a recurring interval, a business calendar, and a response to file activity answer different needs. A deadline for the business process must allow time for transfer and processing after the trigger fires.
Process and Verify the Result
Processing and routing determine what happens between receipt and delivery: which inputs qualify, how contents or filenames change, whether outputs need encryption, and which files need attention. Keep the original input when it is needed to investigate or repeat a failed process.
A successful transfer and a successful invoice import are different results. Verifying delivery requires run logs, checks for missing files, and evidence from the receiving application. Plan how to recover when any stage fails, so unattended work has a clear owner when it needs human attention.