Triggers
The trigger is the first node in every Automation and the only node with nothing before it. It determines when a run starts and which files or data the run starts with, and the first node after it processes those items. Choose the trigger by what starts the run: a schedule, a person or an API call, activity in a folder, an external system sending JSON, or an email.
| Trigger | When a run starts | What the run starts with |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled | At the times you configure | The files matching the folder path and pattern, or one empty data item when no folder path is set |
| Manual | When a person or an API call starts it | The files matching the folder path and pattern, the files or data supplied in the API call, or one empty data item |
| File Action | When a selected file action occurs in the folder you choose | One file item for each file action, with files uploaded together processed in one run |
| Webhook | When an external system sends JSON to the Automation's webhook URL | One data item for each JSON object in the request |
| Incoming Email | When an email arrives at the Automation's address | One file item for each attachment, and one for the message body when Save Body is on |
Selecting Files With the Trigger
Every trigger except Incoming Email takes a Folder Path and file patterns that select the files a run starts with. Incoming Email applies the same patterns and limit to its attachments, because its files are received as email attachments rather than read from a folder.
An Automation with a Scheduled trigger can also be started manually, and the run selects files with the same folder path and pattern as a scheduled run. An Automation with a File Action trigger cannot be started manually.