Workflow Action Buttons

Owned by Damith Samarakoon
Last updated: Dec 09, 2024 by Rebecca David

 Overview

Action buttons take common RIB CX  form actions and convert them into a Single Click. This makes for a speedy and simple process when managing Workflows.

Action buttons are shown on:

  • Preview Email notifications. These can be clicked without needing to login to the project to progress the Workflow. The buttons are compatible on desktop emails as well as emails received via your mobile phone.
  • Dashboards. They can trigger a form based on trigger configuration.

Types of Action Buttons

Buttons

These are simply buttons that can be added to the toolbar of an RIB CX form. They can be configured to be visible based on some conditions.

When they are clicked, they can be configured to trigger some post actions.

Project Administrators can create action buttons for any new form type they create.

Select

Select Action buttons work in conjunction with a mapping Select field. It allows you to pick a value from a drop down that auto updates the RIB CX form addressing based on the mapping user field used in the configuration.

They are only displayed in a special type of List that can be accessed via a Dashboard.

Basic Configuration

Prerequisites - You must have an action button configured for the Default status of the form.

1. To add an action button go to the Form type you wish to add it to.

2. Edit the status config.

3. Then click on Add Action.

4. From here you can select the type of Action Control it is (Button or Select).

5. Give it a title.

6. Give it a Colour.

7. Give it an Icon.

8. And also set permissions. This will define who can see this Action buttons.

Configuration Conditions

Conditions define when the Control appears. 

1. By default the first option will be the Status criteria.

2. From there you can define user field values that must be matched for the button to appear.

Currency and Number Field Criteria 

Currency and Number fields have been added to the status action button criteria list.

You can configure the same field more than once to support configuring numbers between two others.

Condition Options on Contract Admin Forms

On CA forms you can configure Conditions based on additional CA options.

Matches Assessment

"Matches Assessment" allows the status action button configuration of CA forms.

When configured, you can use it to hide/show buttons based on whether the assessment amount of a variation is equal to the total of the variation

If the amount is the same the system will dynamically update the list of status action buttons and display them when changing the assessment amount on a variation.

"Between" Values for Contracts Admin Criteria

Configuring "in-between" values for Contracts Admin forms.

In between values allow you to configure for example:  An amount between two values eg: 25,000 < Amount < 50,000.

This has been implemented by enabling the user to select the same criteria twice when configuring the conditions.

This is supported for all CA fields

Requires Comment Option

With this option turned on you can force a user to enter a comment prior to clicking on the Status Action button.

This applies to the Response Window


Comments Required can also be used when responding to email.

On Dashboards, there will be a pop up alerting you that a comment is required :

Configuring Actions 

Actions define what happens when the Control is clicked or selected. It has the options to 1. Change Status, 2. Change Action, 3. Change Info and 4. Change Due Date.

Change Status

Change the status to something else.

Change Action

Change Action (addressing of the document).

Author

Returns the form back to the author of the form.

Contact User Field

1. Select Contact user field in the post Actions area

2. Pick the contact user field you wish to use.

Mapping User Fields

The action person can be set by using the configured mapping user field. 

You must have this button configured to update the action based on a mapping user field.

When creating a new form of this type the action area will be greyed.

You can still set the info users as required.

When creating the new form you simply set the mapping user field value and click on the action button.

This will submit the form and automatically update the action person on the form based on the mapping user field configuration


Return

Returns the form to the previous Action person

To find out who was the previous action person, the system looks at history or comments to see who was the previous action person.

If there is no history or comments by a different previous collaborator then the system keeps the current status

Return Status could give different results based on the above. You may change the Action of the form, without changing the Status of it, if there is no history/comment by another collaborator

In the example below for a Defect form : 

Usman creates a document on 14th Feb (Status 1: For Review)

Barry receives the form from Usman to action ( Status 2: Ready to inspect)

When Barry presses the 'Fail' action button, form returns back to the previous status (Status 1: For Review)

User(s)

You can configure status action buttons to directly change addressing without requiring a mapping field.

When User(s) is selected you can configure a group, a user or multiple users.

Update Action Buttons Based on User Field Selections in Real Time

You can configure one or more user field criteria against another user field, in order to customise which action buttons should appear when user selects it.

A good use case is where you configure a mapped user field against an action button. When that user is selected the action button will appear in real time on the form.

This functionality enables users with dynamic action buttons that automatically update based on their selections. It ensures seamless task management and enhanced productivity. By automatically refreshing action buttons based on specific field selections, users experience an interface tailored to their immediate needs.

1. In the form, make sure  you have a 'Select' user field where user can select a contact. Toggle on 'Mapping user field' . 

In this example we're using an RFI form and adding a user field with description 'Response Required By'.

2. Add mapped user contacts in options of this user field.

3. Once user field is configured, go to 'General' tab in the form → Click Status → Status List → Action button you'd like to configure against this user field.

4. Configure button's If/then logic by using 'Condition' and 'Action'.

In this example, we're sayin, if condition is that form is in draft stage and 'Response Required By' Select Option is 'QA Team'.

then action should be to Change Status to Quality Team, and Change Action of Mapping User field to 'Response Required By'.

That completes the configuration! 

As a user: When you go to that example RFI form and select 'QA Team' it will show 'Quality Team' button underneath straight away in real time

Update Action Button based on Calculation Fields in Pre-Conditions

You can configure an action button to update based on calculation field.

Real-Time Button Refresh :

Action buttons will now refresh in real time when calculation fields used in their pre-conditions are updated.

Example Scenario :

If a button should appear when "percentage complete" equals 100%, the button will now display immediately when this condition is met, rather than only after submitting the form.

Dynamic Updates :

As you edit the form, any changes in the calculation fields will trigger an immediate refresh of the action buttons, ensuring they reflect the latest data

Skip Workflow Step [SKIP]

CRITERIA TO BE MET

The skip a workflow step option is available only when the following criteria are met:

  1. Mapped User Fields are in use (cannot use "allow multiple")
  2. Status Action Buttons are in use.
  3. The next Status Action Button must have a matching name.

When using [SKIP] in a mapped user field the form will skip that step and go onto the next step in the workflow.

1. Mapped User Fields

Mapped user fields need to be set up with a skip workflow step configured.

2. Status Action Buttons

Status action buttons need to be configured for each status.

With the ACTIONS being configured to change the action to the mapping userfield and select the next userfield.

3. Status Action Button Names the Same

The status action buttons for each status must be named the same.

Change Info User

You can also configure an action button to update the info user of a form. 

You can update the info using

  • Contact user field
  • Mapping user field
  • Or a specific user

Change Due Date

Similar to the above you can also configure the action button to update the due date of a form and move it forward by however many days as desired

Automatic Progression for Action Buttons

Automatically progress an action button after waiting a specific number of days in that status.

You can turn on this option under post conditions in action buttons and configure the number of days the form should wait in the specific status before progressing the form. This helps get around any bottlenecks where a workflow may be stuck due to non-action

Re-ordering / Re-organizing buttons

You have the ability to drag and drop to reorder action buttons. The new order will be automatically saved and reflected on those forms : 

History Log for Action Button Changes

Changes to Action buttons are logged and can be viewed via the history button on the action button.