The anatomy of an action
The anatomy of an action
Once an action is in the flow it appears as a card, and clicking it opens the settings panel on the right of the screen. Understanding those two is what lets you configure and use actions properly.
The action card
The card shows the action's state in the flow:
| Element | What it is |
|---|---|
| Icon | The kind of action (a browser icon, a spreadsheet icon, and so on) |
| Title | The action's name ("Open Browser", "Insert text") |
| ID | The action's unique identifier, shown as #identifier (e.g. #openBrowser) |
The ID is generated automatically, but you can change it to something more descriptive. It is how other actions in the flow reference this one's output.
The settings panel
Clicking a card opens the side panel. It has these sections:
1. The action's identity
At the top of the panel:
- Action ID: the unique identifier used to reference this action's output. It must be unique in the flow, cannot start with a number, and may only contain letters, numbers and
_. - Version: when an action has more than one version available, you can pick which to use. Always prefer the latest.
Changing an action's ID after other actions already reference its output can break those references. Settle the ID before connecting actions to each other.
2. The action's settings (input parameters)
The main section, where you fill in what the action needs to run. Every action has its own set of fields, but they all use the same field types.
For every kind of field there is, see Input field types.
3. Output fields (returns)
Below the settings there is a collapsible panel called Output fields (or Returns). It lists the values the action will produce, which other actions can then use.
Each output field shows:
- The field's name: the identifier used to reach the value (
value,filePath,exists). - A description: what the value represents.
- A type: the kind of value (Text, Number, Boolean and so on), as a coloured tag.
- A checkbox: whether that field is available to other actions.
Only enable the output fields you actually need later in the flow. It keeps the flow tidy and makes the returns easier to find when configuring the actions that follow.
For how to use those outputs elsewhere, see Chaining actions.
4. Run options
At the bottom of the panel, run options control what the robot does if the action runs into trouble:
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Stop the robot on error | Whether the robot stops when this action fails. Set to No, the robot skips the failed action and carries on. |
| Number of attempts | How many times the action is retried before it counts as failed. Minimum: 1. |
For more on running and monitoring actions, see Running and monitoring.
5. Save
With every field filled in, click Save to confirm. The panel closes and the card updates.
Save stays disabled while the action's ID is invalid — already used by another action, starting with a number, or containing special characters. Fix the ID first.
Next
- Input field types — every kind of field there is
- Chaining actions — use one action's output in another
- Running and monitoring — control the run and follow each action's status