Do automated workflows operate on specific rows?

Don12345

Hello,

I want to set up an automated workflow that triggers when a column is changed to meet a specific criteria. When this trigger is met, will it run the workflow on every row in the table, or only the specific row which the trigger was met?

My sheet has hundreds of rows and will likely have rows that change and meet criteria daily. I only want the automated workflow to trigger from a specific row and contact the email in that specific row one time when the trigger is met, and I would not like it to run even if that specific row has not changed, but another row in the sheet has.

I have tried to test the workflow by clicking "run now", but it runs for every row despite not meeting criteria.

I hope that makes sense, but please let me know if there are any questions.

Thanks in advance,

Don

Jeff Reisman

@Don12345

In my experience, being as specific as possible in both your trigger and your condition blocks is crucial. Without knowing your specific trigger or criteria I can't offer you detailed help, but I can suggest some things.

Trigger: I sometimes use a trigger like "When rows are changed" and within the trigger block I add a specific column changing to a specific value, such as "when Status changes to 'Complete'." With a trigger like that, the workflow is only going to fire on rows that changed AND where the change is the Status changing to 'Complete.'

Conditions: You can then use condition blocks to narrow your criteria down further, such as "where the Functional Area is one of 'Product Management' or 'Supply Chain'."

Now, with a workflow like the one above, using the Run Workflow Now will completely ignore the trigger box. That means it will run on ALL rows that meet the Conditions in the Condition box, not just on the rows that have a Status of 'Complete'. If you want to test the workflow using Run Workflow Now, be sure to tell it the specific rows you want it to run on. To test it naturally, just make the change on a row that meets the trigger and conditions, i.e. change the Status to 'Complete' on a row for one of those functional areas, save, and see if the workflow runs as it should.

Paul Newcome

Letting it run on its own off of the trigger, it will only run on the row(s) that trigger it.

The Run Now feature runs on all rows ignoring the trigger and only looking at the conditions portion of the automation.

Jeff Reisman

@Don12345

In my experience, being as specific as possible in both your trigger and your condition blocks is crucial. Without knowing your specific trigger or criteria I can't offer you detailed help, but I can suggest some things.

Trigger: I sometimes use a trigger like "When rows are changed" and within the trigger block I add a specific column changing to a specific value, such as "when Status changes to 'Complete'." With a trigger like that, the workflow is only going to fire on rows that changed AND where the change is the Status changing to 'Complete.'

Conditions: You can then use condition blocks to narrow your criteria down further, such as "where the Functional Area is one of 'Product Management' or 'Supply Chain'."

Now, with a workflow like the one above, using the Run Workflow Now will completely ignore the trigger box. That means it will run on ALL rows that meet the Conditions in the Condition box, not just on the rows that have a Status of 'Complete'. If you want to test the workflow using Run Workflow Now, be sure to tell it the specific rows you want it to run on. To test it naturally, just make the change on a row that meets the trigger and conditions, i.e. change the Status to 'Complete' on a row for one of those functional areas, save, and see if the workflow runs as it should.