Triggering Workflows From Pages And Buttons

Triggering Workflows from Pages and Buttons

Most workflows fire automatically — when a record is created, when a schedule ticks, when a user logs in. But some workflows are best run on demand: a user clicks a button, a workflow fires for that exact record, and the user sees the results in real time.

This is what the Manual trigger is for, and how it pairs with action buttons and "Trigger Workflow" actions on your pages.

How Manual triggers work

A workflow with a Manual trigger doesn't fire on record changes or on a schedule. It only runs when something explicitly tells it to. The most common ways are:

• An action button on a Table, List, or Grid component, configured with a "Trigger Workflow" action.
• A page-level button that triggers the workflow.
• Another workflow that calls this one (workflow chaining).
• An incoming API call.

Setting up a Manual workflow

1. Add a new workflow as usual.
2. Pick the table the workflow should operate on.
3. For the trigger, choose Manual.
4. Add your action steps.
5. Save and activate.

Adding a "Trigger Workflow" button on a page

1. Open the page in the Builder.
2. Click the component (Table, List, Grid, etc.) that shows the records.
3. Open the Action settings — typically you can add row-level actions (one button per row) or component-level actions.
4. Add an action with type Trigger Workflow.
5. Pick the workflow you set up. Tadabase only shows Manual workflows in this list.
6. Configure the button label, icon, and confirmation message.

When the user clicks the button, the workflow fires for that row's record. The user sees the workflow's notification messages (if you've enabled them on each step) as it runs.

Client-side vs. server-side runs

Manual workflows triggered from a button run with the user's browser in the loop. That means:

• The user sees real-time progress messages from each step.
• UI-affecting actions (showing modals, redirecting, copying to clipboard) work the way you'd expect.
• The workflow's runtime is bounded — long-running workflows should still be split into smaller chunks.

Use Show Message for great UX

Manual workflows are the perfect place to use the Show Message action and the per-step notifications. The user clicked a button — they're watching for feedback. Add start/processing/success/error messages so they know the workflow is doing something.

Confirmation prompts before running

For destructive or high-impact actions (mass updates, charging cards, bulk emails), enable the confirmation prompt on the action button. The user is asked "Are you sure?" before the workflow fires — preventing accidental clicks.

Worked examples

Resend invoice

1. Trigger: Manual, on Invoices.
2. Step 1: Show Message — "Re-sending invoice…"
3. Step 2: Create PDF Form — generate the invoice PDF.
4. Step 3: Send Email — to the customer with the PDF attached.
5. Step 4: Update Record — increment Send Count.
6. Page setup: add a "Resend Invoice" action button on the Invoices table that triggers this workflow.

Approve a request

1. Trigger: Manual, on Time Off Requests.
2. Step 1: Update Record — set Status = Approved, Approved By = logged-in user, Approved At = current date/time.
3. Step 2: Send Email — to the requesting employee with their approval.
4. Step 3: Slack: Send Channel Message — post the approval to #hr.
5. Page setup: add an "Approve" action button (with confirmation) on the manager's request list.

Recalculate totals

1. Trigger: Manual, on Invoices.
2. Step 1: Lookup Records — find all line items for this invoice.
3. Step 2: Run Custom Code — sum up the line items.
4. Step 3: Update Record — write the new totals back to the invoice.
5. Page setup: add a "Recalculate" button on the invoice detail page.

Tips for button-triggered workflows

• Name the button clearly — "Resend Invoice," not "Run Workflow."
• Use icons so the button is easy to recognize at a glance.
• Always enable a confirmation prompt for destructive actions.
• Use Show Message for any step that takes more than a moment so the user knows progress is being made.
• Test with a real user on a real page — not just in the workflow editor.