Setting Up Automation Triggers – When Actions Should Happen

Understanding Automation Triggers #

Triggers are the “when” in your automation workflow – they determine exactly what event causes your automation to execute. FORMEPIC provides three powerful trigger types that give you precise control over when actions happen. Think of triggers as the starting point of your automated workflow, the spark that sets everything in motion.

Why Triggers Matter:

• Precision: Execute actions only when specific conditions are met
• Efficiency: Avoid unnecessary actions for irrelevant submissions
• Flexibility: Different triggers for different business needs
• Control: Fine-tune exactly when workflows activate

Available Trigger Types #

FORMEPIC offers three distinct trigger types, each serving different automation scenarios:

1. On Form Submit #

What It Does: Triggers immediately when any form submission is received

When to Use:

• Send instant notifications to your team
• Log all submissions to external systems
• Send thank-you emails to every respondent
• Update dashboards or analytics in real-time
• Create records in CRM or database for every submission

How It Works:

• Fires the moment form data is successfully submitted
• No additional conditions needed
• Processes every single submission
• Fastest trigger option available
• Ideal for universal actions that apply to all respondents

Example Use Cases:

• “Notify admin@company.com of every new contact form submission”
• “Send all leads to webhook endpoint for CRM integration”
• “Send confirmation email to every form respondent”

2. On Specific Answer #

What It Does: Triggers only when a respondent gives a particular answer to a specific question

When to Use:

• Route different submission types to different teams
• Trigger special offers based on interest level
• Send targeted follow-up based on user selection
• Assign priority levels to submissions
• Segment responses for specialized handling

How It Works:

• Monitors specified form field
• Compares respondent’s answer to your configured expected answer
• Triggers only when there’s an exact match
• Works with multiple choice, dropdowns, radio buttons, checkboxes, and text fields
• Particularly powerful with question types that have predefined options

Example Use Cases:

• “If user selects ‘Sales Inquiry’ in Contact Type, notify sales team”
• “When Interest Level is ‘High’, send premium information package”
• “If Budget Range is ‘Enterprise’, route to account executive”
• “When Status equals ‘Urgent’, send SMS alert to support team”

3. On Form Completion #

What It Does: Triggers after the entire form is successfully completed and all data is processed

When to Use:

• Send comprehensive summary emails including all data
• Trigger complex workflows that need complete submission data
• Generate reports or documents based on full submission
• Update systems that require complete records
• Send detailed confirmation with all submitted information

How It Works:

• Waits for complete form submission and validation
• Ensures all required fields are filled
• Processes after all data integrity checks pass
• Provides access to complete submission dataset
• Ideal when you need the full picture before acting

Example Use Cases:

• After quiz completion, calculate score and send results
• “When order form is fully completed, generate invoice”
• “After registration completion, create account and send credentials”
• “Following survey completion, generate analysis and send thank you”

Choosing the Right Trigger #

Selecting the appropriate trigger is crucial for effective automation. Here’s how to decide:

Use “On Form Submit” When: #

• ✅ Every submission matters regardless of content
• ✅ You need instant notifications about any activity
• ✅ You’re logging all submissions to external systems
• ✅ Universal thank-you messages are appropriate
• ✅ You want the fastest possible trigger response

Use “On Specific Answer” When: #

• ✅ Different answers require different actions
• ✅ You’re segmenting respondents based on choices
• ✅ Priority routing is needed
• ✅ Targeted follow-ups are more effective
• ✅ You want to reduce noise by filtering submissions

Use “On Form Completion” When: #

• ✅ You need access to all submitted data
• ✅ Calculations or processing require complete information
• ✅ Document generation depends on full submission
• ✅ Data validation must complete before action
• ✅ Comprehensive records are necessary

Configuring “On Specific Answer” Triggers #

This is the most sophisticated trigger type and requires careful setup:

Step 1: Select the Field to Monitor #

When configuring this trigger, you’ll choose which form field to watch:

Available Field Types:

• Single Choice / Radio buttons
• Multiple Choice / Checkboxes
• Dropdown / Select menus
• Short Text fields
• Long Text / Textarea fields
• Number fields
• Email fields
• Phone fields
• And more…

Not Available:

• Form Steps
• Section Breaks / Page Breaks
• File Uploads
• Signatures
• Images / Videos
• Headings
• HTML snippets
• Submit buttons
• Display-only elements

Best Practice: Choose fields that have clear, predictable answers. Multiple choice and dropdown fields work especially well because answers are consistent.

Step 2: Define the Expected Answer #

After selecting your field, specify what answer should trigger the automation:

For Multiple Choice/Dropdowns:

• You’ll see a dropdown of all available options
• Select the exact option that should trigger the action
• The match must be exact (case-sensitive)
• Example: Select “Urgent” from your Priority dropdown

For Text Fields:

• Type the exact text that should trigger the automation
• Match is case-sensitive by default
• Include spaces and punctuation exactly as expected
• Example: Type “yes” if users will type “yes”

For Checkboxes:

• Specify which checkbox option selection triggers
• Can trigger when specific box is checked
• Example: “I agree to terms” checkbox checked

Important: The trigger evaluates using exact matching. “Sales” and “sales” are different, as are “Yes” and “Yes ” (note the trailing space).

Step 3: Test Your Configuration #

Before relying on your trigger:

1. Create a test automation with the trigger configured
2. Submit a test response with the exact expected answer
3. Verify the automation triggers correctly
4. Submit a response with a different answer
5. Confirm the automation does NOT trigger
6. Test edge cases (different capitalization, extra spaces, etc.)

Trigger Logic and Behavior #

Understanding how triggers evaluate is essential for reliable automations:

Evaluation Timing #

• On Form Submit: Evaluates immediately upon submission reception
• On Specific Answer: Evaluates after form submission, checks specified field
• On Form Completion: Evaluates after all validation and processing completes

Multiple Trigger Automations #

• Multiple automations can use the same trigger
• All matching automations will execute independently
• Execution order is not guaranteed
• Each automation succeeds or fails independently

Trigger Conditions #

• All trigger conditions must be explicitly configured
• No partial matching (answer must match exactly)
• Conditional logic is case-sensitive
• Empty/null answers do not match any expected value

Failed Triggers #

• If a trigger condition isn’t met, the automation doesn’t execute
• No error is generated for non-matching conditions
• This is expected behavior, not a failure
• Logs will show the submission was received but didn’t match criteria

Tips & Tricks #

• Use Dropdown Fields: For “On Specific Answer” triggers, dropdowns guarantee consistent answers
• Test Thoroughly: Always test with both matching and non-matching answers
• Document Triggers: Keep notes on what each trigger configuration does
• Name Clearly: Include the trigger condition in your automation name
• Consider Multiple Triggers: Don’t try to make one automation do everything
• Watch for Typos: Exact matching means typos prevent triggers
• Case Matters: “yes”, “Yes”, and “YES” are all different
• Use Form Validation: Ensure fields have the data format you expect

Important Notes #

• Trigger evaluation happens server-side for security and reliability
• Triggers cannot be modified after creation – create a new automation if needed
• Multiple automations with the same trigger will all execute
• Trigger events are logged for debugging purposes
• “On Specific Answer” triggers work with ANY field that accepts input
• Conditional logic is evaluated exactly as configured
• There’s no “fuzzy matching” – answers must match precisely

Common Issues & Troubleshooting #

Trigger Not Firing Despite Matching Answer #

Problem: Expected answer is given but automation doesn’t trigger

Solutions:

• Check for extra spaces before or after the answer
• Verify capitalization matches exactly (case-sensitive)
• Ensure the correct field is selected in trigger configuration
• Confirm automation is enabled (not disabled)
• Test by copying the exact expected answer from configuration
• Check if multiple automations exist and if others are triggering

Trigger Fires for Wrong Answers #

Problem: Automation activates even when answer doesn’t match

Solutions:

• This scenario is unlikely – verify your trigger configuration
• Check if you have multiple automations with different triggers
• Ensure you’re testing with distinct answers
• Review automation logs to see what actually triggered
• Verify the field mapping is correct

Can’t Select My Field as Trigger #

Problem: Desired field doesn’t appear in the field selection dropdown

Solutions:

• Verify the field type supports “On Specific Answer” triggers
• Display-only fields (headings, sections) cannot be triggers
• Save your form and refresh to ensure field list updates
• Ensure the field has a proper label configured
• Check that the field isn’t conditional/hidden at form load

Multiple Choice Field Triggers Unpredictably #

Problem: Checkbox/multiple choice fields behave unexpectedly

Solutions:

• For checkboxes, specify which specific option triggers
• Remember that checking multiple boxes may affect evaluation
• Test each checkbox option individually
• Consider creating separate automations for each checkbox option
• Be clear about whether ANY selection or SPECIFIC selection triggers

Trigger Activates Too Early #

Problem: Action happens before form is fully submitted

Solutions:

• Switch from “On Form Submit” to “On Form Completion”
• Ensure all required validation is in place
• Verify form has proper submission confirmation enabled
• Check that required fields are actually enforced

Trigger Configuration Won’t Save #

Problem: Can’t save trigger settings

Solutions:

• Ensure all required fields in trigger configuration are filled
• Check that expected answer is properly entered
• Verify form is saved before creating automations
• Look for error messages indicating validation issues
• Try refreshing the page and reconfiguring