ProcessPlan Data

These actions connect an AI Employee job back to your ProcessPlan data: reading and updating fields on the process instance that launched the job, looking up and writing process table records, and doing simple calculations along the way.

Process Field - Get Value

Reads the current value of a field on the process instance that launched the job and holds it as a result that later actions can use - for example, to type it into another application.

• Field Value to Retrieve - the process field to read. This is usually specified by the process that calls the job.

The action fails if no field is specified or the field cannot be found on the instance.

Process Field - Hold Value

Takes a value handed in by the calling process (or typed into the setting) and simply holds it as a result for later actions. It is the standard way to pass a parameter - an account number, a search term, a file name - from a process into an AI Employee job.

• Value To Hold - the value to keep. Supports [[ Field ]] tokens; the calling process typically supplies this value.

Process Field - Replace Text

Writes a new value into a field on the process instance that launched the job, replacing whatever was there. Use it to save what the AI Employee found - a confirmation number, a status, extracted text - back onto the process.

• New Field Value - the value to write. Supports [[ Field ]] tokens, so you can save results captured by earlier actions.
• Field to Update - the process field to write to; usually specified by the calling process.

Process Field - Append Text

Like Process Field - Replace Text, but adds the new value onto the end of the field’s existing text instead of replacing it. Useful for building up a running log or accumulating results across a loop.

• New Field Value - the text to append. Supports [[ Field ]] tokens.
• Field to Update - the process field to append to; usually specified by the calling process.

Process Field - Replace File

Uploads one or more files from the AI Employee’s computer into a file attachment field on the launching process instance, replacing the field’s current attachments. Use it to deliver documents the job produced or downloaded.

• File Path and File Name - where to find the file(s); * and ? wildcards and semicolon-separated patterns are allowed, and both settings support [[ Field ]] tokens. Up to 30 matching files are uploaded.
• Both settings also accept a pattern in angle brackets, so C:\Data\<20\d\d> finds the year folders and report_<\d{4}>.pdf finds the matching file names. See Matching Folders and File Names.
• Field to Update - the file attachment field to update; usually specified by the calling process.

The action fails if no matching files are found.

Each matching file is uploaded on its own and can be up to 1 GB, so a field can receive a large set of attachments in a single action. Empty files are skipped. If a file cannot be uploaded, the job stops and the activity log names the file, so the field is never left holding only part of what the action matched. When more than 30 files match, the activity log says the limit was reached so you know some were left out.

Process Field - Append File

Works exactly like Process Field - Replace File, except the uploaded files are added alongside the field’s existing attachments instead of replacing them.

• File Path, File Name, and Field to Update - same behavior as the replace action, including wildcard and [[ Field ]] token support.

Process Field - Download Files

Downloads every file attached to a field on the launching process instance into a folder on the AI Employee’s computer, creating the folder if it does not exist. Use it to bring process attachments - invoices, forms, spreadsheets - down to the desktop so other actions can open or import them.

• Download From Field - the file attachment field to download from; usually specified by the calling process.
• Destination Folder Name - where to save the files. Supports [[ Field ]] tokens.

The action fails if the field has no files or a download cannot be completed. The saved file’s name and location are held as results for later actions.

Process Table Lookup

Searches a process table for a matching record and retrieves the value of one of its fields, holding both the value and the matched record’s ID as results for later actions. Use it like a reference lookup - find a customer’s account number, a price, or a mapping value by querying the table.

• Process Table - the table to search.
• Table Query Builder - the query that identifies the record. Supports [[ Field ]] tokens in the values it compares against.
• Table Field Value to Retrieve - the field whose value you want from the first matching record.

The action fails when no matching record is found, so it can double as a “does this record exist?” check.

If a field token in the query fills in blank, a comparison is left with nothing to match on. With equals (original), contains (original) or any other comparison that needs a value, the action fails instead of searching without that comparison, and the job log shows which comparison was blank. To choose what a blank field does instead, pick equals (no match if blank), equals (ignore if blank) or equals (blank matches blank), or the matching contains choices, in the query builder. Process Table Lookups explains each one. When a later Process Table Update writes to the record this action finds, avoid ignore if blank: with a blank field, the lookup can find a record that comparison was meant to rule out.

Process Table Update

Writes values into a process table - either updating an existing record or adding a new one. Use it to log results, maintain reference data, or queue follow-up work as a job runs.

• Process Table - the table to update.
• Process Instance ID to Update (Optional) - the record to update; supports [[ Field ]] tokens (the ID returned by Process Table Lookup works well here). If left blank, a new record is created and added to the table.
• Process Field to Update / Field Value pairs - up to 30 mappings of table fields to the values to write. Values support [[ Field ]] tokens.

Evaluate Formula

Evaluates a formula and holds the result for later actions. The action succeeds when the result is true and fails when it is not, so it also works as a checkpoint: combine it with each action’s failure behavior to branch, retry, or stop the job based on a condition.

A result is true when it is 1, true, t, or any number greater than 0, however many digits it has. Anything else is false, including 0, a negative number, text, and a blank result.

• Formula - the formula to evaluate. Supports [[ Field ]] tokens and the full formula language.

The formula is worked out each time the action runs, using your data as it stands at that moment. A formula that reads a process table, such as =TABLELOOKUP, finds records added since the job started, and an action repeated in a loop reads the table again on every pass. A formula that changes data, such as =INSTANCEUPDATE, makes its change each time the action runs, and makes no change if the job never reaches the action.

If ProcessPlan does not return a result for a formula, the AI Employee keeps trying. If it still gets no result, it stops completely. It does not take the action’s failure path, skip the action, or move on to the next one, and the job log says that the API did not respond. Start the AI Employee again once the connection is back. The same applies to any other formula the AI Employee has to work out while a job runs.

Tip: a formula that simply calculates a value (rather than a true/false test) still stores its result for later actions. Just remember that the action’s pass/fail outcome follows the rule above: a calculated price of 103.96 passes, but a price of 0 takes the failure path.

Tip: a formula typed into another action’s setting, such as the text to type, is worked out once, when the AI Employee picks up the job, unless it uses a result from an earlier action. A formula that does use an earlier result is worked out when its own action runs, using the field values at that moment. When a later action needs the latest data, put the formula in an Evaluate Formula action and use that action’s result. The same applies to a Formula that holds only [[ Field ]] tokens and no function: the field values are filled in when the AI Employee picks up the job.

Tip: a formula that looks up or changes other records, such as =TABLELOOKUP or =INSTANCEUPDATE, has to be written in one of the job’s own actions or in the settings of the Automated Action that starts the job. Text the AI Employee reads, such as a value from a screen, a file or a website, is always used as plain text, so a formula or field token in it is not calculated or filled in.

Counter

Keeps a running number that increases every time the action executes - perfect for numbering items in a loop or limiting how many times a loop repeats.

• Seed Number - the starting value. Supports [[ Field ]] tokens.
• Increment By - how much to add on each execution. Supports [[ Field ]] tokens.
• Reset Counter Each Run - when on, the counter restarts at the seed number at the beginning of every job run; when off, it keeps counting across runs.

The current count is held as a result that later actions can use (for example, in an Evaluate Formula check that exits a loop after a set number of passes). The action fails if the seed or increment is not a number.