Overview
Automated activities execute system actions without creating user tasks. They are configured via Automation Flows and can trigger external integrations (Power Automate) or built-in actions (ProcessPro Automate).
Quick Steps
Power Automate — Send Payload
An activity is configured with an Automation Flow: Engine=Power Automate, Type=Send Payload.
When the workflow reaches this activity, an outbound HTTP POST is sent to the configured endpoint.
The payload includes submission context, process metadata, and workflow details.
If the endpoint returns a transient failure (429, 500, timeout), the system retries per configuration.
Each attempt is logged in the audit trail with payload/response metadata.
Permanent failures are surfaced as workflow errors.
ProcessPro Automate — Built-in Actions
ProcessPro Automate actions run without external calls.
Examples include Save Managed Document, which generates a PDF and saves it under a configured Managed Document Type.
The action completes automatically and leaves an audit entry with actor=system.
Configuration
Automation Flows are configured in the company settings. Each flow requires:
Engine — Power Automate or ProcessPro Automate
Flow Type — determines the action (Send Payload, Save Managed Document, etc.)
Configuration JSON — flow-specific settings (endpoint URL, document type, etc.)
Important: The engine and flow type must be compatible. For example, Send Payload requires Power Automate, while Approve By Role requires ProcessPro Workflow. Mismatched combinations are rejected during configuration.
Sub-Form Configuration
Automated activities can include a sub-form that is displayed to the assignee when they open the task. This allows the assignee to provide input or make selections as part of completing the activity.
Quick Steps
Open the automation configuration for the activity
Select a sub-form from the form selector dropdown
The selected form is displayed to the assignee when they open the task
The assignee completes the sub-form and uses the action buttons to submit
Posting to Comments
A Post to Comments toggle controls whether the sub-form content is automatically written to the submission comments when the task is actioned:
Enabled — when the assignee clicks an action button (Reject, Escalate, or Complete), the sub-form content is posted as a comment on the submission
Disabled — the sub-form data is saved but not written to the comments
Important: The posting toggle applies to all three action buttons. Individual button control is configured separately (see below).
Action Button Visibility
Each action button — Reject, Escalate, and Complete — can be shown or hidden independently:
All three buttons are enabled by default
Toggle each button on or off to control which actions are available to the assignee
At least one button must remain visible — the system prevents disabling all three
This allows fine-grained control over task workflows. For example, you might hide the Reject button on tasks that must always be escalated rather than rejected.