I’ve got a board set up that receives form data once submitted. There are multiple choices in a drop down menu (Request Type) so what I’d like to do is when a specific Request Type in a drop down is selected when there is a specific Request Status, then a duplicate of the item is made and moved to the board that relates to that Request Type type.
I’ve got 5 different types so I did 5 different automations, 1 for each request type. However when I do a test run, it creates all the duplicates in the Active/Top board and then randomly moves the original item around between all the other groups. It does it in a different order every time and eventually stops with all the dups left in the top group and the original in a random group.
Image is a sample of one of the automations that seems to be competing with all the others.
My ultimate goal is for no items to be in the “Active Requests” / top group and to have every request type be copied and moved to the group it belong in so each group can manage their own project requests.
It seems like you’re encountering a common challenge with automation conflicts when trying to duplicate and sort items based on specific criteria. Here are some steps and best practices that might help you streamline your process:
Consolidate Automations: Instead of having separate automations for each request type, try to create a single automation that can handle all types. This can prevent the automations from competing with each other.
Conditional Logic: Use conditional logic within your automation to check both the Request Type and Request Status before performing any actions. This ensures that only the items meeting both conditions are processed.
Sequential Processing: Ensure that your automation processes items sequentially to avoid the random movement of items. This might involve setting up a queue system or using timestamps to process items in the order they were submitted.
Delay Between Actions: Introduce a delay between duplication and moving actions to ensure that the system has enough time to process one action before starting another.
Error Handling: Implement error handling in your automation to catch and log any issues that occur during the duplication and moving process. This can help you identify and fix problems more quickly.
Testing: Test your automation with a small subset of data first to ensure it behaves as expected. Gradually increase the test data set as you gain confidence in the automation’s performance.
Monitoring: Set up monitoring for your automation to track its activity and performance. This can help you spot any unexpected behavior early on.
Thanks, but I’m not sure those will help solve my issue.
I can’t combine the automations because they each are going to a different board. and I already have it looking at both request type and status.
As for the sequential, I’m not sure if that would solve this since it would only just standardize the order in which it moves around the item vs doing what I actually want, which is to have multiple copies and for the various items to all move. Same issue on delay.
I already test and already track progress. Each automation says they are successful when all 5 are active and running. They may be individually successful, but not as a whole.
Hi @SYNrtucker , I think you’ll be ale to achieve this using zzBots. If your interested in getting this set up or have any questions feel free to just chat with us on our website.
I’d suggest the issue you are encountering here is due to the “Duplicate” component of the custom automation looping.
When the automation triggers and Duplicates the item as intended the result of that Duplication triggers the automation again, or the next automation which is set to trigger on “Status Change” - Effectively trapping you in an automation/item creation/duplication “Loop”.
From your snip of the custom automation I can see that the “Request” Status change triggers the automation, is there a separate automation setup to change the “Request” status?
e.g. after a form is submitted or on Item creation?
You could fine tune your current automation depending on what/how the status change is changed or alternatively use the below automation. This removes the duplicate component and replaces it with “Create Item” in target board. You would be required to Map the fields the first time you setup the automation but I find this method far more flexible and reliable as apposed to “Duplicate Item & then move to board”.
