What can we help you with?
  1. Support
  2. Using monday
  3. Automations
Subitems and automations
    Was this article helpful?

    Subitems and automations

    3 min read
    Feature

     

    Automations help you to reduce manual work. Subitems provide a deeper structure to your board. You can now use select automations with subitems to create the perfect workflow! 🎉 

     

    How to create subitems

    To use automations with subitems, you first need to create subitems on your board. You can create subitems from any of the following locations:

    1. Add them from the column center: 

    image_5__29_.png

     

    2. Right-click on the item name:

    2sub.gif

     

    3. Use the item's dropdown menu:

    1sub.gif

     

    Once you've added a subitem, a subitem column will be created indicating the number of subitems you've created. 

     

    How to add an automation

    To add an automation to your board, you will first need to visit the automation store. You can access the store by clicking on "Automate" at the top of your board :

    image_374.png

    There you will be able to choose from our different recipes and set up the automation that supports your workflow. Visit the Subitems section of the Automation Center to see recipes specific to subitems:

    image_79.png

    You will see 3 options in this category. The first two are pre-made recipes that you can apply to your workflow. The third option is to create your own automation.

    Frame_1074__2_.png

    Learn more about your three options.
    • 1. ex. When all subitems of an item have the status of Done, change the item's status to Successful. Subitems are housed under a parent item. This first automation will look at all of the subitems under one item to see if their statuses match the status you defined when setting up the automation. In our example, that means that all of the subitems must have the status "Done" to trigger the automation. Once all subitems are marked as Done, the parent item's status will change to Successful.

    • 2. ex. When all subitems of an item have the status Stuck, notify Assignee. The second automation recipe will look at all of the subitems under one item to see if their statuses match the status you defined when setting up the automation. In our example, that means that all of the subitems must have the status "Stuck" to trigger the automation. Once all subitems are marked as Stuck, the automation will notify Assignee. You can also set this to notify you everytime regardless of who is assigned to the parent item.

    • 3. While the custom automation builder doesn't currently support the ability to build an automation where the trigger is a change to a subitem, you can create an automation where the action of the automation results in a subitem being created on your board. As in: When an item is created, create a subitem. We are actively working to expand the capabilities of the custom automation builder.

     

    Supported recipes

    You can also see whether or not an automation recipe supports subitems by going to the Automation Center and looking for the "Supports subitems" note:

    Frame_1075.png

    Where supported, you can use a subitem as either a trigger or a field in the notify section of a recipe:

    Frame_1076.png

     

    Custom recipes

    You can utilize subitems with custom recipes! You have the option to create subitems with the custom recipe builder:

    Add_action.gif

    This action, "create sub item", is currently the only action involving subitems. If you'd like to use "create a sub item" as one of your actions, you must set up the subitem column on the board first.

    Subitems are supported for all triggers except:

    • when an item is created
    • when an update is created
    • when an item moves to a group
    • when an item moves to board

     

     

    If you have any questions, please reach out to our team right here. We’re available 24/7 and happy to help.

    Cassandra Eddington - Quality check

    Comments