Public workflow launch

Public Workflow Launch lets an organization share one controlled form with people who do not have a SimWorkflow account. Each accepted submission starts one chosen version of one workflow. Use it for external intake, such as a service request, registration, application, or customer submission.

A visitor can open and submit the shared form. The link does not give them access to your organization's private Pages, workflows, tasks, or user list. Submitting the form does not create an account or let the visitor follow the workflow after it starts.

Understand the terms

Choose how people start the workflow

Choose the option that matches the person who will fill in the form.

Making a Page public does not by itself start a workflow. Selecting a Page as a normal Workflow Launch Page does not make it available to external visitors. Configure Public Workflow Launch separately when you need the external form.

Pages also work independently as notes, procedures and a knowledge base. If you only want people to read a document, use the Page's normal viewing restrictions rather than configuring a launch form. The PageEditor guide starts with that standalone path. Its optional request-management walkthrough shows how intake answers become internal tasks and appear in a table or board.

Before you start

Prepare these items before configuring the link:

1. An enabled workflow definition with a published and enabled version.

2. A published public Page in the same organization that explains the submission clearly and has the fields that the workflow expects.

3. An active, unlocked Execution User in the same organization.

4. A decision about who should receive the link and how long it should remain shared.

To make the intended Page publicly viewable, open its Page menu, choose Settings, then set Page restrictions to View public and select Save changes. Publish the content you intend visitors to read. This exposes that published Page for public reading, including to search engines; do not include internal review notes or private information. It still does not enable workflow submissions until the separate Public Launch settings below are saved.

Use clear field labels and help text, and mark required fields. Collect only the information that the workflow needs. If visitors upload files, explain which file types and how many files they can upload. If the Page uses a bot challenge, such as a CAPTCHA, test it as an external visitor before sharing the link.

You need permission to edit the workflow definition to change Public Launch settings. Ask an owner or administrator if you cannot open or save those settings.

Supported form components

Public Workflow Launch checks the whole saved published form. Use standard Page controls and test their configuration through the public link. Support for a control does not mean that every validation rule or configuration works with it.

Open Supported form components in the settings to review this guidance. The screenshot shows the settings before a workflow version, Execution User or Launch page has been selected; enter your own configuration using the steps below, not example values from a screenshot.

Supported components include:

• ordinary text, password, email, website and number fields;

• plain multiline text and editable rich-text fields;

• date, date/time, time, month and year fields;

• fixed choices saved on the Page, such as radio buttons, checkboxes and dropdowns;

• standard Page file-upload fields; and

• at most one correctly configured bot challenge: Cloudflare Turnstile or Google reCAPTCHA v2.

Not supported:

• dropdowns that load choices from another source, including an Assignee dropdown that looks up organization users;

• dropdowns that let visitors add new choices;

• read-only rich-text editors, arbitrary attachment links, prefilled or reused file uploads, or files from another form visit; and

• custom or unsupported controls, validation rules, or complex display expressions.

An unsupported component makes the entire public form unavailable, even if the field is optional or conditionally hidden. Making it optional does not let the rest of the form work.

For example, remove a dynamic Assignee dropdown from the public Page. Use suitable fixed choices saved on the Page when they describe the request, or assign the work internally after submission. Do not publish private user lists as fixed choices. Choosing an option does not give the visitor permission to assign work.

Choose suitable validation checks

Use checks that match the field:

• required values for ordinary fields and checked choices for choice controls;

• email or website formats and numeric ranges on matching input fields;

• text-length limits on text fields;

• selection-count limits only on suitable checkbox or multiple-selection controls; and

• matching or different values only against fields on the same form.

Do not assume that every Page validation rule works on every component. Test both valid and invalid answers in the published form.

Keep display conditions simple

A simple condition can compare an answer with fixed text, a number, true/false or null. Combine comparisons with and, or and parentheses. For example, $.requestType = 'Other' can show a field when the request type is Other. The condition must evaluate successfully and return true for the conditional field to be displayed and its answer accepted.

Functions, arithmetic, filters, arrays, transforms, escaped-string expressions and arbitrary scripts are not supported. Not every expression that works elsewhere on a Page works in a Public Launch form.

After correcting the Page, publish it and follow the version-selection instructions below to save the intended published form. Then test the public link in a private browser window.

Configure public workflow launch

1. Open the workflow definition that should receive submissions.

2. Open Public launch settings from the workflow actions.

3. Select the published workflow version that should start for each submission.

4. Select the Execution User.

5. Review Launch page. Selecting a workflow version can fill in its associated public Page, or clear the selection if none is available. Select the intended public Page if needed.

6. Turn on Public launch enabled and select Save public launch settings.

7. Copy the displayed Public Launch link.

When you choose a workflow version, SimWorkflow uses its associated published Page version. If you choose a different Launch page, saving uses that Page's latest published version and keeps it fixed. There is no separate Page-version dropdown. Draft Page edits are never used for Public Launch.

Later Page edits or publication do not automatically replace the saved form version. Saving an unchanged selection keeps that version. To use a newer form, select a workflow version associated with it, or change the Launch page selection before saving to use that Page's latest published version. Check the Launch page whenever you change the workflow version. Settings changes affect future submissions, not workflows that have already started.

Test before sharing

Open the copied link in a private browser window or a browser where you are not signed in. Complete the form as a visitor would.

Check all of the following:

• the form explains what will happen after submission;

• required fields, field formats, display conditions, and help text are understandable;

• optional and required file uploads behave as expected;

• the bot challenge works when one is configured;

• the form does not show internal workflow, organization, or user information; and

• a successful test submission starts the expected workflow version.

Do not use a normal signed-in browser session as the only test. A private browser window confirms that the form works for the people who receive the link.

Share and manage the link

Share the current link only with the people who should be able to submit the form. Treat it like a controlled invitation to one form, not a general organization URL.

After rotating a link, replace it everywhere it was shared. The old link does not redirect to the new form because that would keep an unintended link usable.

What a visitor experiences

1. The visitor opens the current Public Launch link in a browser.

2. They see only the configured public Page form.

3. They enter information, upload permitted files, and complete a bot challenge if shown.

4. They submit the form.

5. SimWorkflow validates the form and starts the selected workflow version when the submission is accepted.

An accepted submission shows Workflow launched and Your submission was accepted. A visitor does not receive a workflow task list, workflow progress page, or a browser link to later internal work. Use your normal customer communication process if you need to send a confirmation or follow-up message.

For the request-management example, an accepted form might supply this workflow input:

{
  "summary": "Replace scanner",
  "priority": "High"
}

These are the intake Page's field names and answers, not Public Launch settings. Configure the workflow to map them into its internal review task as shown in the PageEditor walkthrough. Keep internal assignees, task links and review instructions out of the external intake form.

If the submission is rejected, review the form and try again. The form may reload, so the visitor may need to enter their answers, attach files, and complete the bot challenge again. If a message says no more workflows can start right now, wait before trying again.

Files and attachments

Visitors upload files through the form's standard Page file-upload fields. SimWorkflow checks accepted types, the number of files, and file-size and storage allowances. Editable rich-text fields are supported, but arbitrary attachment links, prefilled or reused uploads, and files from another form visit are not. Test the saved published form with the permitted file types and counts. After a successful submission, the files are available to the workflow.

If a visitor removes a file before submitting, it is not included in the workflow. Files uploaded for a rejected submission are discarded; select the required files again before retrying. Uploads must stay within the organization's file-size and storage limits. Collect confidential files only when they are needed and your organization has approved collecting them.

Privacy and security

If the form is unavailable, visitors see a general message. It does not tell them whether the workflow, Page, user, or settings changed.

The link does not bypass form validation, file checks, bot challenges, or workflow capacity limits. SimWorkflow checks the selected workflow, Page, and Execution User again when a visitor opens and submits the form. If any required setting is no longer available, the form cannot be used.

Troubleshooting