So, I really hope I'm missing something here..
I've built a task that sends email and runs based on some criteria, that part is all good.. But I want to make sure the task does NOT run again for those it's already run against. So I had thought I could update a field from false to true whilst running the email.. Apparently this isn't possible?
Does this mean I have to run a second task to update the fact the first has run? And how do I make sure some records don't get updated that the first task didn't run against because they came in or were changed during the time between tasks?
Julian
Yeah, I'm very happy that integromat exists.. It has allowed me to do a ton of automation that's fed by Knack.. I have even written an app in integromat to do functions, which is really slick... I am also frustrated at the amount of javascript I've written inside Knack. I don't expect it to do everything, but it does have some weakness, and hacks around updating managing flow within it's own system that are very annoying...
I was fascinated when I first started that they wanted us to use a field to manage each step of a process (right way to do it), but you couldn't actually update that field in the right order within the process.. The fact I can't manage the order of triggers I find quite annoying.. :)
Oh, well, I appreciate the product, just would like it to work for me better.. (everyones line, work for me.. :) )
It's not a perfect world for sure - and Knack could do with more inbuilt logic capabilities without having to use Javascript. I personally find Integromat pretty amazing (especially compared to Zapier) but would prefer to have a Tasks like feature in Knack with some conditional logic/branching, performing multiple actions etc. Would make a huge difference.
At least we have Integromat though - and the fact it can integrate and interact with other apps at the same time is amazing!
I even have an app where Zapier is being triggered by Knack (instantly) and this is then firing a Webhook at Integromat which then goes on do do loads of email sending and database updates,
Hi Julian,
Yeah, i figured as much.. I already use Integromat with Knack... I was attempting to avoid using it in this case, since in my opinion, this should be something knack offers naively, and I have a group of attachments in my emails, that are in knack, and I didn't want to have to manage all that across the network... Additionally, I've been having issues with integromats knack module pulling in all the fields correctly... For example they seem to ignore Text Formula's and on the search, they can't handle boolean fields... I've worked around these issues, but it's been a frustrating experience.. :)
I'll work around this issue as well... Thanks.
Julian
Hi Julian
This is certainly an area in which Knack could be improved - enabling one Task to do multiple things - or call another. However, this functionality is possible using outside tools such as Integromat (Zapier not so much in this case).
To give an example, I have built a system for a client which sends out emails and/or texts to ask clients to post reviews. This is done with an Integromat Scenario which, at the end, updates the Knack record being processed at the time with a status to indicate which methods were used to send the message and whether it was successful. This is an entirely code free process and fairly simple to set up. Even better, you may find you can do what you need in a free account (at least initially and depending on volume).
Integromat particular strength here (over Zapier) is the ability to process multiple records at once in a straightforward manner.
Julian
+1 from me.
I have seen a scenario where the email Task failed to run on time and the update Task did run on time, thus preventing the emails from ever being sent. The Tasks were not actually going to process anything on that day but the run times show what might have happened.
Other upgrades that Knack could make are:
- To allow one Task to call another
- Having some way of seeing an overview of all Tasks would be useful.
- Having an API call to get the last run time of a Task might allow these instances to be reported (eg via zapier)
Tony