Handling files in your workflow
Workflows may perform actions A tool for building the processes, logic, and direction within workflows. Actions are the steps the workflow performs to complete a process. on files that are:
- Uploaded via a form submission.
- Retrieved from a third-party Enterprise File Sync and Share (EFSS) service such as Box.
- Received from a third party via an Xtension action.
- Generated using a Generate document action.
You can move, copy, delete or modify files at any point in your workflow. You can also configure a workflow to start whenever a new or updated file is detected in the selected start event An event that triggers a workflow to run when it occurs. An example is Box - New file, which triggers the workflow to run when a new file is uploaded to the specified folder..
Files within a workflow are handled using File variable types. See Variables.
Start a workflow when a file is new or updated
To start your workflow when a new or updated file is detected in a connected third-party service, such as Box, configure a start event to detect that file change. Depending on the start event you select, you can configure the workflow to only start when certain conditions are met, such as the file being added to a specific folder, or the filename matching a pattern.
For examples of file-based start events, see:
When a file is received during a start event, it is stored as a Start event variable.
You can also upload files for a Component workflow A workflow that can be started from outside the tenancy; the workflow uses the "Component workflow" start event.; see Nintex - Component workflow
Work with files using workflow actions
Nintex Workflow provides several ways to work with files out of the box:
- Generate documents from tagged templates using Generate document.
- Send and receive files via email; for example, see Assign a task to multiple users.
- Manage files in services (see Connectors):
- Get, store, move, copy, or delete files using file share connector actions A workflow action that interacts with a third-party application to perform a basic operation, such as adding a record or retrieving a file from Salesforce or Box., such as Box - Move a file.
- Get and attach files in Salesforce
- Get and store files in SharePoint
- Signatures: Get and store signed documents using
Files that are retrieved or generated during the workflow can be stored in variables or on Enterprise File Sync and Share (EFSS) services.
Some actions may only store files in variables or from an EFSS. You may need to add a workflow action to first store a file as a variable, or move it to a specific EFSS location. See Connectors and Workflow actions.
Store a file in a variable
In the Designer page:
- On the designer canvas, click the action that is generating or retrieving the file.
- In the output field for storing files, select or create a variable.
For output storing multiple files, select a collection variable. For output storing a single file, select a file variable.
Store a file in an Enterprise File Sync and Share (EFSS) service
In the Designer page:
- On the designer canvas, click the action that is generating or retrieving the file.
- In the output field for storing files, specify a file path to store the file.
You can use any combination of text and variables, beginning with the root folder. If available, use the folder browse icon 
on the right of the path field to navigate to the folder and any subfolders that you want, and then edit the path as desired to include variables and different text.
Use a stored file
Some actions may only use files that are stored as variables, or in an EFSS. If your file is stored differently, you may need to add a workflow action to first store a file as a variable, or move it to a specific EFSS location.
In the Designer page:
- On the designer canvas, click the action you want to configure to use the file.
- Find the field where you want to use the stored file.
- In this field, either:
Select the file variable associated with the stored file.
For example, select the variable for the new Box file that started the workflow or select the variable storing Multiple file attachments output from a task action.
Specify the file path where the file is stored.
You can use any combination of text and variables, beginning with the root folder. If available, use the folder browse icon
on the right of the path field to navigate to the folder and any subfolders that you want, and then edit the path as desired to include variables and different text.
View example
Both a file variable and a file path are used in the example image below for the Dropbox Business - Copy a file action. A file variable is selected for Source and a file path is specified for Destination.
The variables "CountryVariable" and "Program" insert the values into the file path as determined by earlier workflow logic (in this case, fields in a submitted form). For example, if the person submitting the form selects Australia for country and specifies Inspire2017 for program, then the resulting file path is "/SpecialProgramNDAs/Australia/Inspire2017NDA.docx."
