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Assign Default Value Automation

About the automation

This automation lets you assign default values to free form resource fields that are currently empty. It promotes consistency and accuracy in data entry, assisting in the expansion of your catalog curation.

Specify the field of the selected resources for the automation to check for values. If the field is empty, the automation will fill it with a predefined value. Upon completion, the automation generates a report detailing the results.

Be conscious that if a user manually deletes a value set by the automation through the User Interface (UI), overriding the automated changes, the automation will not revert the value during its subsequent run. It will respect modifications made by users through the UI. To prevent user overrides on automated changes, mark such fields as read-only.

Important

Only Organization administrators can view, configure, and run automations.

Configuring the automation

To configure the automation:

  1. On the Organization profile page, go to the Automations tab.

  2. In the Automation templates section, locate the Assign Default Value template. Click the Configure button.

  3. In the Configure Assign Default Value window, on the first screen set the following and click Next.

    • Automation name: A name for the automation.

    • Automation description: A brief description.

  4. In the Configure Assign Default Value window, on the next screen set the following and click Next.

    • Collection: Select the collection for the automation.

    • Resource types: Select the resource types the automation should check.

    • Metadata Field: Select the metadata field for which you want to set the default value.

    • Default value: Provide the default value to be assigned to the field.

  5. On the last screen, set a schedule for the automation. You can set it to run daily, weekly, or monthly at a specific time. After activation, the automation will execute on the scheduled day and time (within a 30-minute window of the scheduled time). Click Save and continue.

Enabling automations

Once you have finished setting up the automation, the next step is to turn it on. This action will enable the automation to run.

To enable an automation:

  1. On the Organization profile page, go to the Automations tab.

  2. In the Automation section, locate the automation you want to enable and open it by clicking it.

  3. Click the Enable automation button. This option is available only for automations that have never been enabled. If you enable an automation and then disable it, it cannot be enabled again.

Running the automation

Important

Automations with a configured schedule will automatically run at the specified time. However, you can also choose to run them manually if needed.

To run the automation:

  1. On the Organization profile page, go to the Automations tab.

  2. In the Automation section, locate the automation you want to run. Open the automation details page.

  3. Click the Run button.

  4. After the automation is done running, a report is generated and made available in the Project created for the automation.

Viewing the report

To view the automation run report:

  1. On the Organization profile page, go to the Resources tab.

  2. From the Resources tab of the Organization profile page, locate the Project that contains the report for the automation. View the details captured by the automation. Each time the automation runs, it adds a new report to the same project.

    Please be aware if a user deletes a value set by automation from the UI, thus overriding the automated changes, the automation will not reset the value during its next run. It will respect the alterations made by users from the UI. However, since the automation detects that the field is empty, the resource is still included in the report.

    assign_data_stewards.png

Editing automations

To edit an automation:

  1. On the Organization profile page, go to the Automations tab.

  2. In the Automations section, from the Activated or Pending Activation tabs, select the automation you want to edit. Note that Archived automations cannot be edited.

  3. Click the Edit Automations button. Follow the wizard to make any necessary adjustments to the automation configuration. The new configurations will take effect the next time the automation runs.

    edit_automation.png

Archiving automations

Important

Once you archive an automation it cannot be enabled again. Only active automations can be archived.

To archive an automation:

  1. On the Organization profile page, go to the Automations tab.

  2. In the Automation section, from the Activated tab, locate the automation you want to archive and open it.

  3. Click the Archive automation link.The archived automation is moved to the Archived tab.

    gov_automation_archive.png