Designing Task Steps: Assignment, Priority, Task Forms, Actions, and Document Upload

What it is

A Task node is the building block of human decision-making in Workflows. Whenever a workflow needs a person to review information, enter structured values, make a choice, or upload a document, you add a Task node. The designer configures who receives the task, what priority it has, which fields the assignee completes, what decision buttons they see, and which documents they must provide. At run time, the assignee sees a purpose-built screen — the Workflow Task Manager — with the relevant data, form, buttons, and uploads in one place.

Task nodes are the primary way workflows bridge the gap between automated steps and human judgment. They replace email-based approval chains with a structured, trackable process.

Why it's useful / Key benefits

• The right person is always notified and never misses a task — assignment can be a named user, a role, or a dynamic variable so the workflow itself figures out who should act.
• Custom decision buttons replace generic approve/reject labels — name each outcome to match your business language (for example, "Endorse," "Return for Revision," "Send to Legal") and color-code them for instant recognition.
• Task Forms collect structured values at the decision point — add text, numbers, dates, choices, checkboxes, and files directly to the Task node. The selected Allowed Action submits the form and chooses the route.
• Document upload is built in — define labeled upload fields with size limits and required/optional status so the assignee provides everything they need to without emails or follow-up.
• A notification email goes to the assignee automatically — designed in the same drag-and-drop editor as the rest of Workflows's email nodes, so it can include any workflow variable as a merge tag.
• Every task is tracked — the task appears in the assignee's My Tasks, and administrators can monitor it in All Instances with full audit trail.
• Nothing falls through the cracks — if the task is not acted on by the due date, reminders and escalation rules kick in automatically (see Deadline Management).

Before you start

• You need access to a workflow in the Visual Designer (edit mode). If you can only view workflows, ask your administrator for editing rights. See Workflows Permissions.
• Understand the structure of your workflow — know which step needs human input and what the possible outcomes are (for example, Approve, Reject, Hold).
• If you plan to assign the task to a variable (dynamic assignee), ensure the workflow has a Start node that captures the assignee's email as a variable. See Start Trigger Nodes and Using Workflow Variables and Merge Tags.
• Navigate to Workflows from the platform home screen, then open the relevant workflow and click Edit.

How to use it — step by step

Step 1 — Add a Task node to the canvas

1. In the Visual Designer, open the Element Panel on the left side of the screen.
2. Under the BASIC tab, locate the Task node.
3. Drag the Task node onto the canvas and position it in the flow after the step that should precede this human decision.
4. Connect the preceding node's output edge to the Task node's input handle.

Step 2 — Open the Task node configuration

5. Double-click the Task node (or click it once to select it, then click the settings icon that appears). The Task Properties panel opens on the right side of the screen.

Step 3 — Fill in the Basic tab

6. The Basic tab opens by default. Fill in the following fields:

   • Title — Enter a short, descriptive name for the task (for example, "Manager Contract Review"). This title appears in the assignee's My Tasks and in notification emails.
   • Description — Add context or instructions for the assignee. What should they look for? What does the business process require? This text appears on the Workflow Task Manager.
   • Assignee — Enter the email address of the person or role who should receive this task. You can also type a workflow variable in {{variable_name}} format to assign dynamically (for example, {{requester_manager_email}}).
   • Priority — Select Low, Medium, High, or Urgent from the dropdown. This affects the visual priority badge in the inbox.
   • Estimated Hours — Enter a number to set the expected effort. Informational only; used in reporting.
   • Tags — Type a tag and press Enter to add it. Tags help group and filter tasks across workflows.

   Two related settings live on other tabs of the same panel:

   • Category (Form tab) — Select Approval for a standard approval page, Form to collect structured input inside the task, or Appsmith for a connected App Builder page when that option is available. This choice also controls whether Approval For Each is available. It is not a free-text label.
   • Display in My Tasks (Advanced tab) — Toggle this on if you want the task to appear in the assignee's My Tasks view. When off, the task is still sent by email but does not appear in that list.

   When you select Form, add the fields the assignee must complete. The Task node's Allowed Actions become the form buttons; there is no separate Submit button. See Task Forms: Collect Structured Input Inside a Human Task for field types, hidden defaults, file handling, action IDs, routing, and downstream outputs.

Step 4 — Configure action buttons (Actions tab)

7. Click the Actions tab.

   This tab controls the decision buttons the assignee will see on the Workflow Task Manager. By default, three actions are pre-configured: Complete (green), Reject (red), and Hold (yellow).

8. To edit an existing action, click on it in the list:

   • Name — Change the button label to match your business language (for example, rename "Complete" to "Approve").
   • Color — Choose from green, red, yellow, blue, purple, or gray. The color appears on the button and on the connecting edge in the designer.
   • Requires Comment — Turn this on to force the assignee to type a comment before they can click this action. Useful for rejection or hold decisions where a reason is needed.
   • Requires Reschedule — Turn this on if clicking this action should prompt the assignee to set a new date (useful for "defer" or "reschedule" type decisions).

9. To add a new action button, click + Add Action at the bottom of the list.

10. To remove an action, click the trash icon next to it.

After saving, draw an edge from this Task node on the canvas. When you release the edge, a dialog asks which action outcome this connection represents. Select the outcome from your list. The edge is colored and labeled to match.

Step 5 — Configure the notification email (Notifications tab)

11. Click the Notifications tab.
12. Toggle Email Enabled on to send an automatic notification email when the task is created.
13. Click Edit Email to open the drag-and-drop email builder. Design the email that the assignee will receive. You can insert workflow variables as merge tags (for example, {{task_title}}, {{assignee_name}}, {{due_date}}) using the Variable Panel. See Email Node for a full walkthrough of the email builder.
14. Toggle Send Reminders on if you want reminder emails sent at intervals before the due date. Enter intervals such as 30m, 3h, or 24h (comma-separated). Click Edit Reminder Email to customize the reminder message.

Step 6 — Add document upload fields (Document Upload tab)

15. Click the Document Upload tab.
16. Click + Add Upload Field to create a new upload slot.
17. For each upload field, configure:

18. Drag the fields up or down to change their display order on the Workflow Task Manager.
19. To remove a field, click the trash icon next to it.

Step 7 — Save the task configuration

20. Click Save Task at the bottom of the panel. The node updates on the canvas with the task title displayed.
21. Connect the Task node's outcome edges: drag from the node to the next node in the workflow for each action outcome, selecting the correct outcome from the dialog that appears.

Options & settings explained

Basic tab

Form tab

Advanced tab

Actions tab

Notifications tab

Document Upload tab

Tips & best practices

• Match action names to your organization's language. Instead of "Complete," use "Endorse," "Ratify," or "Authorize." This reduces confusion and makes audit trails immediately meaningful.
• Keep required uploads to the essential minimum. Every required upload field is a blocker — if the assignee cannot find the file, the workflow stalls.
• Use dynamic assignees with variables. Hard-coding an email address means you must redesign the workflow whenever people change roles. Use {{manager_email}} and let the trigger form or a preceding step supply the value.
• Always add at least one action that allows rejection. A task without a rejection path can stall a workflow indefinitely if the assignee refuses to approve.
• Enable "Requires Comment" for rejection and hold actions. This ensures the audit trail captures why a decision was made, which is critical for compliance.
• Enable Display in My Tasks for any task that should remain visible even when the email notification is missed.
• Test the full flow by running the workflow manually (see Running a Workflow) and confirming that the correct user receives the task and sees the correct buttons and upload fields.

Frequently asked questions

Q: Can I assign a task to a role instead of a specific person? Yes. Enter the role name or a variable that resolves to a role identifier. Everyone with that role will be eligible to act on the task. The first person to act on it closes the task for the others.

Q: What happens if the assignee email address is wrong or the variable is empty? The task is created but the notification email will fail to deliver. The task can still appear in My Tasks for authorised users. Check All Instances for the workflow state and use Workflow Database when deeper investigation is required.

Q: Can I have more than three action buttons? Yes. Click + Add Action to add as many as your process requires. Each action creates a separate outgoing edge on the canvas, so each outcome can route to a different next step.

Q: If I rename "Complete" to "Approve," does anything break? No. The internal action ID remains unchanged; only the display name changes. All routing logic based on the action continues to work.

Q: Can the assignee upload files even if no Document Upload fields are defined? No. Document upload slots must be explicitly added in the Document Upload tab. If you want the assignee to be able to provide documents without defining a specific field, enable Allow Document Replacement in the Document Upload tab.

Q: Is the task notification email sent immediately when the workflow reaches the Task node? Yes, the system sends it as soon as the task is created (when the workflow engine reaches that node during execution). There is no delay unless you have placed a Pause node before the Task node.

Q: What if I need the same task to go through two levels of approval? Use a second Task node downstream, connected via the first Task node's "Approve" edge. For bulk row-level multi-level approvals, see Multi-Level and Batch Approvals.