{{ steps.<reference name>.<value> }} — see
Variables and expressions.
Every step also has the same three advanced options, whatever its type: If this step
fails (stop the run, or carry on), Also save the result as (a short alias under
vars.), and an internal Note for your team. A step can be paused with the switch in
its settings header; it stays on the canvas and is recorded as skipped.
Messaging
These put something in front of the contact. All of them need a conversation to send on, and are skipped when there is not one — a form submission or a store order from somebody who has never messaged you.
Send form and Send booking link fail the step if the form is not published, or
the appointment type is not bookable. A message containing a dead link is worse than no
message.
Send an invoice is the one sending step that does not need a conversation. An invoice
has value the moment it exists — it is your own record — so the run creates it and
reports that it could not deliver it, rather than skipping.
A payment link’s Message sent with the link applies inside the 24-hour window
only. Outside it, the approved template supplies the wording, because a template’s copy
is fixed at approval. Put
{link} where the URL should go, or it is appended.
Contact
Pointing Add to segment at a filter (dynamic) segment fails every time it runs — a
dynamic segment works out its own members — and the checks panel says so before it goes
live.
Deals and team
Update deal needs at least one thing to change — a stage, a status, a value or a
title — or activation is refused.
Conversation
Logic and timing
Both waits park the run rather than holding anything open. Everything the run has
collected so far is kept, and it continues later. Detail in
Conditions and branching.
Data
A variable name may use letters, numbers and underscores only. It is read back as
{{ vars.<name> }}, and a dot or a space there would split the path.
An HTTP request to a private, loopback or internal address is refused by the server
for security. The checks panel catches the obvious cases while you are editing.
Credentials typed into the authentication fields are ordinary settings — anyone who can
edit the automation can read them.
Orchestration
Only an active flow can be started; a draft is skipped. Run automation refuses to
run the automation it is in, and a chain of automations is capped at three deep so a loop
dies immediately rather than filling the queue.