Description
Workflows provide intelligent, customizable email traffic control for the Shield organizations you manage. They let you define conditions and actions that are automatically or manually applied to messages as they flow through Shield.
Only Shield Admins with the Superuser or Administrator role may create, modify, or delete workflows and workflow templates.
Accessing Workflows
Navigate to Workflows from the Shield Ctrl page for the partner or customer.
At the top of the page you can:
- Build a workflow – Create a new workflow from scratch.
- Use a template – Browse and link pre-built workflow templates.
Partner-level workflows can be assigned to the partner organization, customer organizations, or both. You choose which organizations the workflow applies to. See Workflow Templates for more details.
Trigger Types
Workflows are organized into trigger types. The Trigger type determines when the workflow runs. Only one trigger type can be selected per workflow.
Incoming
Incoming workflows trigger on inbound mail received by Shield. They are used for inbound delivery decisions, security checks, routing, trust decisions, and journaling. They can also trigger additional workflows if needed.
Outgoing
Outgoing workflows trigger on outbound mail sent by Shield. They are used for outbound policy enforcement, encryption, compliance, journaling, or further review. They can also trigger additional workflows if needed.
Manual
Manual workflows are linked to inbound or outbound workflows and are used to perform common actions that other workflows can reference. This helps keep workflows organized and reusable. A manual workflow can only run when it is triggered by a workflow that is configured to trigger it.
Creating a Workflow
Workflows can be created by Shield Admins with the Superuser or Administrator designation.
- Click Create under Build a workflow.
- Choose the workflow trigger type: Inbound, Outbound, or Manual.
- Information about the creation date, the trigger type, and the number of messages that match the workflow is displayed.
- Enter details in the Details section, which includes basic information about the workflow:
- Name: This is a required field used to identify the workflow in workflow lists and logs. Choose a clear, descriptive name that reflects the workflow’s purpose.
- Description: This is an optional field used to document what the workflow does and why it exists. This is helpful for long-term maintenance and team collaboration.
- Click on Add to store the workflow configuration and continue with customizing the workflow or Cancel to discard any changes and exit the editor.
- Define one or more conditions of when the workflow should run:
- Add one or more actions of what should happen when conditions match:
- Click Edit to modify the Name and Description. Click on the vertical ellipsis (⋮) menu in the upper-right corner to choose to convert the workflow to a template or delete the workflow.
- The workflow is saved and disabled by default. Click Enable when you are ready to enable it.
Workflows are disabled by default. Please ensure it remains disabled until all conditions or actions are added to the workflow.
Alternatively, click Browse under Use a template from the Workflows page to start from a pre-built configuration.
Workflow Processing
When the Inbound tab is selected, the page displays workflows that run on received messages. When the Outbound tab is selected, the page displays workflows that run on sent messages.
Inbound and Outbound messages are processed from top to bottom. Each enabled workflow is evaluated in order. Multiple workflows may apply to a single message.
Reordering Workflows
Each inbound and outbound workflow includes a drag handle icon on the left side.
To change processing order:
- Click and hold the drag handle.
- Drag the workflow up or down.
- Release to save the new order.
Order changes take effect immediately for new messages if the workflow is enabled.
Manual workflows are evaluated independently and do not continue processing a message unless a condition is configured to trigger another workflow. Although you can reorder them using the drag handle, the list order does not affect manually triggered workflows.
Enabling and Disabling Workflows
Each workflow has a toggle switch on the right side:
- On – Workflow is active and will run.
- Off – Workflow is disabled and will not run.
This allows quick testing or temporary deactivation without deleting the workflow.
Workflows are disabled by default. Please ensure it remains disabled until all conditions or actions are added to the workflow.
Edit Workflow
The Edit Workflow screen is used to modify existing workflows. From this page, Shield Admins define the workflow’s identity and how it is triggered.
Recommendations
Include the direction (Inbound/Outbound/Manual) in the workflow name.
This makes it easier to understand when the workflow runs and prevents confusion when managing large numbers of workflows.
Use descriptions to document business purposes and organizations using the workflow.
Clear documentation helps other Shield Admins understand why the workflow exists and who it affects, reducing the risk of accidental changes.
Disable Inbound or Outbound workflows instead of deleting them when testing changes using a Manual workflow.
This preserves the original configuration so you can quickly revert if needed.
Place more specific workflows above general ones.
Because workflows run from top to bottom, this ensures precise rules are evaluated before broader catch-all rules.
Use workflow templates to speed up common configurations.
Templates reduce setup time and help maintain consistency across organizations.
Regularly review the order of workflows when adding new workflows.
This helps prevent unintended behavior caused by rule conflicts or incorrect processing order.
Related to
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