Workflow Templates

Description

Workflow Templates are reusable workflows that allow Shield Admins to standardize common email handling logic across one or more organizations. A template contains the same structure as a workflow (trigger type, conditions, and actions), but is designed to be linked to one or more organizations so it can be centrally managed and consistently applied.

Templates help reduce configuration time, improve consistency, and simplify ongoing maintenance by allowing updates to be made once and automatically propagated to all linked workflows.

Only Shield Admins with the Superuser or Administrator role may create, modify, auto-assign, or delete workflows and workflow templates.

Accessing the Workflow Templates Page

There are three ways to access Workflow Templates.

• Shield Ctrl: Click on Workflow Templates.
• Shield Organization: Click on Workflow Templates.
• The Workflows page: Click Browse under Use a template.

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Creating workflows from templates, linking templates to organizations, and unlinking workflows from templates are all performed on the Workflows page, not the Workflow Templates page.

The Workflow Template Library

The Workflow Template library is where all workflow templates accessible to the organization are displayed. From here, templates can be manually assigned to organizations or be set to auto-assign to any new customer organizations added under the parent organization. Shield Admins can also create Workflow Templates for only specific organizations, either from the Shield Ctrl (Figure 1) or from within the customer organization (Figure 2). 

Creating a Workflow Template

Workflow Templates can be created by Shield Admins with the Superuser or Administrator designation.

Workflow Templates are created by converting an existing workflow. To create a template:

1. Open an existing workflow.
2. Click the vertical ellipsis (⋮) menu in the top‑right corner.
3. Select Convert to template.

The workflow is converted into a template and becomes available for reuse across organizations.

Template Details

Each workflow template displays the following information:

• Template name – The name of the workflow template.
• Description – A summary of what the template does and its intended purpose.
• Organization – The partner or organization credited with creating the template.
• Trigger type – Inbound, Outbound, or Manual.
• Usage count – The number of organizations currently using the template.
• Add/Remove Orgs allows the workflow to be applied to one or more organizations.

Templates also include the full list of conditions and actions defined in the original workflow, and allow for any or all conditions to be met for the Template to trigger. Add or remove conditions and actions, if desired. Clicking to add a condition or action redirects to the Workflow page. Clicking the X in the upper-right of the condition or action will present a confirmation dialog box before the condition or action is removed.

Linked Workflows

When a workflow is converted to a template, it becomes linked to that template. Linked workflows:

• Are read-only for conditions and actions.
• Automatically receive updates when the template is modified.
• Display a banner indicating that the workflow is linked to a template.

This ensures consistent behavior across all organizations using the same template.

Unlinking a Workflow from a Template

To unlink a workflow:

1. Open the linked workflow from the Workflows page.
2. Click the vertical ellipsis (⋮) menu in the top‑right corner.
3. Select Unlink from template.

Once unlinked, the workflow becomes fully editable. It no longer receives updates from the template.

Unlinking is performed from the Workflows page, not from the Workflow Templates page.

Automatically Assign Templates

Workflow Templates can be set to automatically assign to new Shield customer organizations created after the auto-assignment is set. Shield Admins can auto-assign Workflow Templates either from the Shield Ctrl (Figure 1 above) or from within the partner organization (Figure 2 above). Click on Auto-Assign Templates.

Click a template you would like auto-assigned to new customer organizations. Click the (+) to auto-assign that template. Click the (-) to remove the template from being auto-assigned.

Editing and Deleting Templates

Workflow templates can be managed directly from the template view:

• Edit – Modify the template’s name, description, conditions, or actions. Changes automatically apply to all linked workflows.
• Disable/Enable – Temporarily prevent new workflows from being created from the template.
• Delete – Permanently remove the template (does not automatically delete existing unlinked workflows).

Recommendations

Use templates for common security and routing policies.
This ensures consistent behavior across all customer organizations and reduces configuration errors.

Name templates clearly and include their purpose.
Clear naming helps admins quickly identify the correct template when browsing available options.

Test templates with a single organization before wide deployment.
This minimizes the risk of unintended impact across multiple tenants.

Avoid frequent changes to heavily used templates.
Because updates apply automatically, changes should be reviewed carefully to prevent disruption.

Unlink only when necessary.
Keeping workflows linked preserves centralized control and simplifies long-term maintenance.

Document ownership and usage.
Knowing who manages a template and where it is deployed helps with auditing and troubleshooting.

Updated March 13, 2026 13:21