Overview
Triggers let a Checklist answer set something in motion. When a User gives an answer that meets a condition you've defined, the trigger fires an action — raising an Assignment, creating an Ad Hoc Slot, or requiring a comment or photo. They're how a Checklist stops being a record and starts driving the follow-up work automatically.
At a glance |
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Who can do this | Super Users, a Role with Checklists › Modify (or Create, for Checklists you created), or an Administrator or Editor of the Checklist's permission folder |
Where | Checklists › open a Checklist › select a question › Triggers |
Works on | Backend (web) to set up. Triggers act on answers given in the mobile app. |
Availability | All organizations. Water Quality conditions need the Water Quality feature (early access). |
💡 Why this matters: Without triggers, every failed check relies on a person to notice it and act. With them, the action is guaranteed — the task is raised, the follow-up Checklist is queued, or the evidence is captured the moment the answer is given. That's the difference between an inspection that records problems and one that resolves them.
Question types that support triggers
A trigger fires when a question's answer meets a condition. The Triggers panel appears only on the question types below, and the conditions you can pick depend on the type:
Question type | Conditions you can choose |
Select Question | Single choice: equal to or not equal to an option. Multiple choice: equal to an option only. |
Select Question Group | Pick the line as the Trigger Question, then compare its answer with an option, as for a Select Question. |
Smiley Question | better than, worse than, or equal to a face, or answered with N/A. |
Number Question | less than, less than or equals, equal to, not equal to, greater than or equals, or greater than a value. |
Temperature Question | Colder than, Colder than or equals, Warmer than, or Warmer than or equals a temperature. |
Date Question | A number of hours or more or or less, in the past or in the future. |
Water Quality Question | When the question uses a ruleset: pick the parameter as the Trigger Question, then below, within, or above the rule's range. |
⚠️ Heads-up: Slider and Duration questions don't support triggers, and neither do Text, Email, Photo, File, Signature, Scanner, or Member questions — they have no Triggers panel. If you need a trigger on a measured value, use a Number Question instead.
Each trigger is configured per question, and you can add more than one trigger to the same question — each runs on its own condition.
Water Quality triggers
A Water Quality Question is checked against a Water Quality Ruleset, which sets the acceptable minimum and maximum for each parameter. When the question uses a ruleset, you can add Assignment, Ad Hoc Slot, and Requirement triggers to it: choose the parameter as the Trigger Question and fire when the reading is below the rule's range, within the rule's range, or above the rule's range. For example, raise an Assignment when free chlorine is below range.
Water Quality is an early-access feature: the Water Quality Question only appears in the editor when it's enabled for your organization. Rulesets are managed by Super Users on the Configuration › Checklists tab (the table is titled Checklist Water Quailty Ruleset). See How to add water quality checks to a checklist and How to create a water quality ruleset.
Separately from triggers, the Schedule option Require validation on rule deviation marks any Result with a reading outside the rule as requiring validation. You can use both.
Add a trigger
1. Open the Checklist editor
Go to Checklists in the Backend and open the Checklist you want to edit.
2. Select the question
Click the question you want to add a trigger to.
3. Add and configure the trigger
In the configuration panel, expand Triggers, click Add Trigger, and choose Assignment Trigger, Ad Hoc Slot Trigger, or Requirement Trigger. For a Select Question Group or Water Quality Question, choose the Trigger Question. Under If the answer to this question is:, set the condition, fill in the trigger's details, and click Save.
The three trigger types
Whatever the question, the action a trigger fires is one of three types:
Trigger | What it does | When it takes effect |
Creates an Assignment (a task) with a prefilled title, assignee, and other details. | The User confirms it in the app, unless Require no user intervention when creating assignment is ticked (needs a prefilled Title and Assignee). | |
Creates an Ad Hoc Slot — a follow-up Checklist with its own assignees, reviewers, deadline, and compliance options. | Only when the Checklist is completed — not when it's saved to finish later. | |
Requires a comment, a photo, or both. | During completion — the comment or photo becomes required on that question. |
ℹ️ Note: Checklists completed as part of a certification process don't create triggered Assignments or Ad Hoc Slots.
Best practices
Pair a Requirement Trigger with an Assignment Trigger on the same failing answer, so the problem is both documented and followed up.
Keep Water Quality limits in the ruleset, not in individual Checklists. One ruleset keeps every Checklist aligned, and updating a limit updates everywhere at once.
Prefill the Title and Assignee on Assignment Triggers for routine faults, so Users aren't stopped to fill them in.
Frequently asked questions
How do I schedule a follow-up check, like a retest in an hour, when an answer fails?
Add an Ad Hoc Slot Trigger to that question with the failing answer as the condition, tick Delay start by and set it to 1 hour. The follow-up is a separate slot with its own Result. See Ad Hoc Slot triggers in Checklists.
Can a trigger fire on the checklist's total score?
No. A trigger checks one question's answer, not the Checklist's score. To flag low-scoring Results, turn on Require maximum score on the Schedule. See Configure deviations to trigger result validations.
What's the difference between logic and a trigger?
Logic changes what the User sees in the Checklist — it shows or hides pages and elements. A trigger acts on an answer: it creates an Assignment or an Ad Hoc Slot, or requires a comment or photo. See Adding logic to a Checklist.
Can one answer create an assignment and also require a photo?
Yes. Add an Assignment Trigger and a Requirement Trigger to the same question with the same condition. Each trigger runs on its own.
Do Ad Hoc Slot triggers work if the checklist is saved but not completed?
No. The Ad Hoc Slot is created only when the Checklist is completed. A Checklist saved to finish later doesn't create it.
Why can't I add a trigger to my Slider or Duration question?
Those question types don't support triggers, so the Triggers panel isn't shown. Use a Number Question to trigger on a value, or a Select Question with fixed answers.