When to use a Run Process action or a Set Fields action with $PROCESS$

Run Process is a workflow action that you can add to active links, filters, or escalations. $PROCESS$ is a keyword available only in Set Fields actions. To determine whether you need to use a Run Process action or a Set Fields action with $PROCESS$, consider these differences:

• To capture a result from the process, you must use Set Fields with $PROCESS$. You can then use the result from the process in subsequent workflows.
• Asynchronous versus synchronous operation:
  • The Run Process action starts an asynchronous process. This means that the next workflow action is executed immediately, without waiting for results from the Run Process action. If the Run Process action fails or returns an error, the remaining workflow still runs.
  • A Set Fields action with $PROCESS$ is synchronous. In other words, the set field action waits for the process to complete and return a value so that the field is populated before initiating the next action.
• Filter phasing:
  • In a filter, the Run Process action is executed in phase 3.

  • In a filter, a Set Fields action with $PROCESS$ runs in phase 1. For information about filter phases, see Filter-processing.

    If necessary, you can use a special filter naming convention to cause a Run Process action to run in filter phase 1. See Overriding-filter-processing-phasing. 

    For more information about using the results from a Set Fields action with $PROCESS$, see Assigning-values-from-process-results.