A workflow tells Anavio what to do when something happens, so nobody has to watch a screen to catch it. For example, when a camera sees someone in the yard after closing, Anavio can text the on-call manager, flash the camera's red lights, and play a recorded message.
This article explains what workflows can do. For setups to copy, see Example workflows. For the steps, see Set up alerts and workflows. If a workflow doesn't behave as expected, see Fix workflow problems.
What do you want to know?
- How a workflow works
- Before you start
- What can start a workflow
- What a workflow can do
- Which actions work with each trigger
- What workflows don't do
How a workflow works
Most workflows answer five questions:
- What happened? This is the trigger, such as Person Detected or Door Forced Open. Each workflow has one trigger.
- Where? Choose cameras or doors one at a time, or cover a whole zone or site.
- When? Choose 24 Hours or set hours, the days of the week, whether it runs on holidays, and whether it expires.
- What should happen? Choose one or more actions. One workflow can send a text, send an email, and flash lights together.
- Who or what responds? Choose the users or groups who get the alert, and the cameras or doors that act.
The camera that sees an event and the camera that responds can be different. A camera at the gate can set off the lights and audio on a camera at the front entrance.
A Lockdown Plan has no Where or time step: you choose who can activate it, and whether it expires.
Before you start
- Role: Full Access, Manager, and Supervisor accounts can create workflows. Lockdown plans need Full Access. See Permissions for user roles.
- Detection: Person, vehicle, and animal triggers need that detection type turned on for the account and for the camera. Person Type filters other than All also need face detection. See Set up analytics and detection areas.
- License: Person of Interest alerts need a Premium license on the NEXT camera.
- Hardware: Enable LED and Audio Alert work only on NEXT cameras.
- Recipients: Add the users and groups first. See Set up groups and assign access.
What can start a workflow
You pick the trigger first, and it decides which options appear next. Your list depends on your account and devices.
Camera
A camera sees something, or its connection changes. Person Type narrows Person Detected to All, Unknown, Known, or Person of Interest. For Known and Person of Interest, you choose the people.
Triggers:
- Person Detected
- Vehicle Detected
- Animal Detected
- Camera Online Status Changed
Door
A door grants or denies access, is forced or left open, is opened remotely, or has its connection or settings change. Access Log Type narrows Unauthorized Access Attempt to Denied (Not Scheduled), Denied (Unknown User), Denied (Spoof Attack), or Denied (Suspended).
Triggers:
- Authorized Access
- Unauthorized Access Attempt
- Door Forced Open
- Door Left Open
- Door Opened Remotely
- Door Online Status Changed
- Door Settings Changed
What a workflow can do
One workflow can run several actions, and they fall into three kinds.
Tell people
Send an alert by text, by email, or to the bell in the portal. Choose users or groups. All three actions go to the same recipients, so create a second workflow to alert different people. See Read and manage notifications.
Actions:
- Send Text Message
- Send Email
- Send In-app Notification
Signal on site
Use lights and sound on NEXT cameras. Choose cameras, zones, or sites. Both actions use the same targets.
Enable LED: choose a color (white, yellow, green, red, or blue), on or flashing, the flashing rate, the brightness, and the duration in seconds.
Audio Alert: upload or record a file in the portal, under 60 seconds and 10 MB. You can save up to 10 files. Playback is Continuous, Time-Limited, or Repetition.
Actions:
- Enable LED
- Audio Alert
Secure doors
Sound an alarm or lock doors. Sound Door Alarm and Lockdown Door act on the doors, zones, or sites you choose. General Sound Alarm and General Lockdown don't ask you to choose doors.
Actions:
- Sound Door Alarm
- General Sound Alarm
- Lockdown Door
- General Lockdown
Which actions work with each trigger
Anavio offers only the actions that fit the trigger you choose. A check means the action is available, and a dash means it isn't. Door alarm covers Sound Door Alarm and General Sound Alarm. Lockdown covers Lockdown Door and General Lockdown. General only means you can use General Lockdown but not Lockdown Door.
| Trigger |
Text and |
In-app |
LED and audio |
Door alarm |
Lockdown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Camera | |||||
| Person Detected | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Vehicle Detected | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Animal Detected | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Camera Online Status Changed | Yes | No | Yes | No | No |
| Door | |||||
| Door Forced Open | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | General only |
| Unauthorized Access Attempt | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Authorized Access | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Door Left Open | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Door Opened Remotely | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Door Settings Changed | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Door Online Status Changed | Yes | No | Yes | No | No |
| Lockdown | |||||
| Lockdown Plan | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
Some actions can't share a workflow:
- Enable LED and Audio Alert can't run with Lockdown Door or Sound Door Alarm. To do both, create a second workflow with the same trigger.
- General Lockdown can't run with Lockdown Door or Sound Door Alarm.
- General Sound Alarm can't run with Sound Door Alarm.
- A Lockdown Plan must include Lockdown Door or General Lockdown. A plan with lights or audio must use General Lockdown.
Important: General Lockdown and General Sound Alarm don't ask you to choose doors. Confirm what they cover on your account before you rely on them. Detection triggers and Door Forced Open can also start a lockdown with no person reviewing the event first. Agree on that with the people who own your site's response procedure before you set one up.
What workflows don't do
- Doorbell presses aren't a trigger. To get doorbell calls and notifications, see Set up the intercom directory and doorbell notifications.
- Search attributes aren't triggers. You can search for things like PPE, phones, and age group, but they can't start a workflow.
- Wired reader inputs aren't triggers. A workflow can't start from a reader's input or switch a reader's output, such as a wired doorbell.
- Alerts go to Anavio users and groups. You can't type in an outside phone number or email address.
- You don't need a workflow for system warnings. Notices such as Edge storage not detected appear under the bell on their own.
- Workflows act on new events. To look back at what already happened, use Search camera activity and play recordings.