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Built-in data storage capabilities streamline building workflows in Nintex Automation Cloud

 

We are thrilled to announce the beta release of Nintex Automation Cloud Tables, providing a centralized, scalable way to store, manage, and connect process-related data across business-critical applications. Capabilities covered in this blog will be added to the product over the approximately two-month-long beta release period.

Workflow automations frequently rely on data from multiple sources, such as customers, employees, or internal storage systems like SharePoint, to successfully execute. Managing data stored in multiple locations can be fragmented, onerous, and error-prone for application developers building custom business applications, who want all aspects of their apps centrally accessible and managed.

When app developers build apps leveraging workflows, forms, and data in a single, self-contained platform, designs are streamlined and simplified leading to accelerated development times and faster time to market. Single-source-of-truth data management also enables centralized aggregation and reporting of process data originating from both workflows and forms.

 

Benefits

Nintex data storage provides this centralized data management in the form of tables for capturing and storing process-related data needed for end user-facing workflow applications. With Nintex data storage, app developers can:

  • Reduce application complexity: design workflows, create forms, and manage data within the same experience, removing the cost and time required to integrate with third party data sources and systems.
  • Improve reliability: create more reliable, self-contained solutions with simplified workflow designs that have fewer points of failure.
  • Accelerate time to market: deliver solutions faster with a single design environment for workflows, forms, and data.

 

Example Use Case

Nintex data storage benefits workflow designers and application developers who require reference data as part of their process design. This reference data can populate form fields to help users successfully complete forms. The data can also be used in logic that determines correct workflow paths.

For example, a budget approval process requires varying levels of approvers based on the amount requested. Application developers can create an approval matrix table that the workflow queries to retrieve the appropriate approver and assign them to the task.

The budget request form itself requires the cost center field to be populated with the organization’s cost center codes. Here, the application developer can create a cost center table and either add or upload their organization’s cost center codes, then simply link the form’s choice control to the table.

Additionally, since tables can be shared, the cost center data can be managed and updated independently of the workflow itself, making it even simpler to manage.

 

Capabilities

Nintex data storage capabilities being introduced in this beta release include:

  • Table Management: create and manage workflow reference and forms data in tables stored in a single location within Nintex Automation Cloud.
  • Data Management: leverage a simple, user-friendly grid interface for adding and editing data, and creating custom columns across a range of different data types.
  • Paging: navigate through large datasets with paging capability.
  • Data Import: easily import reference data used in workflow and form designs.
  • Workflow Integration: perform table-based conditional data queries, creating and updating rows within your workflows using the new tables connector.
  • Forms Data: pull table data into your forms design with data source variables.
  • Access Control & Permissions: safeguard your data with access management and share data with other designers.

 

Exploring Nintex Data Storage

Let’s take a closer look at how to configure and use Nintex data storage in this brief demonstration video:

Innovations on the Horizon

This is only the beginning of Nintex plans to build out comprehensive application developer capabilities in Nintex Automation Cloud. Additional planned enhancements include:

  • Automatic triggering of workflows based on table data events.
  • Enhanced data types to support more advanced use cases such as Files, Rich Text, Table Lookups, People and more.
  • Ability to create custom Views of the data with sorting, filtering, and grouping.
  • Deep integration with Forms – Form designs linked directly to a table.

 

Wrapping Up

Nintex data storage reduces application complexity, improves reliability, and accelerates time to market for application developers building end-user workflow applications on the Nintex platform. Stay tuned for future updates and enhancements targeted at the application developer community!

 

* The information in this article is not a commitment, promise or other obligation to deliver any material, code or functionality. This content is subject to change, without prior notice, at the sole discretion of Nintex.

Thanks @BazatNintex … For any comments, feedback or questions regarding Tables please ask here or alternatively I can be contacted at rick.demarco@nintex.com

 

Thank you for these amazing capabilities within NAC!

But i noticed, there is currently no “Delete a row”-Action in the Workflow Designer. Will this be coming soon as well?

Thanks @BazatNintex … For any comments, feedback or questions regarding Tables please ask here or alternatively I can be contacted at rick.demarco@nintex.com

 

How do we disable creation of tables as a global admin? I thought this was going to be an option? With the limititation of tables we cannot allow all Designers to create tables right now. Please advise! I could not find this in settings!!!!

Hi ! Is it planned to increase the limits of tables (50 tables, 25 columns) ? The feature is really good, but to me this limit is too low. I have a customer that wants to remove all of his SharePoint lists, and I was thinking about tables, but we are talking about 100+ workflows, each with their own reference tables (shipping countries, business units, currency allowed, etc.)

Hi ! Is it planned to increase the limits of tables (50 tables, 25 columns) ? The feature is really good, but to me this limit is too low. I have a customer that wants to remove all of his SharePoint lists, and I was thinking about tables, but we are talking about 100+ workflows, each with their own reference tables (shipping countries, business units, currency allowed, etc.)

Yes we will be looking at increasing these limits, would you see this more around the number of Tables?

Thank you for these amazing capabilities within NAC!

But i noticed, there is currently no “Delete a row”-Action in the Workflow Designer. Will this be coming soon as well?

Yes this will be coming

Hi ! Is it planned to increase the limits of tables (50 tables, 25 columns) ? The feature is really good, but to me this limit is too low. I have a customer that wants to remove all of his SharePoint lists, and I was thinking about tables, but we are talking about 100+ workflows, each with their own reference tables (shipping countries, business units, currency allowed, etc.)

Yes we will be looking at increasing these limits, would you see this more around the number of Tables?

 

Hi Rick, indeed the number of tables is the more important to me.

But to be honest, the number of columns is also kid of important to me, at least if the goals is to replace SharePoint entirely by Nintex Tables. I often have forms with 80-100 fields (8+ validation steps. But yeah the number of table is a little too low to me :)

Hi ! Is it planned to increase the limits of tables (50 tables, 25 columns) ? The feature is really good, but to me this limit is too low. I have a customer that wants to remove all of his SharePoint lists, and I was thinking about tables, but we are talking about 100+ workflows, each with their own reference tables (shipping countries, business units, currency allowed, etc.)

Yes we will be looking at increasing these limits, would you see this more around the number of Tables?

 

Hi Rick, indeed the number of tables is the more important to me.

But to be honest, the number of columns is also kid of important to me, at least if the goals is to replace SharePoint entirely by Nintex Tables. I often have forms with 80-100 fields (8+ validation steps. But yeah the number of table is a little too low to me :)

 

Thanks for the feedback, more to come on this topic.. 

Hi @rickdemarco 

I’m keen to explore the Tables feature.

How do I start to create a Table? 
The Create Table button is greyed out. Is there some settings or configuration which needs to be done?

 

 

Hi @rickdemarco 

I’m keen to explore the Tables feature.

How do I start to create a Table? 
The Create Table button is greyed out. Is there some settings or configuration which needs to be done?

 

 

@Garrett Nothing to do but looks like an error has occurred from the message in the table - can you confirm if this is still happening? If so, can you send me your tenant id (rick.demarco@nintex.com). Thanks.. 

Hi @rickdemarco 

I’m keen to explore the Tables feature.

How do I start to create a Table? 
The Create Table button is greyed out. Is there some settings or configuration which needs to be done?

 

 

@Garrett Nothing to do but looks like an error has occurred from the message in the table - can you confirm if this is still happening? If so, can you send me your tenant id (rick.demarco@nintex.com). Thanks.. 

Email sent. Also send you a PM

HI @rickdemarco 

This is such a cool feature and would like to try this out. I successfully created the first table but when I went to create a data a variable in a form, I could not find the ‘Table data’ option. Could you please help with what I might be missing?

 

 

@SSAM This is because the DSV integration to Forms has not yet been released, this will be coming in early January. 

Using a Table bound to a Choice control, works in preview mode and production, but not with Workflow Testing.

 

 

 

Using a Table bound to a Choice control, works in preview mode and production, but not with Workflow Testing.

 

 

 

Thanks @alexviera yes we are aware of this issue and will be resolved prior to our GA release.. 

Hi @rickdemarco 

I’m keen to explore the Tables feature.

How do I start to create a Table? 
The Create Table button is greyed out. Is there some settings or configuration which needs to be done?

 

 

@Garrett Nothing to do but looks like an error has occurred from the message in the table - can you confirm if this is still happening? If so, can you send me your tenant id (rick.demarco@nintex.com). Thanks.. 

This is occurring form me as well although not the other global admin. I’ll send through our tenant ID. 

It would sure be nice to be able to use this type of technology to bring Lists into Nintex RPA the way that you can bring them in using Nintex RPA LE without having to parse through all the data.  Any chance of that?

@harfmt1 Can you confirm this is still happening and did you say it was working for a different admin but not yourself?

@harfmt1 Can you confirm this is still happening and did you say it was working for a different admin but not yourself?

@rickdemarco I must have been having a network issue as today I can see the tables we have in place.

Feedback:

I have many SharePoint "lookup lists" that we allow the business to maintain. These lists contain, for example, data such as who will approve based on a particular condition.

 

I'd like to move this kind of data into the NAC tables. However, I don't think 'Participant' users can access these tables.  We don't want to give the people who would keep the tables updated 'Designer' access. 

Hi All,

The new Data variables using Tables data for Forms integration is now available in Beta for all tenants.

Cheers, Rick

Hello! I’m trying to understand what it takes for a user (non admin, just end user) to be able to see table data in context of a form selection. For some reason, my users see this when it tries to load data from a:


It works for me, and other Nintex Admins, but not end users.  I do see a table permission option for “table users” but “everyone” is not an option (to match the form access option) 

Please advise, thank you. 

Hello! I’m trying to understand what it takes for a user (non admin, just end user) to be able to see table data in context of a form selection. For some reason, my users see this when it tries to load data from a:


It works for me, and other Nintex Admins, but not end users.  I do see a table permission option for “table users” but “everyone” is not an option (to match the form access option) 

Please advise, thank you. 

Hey @mikeboggs23,

Yes, this was a current limitation and has just been resolved.  To enable this for participants you will see a new checkbox on the Table permissions dialog as shown below, you must do them for each table used on the form. 

 

Great, Thank you!!!

My next issue is “condensing” matching results. Example:

Table looks like this: 

Value Category SubcategoryL
aardvark Leadership Will
Cow Leadership Will
Monkey Leadership Will
Zebra Technical Scientific
Cat Technical Engineering
Dog Leadership Best Team
Bird Leadership Best Team


Variable:



Result:
 


I’d love the option to condense matching values to only have 1 for each unique value. Otherwise I have to break this into two tables, one for cat and subcat, and then one for the values matching to subcat. 

So, when adding Table Data as Data Variables in a Form, i tried filtering my table with several conditions. Here, i noticed 2 things:

  1. The Button to add another condition is greyed out, but clickable anyways:
  2. There are only 2 operators for Texts right now (equals/does not equal). Are there more operators planned, like “contains”/”begins with”/”is empty”/etc?

    Thank you so much!

Am I missing something, or is there no way to sort or reorder the rows? I have a table that I need to be in alphabetical order by name, and it was when I built it (but only because I consciously added the rows in that order). But since then I’ve needed to add two more rows, and those two names are at the bottom instead of where they need to be.

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