What Are Workflow Inputs?
When a workflow needs information to run - like a username, date, or selection from a list - you define inputs. Users provide these values before the workflow executes.Any workflow with form inputs automatically appears as a catalog item in the Catalog. Users can browse these items by clicking New Request → Browse Catalog → All Services and submit structured requests directly from the catalog. See Catalog for more details.
- Email address (text)
- Department (dropdown)
- Start date (date)
- Is contractor (checkbox)
How To Collect Inputs?
Form Fill
Collect inputs via a form, including fields that appear only when relevant
Natural language
Collect inputs from the user via conversation
Input Types
Serval supports several input types:Configuring Inputs
When building a workflow, Serval automatically detects inputs based on your description. You can instruct Serval to change the inputs needed:1
Review auto-detected inputs
When Serval generates your workflow, it identifies required parameters as inputs
2
Adjust input types
Change input types if needed:
- Convert text to dropdown for constrained choices
- Change text to textarea for long-form input
- Add date/time pickers for temporal values
3
Add branching logic (optional)
Describe branching logic in plain language so fields show or hide based on earlier answers on the web app, in Slack, and on hosted forms (for Teams and email campaigns).
4
Set required vs optional
Mark inputs as required or optional:
- Required - User must provide a value
- Optional - User can leave blank (workflow uses default or skips)
5
Add descriptions
Write clear descriptions for each input to guide users
Target User
Some workflows act on a specific person: resetting their password, ordering their laptop, suspending their account. Those workflows take a Target User instead of an email or user-ID input. Serval fills it in from the run, so the requester picks a person rather than typing an address, and the same workflow works whether someone runs it on themselves or on a colleague’s behalf. A Target User shows up as a yellow Target User badge on the workflow’s input step, and as a person picker on the run form.Describe who the target user is
Say who the target user is for your workflow, in one sentence and from the requester’s point of view. Open Configure workflow inputs on the input step and fill in Who is the target user? — for example, “The employee receiving the replacement laptop”. That sentence appears in three places:- Under the person picker on the run form and in the Service Catalog, so the requester knows who to choose.
- In the workflow builder, on the Target User badge.
- In the help desk agent’s description of the workflow, so it can tell whether someone named in a ticket is the right person to act on.
Write who, not what. “The employee receiving the replacement laptop” helps a requester; “the user this workflow runs for” repeats what the field already says.
Form Confirmation
For sensitive workflows, enable form confirmation to require users to review their inputs before execution:1
Enable confirmation
Turn on “Require form confirmation” in workflow settings
2
User fills form
User completes all input fields
3
Review screen
User sees a summary of all inputs and must confirm
4
Execution
Workflow runs only after explicit confirmation
Form confirmation adds an extra step but helps prevent accidental execution with incorrect values.
Breakdown: Input Type Options
Document signature
Enable Document Signing under Settings → Capabilities and upload your PDF or Word template under Settings → Document Templates. You don’t need a separate PandaDoc app instance. Turning the capability off later hides the Document Templates tab; your templates are kept and come back when you turn it on again. Ask Catalyst to use the template in a workflow; it can inspect the template’s recipient roles, variables, and fillable fields before configuring the signature input. Turn on Require form confirmation for workflows with signature inputs. Attach the workflow to a ticket or task for the person who needs to sign. The requester opens its web form, signs the document, and submits the form to run the workflow. Other viewers see Awaiting signature from another user…. Catalyst’s chat run form can’t collect a signature because it has no ticket or task requester. Starting a workflow without opening its form doesn’t create a document to sign. To test a signing workflow, open it from a ticket or task as its requester.Text input
Single-line text for short values. Best for:- Usernames and email addresses
- IDs and identifiers
- Short strings
- Set placeholder text for guidance
- Add description explaining expected format
Textarea
Multi-line text for longer content. Best for:- Descriptions and notes
- Business justifications
- Comments and feedback
- Consider setting a character limit if needed
- Provide example text in the description
Number
Numeric input with validation. Best for:- Counts and quantities
- Duration (days, hours)
- Amounts
- Set min/max values if applicable
- Specify units in the description (e.g., “Duration in days”)
Date
Calendar date picker. Best for:- Start and end dates
- Deadlines
- Scheduled dates
- Consider default values (today, tomorrow, next week)
- Specify date format expectations in description
Time
Time selection. Best for:- Meeting times
- Schedule times
- Time-specific events
- Clarify timezone expectations
- Offer common presets if applicable
Select (Dropdown)
Choose from predefined options. Best for:- Environment selection (prod/staging/dev)
- Role or permission level
- Department or team
- Any constrained set of choices
- Define all available options
- Set a default selection if appropriate
- Order options logically
Checkbox
Boolean true/false toggle. Best for:- Feature flags
- Confirmation checkboxes
- Optional features
- Set clear label describing what the toggle controls
- Consider default state (checked or unchecked)
Entity reference
A searchable dropdown backed by a Serval assets table, so the requester picks a real record instead of typing free text. New records appear automatically, so the options stay current without manual updates.In the workflow builder, this input currently appears as Item ref (or Item ref (multi)).
- Select the assets table (entity type) the options come from.
- Optionally, set which field shows as the label and which value the workflow receives
- Optionally, show a field with a non-empty text value as secondary option text in the Serval app and Slack. Slack truncates it after 75 characters, and it doesn’t change the value the workflow receives.
- Optionally, filter which records appear, or restrict options to the current recipient
- Use Entity reference to let the requester pick one record, or Entity reference list to let them pick several.
Input Validation
Serval validates inputs before workflow execution:- Required fields - Must be filled before submission
- Type validation - Numbers must be numeric, dates must be valid
- Format validation - Email fields check for valid email format
Handling validation errors
When validation fails:- User sees an error message on the invalid field
- Workflow does not execute
- User corrects the value and resubmits