Workflow actions are legacy and new orgs should build in Flow instead. If you still maintain an org with active workflow rules, here is how the pieces fit together when you create or edit a workflow action under Setup.
- Open Workflow Rules
In Setup, go to Process Automation, then Workflow Rules. Pick the object you want to automate, or open an existing rule to manage its actions.
- Choose immediate or time-dependent
Decide whether the action should run the moment criteria are met (immediate) or wait on a time trigger tied to a date field. Add a time trigger first if you need the delayed path.
- Add the action
Use Add Workflow Action to create a new field update, email alert, task, or outbound message, or select an existing action from the shared library to reuse it.
- Activate and test
Save and activate the rule. Edit a sample record so it meets the criteria, then confirm the field changed, the email arrived, the task appeared, or the endpoint received the message.
Sets a field on the record or its master record to a new value, formula, or checkbox state; can re-run other rules.
Sends a Classic email template to chosen users, roles, groups, the owner, or email fields.
Creates a follow-up task with subject, priority, and a due date that can be relative to a record date.
Posts selected fields and a session ID as a SOAP XML message to an external HTTPS endpoint.
- Workflow Rules lost Salesforce support on December 31, 2025; build new automation in Flow, not here.
- Field updates can silently re-trigger workflow rules, causing a second round of actions you did not expect.
- Email alerts and tasks cannot branch; the rule fires the same action every time, so conditional logic needs Flow.
- Empty time triggers still count against the hourly time-trigger limit even after you remove their actions.