seratch / deno-editable-form-submissions

Slack automation platform app demonstrating how to build a workflow that allows a submitter to edit or delete their channel message

Home Page:https://api.slack.com/automation

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Slack's Automation Platform: Editable Form Submissions

This example app demonstrates how to build a workflow that allows a submitter to edit or delete their channel message as necessary.

The first step of the workflow is quite usual. An end-user can start the workflow by clicking its link trigger and submit some information using the popup modal. The workflow then posts a channel message in the same channel, and the team that received the request will triage it as early as possible.

The key difference in this workflow is the "Edit" button on the posted message. When the same end-user clicks the button, the workflow opens a modal view that allows the user to modify or delete the message.

On the other hand, when a different user in the same channel clicks the "Edit" button, the workflow states that the user does not have permission to edit/delete the message as they are not the author of it.

Please note that, as of September 2023, there is no way to achieve the same goal without writing a custom function (meaning a custom step in the Workflow Builder user interface). Please feel free to reuse this app's code to build your own workflows!

Guide Outline:


Setup

Before getting started, first make sure you have a development workspace where you have permission to install apps. Please note that the features in this project require that the workspace be part of a Slack paid plan.

Install the Slack CLI

To use this sample, you need to install and configure the Slack CLI. Step-by-step instructions can be found in our Quickstart Guide.

Clone the Sample

Start by cloning this repository:

# Clone this project onto your machine
$ slack create editable-form-app -t seratch/deno-editable-form-submissions

# Change into the project directory
$ cd editable-form-app

Running Your Project Locally

While building your app, you can see your changes appear in your workspace in real-time with slack run. You'll know an app is the development version if the name has the string (local) appended.

# Run app locally
$ slack run

Connected, awaiting events

To stop running locally, press <CTRL> + C to end the process.

Creating Triggers

Triggers are what cause workflows to run. These triggers can be invoked by a user, or automatically as a response to an event within Slack.

When you run or deploy your project for the first time, the CLI will prompt you to create a trigger if one is found in the triggers/ directory. For any subsequent triggers added to the application, each must be manually added using the trigger create command.

When creating triggers, you must select the workspace and environment that you'd like to create the trigger in. Each workspace can have a local development version (denoted by (local)), as well as a deployed version. Triggers created in a local environment will only be available to use when running the application locally.

Link Triggers

A link trigger is a type of trigger that generates a Shortcut URL which, when posted in a channel or added as a bookmark, becomes a link. When clicked, the link trigger will run the associated workflow.

Link triggers are unique to each installed version of your app. This means that Shortcut URLs will be different across each workspace, as well as between locally run and deployed apps.

With link triggers, after selecting a workspace and environment, the output provided will include a Shortcut URL. Copy and paste this URL into a channel as a message, or add it as a bookmark in a channel of the workspace you selected. Interacting with this link will run the associated workflow.

Note: triggers won't run the workflow unless the app is either running locally or deployed!

Manual Trigger Creation

To manually create a trigger, use the following command:

$ slack trigger create --trigger-def triggers/submit_request.ts

Deploying Your App

Once development is complete, deploy the app to Slack infrastructure using slack deploy:

$ slack deploy

When deploying for the first time, you'll be prompted to create a new link trigger for the deployed version of your app. When that trigger is invoked, the workflow should run just as it did when developing locally (but without requiring your server to be running).

Viewing Activity Logs

Activity logs of your application can be viewed live and as they occur with the following command:

$ slack activity --tail

Project Structure

.slack/

Contains apps.dev.json and apps.json, which include installation details for development and deployed apps.

functions/

Functions are reusable building blocks of automation that accept inputs, perform calculations, and provide outputs. Functions can be used independently or as steps in workflows.

triggers/

Triggers determine when workflows are run. A trigger file describes the scenario in which a workflow should be run, such as a user pressing a button or when a specific event occurs.

workflows/

A workflow is a set of steps (functions) that are executed in order.

Workflows can be configured to run without user input or they can collect input by beginning with a form before continuing to the next step.

manifest.ts

The app manifest contains the app's configuration. This file defines attributes like app name and description.

slack.json

Used by the CLI to interact with the project's SDK dependencies. It contains script hooks that are executed by the CLI and implemented by the SDK.

Resources

To learn more about developing automations on Slack, visit the following:

About

Slack automation platform app demonstrating how to build a workflow that allows a submitter to edit or delete their channel message

https://api.slack.com/automation

License:MIT License


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