Node: Send Email
The Send Email node allows your workflow to send personalized email messages to any recipient at the exact moment the step is reached. It is ideal for automatic notifications, receipt confirmations, internal communications, and any situation where a person needs to be informed about the progress of a process.
Unlike the Approval node or the Request Form Response node, Send Email does not wait for any action from the recipient: the workflow advances immediately after the send is dispatched, without blocking execution. This means the next step in the flow starts as soon as the email is sent, regardless of whether the recipient has opened, read, or replied to the message.
The Send Email node advances to the next step right after the send is dispatched. There is no read confirmation, click, or reply. If you need the process to wait for an action from the recipient, use the Approval or Request Form Response node.
When to Use
The Send Email node is the right choice in the following situations:
- Automatic notifications: alert a responsible person that a new request has been registered.
- Receipt confirmations: inform the requester that the request was received and is under review.
- Status communications: notify stakeholders about stage changes in the process (for example, "your request was approved").
- Summaries and reports: send a summary with the data collected in a form to a manager or team.
- Completion notifications: communicate that the process has reached the end.
Configuration
To configure the Send Email node, click on it in the workflow editor canvas. The configuration side panel will be displayed with the following options:
| Field | Description | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Recipients | Who the email will be sent to. | Supports multiple recipients of different types at the same time. See the Recipient Types section below. |
| Subject | Email subject line. | Free text with support for variables in the format {{field_name}}. Example: Request from {{name}} received successfully. |
| Body | Main email content. | Editor with support for formatting (bold, italic, lists), tables, variable insertion, and artifacts (PDFs generated in the workflow). |
| Attachments | Files that will be attached to the email. | PDFs generated by ancestor workflow nodes and form upload files. Selected by the artifact selector in the body editor. |
Using Variables in the Email
Variables allow personalizing the email content with real data collected during the workflow execution. The syntax is simple: {{field_name}}, where field_name is the identifier of the question in the form.
Which variables are available?
You can reference in the subject and email body:
- Ancestor form fields: any question from a form that is a node preceding the Send Email in the flow. For example, if the workflow is triggered by a form with the field
full_name, you can use{{full_name}}in the email. - Requested form responses: if before the email node there is a Request Form Response node, the responses from that form are also available as variables.
How to insert variables
- Position the cursor at the desired location within the email Subject or Body.
- Click the variable icon (represented by
{{}}), available in the editor toolbar. - The variable selector will open, listing all available fields from ancestor forms.
- Click the desired variable to insert it automatically into the text.
When configuring the email body, use the Load default template button. It pre-fills the body with a formatted table containing all available variables from the trigger form, saving time in assembling the email and ensuring no important field is forgotten.
Practical example
If the trigger form has the fields name, department, and request_description, you can configure the email like this:
- Subject:
New request from {{name}} — {{department}} - Body:
Hello, we received a new request. **Requester:** {{name}} **Department:** {{department}} **Description:** {{request_description}}
Recipient Types
The Send Email node supports four different recipient types, which can be freely combined in the same configuration:
| Type | Configuration | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| Platform user | Select an internal user registered in Hashdata. | When the recipient is a team member who has access to the platform. Ideal for internal notifications and communications to fixed managers or leads. |
| Form respondent | Select the source form (trigger or ancestor) whose respondent should receive the email. | When you need to send a confirmation or notification to the person who filled out the form. The email is automatically resolved from the respondent's registration. |
| Form email field | Select an email-type question present in an ancestor form. | When the form collects the email address of someone who is not necessarily a platform user. For example, a client or partner email provided by the respondent. |
| External email | Directly type the desired email address. | When the recipient is always the same and fixed, regardless of who filled out the form. Useful for notifying team addresses, such as support@company.com. |
You can add multiple recipients of different types in the same node. For example, you can send the email simultaneously to the form respondent, to an internal platform user, and to a fixed external address.
Artifacts as Attachments
Artifacts are files generated during the workflow execution, such as PDFs produced by approval nodes or exports. The Send Email node allows including these artifacts as attachments, enriching the communication with documents relevant to the process.
How to add artifacts to the email
- Open the Body editor of the Send Email node.
- Click the attachment or artifact icon available in the editor toolbar.
- The artifact selector will list all PDFs and files generated by previous nodes in the flow.
- Select the desired artifacts. They will appear referenced in the email body and will be sent as attachments.
In addition to artifacts generated by the workflow, you can also attach files from upload questions in ancestor forms, such as documents, images, and spreadsheets submitted by respondents.
Emails with many attachments or very large files may be rejected by destination servers. Prefer to attach only the essential artifacts for each communication. For sharing bulky files, consider using the Upload to Google Drive or Upload to OneDrive nodes together with a link in the email body.
Node Output
The Send Email node has a single output. After the send is dispatched, the workflow automatically advances to the next connected node, without any condition or branching based on the send result.
This makes Send Email a simple node to chain: just connect its output to the next process step, whether it is another email, an approval, a status update, or the end of the flow.
Best Practices
- Always personalize the subject: a subject with the requester's name or the process title helps the recipient identify the email quickly in the inbox.
- Use the default template as a starting point: the Load default template button ensures all form responses are included in an organized way, preventing important information from being left out.
- Combine recipient types: notify the requester, the internal manager, and the team email inbox simultaneously to ensure complete visibility of the process.
- Review variables before publishing: make sure the variable names in the email match exactly the field identifiers in the form to avoid them appearing as literal text in the sent email.