Chained Actions are different from the other action types in that they allow you to chain (or link) multiple pre-defined action definitions together and identify the order in which they should be executed. When a user executes a chained action, each of the actions is automatically performed one after the other against all of the selected items. As an example, you could create a chained action that creates a new project task, creates a document relating to the task, and then sends an email to notify the assigned individual to look for the task and document in a particular location.
IMPORTANT: Before chaining actions together, it is a good idea to test each individual action to make sure they work separately.
When you are deciding on the order of the actions to be chained, think about exactly what each action is going to do. Also keep in mind the fact that each of the chained actions is performed on the item that was originally selected in the Grid or Calendar Display. As a result:
•You cannot define a chained action that creates or publishes a new list item and then sends an email link to that new item.
•Delete actions should always be the last action executed.
•Do not attempt to combine a Delete action and an Email action. Regardless of the order of the actions, the emailed link will lead to a deleted record.
NOTE: In pre-v11 environments, there can be an issue in which chained actions that contain global links were not portable. When the actions were saved as part of a template and then ported to a new environment, the global links stayed intact but the chained actions were lost.
This issue was eliminated. If you have an existing (pre-v10.3) site where this happened, the work-around is to access the chained action via the Actions Wizard and re-select the actions to include in the chain. Once this has been done, the chained action will be available for use once again.
When the user executes a set of chained actions, all of the actions are performed on the first item selected in the Grid or Calendar Display, then the second item selected, and so on. Email actions are the exception to this rule. The email is sent in the order in which it is identified in the chain.
The success or failure message defined for the chained action is displayed when all of the actions have been completed.
Keep in mind that, as with any type of action, the more items you select to execute the action against, the more the response time will be affected.
NOTE: When multiple action definitions are identified in a chained action and they each have the "Show success message" parameter turned off, the end user does not has to click an OK button as each action in the chain is executed.