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Kanri

Run a Workflow Manually

Workflows with automatic triggers start on their own. But you can also start a workflow run manually — either from the Workflows admin area, or directly from a record in a report or member list.

From the workflow editor

Section titled “From the workflow editor”

Use this method to start a workflow for one specific record, without waiting for the trigger to fire.

  1. Open the workflow in the editor.
  2. Make sure the workflow is published (a live version exists).
  3. Click Run in the editor toolbar.
  4. You’ll be prompted to enter (or search for) the record to run the workflow against.
  5. Confirm. Kanri creates a new run for that record immediately.

The new run appears in Run History with a “manual” trigger indicator.

From a record’s action menu

Section titled “From a record’s action menu”

Manual trigger workflows also appear as options in the action menus on records — for example, in the member list, in a report, or on a member’s profile page.

This lets staff with appropriate permissions start a workflow on a specific record without needing access to the Workflows admin area.

How it works:

  1. Find the record you want to run the workflow for (e.g., go to Members and find the member).
  2. Click the Actions menu (usually on the row, or on the member’s profile).
  3. Any published, enabled workflows whose trigger type is Manual will appear in the list.
  4. Click the workflow name to start a run for that record.

Permission required: The required permission is determined by the workflow itself — specifically, the union of permissions needed by all the actions and filters in the workflow. This is usually something like Manage Members rather than Manage Workflows. A staff member with day-to-day permissions can run workflows published for their use, without needing workflow admin access.

Bulk manual triggers

Section titled “Bulk manual triggers”

In reports and data tables, you can select multiple records and run a workflow on all of them at once. This is useful for:

  • Running a “send renewal offer” workflow on a filtered list of expiring members.
  • Triggering a “process batch” workflow on multiple invoices.
  1. In a report or member list, filter to the records you want.
  2. Select multiple rows (usually with a checkbox).
  3. Open the bulk Actions menu.
  4. Choose a manual trigger workflow from the list.

Kanri starts a separate run for each selected record. The runs are independent — each one tracks its own progress.

Manual vs. automatic runs — what’s the difference?

Section titled “Manual vs. automatic runs — what’s the difference?”

Functionally, a manual run behaves identically to an automatically triggered run. It goes through the same steps, respects the same delays, and re-checks the trigger condition on delays (unless you’ve turned that off for specific steps).

The only difference is attribution — the run history shows “Manual” as the trigger kind, and records which staff member started it.

Next steps

Section titled “Next steps”
  • Run History — monitor the runs you’ve started
  • Steps — understand what happens during a run
  • Publish and Enable — make sure your workflow is published and enabled before running manually