Build an automation
Use the visual editor to wire a trigger to actions, waits and branches, configure every block, and set the automation Live.
This article describes the old editor, which is being retired. New automations open in the current builder, which shows the same run two ways, as a List and as a Canvas, and is not yet documented here. The blocks and what they mean are the same in both. If you have an old-editor automation, click Open in the new builder on its row on the Automations page: Hailo rebuilds the same chain with both views and switches the old copy off so nothing sends twice.
The automation editor is a canvas. You add blocks from a palette on the left, connect them left to right, fill in each block's settings, and save. A chain always starts with a trigger and runs down the connections from there.
Every picker in the editor is a dropdown, not a text box. That is deliberate: a stage, template, form or tag that is typed with a typo never matches anything and the step silently does nothing. Picking from the list means the step can only name things that exist.
Open the editor
From the Automations page, open the Built with the old editor section at the bottom and click Old editor on a row. (Switched-off ones are behind the line saying how many.)
The editor's subtitle reads "The old editor. Canvas only, with no list view here."
The parts of the editor
| Part | What it does |
|---|---|
| Draft / Live (top right) | The automation's state. Change it, then click Save |
| Save | Stores the graph and the state. You see "Saved." |
| ⋯ menu | Stop if they reply toggle ("Drops what is still scheduled.") and Delete automation. See Conditions and stop on reply |
| Palette (left) | Every block, grouped into Triggers, Actions, Timing and Logic, with a Search blocks… box |
| Canvas | Where the chain lives. Empty canvas reads "Start with a trigger" and "Add one from the palette to begin." |
| Canvas controls | Zoom in, Zoom out, Reset zoom |
Add and connect blocks
The palette hint says it all: "Click a block to add it, or drag to place it exactly. Drag from an output dot to another node's input dot to connect them."
- Click a trigger in the palette. It lands on the canvas.
- Click or drag an action after it.
- Drag from the small dot on the right edge of the trigger to the dot on the left edge of the action. The line is the connection.
- Keep going: action to wait, wait to action.
- Click a block to open its settings and fill them in.
- Click the × on a block to remove it.
A chain runs strictly along its connections. A block with nothing connected before it never runs, except a trigger. You can put more than one trigger in one automation; each starts its own chain (the Pre-wedding questionnaires preset does this with three Days before event triggers).
Trigger blocks
| Block | Fires when | Settings |
|---|---|---|
| Lead created | "A new lead lands in your inbox." Any new lead: inquiry form, added by hand, or imported | None |
| Status changed | "A lead or project moves to a new stage." | To stage: a dropdown of the stages that can fire. See below |
| Form submitted | "Someone fills out an inquiry form." | Form: a dropdown of your active inquiry forms. Leave it empty to match any form |
| Days before event | "Fire N days before the wedding date." | Days, for example 30 |
| Days after event | "Fire N days after the wedding day." | Days, for example 365 |
| Manual trigger | "You fire it by hand from a lead." | None. The automation appears in the ⋯ More actions menu on every lead as Run: followed by its name |
Stages the Status changed trigger can use
Only stages that Hailo actually moves people through are offered:
| Stage | Fires when |
|---|---|
| Proposal sent | A proposal goes out |
| Contract signed | The couple signs |
| Deposit paid | The deposit lands |
| Booked | The lead converts to a booking |
| In production | Editing starts |
| Delivered | The film is delivered |
| Lost | You mark the lead lost |
Inquiry, Consult booked and Complete are not offered because nothing moves a record into them automatically.
Action blocks
| Block | Does | Settings |
|---|---|---|
| Send email | "Pick a template, send to the client." | Template: dropdown of your email templates (one entry per name). Subject: optional, "Leave blank to use the template's" |
| Send questionnaire | "Drop a questionnaire link in their inbox." | Form: dropdown of your questionnaire templates |
| Create task | "Drop a reminder in your notifications." | Task: the reminder text, for example "Follow up with client" |
| Add tag | "Tag the lead so you can filter later." | Tag: dropdown of tags already used on your leads |
| Update field | "Change a status, stage, or custom field." | Set: Deal stage, Production state or Lead or client status. To: the value, from a dropdown that matches the field |
| Webhook | "POST a payload to any URL (Zapier, n8n…)." | URL, for example a Zapier hook address |
A Send email step goes out through your connected mailbox, exactly like an email you send yourself, with merge tags filled in from the record.
Timing blocks
| Block | Does | Settings |
|---|---|---|
| Wait | "Pause the chain for days, hours, or minutes." | Days, Hours, and Minutes (15, 30 or 45) |
| Wait until time | "Hold until a specific time of day." | Time: a dropdown in half-hour steps |
Waits resume on a sweep that runs every 15 minutes, so a step scheduled for 9:07 goes out on the next sweep after that.
Logic blocks
| Block | Does | Settings |
|---|---|---|
| If / Else | "Branch on a condition. Yes & No paths." | Check: the condition. Is: the value, when the condition needs one. The block has a True exit and a False exit; connect each to what should happen |
| Has tag? | "Branch by whether the lead has a tag." | Tag: dropdown of tags in use. Same True and False exits |
Every condition is explained in Conditions and stop on reply.
Save and go Live
- Click Save while the automation is a Draft as often as you like. Nothing runs.
- When the chain is ready, choose Live at the top right and click Save.
From then on, anyone who hits the trigger goes down the chain. People who hit the trigger before it went Live are not picked up.
If it didn't work
- "Start with a trigger" never goes away. You have not added a trigger. Chains cannot start from an action.
- The card on the Automations page reads "Not set yet". The trigger exists but its setting is empty (no stage, no days). Open it and pick a value.
- A Send email step's Template list is empty or missing a template. The list shows one entry per template name. Duplicate or create the template under Templates > Email templates, then reopen the editor.
- A Form submitted trigger shows no forms. Only forms marked Active in Settings > Embed forms are listed.
- Add tag or Has tag? shows no tags. The dropdown lists tags already on your leads. Add the tag to one lead first.