Configuring Steps
Now that we have a handle on placing down steps and connecting them together, let’s take a look at how to configure your steps.
Step Sidebar
When you click a step, you’ll see the Options Sidebar open on the right side:
There’s a few things to notice in the sidebar.
At the top is the step name. If you hover the step name, you’ll be able to rename it to make it easier to find on the canvas and when inserting variables in other steps.
In the top right corner, you’ll see a green checkmark circle or a red exclamation mark. This is the “status” of the step; if all of the step’s options are filled out correctly, it will show the green checkmark circle. If you have required fields that are empty, or other errors, it will show the red exclamation mark. You can hover this icon to see where the errors are, and they will also show in the outputs below.
Next, you have the step description. Like the name, you can edit this field to explain what the step does; this can be a great help if you have to come back to the Spell later.
Below the description, you can switch between the Options and Outputs views. The Options view shows the options to configure for the step, and the Outputs view shows a list of all variables this step will produce when it runs.
Filling out options
To properly configure a step, you’ll need to fill out the options. Options can be required or optional, with an asterisk next to the name denoting a required field:
All required fields will be at the top; once you start seeing optional options, all the rest will be optional.
The names and descriptions of each option will describe what you should enter as well as how that option will affect what the step does. If you’re confused about what an option does, please let us know via email, chat, or Slack! We want to make sure all options are crystal clear.
Remember that all options have types. Depending on the option’s type, you’ll see different inputs. Every option type has the ability to insert variables, though they may work differently. For example, text inputs are easy: the variable’s value is inserted wherever it is placed in the text input. Toggles, on the other end, accept expressions of variables to determine their value (true or false). There’s not too many, so as you explore different steps, you’ll quickly become familiar with the different types of options and how to use them.
Viewing outputs
You can see some of a step’s output variables in the step preview on the canvas, but some steps have lots of outputs. The outputs view in the step sidebar is where you can see all of the information for the variables the step produces.
This view shows a complete list of all variables, with their name, type, and description. You can’t edit the info here, but it will be helpful to explore a step’s output variables before you pass the data along to other steps.