Unlocking the Power of Metadata in Willow360
What is Metadata?
Metadata is information that Willow360 collects, reads, or derives during a workflow and makes available for use in subsequent actions. Rather than configuring a workflow with fixed values, metadata allows you to use dynamic variables that reflect the actual content of each file as it is processed.
A simple example: instead of stamping every document with a static date, you use the Current Date metadata variable so the stamp always reflects when the document was actually processed.
Sources of Metadata in Willow360
System metadata: Willow360 automatically makes a set of variables available in every workflow, including the name of the user who added the file, the workflow name, the organisation name, the file name, and the current date and time broken down by day, month, year, and format.
Form data: when a user completes a Fill in a Form or Supply Information action, every field they submit becomes available as metadata. If there are multiple form actions in a workflow, each is available as a separate source.
Approval details: after an Approve action, the approver's name, email, and the date of approval become available as metadata for use in subsequent actions.
AI Data: when the AI Data action reads a document, every field it extracts becomes available as metadata. For example, if you configure AI Data to extract an invoice number, supplier name, and total amount, all three values are available to every action that follows. AI Data is the primary recommended way to capture document content as metadata in Willow360.
External Data: when files are submitted with an accompanying XML metadata file from an MFD or third-party scanning system such as Umango, the values in that XML become available as metadata. This is appropriate where files have been pre-processed by external software before entering Willow360.
Export location: after a cloud upload action, the actual destination path where the file was stored becomes available as metadata for use in subsequent actions.
Using Metadata in Workflow Actions
Metadata can be used in a wide range of actions. Here are practical examples of how each one benefits from it.
1. AI Data
Purpose: reads document content automatically and captures the answers as metadata.
Example: a workflow receives invoices. AI Data is configured to extract the invoice number, supplier name, total amount, and due date. Those four values are now available as metadata throughout the rest of the workflow, driving file naming, approval routing, email addressing, and reporting, all without anyone reading the document.
2. Fill in a Form
Purpose: starts a workflow by collecting structured data from a user, which generates a PDF and becomes metadata.
Example: an employee fills out an expense form with their name, date, and expense details. Those values become metadata available in all subsequent actions, such as renaming the output file or routing it to the correct approver.
3. Supply Information
Purpose: prompts a user to complete a form at a specific point in the workflow, with the submitted values stored as metadata.
Example: during an invoice approval process, the workflow prompts the user to confirm the Customer ID and Total Amount. The confirmed values are then used to stamp the document and rename the file automatically.
4. External Data
Purpose: reads XML metadata from an external service or MFD device and makes it available in subsequent actions.
Example: scanning software performs OCR on an invoice and outputs an XML file containing the Invoice Number, Customer ID, and Total Amount. Willow360 reads those values and uses them to rename the file and populate a stamp automatically.
5. Rename
Purpose: changes the file name using metadata variables.
Example: a file is renamed to "Invoice [Supplier Name] [Month] [Year]" using metadata extracted by AI Data and the current date. The result is a consistently named file such as "Invoice Acme Ltd 06 2026.pdf" without anyone typing anything.
6. Stamp
Purpose: applies text or an image to a document, with the content driven by metadata.
Example: a document is stamped with "Approved by [Approver Name] on [Approval Date]" using metadata from the preceding Approve action. Every stamped document reflects the actual approver and date rather than fixed text.
7. Watermark
Purpose: adds a transparent text or image overlay to a document.
Example: a watermark is applied reading "Confidential - [Current Date]" so every watermarked document is dated automatically at the point of processing.
8. Secure Email and System Email
Purpose: sends documents to recipients, with addresses, subjects, and body text driven by metadata.
Example: when a file completes processing, an email is sent to the user who added the file with a subject line of "Your document has been processed: [File Name]" and a body that includes their name and the workflow name, all populated dynamically from metadata.
9. Upload to Cloud Services
Purpose: stores files in SharePoint, OneDrive, Google Drive, or Dropbox, with the destination path driven by metadata.
Example: files are uploaded to a dynamically constructed folder path such as "Invoices / [Year] / [Month] / [Supplier Name]" so that every uploaded file lands in the correct subfolder automatically, with no manual filing required.
10. Custom Task
Purpose: assigns a manual task to a user, with the task description personalised using metadata.
Example: a task is created with the description "Please verify payment details for invoice [Invoice Number] from [Supplier Name], total [Total Amount]" so the task performer has everything they need in front of them without opening the document.
11. Export Data to CSV
Purpose: appends a row to a CSV report for each file processed, with the column values drawn from metadata.
Example: after AI Data extracts the invoice number, supplier, total amount, and due date, Export Data to CSV writes those values into a monthly report named "Invoices [Month] [Year]". Every processed invoice adds a new row automatically, building a complete payment register without any manual data entry.
An Important Rule
Metadata is only available to actions that come after the action that produces it. AI Data metadata, for example, is only accessible to actions placed after the AI Data step in the workflow. If a Merge action appears between the source action and where you want to use the metadata, it will no longer be available downstream.
Conclusion
Metadata is what connects the actions in a Willow360 workflow into a coherent, intelligent process. Used well, it means that a file entering your workflow carries everything the workflow needs to process it correctly, name it appropriately, route it to the right person, deliver it to the right location, and record it in the right report, all driven by what is actually in the document rather than what someone has typed in manually.
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