Guide to The New Advanced Notion Automations

Notion's latest update introduces powerful new automation features, including the ability to send emails and use formulas to create custom automations. This new functionality brings Notion closer to a full-fledged workflow automation tool, allowing users to streamline communications, manage notifications, and integrate dynamic elements into their databases. This guide covers everything you need to know about Notion's new automation features and provides practical steps to set them up.

What Are Notion Automations?

Notion Automations allow you to trigger actions based on changes in Notion databases or button presses. These actions can now include sending emails, updating properties, or even applying custom formulas to create dynamic, responsive workflows. With these capabilities, you can use Notion as a centralized workspace for tracking, notifying, and updating tasks seamlessly.

What’s New in Formulas?

The new update enhances Notion’s formulas by allowing them to be used directly in automation actions. This means you can now define variables, perform calculations, and insert dynamic content in automation messages or property updates. With formulas, your automations become highly customizable, enabling complex workflows and tailored communications.

1. Send Email Action

One of the most exciting additions to Notion Automations is the ability to send emails automatically based on database triggers. For instance, you can set up automations to notify team members about new database entries or changes in property values. Below, we’ll walk through a practical use case: a Holiday Request Form that sends an email notification to HR when a new request is submitted and automatically informs the requester when their request is approved or rejected.

Use Case: Holiday Request Form

In this scenario, an employee submits a holiday request through a Notion form, and Notion automatically sends an email to the HR department. When HR updates the request’s status to “Approved” or “Rejected,” Notion also sends an email to notify the requester.

Step-by-Step Guide: Send Email When New Entry is Added

1. Go to Automations: Click on the Automations icon in your Notion sidebar.
2. Create New Automation: Select New Automation.
3. Set the Trigger:
   • Choose New Trigger and select Page Added to trigger the automation when a new holiday request is submitted.
4. Set the Action:
   • Choose New Action and select Send Email.
5. Configure the Email:
   • Sender: Choose the email account from which the notification will be sent.
   • Recipient: Enter the HR team’s email address (you can also use CC and BCC fields if necessary).
   • Subject and Message: Customize the email subject and body, using dynamic fields like the page creator and requested dates to personalize the notification.
6. Save and Activate: Click Create to save your automation.

Now, every time a new holiday request is submitted, HR will receive an email notification with all relevant details.

Step-by-Step Guide: Send Email When Status is Updated

To notify employees about the status of their holiday requests, set up another automation that sends an email to the requester when HR updates the status to “Approved” or “Rejected.”

1. Go to Automations: Click on the Automations icon in your Notion sidebar.
2. Create New Automation: Select New Automation.
3. Set the Trigger:
   • Choose New Trigger and set it to monitor the Status field. Set the condition to trigger when the status changes to either “Approved” or “Rejected.”
4. Set the Action:
   • Choose New Action and select Send Email.
5. Configure the Email:
   • Sender: Select the email account to send from.
   • Recipient: Use the Page Creator option to automatically send the email to the requester.
   • Subject and Message: Personalize the email with a custom message indicating the status of the request and any additional details if necessary.
6. Save and Activate: Click Create to finalize your automation.

With this setup, employees are automatically notified of their holiday request status as soon as HR updates the entry, saving time and reducing communication gaps.

2. Using Formulas in Automations

With the new formula capabilities, Notion automations can be customized even further. Now, you can use formulas in the action tab to dynamically define variables and personalize content based on complex calculations or conditional logic.

Step-by-Step Guide to Using Formulas in Automations

1. Go to Automations: Click on the Automations icon in your Notion sidebar.
2. Create New Automation: Select New Automation.
3. Set Your Trigger: Choose a trigger based on what action or property change you want to monitor.
4. Set the Action:
   • Choose Define Variables under the Actions tab.
   • Click on the Variable Dropdown and select Edit as Formula.
5. Add Your Formula: Here, you can create custom formulas to specify dynamic values or conditions based on properties in your database.

For instance, you could set up a formula to calculate a project’s remaining budget and automatically notify relevant stakeholders when it drops below a certain threshold. By leveraging formulas, you gain greater flexibility to automate actions tailored to your project’s specific needs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I send emails to multiple recipients in a single action?

‍Yes, you can use CC and BCC fields to send emails to multiple recipients. This is particularly useful for notifying multiple departments or team members.

Are these automations visible to all workspace members?

‍Yes, automations are visible to those with access to the database. Permissions may limit who can create or edit automations, depending on your workspace’s settings.

Can I use conditional logic in triggers?

‍Currently, triggers are based on property changes or additions, but you can use formulas in actions to set conditions and customize responses based on calculated outcomes.

Conclusion

With these new automation capabilities, Notion is stepping up as a workflow powerhouse, providing options to automate communication and customize actions based on formulas. This update allows you to transform Notion into a smart, interactive workspace that not only stores information but also actively manages your workflows. Dive into these features to streamline your processes and watch your productivity soar as Notion does more of the heavy lifting!

‍