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If you want external user to access your workflows, you have three options to set it up:
  • Create a public form
  • Create a user portal
  • Create a step and assign it to an external user
Public forms and requests created using user portals can be tracked! Portals offer My requests tab that shows the progress of created requests and when tracking is on for public forms, external requesters receive a public link that enables monitoring progress.

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Create a public form

Use a public form when you want anyone with a link to be able to complete a form and start a workflow. The form is normally the first step of the workflow and can be easily accessed by scanning a generated QR code or a link. That’s why it’s a good solution anywhere where users use mobile devices and use the form to quickly log sth (an issue in a warehouse or a car failure).
  1. In your Next Matter portal, click Workflows.
  2. Click Create new > Create a new workflow.
  3. Enter the workflow name and click Create.
  4. Click Add step > Form and create a new form. Assign it to the User triggering the workflow. This will be the form the external user will see.
  5. Click the start step under the workflow overview.
  6. In the Workflow start options, click Public form.
  7. In Form configuration, click Use first step as public form.
  8. Enter the instance name.
Image of the Workflow start options screen with the public form button on
You can send the user the link available in Public form link or generate and send a QR code. You can also place the QR code on your website so that it’s available for any customer who wants to partner with you.
You can generate an external portal link that will automatically create data references. For details, see Pass meta information.
If you want to pass the information to another workflow, see Send data to an instance step.
For users who switch between devices, it’s a good idea to add ?qrCode=true to the end of the public form URL. This way the form will show with a QR code on top that can be quickly scanned by mobile users. This can come in handy if you open the form on your desktop but need to continue on your mobile for example, to upload photos taken with your phone.
Image of mobile-scannable QR form

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Public form limitations

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Assignees in next steps


When a workflow is triggered with a public form, Next Matter cannot identify who started the workflow because public forms and accessible without a login, and there’s no registered user account associated with the submission. This creates an issue when the next workflow steps are configured to be assigned to User triggering the workflow because the system has no user to assign the steps to. That’s why it defaults to the workflow lead as the assignee.
If that’s not the intended behaviour, reassign the steps early in the workflow. You can do it with Automated delegation.

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User selection form fields

Note that the user selection form field doesn’t show on a public form because of security restrictions. If such fields are required but don’t render in public forms, customers cannot see or complete these fields, and the submission of the form fails or appears broken. If you need users to fill in details, such as name or email address, use text fields instead.

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Create a portal

Portals are a good solution when you want to share multiple workflows with a number of users. You create a user hub, add workflows you want to share, and send the link to whoever needs access. You can share portals with teams, colleagues, or light users (users who have access to portals and their inbox and require a Next Matter account with a light user role). For details, see Portals.

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Create a form step and assigned to external user

If you want to send an external user a form they can fill in as part of the workflow, you can also create a form step and assign it to an external user. Then create an email to the user and use data references to link the created Public URL to the form. This way, the user will be able to click the link and open the form without logging in.
Image of a public form URL used in and email
You can use this solution in combination with the webhook trigger, when a customer logs a ticket, the customer email address is automatically extracted and used to send a confirmation email with an additional form to fill in.

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Enable instance tracking

If you want external users to be able to track the progress of the workflow instance they created, you can enable instance tracking on the workflow. You can enable tracking for any workflow. In the Workflow overview, toggle on tracking instances.
Image of the public instance tracker toggle
With the toggle on, the instance URL will be available as metadata you can use as data reference. For example, you can add it in an automated confirmation email you send to users confirming you have received the form they completed.
Make sure you create stages for the workflow for which you’ve enabled tracking. Stages will provide meaningful information to anyone wanting to monitor progress.
Users can open the provided link as a separate page.
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