Master Tables

Master Tables are the reference data tables that Workflow Studio uses to drive dynamic, data-driven workflows. Instead of hard-coding a list of departments, cost centers, office locations, or approvers into every form and node, you maintain that data once in a Master Table and let your forms and workflow logic look it up at runtime.

A Master Table is a bot-wide dataset: it lives outside any individual workflow, so the same table can populate dropdowns and power decision logic across many workflows. This page explains how to browse Master Tables, create one, define its columns, add data (manually or via Excel), keep it up to date, and reference it from forms and nodes.

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Where you'll see it

Master Tables live in the Admin area of Workflows Studio (open Workflows › Admin › Master Tables). The Admin area is the central place where you manage the reference data and routing logic that workflows depend on. Once a table is Active, it becomes available for selection in the form builder and in workflow nodes.

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Key terms

• Master Table — a bot-wide reference dataset (for example, a list of departments, cost centers, or office locations) made up of columns and rows.
• Column — a field in the table. Each column has a header (its name) and a data type (text, number, date, time, or date-time).
• Primary key — the first column in the table. Its values must be unique; it identifies each row and is used to match rows on import and update.
• Row — a single record in the table, holding one value per column.
• Active / Inactive — a table's availability. Only Active tables can be selected when building forms and workflows.
• Dropdown (Master) — the form field type that sources its options from a Master Table column.

Browse Master Tables

1. In Workflows Studio, open the Admin area and select Master Tables. The listing page shows all Master Tables configured for your bot.

2. Each row in the list shows the table name, description, and a status badge:

   • Active — the table is available for use in forms and workflow nodes.
   • Inactive — the table is preserved but cannot be selected for new configurations.

3. Use search to find a table by name, and pagination to move through long lists.

From the list you can open a table to view its data, edit it, toggle it Active or Inactive, or create a new one.

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Permission-aware access

The Master Tables admin area is available to users with edit access to at least one workflow application in the bot. Workflow admins have full access; if you have no applicable edit permissions, the area appears empty. Access is governed by Permissions (RBAC).

Create a Master Table

1. On the Master Tables listing page, click Create (or Create Master Table).

2. Enter a name and an optional description. The name must be unique within the bot and may use letters, numbers, spaces, hyphens, and underscores only — avoid other special characters, as the name is used as an internal lookup key.

3. Define the table's columns. For each column, set:

   • Header — the column name. Headers must be unique within the table.
   • Data type — one of the supported types below. The data type controls how values are validated on import and which operators are available when you filter the table at runtime.

4. Save the table. It is created in an Active state and becomes available for selection in forms and nodes.

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The first column is the primary key

The first column you define is automatically treated as the table's primary key. Its values must be unique across all rows — the system uses them to identify rows, prevent duplicates, and match existing rows when you re-import or update data. Choose a column whose values are naturally unique (for example, an employee ID or a department code) as your first column.

Supported column data types

Values that don't match the column's format are flagged during import so you can correct them before saving.

Add and edit data

You can populate a Master Table in two ways: enter rows directly, or bulk-import them from an Excel file. Both methods let you review changes before they are committed.

Enter data manually

Open the table to see its data grid, add or edit rows inline, and save. Each value must match its column's data type, and primary-key values must remain unique. Changes are held locally until you click Save, so you can cancel before anything is written.

Bulk-import from Excel

For larger datasets, import from a spreadsheet:

1. Open the table and choose Download template (export template). This generates an Excel file whose column headers exactly match the table's schema — use it so your data lines up with the expected columns.

2. Fill in your rows in the template, keeping each value in the correct format for its column type and keeping primary-key values unique.

3. Choose Import (upload) and select your file (.xlsx, .xls, or .csv). The system validates the file before saving, checking that:

   • the columns in the file match the table's defined columns,
   • no labels or values are missing,
   • each cell matches its column's data type (dates, times, and numbers are format-checked), and
   • primary-key values are unique.

   Any problems are reported row by row so you can fix the file and re-upload.

4. Decide how the imported rows should be applied using the Overwrite option, then Save to commit the validated data.

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Overwrite vs. append

• Overwrite enabled — existing rows in the table are cleared and replaced with the rows in your file (a "replace all" load). Use this when the spreadsheet is the new source of truth.
• Overwrite disabled — the rows in your file are added to the existing data. Rows are matched by primary key, so re-importing an existing key updates that row rather than duplicating it.

Overwrite affects the entire table, so double-check the file before saving.

Export data

Use Export (download data) on a table to download its current contents as an Excel file — useful for backups, offline edits, or sharing the dataset. Exports can be generated per language where localized labels are configured (see below).

Edit columns

You can rename or remove columns after a table has data. When you save the change, existing data is migrated automatically: renamed columns keep their values under the new header, and removed columns have their values cleared. Because column changes ripple through every form and node that references the table, review where a table is used before restructuring it.

Activate or deactivate a table

Each table has an Active / Inactive toggle on the listing page.

• Active — the table can be selected in the form builder and workflow nodes and is queried at runtime.
• Inactive — the table is hidden from new configurations but its data is preserved. Workflows that already reference the table may stop resolving values, so deactivate a table only when you're sure it's no longer needed.

Use a Master Table in forms

The most common use of a Master Table is to populate a dropdown in a form.

1. In the form builder, add a Dropdown (Master) field (see Form components & supported fields).

2. Select the Master Table and the column whose values should appear as options.

3. Optionally, add dependent filtering so the options shown depend on other inputs. You can filter the table's rows by comparing a column against a static value or another form field using these operators:

   • Equals (eq) and Not equals (neq)
   • Greater than / greater than or equal (gt, gte)
   • Less than / less than or equal (lt, lte)
   • Contains (case-insensitive text match)

For example, a City dropdown can filter its options to only the cities that belong to the Country the user already selected, as long as both columns exist in the same Master Table.

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Master dropdown vs. dynamic dropdown

Use a Dropdown (Master) field when the option list comes from reference data you maintain in a Master Table. Use a Dynamic Dropdown when options must be fetched live from an external system at runtime. Both can power dependent (cascading) dropdowns.

Use a Master Table in workflow logic

Beyond forms, workflow nodes can look up Master Table values at runtime through the workflow's data context. This lets you, for example, resolve an approver or a threshold from a table inside a Decision node or map a looked-up value into an Action node — without hard-coding the values into the workflow. Fields that support dynamic mapping let you browse and select available Master Table columns when configuring the node.

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Localized labels

A Master Table stores each option's value (used consistently for logic and filters) separately from its label (the text shown to users). Labels can be translated per language, so the same table can present localized options to users in different languages while your workflow logic continues to match on the underlying value.

Master Tables in templates and migration

Because Master Tables are environment-specific, they are handled as mappable variables when a workflow moves between environments:

• Templates — when you create a workflow from a template, the system asks you to map each Master Table the template uses. You can reuse an existing table in your bot or let the system create a copy of the template's table, after which all form and node references are remapped to the new table automatically.
• Migration and cloning — when you migrate or clone a workflow between bots or environments (for example, Sandbox to Production), Master Tables are duplicated into the target bot and references are remapped so the workflow stays functional. See App Migrate & Clone options.