Workflow 1.5.1, now with IFTTT

We’re excited to tell you about something really cool today: Workflow 1.5.1 introduces IFTTT integration, allowing you to trigger IFTTT recipes in your workflows. With this addition, your workflows can take advantage of IFTTT’s hundreds of supported services and devices, from Nest to Google Docs to Logitech Harmony. The possibilities are endless!

We created a few examples to get you going:

Also, check out Federico Viticci’s excellent piece on MacStories to learn more.

Build Your Own

Ready to build your own? Here’s a quick tour of how to build your own Workflow IFTTT Recipe. In this example, let’s create a Recipe that adds a row to a Google Spreadsheet.

First, open the Workflow app and create a new workflow.

In this simple example, we’ll make a workflow that asks you for a person’s name and age and adds it to the spreadsheet. Slide to the actions pane, find the “Ask for Input” action, and drag it into your workflow. Then, find and add a “Set Variable” action to your workflow to store this result for later. Fill out the “Question” and “Variable” fields - you might want to call them both “Name”.

Repeat this process, adding an “Ask for Input” and “Set Variable” action to prompt for the person’s age. Now, add a “Get Variable” action to your workflow, and choose the “Name” variable to retrieve the name you set earlier.

Finally, add a “Trigger IFTTT Recipe” action - this is the important part! You’ll need to be signed into a Workflow Sync account in order for it to work; if you haven’t set up Sync yet, you’ll be prompted to do so now. Set a trigger name (it can be anything you want), and add an extra Ingredient so that we can pass the age. “Ingredients” are bits of text that can be used in IFTTT recipes.

Now your workflow is all set up, so it’s time to set up the IFTTT side of things! Make sure you have the IF app installed, then tap “Create Recipe” to get started. Then, tap “Create a Recipe” in IF.

Tap the “+” button to choose a Trigger. Find and select the Workflow Channel. If you haven’t yet used Workflow with IFTTT, you’ll be redirected to Safari to log in to your Workflow Sync account.

Once your Channel is set up, choose the “A workflow is run” Trigger. Then, from the list, select the Trigger name you set earlier.

Tap the orange “+” button to choose the Action to add to your Recipe. Find the Google Drive Channel and choose the “Add row to spreadsheet” Action.

Set a name for your spreadsheet and remove the unnecessary Ingredients from the Action’s fields. In this simple example, you should end up with what you see here:

Tap “Next” and finish creating your Recipe. You probably don’t want the “Receive notifications when this Recipe runs” option, since you’ll be triggering the Recipe yourself!

Give the closest person a high-five. You did it! Head back to Workflow and tap the Run button to give your new Recipe a try.