> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.custral.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Action Buttons

> Buttons you configure yourself, on a view header or a sidebar page row: create a record, run a workflow, apply a filter, jump somewhere.

## Overview

An **action button** is a button you define and place where your team already works: in a view's header, or on a page's row in the sidebar. Clicking it does exactly one thing, which you choose from six action types.

They exist to put a routine step one click away instead of three menus deep. A support view gets a **Log a ticket** button; an ops dashboard gets **Run nightly sync**; a pipeline board gets **Show my deals only**.

## Where they appear

| Placement            | Renders as                                                | Configure from                                                   |
| -------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **View header**      | Icon and label, in the header row beside Share and Create | Open the page, click the gear (**Edit views**), then **Actions** |
| **Sidebar page row** | Icon only, visible on hover                               | The page's `...` menu in the sidebar, then **Actions**           |

Both placements run the same action, so a button behaves identically wherever you put it. Only the chrome differs: a header button shows its label, a sidebar button shows it as a tooltip.

## Action types

| Type                   | What clicking it does                          | What you configure                                    |
| ---------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| **Create record**      | Opens the new-record form for an object        | The object, and optionally a template to prefill from |
| **Go to page**         | Jumps to another page in the sidebar           | The target page                                       |
| **Start conversation** | Opens a blank conversation                     | Nothing                                               |
| **Run workflow**       | Triggers a workflow on demand                  | The workflow                                          |
| **Apply filter**       | Filters this view to a saved set of conditions | The block, and the conditions                         |
| **Open link**          | Opens an external URL in a new tab             | The URL                                               |

<Note>
  **Apply filter is view-only.** Filters belong to a block, and a page can host
  several views, so a page-scoped filter action has no unambiguous target. The
  type is hidden in the editor when you are configuring a sidebar page row,
  rather than offered as a button that would quietly do nothing.
</Note>

### Create record

The button opens the create form so the record can be reviewed before it is saved. Nothing is written until you submit.

Pick a **template** to prefill the form. The action's own template overrides the object's default for this button only, so one view can carry a **New enterprise deal** button and a **New SMB deal** button over the same object.

On a view header, a create-record button also gets a dropdown listing the object's templates, and starring one there saves it back onto the action as that button's default.

### Run workflow

Fires the workflow immediately and reports back with a toast: the button's own label on success, or the workflow's error message on failure. The button shows a spinner while the run is in flight.

This is the manual counterpart to a [workflow trigger](/automation/workflows/triggers). The workflow itself is unchanged; the button is just another way to start it.

### Apply filter

Applies a saved set of conditions to a block on the view you are looking at, the same conditions you would build by hand in the [filter bar](/surfaces/views/filters).

The view has to be open, because the button is filtering what is on screen rather than saving anything. Clicking one from a sidebar row while the view is closed reports that it could not apply.

On a **dashboard** with more than one block, pick which block the conditions target. Changing the block clears the conditions, because filters are built against that block's property schema and would not survive the move.

### Open link

Opens the URL in a new tab, with `noopener` and `noreferrer` set. Useful for the one external tool a team keeps alongside a view.

## Building one

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the editor">
    On a **view**: open the page, click the gear icon (**Edit views**) in the header, then **Add action** or **Actions**.

    On a **sidebar page**: hover the page in the sidebar, open its `...` menu, and choose **Actions**. The count beside it tells you how many the page already has.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pick the action type">
    Each type carries a one-line description of what the button will do, so you can pick by outcome rather than by name.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Configure the target">
    Choose the object, page, workflow, URL, or conditions the action needs. Until you do, the card reads as unfinished ("Pick an object", "Add at least one condition") rather than looking configured.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Label and style it">
    Give it a label and an icon. Custral suggests icons from the label as you type. Optionally pick a colour.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save">
    Click **Save actions**. Nothing is written until you do, so closing the editor discards the changes.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Drag the grip on any card to reorder the buttons. They render left to right in that order.

## Appearance

| Setting    | Notes                                                                                 |
| ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Label**  | Shown on a view header button, and as the tooltip everywhere                          |
| **Icon**   | Any Custral icon. Suggestions appear as you type the label                            |
| **Colour** | Default (a ghost button that tints on hover), or Blue, Teal, Amber, Violet, Pink, Sky |

Colour is a soft tint drawn from the workspace palette, not a raw hex, so buttons stay in step with the rest of the header and with dark mode.

## Troubleshooting

| Symptom                                                       | Likely cause                                                        | What to check                                                                                    |
| ------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| The button does nothing                                       | It was saved without a target                                       | Reopen the editor. An unconfigured card reads "Pick an object" / "Pick a workflow" / "Add a URL" |
| "Could not apply filter. This view isn't open."               | An apply-filter button was clicked while its view was not on screen | Open the view first. Apply filter acts on what is rendered, not on saved state                   |
| Apply filter is missing from the type list                    | You are editing a sidebar page row                                  | Apply filter is view-only. Add it to the view's header instead                                   |
| "Could not open the form. That object may have been deleted." | A create-record action points at a deleted object                   | Repoint the action at a live object, or remove it                                                |
| A create-record button vanished from a view header            | Same cause. On a view the button hides itself rather than erroring  | Reopen the editor and repoint it                                                                 |
| The workflow toast says it failed                             | The workflow itself errored                                         | Open the workflow's run history under [Workflows](/automation/workflows/overview)                |
| The button is not on the sidebar row                          | Sidebar buttons only appear on hover                                | Hover the row. If it is still absent, check the row's `...` menu for a count beside **Actions**  |

## See also

* [Filters](/surfaces/views/filters): the conditions an apply-filter action saves.
* [Saved views](/surfaces/views/saved): capture a whole view rather than one filter.
* [Workflows](/automation/workflows/overview): what a run-workflow button triggers.
* [Pages](/surfaces/navigation/pages): the sidebar rows that can carry actions.
* [Quick Actions](/blocks/embedded/object/quick-actions): the fixed Note / Email / Call bar on a record, which is not configurable.


## Related topics

- [Deliverability](/comms/deliverability/overview.md)
- [Compose & Send](/comms/email/compose.md)
- [Usage Event Log](/blocks/embedded/usage/usage-table.md)
- [Workflow Actions](/automation/workflows/actions.md)
- [Quick Actions](/blocks/embedded/object/quick-actions.md)