How do I create a scheduled reminder email?

Modified on Thu, 17 Apr at 1:31 PM

Scheduled Actions let you queue up reminder emails that fire minutes, hours, or days after a submission lands in a particular workflow step. Think of them as little nudges that keep your process moving without constant manual follow‑up.

For now, Scheduled Actions are set up in the Code Editor. Don’t worry: we’ll walk you through the copy‑and‑paste bits so you never have to write raw code from scratch.

Adding a Scheduled Reminder Email

Part 1: Update the Workflow

Open your form, switch to the Code Editor (in the three-dot menu in the upper-right corner), then click the Workflow tab.

Inside the step where you want a reminder, locate the "onEnter" braces. Insert this little code snippet:

"scheduledActions": [ { "type": "remind", "when": { "interval": number, "unit": "minute | hour | day" }, "notificationTemplateId": "myReminderId" } ],

interval number is a plain number (5, 24, 2, etc.).
unit must be "minute", "hour", or "day" (singular).
notificationTemplateId is any label you like; keep it short...we’ll reuse it in Part 2.

Change the blue, pink, and purple pieces to match your own preferences.

For example, if you want a reminder to be sent 2 days after a submission enters a particular workflow step, use:

"scheduledActions": [ { "type": "remind", "when": { "interval": 2, "unit": "day" }, "notificationTemplateId": "reminder123" } ],

Another example: if you want a reminder to be sent 12 hours after a submission enters a particular workflow step, use:

"scheduledActions": [ { "type": "remind", "when": { "interval": 12, "unit": "hour" }, "notificationTemplateId": "reminder123" } ],

Need multiple nudges? Just copy the object line‑by‑line. Each entry schedules its own send (in other words, it does not recur at regular intervals).

The shortest allowed interval is 5 minutes. If you set 1–4 minutes, Droplet will bump it up to 5.

Part 2: Tag the Notification

Switch to the Notifications tab. Locate (or create*) the email you want to send.

* At this point, you may want to switch to the visual editor to add your custom reminder notification instead of doing so in code.

Inside that notification object, add the blue part of the snippet below:

{ "id": "myReminderId", "type": "remind", "template": { "subject": "Friendly heads‑up", "body": "Hi there! Don’t forget to finish your form." } }

Replace myReminderId with the actual reminder ID you set in Part 1.

Full Example

Below is a complete, copy‑ready snippet: a workflow step that sends one reminder email three days after assignment. The parts of the code that are relevant to the scheduled action appear in blue font.

"steps": { "step1": { "onEnter": { "assign": "getSubmittedBy()", "scheduledActions": [ { "type": "remind", "when": { "interval": 3, "unit": "day" }, "notificationTemplateId": "remind‑3d" } ] } } }, ...

Then on the Notifications tab, we might have something like:

"notifications": { "onEnter": [ { "id": "remind‑3d", "type": "remind", "template": { "subject": "Just a quick reminder", "body": "Hi, please review your assignment when you can." } } ] }

Pro Tip!
Use clear IDs like "remind‑24h" or "remind‑7d" so you can spot which template pairs with which scheduled action at a glance.

That’s it! With a quick copy‑paste and a couple of ID tweaks, you can automate gentle reminders and keep everyone on track. No advanced coding skills required.

Of course, this is a more technical task to complete in Droplet. So, if you need some assistance, connect with us at support@droplet.io.