A file may arrive from an upload, mailbox, storage app or another action. The workflow often passes a file reference instead of placing the entire file in a text field.

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Inspect the input

Check the source file name, type, size and the shape of the trigger output. Use the file input expected by the receiving gadget. A download URL, file identifier and file reference are different values.

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Extract or transform

Configure the OCR, parser or document action installed for your deployment. Confirm where it sends the document and which account or provider processes it. Self-hosting the workflow does not make an external OCR or AI provider local. Test a complete sample, a missing-page sample and an unreadable sample. Keep extracted values separate from the original evidence so a reviewer can compare them.

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Store evidence deliberately

Use the business system or document store chosen for the workflow. Keep the item identifier and version with the stored evidence. Operational run logs may truncate values and are deleted after their retention window.

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Handle limits

Check file and log limits before processing large documents. If the workflow handles batches, use references or streaming actions supported by the gadget instead of placing a large binary payload in every step. When an upload fails, inspect the size, content type, account permission and destination. Do not retry a document write without checking whether it already completed.