Input / Guidance Steps

Input elements are the steps where staff provide a value — they type, tap, draw, photograph, stamp, or record something, and Pilla saves the answer to the workflow run. They range from a basic text box to a freehand sketch pad.

What input elements are

An input element captures something from the person doing the workflow run. The value goes into the workflow run, where it shows up in the run history, exports, and any reports.

You set up each input element when you build the workflow template on the canvas (web only). Staff then fill it in on the mobile app when they run the workflow.

All input elements at a glance

These are the input elements you can add from the canvas element picker. They split across two flyouts — the everyday ones in Inputs, the media ones in Media.

Where to find them on the canvas

On the canvas left toolbar, and in the plus menu below any node, the element picker splits steps across four flyouts: Inputs, Choices, Media, and Guidance. The input elements live in two of them.

The Inputs flyout holds Text, Number, Stepper count, Date & time, Current date & time, Current user, and Current location. The Media flyout holds Photo, File, Signature, Voice note, Sketch pad, and Annotated photo, with a small divider before the Media button. So if you're looking for Photo or Signature, open Media rather than Inputs.

Common configuration

Every input element shows the same two fields at the top of its config card on the canvas:

• Input name (text, required) -- the label that appears in run history, exports, and reports.
• Instructions (textarea, required) -- the help text staff see above the input on their phone. The card labels this field for the specific element, for example "Instructions for staff taking a photo". Use it to tell them what "good" looks like, what to include, or any rules.

There's also a Mandatory toggle at the top right of the name field. Turn it on and staff can't complete the workflow run without filling in this step. On the mobile app, a mandatory step shows a small asterisk after its title.

Input elements can also carry an optional Instructions for Poppi (AI) to make a decision field at the bottom of the card. Fill it in and Poppi judges the staff member's answer and branches the workflow yes or no. Poppi rules are covered in the Poppi steps docs.

Per-element configuration

Most input elements need nothing beyond the name, instructions, and mandatory toggle. A few have extra fields.

Stepper count -- four extra fields:

• Start at (number, optional) -- the initial value shown to staff. Defaults to 0.
• Step (number, optional) -- how much each tap changes the value. Defaults to 1.
• Min (number, optional) -- lower bound. Leave blank for no minimum.
• Max (number, optional) -- upper bound. Leave blank for no maximum.

If you set a min above the current start value, Pilla bumps the start up to match. Same for max — if you set it below the start, the start drops.

Current location -- one optional setting. Tick Check user's location and an Expected location address box appears. Type the place staff should be when they stamp their location. On mobile, if the worker is more than 50 metres from that place when they tap to capture, Pilla blocks the stamp and tells them to move closer. Leave the box unticked and the element just records wherever the worker is, with no distance check.

Current date & time, Current user -- no extra fields. Each shows staff a single button to tap. The date and time, or the worker's name, is stamped in when they tap it.

Photo, file, signature, voice note, sketch pad, annotated photo -- no extra fields. The input itself opens on mobile when staff reach the step.

Date & time -- no extra fields. Mobile shows a combined date and time picker.

Text, number -- no extra fields beyond name, instructions, and mandatory.

What staff see on mobile

Each input element appears as a card on the work run, with your instructions above the input. What staff tap depends on the element.

Typing and tapping inputs. Text and Number open the keyboard (Number switches to a numeric pad). Date & time opens a date and time picker. Stepper count shows +/− buttons around the current value.

One-tap stamps. Current date & time shows a Stamp current time button; Current user shows a Stamp my name button. Once tapped, the stamped value replaces the button, with a Clear option to redo it. Current location shows a Get Location button — tapping it asks for location permission the first time, shows Getting Location... while it works, then displays the captured spot with a Clear option.

Media inputs. Photo and Annotated photo open the camera; Annotated photo then lets staff draw arrows and labels on the shot. File opens a file picker. Signature shows a Tap to sign button that opens a blank pad. Sketch pad shows a Tap to sketch button that opens a blank drawing canvas. Voice note shows a Record voice note button, with playback controls once recorded. Photo and File accept up to five attachments per step, with a counter showing how many are added. Annotated photo, Signature, and Sketch pad each capture a single item per step.

Tips

• Use the Instructions field to remove ambiguity. "Take a photo of the area" is much weaker than "Take a wide-angle photo showing the whole prep bench, with the floor visible at the bottom of the frame".
• Reach for a stepper count when staff need to count something small (1–20 trays, 0–10 customers). It's faster than typing and means fewer mis-taps.
• A sketch pad beats a text description when staff need to show where something is — a hazard, a damaged area, a layout.
• An annotated photo is the strongest evidence you can capture. Use it for damage reports, before-and-after checks, and incidents.
• Current date & time, Current user, Current location, and Signature all create solid audit trails. Use them anywhere you need proof of when, where, or who.
• Set an Expected location on a Current location element to prove staff were actually on site — the 50-metre check stops them stamping from anywhere else.

Choice elements are the steps where staff pick from a set of options you've defined. There are five of them — a checklist of items to tick off, a choice picker, a user choice picker for selecting team members, a rating scale, and a cascading select.

What choice elements are

A choice element shows staff a list (or scale) of pre-defined options. Staff pick one, several, or work through them. The picked option (or options) go into the workflow run, where they show up in the run history, exports, and any reports.

You set up the options when you build the workflow template on the canvas (web only). Staff can't add new ones at the moment they fill it in — they pick from what you've defined. The one exception is the User choice element: there you don't type the options, because they're filled in automatically from the team members on that workflow run.

All choice elements at a glance

These are the five elements in the Choices flyout of the canvas element picker.

Where to find them on the canvas

On the canvas left toolbar, and in the plus menu below any node, the element picker splits steps across four flyouts: Inputs, Choices, Media, and Guidance. All five choice elements live in the Choices flyout.

The picker offers one Choice starter and one User choice starter. There's no separate "single" and "multi" item to choose between — you add the starter, then tick Allow multiple selections on the card if you want staff to be able to pick more than one.

Common configuration

Every choice element shows the same two fields at the top of its config card on the canvas:

• Input name (text, required) -- the label that appears in run history, exports, and reports.
• The instructions field (textarea, required) -- the help text staff see above the picker on their phone. Its label is worded to match the element you're building, so it starts Instructions for staff and ends with the task — for example Instructions for staff carrying out the checklist, Instructions for staff picking from the options, Instructions for staff picking a rating, Instructions for staff picking a hierarchical option, or Instructions for staff picking from the team.

There's also a Mandatory toggle at the top right of the name field. Turn it on and staff can't complete the workflow without picking something. On the mobile app, a mandatory step shows a small asterisk after its title.

Choice elements can also carry an optional Instructions for Poppi (AI) to make a decision field at the bottom of the card. Fill it in and Poppi judges the staff member's answer and branches the workflow yes or no. Poppi rules are covered in the Poppi steps docs.

Checklist

A checklist gives staff a list of items to tick off one at a time. You add the items when you build the template.

1. Go to the Checklist items field on the card.
2. Type an item in the Add item box and press Enter, or tap the plus icon to the right.
3. Edit any item by typing over it, or remove it with the red X beside it.

On mobile, staff see each item as a row with a square box to tick. They tap each one to mark it done, and a tick appears in the box. Once a checklist item is ticked it locks, so staff can't accidentally un-tick a completed item.

Choice

A choice element shows staff the options you type, as a list of tappable rows. By default they pick one; tick Allow multiple selections and they can pick several.

1. Go to the Options field on the card.
2. Type an option in the Add option box and press Enter, or tap the plus icon.
3. Edit any option by typing over it, or remove it with the red X.
4. To let staff pick more than one, tick Allow multiple selections above the options.

On mobile, each option is a row with a round tick to its left. Whether you allow one or multiple selections, staff tap the rows they want — with single-select, tapping a new option moves the tick to it.

User choice

A user choice element lets staff pick people from the team on that workflow run. You don't type any options — Pilla fills the list with the team members automatically. Like the Choice element, tick Allow multiple selections to let staff pick more than one.

There are no options to type. The only setup is the name, instructions, the mandatory toggle, and the Allow multiple selections tick.

On mobile, staff tap the picker and a sheet opens listing the team members, each with their photo and name. With a single selection the picker shows the chosen person's name, headed Select user (or Selected user once complete). With multiple selections allowed, the picker is headed Select users, each row has a round tick, and a Done button closes it. Once the step is complete, tapping it reopens the picker read-only — if two or more people were picked, the step shows {N} people instead of listing every name.

Rating scale

A rating scale gives staff a row of numbered buttons to tap. You set the lowest and highest numbers.

• Start (number, required) -- the lowest value on the scale.
• End (number, required) -- the highest value on the scale.

Start and end must both be whole numbers between 1 and 10, and end must be greater than start. Pilla auto-generates a button for every whole number in the range — so a 1 to 5 scale gives staff buttons for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. On mobile, scales with more than five buttons wrap onto two rows so each button stays easy to tap.

Cascading select

A cascading select is two linked lists, where the second list depends on the first. You build the tree in the Parent → child options field.

1. Type a top-level option in the Add parent option box and press Enter, or tap the plus icon.
2. Under each parent, add its child options in the Add child box for that parent.
3. Remove any parent or child with the red X beside it.

On mobile, staff pick a parent first. Once they tap a parent, the list collapses to that choice and the child options for it appear underneath, each marked with a small corner arrow so the hierarchy reads at a glance. Tapping the chosen parent again clears the whole selection so they can start over.

Use cascading selects when one choice naturally drives the next — region then site, department then station, category then sub-category.

Tips

• A checklist is the right shape when staff need to confirm they did several separate things. A Choice with Allow multiple selections is the right shape when they pick a subset from a known list of answers.
• Reach for User choice whenever the answer is "which person" — who witnessed a delivery, who was present at a briefing, who signed off. You don't have to maintain a name list; it always reflects the team on the workflow run.
• For a rating scale, 1 to 5 is fastest on mobile (the buttons fit on one row). 1 to 10 gives you finer-grained data but wraps onto two rows and takes longer to fill in.
• A rating scale only shows numbers, with no wording under the buttons. If staff need to know what each number means, spell it out in the Instructions for staff picking a rating field — for example, "1 = unusable, 5 = perfect" — so everyone grades the same way.
• Cascading selects keep long lists manageable. If you have 50 sites across 5 regions, splitting them into region then site means staff only see 5 options first, then 10 or so.
• Keep choice option lists short on mobile. More than about 8 options and staff start scrolling — consider splitting into a cascading select or using a different element type.

Guidance elements give staff context inside a workflow — written notes, a reference photo, or a short video walkthrough. They don't capture a response. Staff read or watch them, then move on to the next step.

What guidance elements are

A guidance element is a read-only step. Staff see it, learn from it, scroll past it. There's no answer to capture, so nothing about the staff member's response is saved to the workflow run — the guidance content you set on the canvas is simply shown to them.

Use them to set context before a tricky step, show staff what "good" looks like, or embed training material directly inside the workflow they're filling in.

All guidance elements at a glance

There are three guidance elements: one written, two that carry media.

Finding guidance elements on the canvas

Guidance elements are added from the same step picker as every other element. On the left toolbar, the element types are grouped into four buttons: Inputs, Choices, Media, and Guidance (the lightbulb). Open the Guidance group and you'll see all three guidance types together: Written guidance, Photo guidance, and Video guidance.

Setting up each guidance element

Guidance elements don't have an input name or a Mandatory toggle — there's no answer to label or require. The content of the guidance is the whole point, so each type has a single content field, marked with a * because it can't be left empty.

• Written guidance -- a text editor labelled Written guidance * with the placeholder Add guidance for staff.... Type your note, apply formatting, and add links. It saves automatically.
• Photo guidance -- a field labelled Photo guidance * with an Upload photo button. Click it and pick an image file. Once it's added, the button is replaced by a row showing the file name with a red X on the right — click the X to remove the image and start again.
• Video guidance -- a field labelled Video guidance * with an Upload video button. Click it and pick a video file. As with photos, the button becomes a file-name row with a red X to remove and re-upload.

How guidance appears to staff

Guidance elements show up in line with the rest of the workflow on both the mobile work run and the web workflow-run view. They sit full-width among the other steps, but unlike an input or choice element they have no coloured edge and no "completed" line, because there's nothing to fill in.

On mobile, written guidance shows as formatted text. Photo guidance shows the reference image — tap it to open it full-screen. Video guidance shows a thumbnail with a play button — tap it to play the video. So while written guidance is purely read-only, photo and video guidance are tappable to view them larger.

On web, a manager or admin opening a workflow run sees the same three: written guidance as formatted text, the reference photo (click to enlarge), and the video playing inline in the run card.

If you put guidance just before an input or choice element, staff see the guidance first, then the input below it. That's the most common pattern: explain, then ask.

Use cases

• Pre-task safety instructions -- a written guidance block at the start of a workflow that lists the PPE staff need, or the hazards to watch for.
• Reference photo -- a photo guidance element showing what a finished prep bench should look like, just before the "take a photo of your bench" step.
• Training video -- a short video guidance element before a process step staff don't do often, like a deep clean or an equipment changeover.
• Context for the next question -- a written guidance block that explains why the next Rating scale or Choice element matters.

Tips

• Keep written guidance short. Staff on a phone won't scroll through paragraphs. Aim for a couple of sentences, or a short bulleted list.
• Use photo guidance to anchor expectations. "Clean to this standard" with a photo is far stronger than "clean thoroughly".
• Keep video guidance under 60 seconds wherever you can. Long videos kill momentum during a workday.
• Pair guidance with the input that comes next. A photo guidance showing "what good looks like", followed by a Photo input asking staff to capture their version, is one of the strongest patterns in Pilla.
• Guidance elements never record a response, so there's no way to tell from the workflow run whether someone read them. If you need staff to confirm they've read something, add a Checklist or Choice element straight after the guidance and make it mandatory.