Overview

The Custom step is the catch-all. It is a title, a description and an optional file, with no assumptions about what the user has to do. Use it for a requirement that none of the other step types describes, and reach for a purpose-built type whenever one exists.

1. What is the Custom step?

It is the most flexible step and the least automated. Because Vome does not know what the requirement is, it cannot check it, so a Custom step is essentially an instruction plus a completion record. Typical uses are a police record check the user requests from a local service, a piece of equipment they have to collect, or a rule your organization has that does not exist anywhere else.

2. How do I add one?

1. Open Sequences in the left-hand navigation and open the sequence you are building.

2. Click + Add a step.

3. Choose Custom.

4. Pick an entry under ADD A PREVIOUSLY SAVED ENTRY, or click New to create one.

5. Enter the title and description, add a file if the user needs one, then save.

3. Can a Custom step collect a file?

Yes. Turn on Attach a file for users to download, fill out and then upload a completed version, which is the same Supply & Collect option the File Upload step has. The user then gets a download button and an upload button on the step.

This changes how the step completes: a Custom step with Supply & Collect turned on behaves like a File Upload step. It runs Pending, then Uploaded, then Complete, and it can complete automatically as soon as the file arrives. Without Supply & Collect, the step has no automatic completion at all.

4. What does the user see?

The user sees the step title, your description with any links you added, and a download button if you attached a file. If you turned on Supply & Collect they also get an upload button. Otherwise there is nothing to submit.

5. How does the step get marked complete?

It depends on the option above:

• Without Supply & Collect: the step runs Pending, then Complete. Either you mark it, or the user marks themselves complete with a Mark as complete button, depending on the step's settings.

• With Supply & Collect: the step runs Pending, then Uploaded, then Complete, exactly like a File Upload step.

6. When should I use something else instead?

Custom is the right answer surprisingly rarely. Before using it, check whether one of these describes your requirement, because each of them tracks itself:

• You need a document back: File Upload.

• You need a document signed: Fillable PDF.

• You need answers to questions, including consent: Fillable form.

• They need to watch something: Video.

• They need to complete training: Course or E-Learning.

• You need a background check: Background Check.

• The step has several parts to tick off: Checklist.

• You need to meet them: Interview. There is a session to attend: Orientation.

The cost of the catch-all: every Custom step used in place of a purpose-built one is a step somebody has to chase and tick by hand. If you find yourself with a lot of them, it is usually a sign that a form or a checklist would do the work for you.

Summary

• Custom carries a title, a description and an optional file, for requirements nothing else fits.

• Supply & Collect turns it into a two-way file exchange.

• Without Supply & Collect, completion is always manual.

• With Supply & Collect, it runs Pending, Uploaded, Complete like File Upload.

• Prefer a purpose-built step type whenever one describes what you need.

For a side by side view of every step type, see What are the different step categories when adding steps in a sequence?