Skip to content
Tallyfy

Troubleshooting permissions

How to fix common process launch problems

Section titled “How to fix common process launch problems”

Standard members need explicit launch permission to start processes. Administrators and template owners can always launch. Here’s how to fix the most common issues.

Why can’t a Standard member launch a process?

Section titled “Why can’t a Standard member launch a process?”

Problem: A Standard member sees a template but gets “Permission denied: cannot launch process from this template.” when trying to launch it.

Cause: Standard members don’t automatically have launch permission. Administrators and template owners bypass this check, but everyone else needs explicit process_launch permission.

Solution:

  1. Have an Administrator edit the template
  2. Go to the Permissions tab
  3. Enable launch permission for the specific Standard member or “All Members”
  4. Save the template

Why is the launcher being added to unassigned steps?

Section titled “Why is the launcher being added to unassigned steps?”

Problem: When a process is launched, the launcher appears as an assignee on steps that have no one assigned.

Cause: The “Assign launcher automatically” setting (assign_run_starter) is enabled on those steps. This only applies to steps with no assignees at all - no users, no groups, and no guests. Steps that already have group or member assignments aren’t affected.

Solution:

  1. Edit the template
  2. For each affected step, open the Advanced tab
  3. Turn OFF “Assign launcher automatically”
  4. Save the template
Section titled “Why do Magic Links fail with kick-off forms?”

Problem: A Magic Link doesn’t launch the process when the template has required kick-off form fields.

Cause: Magic Links can pass kick-off field values through the ko_fields URL parameter. If required fields aren’t included or are empty, Tallyfy blocks the launch and shows the form instead.

Solutions:

  1. Pass all required values in the Magic Link’s ko_fields parameter
  2. Make fields optional if they don’t need to be required
  3. Use public kick-off forms for external users who need to fill out fields manually
  4. Use middleware like Power Automate or Zapier to supply all required values programmatically

Why can’t I map dropdown fields in Power Automate?

Section titled “Why can’t I map dropdown fields in Power Automate?”

Problem: Dropdown field values from Tallyfy don’t map correctly to other systems.

Cause: Tallyfy dropdown fields return JSON objects with three properties (id, text, value) - not plain text strings.

Solution:

  1. Add a Parse JSON action after getting Tallyfy data
  2. Access the specific property you need:
    • Display text: body('Parse_JSON')?['fieldName']?['text']
    • ID: body('Parse_JSON')?['fieldName']?['id']
  3. Handle null values with conditional expressions

Example Power Automate expression:

if(empty(body('Parse_JSON')?['dropdownField']), '', body('Parse_JSON')?['dropdownField']?['text'])

How do I fix permission errors in API integrations?

Section titled “How do I fix permission errors in API integrations?”

Problem: API calls to launch processes return permission errors even with valid credentials.

Cause: The authenticated API user must have process_launch permission for the specific template. Admin users and template owners are exempt.

Solutions:

  1. Use Administrator credentials for full launch access across all templates
  2. Grant launch permission to the specific user if they’re a Standard member
  3. Verify template restrictions - the template might be limited to specific members only
  4. Test manually first - try launching with the same user account in Tallyfy’s UI to confirm permissions

Checklist for avoiding launch issues

Section titled “Checklist for avoiding launch issues”
AreaWhat to check
PermissionsSet launch permissions when creating templates. Test with Standard member accounts before rollout.
AssignmentsDecide whether “Assign launcher automatically” should be on or off for each step. It only affects fully unassigned steps.
Magic LinksInclude all required kick-off field values in ko_fields. Test with sample data first.
API setupConfirm the API user has launch permission. Use Parse JSON for dropdown fields in Power Automate.
Draft statePublish the template before trying to launch. You can’t launch draft templates.
Section titled “Related articles”
Get in touch
About Tallyfy