Search Data Step Walkthrough

The Search Data step allows you to query datasets within your workflows and projects, efficiently pulling data into workflows. By adding this step, you can connect to datasets you’ve already set up and use them to drive intelligent, data-powered workflows.

If you haven’t created or connected your datasets yet, we recommend starting with this article before configuring the Search Data step.

What It Is (and Who It’s For)

The Search Data step is designed for Workflow Builders who want to bring data from connected sources, via datasets, into their workflows. It’s ideal for building data lookups, prefill workflows, and automated processes that depend on real-time information.

The Search Data step requires a prior step in order to function. A prior step can either be:

• Form Step – Create a search form using Streamline’s existing Form Builder so that users can manually query connected data.
• Incoming Webhook Step – Query a connected dataset using values sent as part of a webhook call from another system.

This Search Data Step equips Workflow Builders with the flexibility to design smarter, data-driven workflows—whether it’s retrieving a student record by ID, prepopulating forms with customer data, or automating follow-up tasks based on search results.

Now that we’ve covered what the Search Data step does and who it’s designed for, let’s look at the specific jobs Workflow Builders can accomplish with it.

 Key Jobs To Be Done

As a Workflow Builder, you want to:

• Construct search forms using the existing Form Builder to ensure consistency.
• Trigger search data from earlier workflow inputs for automation.
• Configure how search results are handled (e.g., multiple matches, single match, or no results).
• Allow workflows to continue when no record is found, so users can provide new information manually.

Example Use Case

A school administrator enters a student ID into a search form.

• The workflow retrieves the student’s record from the dataset.

• A prefilled form displays the student’s details for confirmation.

• The administrator can then proceed with updates or approvals

How to Use the Search Data Step

Navigate to your Workflow
Open your project or workflow and add the Search Data step.

Select a Dataset
Click to edit the step and choose the dataset that will be queried during this workflow.

Choose Result Handling

• Choose result: Display a results page for the end user to pick a record.

• Automatically: Automatically select a result based on predefined conditions without needing to take action.

Configure Search Criteria

• Define your primary entity field and operator (e.g., equals, contains).

• Optionally match values from earlier steps (e.g., a form submission).

• Specify sorting preferences (ascending/descending) for results.

Customize the Results Page (Optional)

Customize which columns appear in the results page table using the Results tab. You can choose between:

•  

  Default Table – Columns are automatically generated based on your search criteria.

• Custom Table – Manually choose which columns appear and optionally apply custom labels.

Save and Close
When finished, click X to save your step configuration.

Summary

The Search data step helps you build workflows that don’t just collect data, but use it intelligently. With modular search, activation, and display options, you can create powerful workflows that are:

• Smarter

• More flexible

• Fully integrated with your datasets