Answer Sender

The Answer Sender job replies to the originator of an incoming message or form answer. Use it when a workflow should answer the person who started the conversation without having to build the recipient selection manually.

Properties

The properties for configuring the reply are described below.

• Message (optional)
  • Connected message template used for the reply.
• Message resource (optional)
  • Message resource to use instead of a directly connected message template.
• Override answer sender source (optional; default: incomingunit)
  • Source used to override which unit receives the reply.

Referencing syntax

You can override the reply target using a workflow expression.

• Use incomingunit to rely on the default reply target.
• Use another resource or expression in Override answer sender source when the reply should go to a different unit selected earlier in the workflow.

Sender selection

The job resolves the reply target in a defined order.

• First, it tries the sender from IncomingMessage.
• If no incoming message is available, it falls back to the sender of FormAnswer.
• If neither source exists, the job aborts.

The job also aborts if the sender unit cannot be resolved.

Best practices and tips

• Use a connected message template when the reply content is static or centrally managed.
• Use Message resource when the workflow selects or builds the message dynamically.
• Override the sender source only when the workflow intentionally answers a different resolved unit than the default sender.
• Keep the reply target deterministic. If the workflow can switch between the default sender and an overridden source, make that choice explicit earlier in the flow so replies are easy to audit.
• Prefer answering with the minimum context needed for the conversation step instead of reusing a broad message template intended for larger group sends.

Related jobs

• Answer Form Question
• Send Message To Groups
• Message templates

References

• Working With Variables
  • Helpful when the reply target or message resource comes from workflow expressions.