Same trigger event activated workflow 3 times

[ghalitzka]

Hi,

I'm having a recurring but intermittent problem with my Google Sheets integration to Microsoft Office 365.
WORKFLOW LINK: https://connect.pabbly.com/workflow...UPlQIBj5cSFVRVAICcV1EVEEBHlwBUWJWEwZZCCIKaA##

Here's what happens: I edit a spreadsheet row. The trigger column is only edited a single time. The edited spreadsheet row should trigger a single email to be sent by my workflow.

However, sometimes--for reasons I can't explain--a single row being edited (the trigger) causes the workflow to run 2 or even 3 times in quick succession, as though Pabbly is receiving 2 or 3 separate webhooks. That means the email which the workflow dispatches is sent to the recipient (a customer) 2 or 3 times. I can't identify a rhyme or reason about why this occurs. It's a recurring but intermittent problem. It's frustrating because I know that my customers don't appreciate receiving 2 or 3 identical emails!

1. Here is a task history ID for an occasion when the trigger row was edited, and the Workflow functioned as it should--it dispatched only one email message to the customer.
EMAIL SENT TO PARENTS OF ABBY VAHLSING: IjU3NjEwNTY1MDYzMTA0MzI1MjZjNTUzMTUxM2I1MTY3NTQzMyI_3D_pc

2. Now, here are the task history IDs for an occasion when the trigger row was edited, following exactly the same process, and the Workflow for some reason dispatched 3 separate emails to the customer.
1ST EMAIL SENT TO PARENTS OF CHARLOTTE CARPENTER: IjU3NjEwNTY1MDYzMTA0MzI1MjZjNTUzMzUxMzI1MTZhNTQzOSI_3D_pc
2ND EMAIL SENT TO PARENTS OF CHARLOTTE CARPENTER: IjU3NjEwNTY1MDYzMTA0MzI1MjZjNTUzMzUxMzc1MTYxNTQzNCI_3D_pc
3RD EMAIL SENT TO PARENTS OF CHARLOTTE CARPENTER: IjU3NjEwNTY1MDYzMTA0MzI1MjZjNTUzYzUxMzI1MTY3NTQzNyI_3D_pc

If you review more of my Task History, you'll see that a batch of anomolous emails (sample provided under point 2 above) was triggered just minutes after a batch of emails were sent that functioned properly (sample provided under point 1 above). Can you offer any insights about why this problem occurred, and how I can prevent it from happening again? Thank you!

 

[ArshilAhmad]

Hi @ghalitzka,

Google Sheets trigger events are executed under three conditions: when new data is entered into your spreadsheet, when the data in the trigger column is updated, or when data from one row is copied to another row. Since the data in all three of the task history IDs you shared is exactly the same, it could be that the data is being copied from one row to another, or the same data is being entered into different rows of your spreadsheet.

google_screen_recording_2023-10-24T21-08_00.467Z.webm

drive.google.com

 

[ghalitzka]

Hi Arshil,

Thank you for taking the time to review the task history and send the screen recording! I'm grateful for the time you spent on my request.

In this case, I can tell from reviewing the Google Sheet at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...Ry1iRwiXGL2v5at56-hkdna3M/edit#gid=1352268940 (scroll down to "Goshen CS Fall 2023" and the first student entry for "Carpenter, Charlotte") that the conditions you mentioned in your response that may trigger a duplicate webhook do not apply. (1) The data has not being copied from one row to another. (2) The same data has not being entered into different rows. (3) The data in the trigger column (column Z) was not entered multiple times.

On your end, are you able to do any more research in logs or task histories to see if you can uncover a potential explanation for why the same trigger event would cause the workflow to execute three times?

Thanks again,
George

 

[ArshilAhmad]

Please allow us some time to look into this concern. We will get back to you with an update soon.

 

[Pabbly]

Hi Arshil,

Thank you for taking the time to review the task history and send the screen recording! I'm grateful for the time you spent on my request.

In this case, I can tell from reviewing the Google Sheet at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...Ry1iRwiXGL2v5at56-hkdna3M/edit#gid=1352268940 (scroll down to "Goshen CS Fall 2023" and the first student entry for "Carpenter, Charlotte") that the conditions you mentioned in your response that may trigger a duplicate webhook do not apply. (1) The data has not being copied from one row to another. (2) The same data has not being entered into different rows. (3) The data in the trigger column (column Z) was not entered multiple times.

On your end, are you able to do any more research in logs or task histories to see if you can uncover a potential explanation for why the same trigger event would cause the workflow to execute three times?

Thanks again,
George

Hey George,

Thanks for sharing the Google Sheet. As of now, we are unable to regenerate the same issue at our end. We tried multiple cases at our end.

We might need a bit more information regarding your Google Sheet like how the data is currently being entered into your Google Sheet, are the fields being filled using some formulas and when is the Z column is actually filled.

Thanks in advance!

 

[ghalitzka]

Hi Arshil,

Thanks very much for checking into this! I haven't been able to duplicate the issue either. I was hoping that you might have access to log files on your end that show more information about what happened during the real-life problem?

To answer your questions, the data in most of the columns is prepopulated using formulas. After I (or another drama instructor) finish our program, we enter data using the dropdowns in columns J and/ or K. Only when those columns are completed as needed, we enter an X (or any other character) in column Z to activate the webhook sent to our Pabbly workflow.

Please let me know if I can help with anything else! Thanks again for time and trouble to explore this issue.

Many Thanks,
George

 

[ArshilAhmad]

Thank you for providing this information. We have attempted to identify the cause of your concern but were unable to do so. I kindly request that you monitor your workflow for some time and attempt to replicate the issue. Please let me know if the issue reoccurs.

 

[ghalitzka]

Arshil, thanks for trying to track down what happened. I will certainly let you know if the problem recurs and share the task history. I remain grateful for the time and trouble you put into helping me with this.