Skip to main content
Steps are the units of work in a procedure. You add and arrange them while editing the procedure. For what a step is and how it becomes a run step on the floor, see the procedure overview.

​
Add a step

  1. While editing a procedure, click Add Step at the bottom of the steps list, or hover over an existing step and use its … actions menu to Add step below or Add child step. The Add Step dialog opens on the Create New tab.
  2. Enter the Step Name and choose the Step Type, Content or Datagrid. Optionally set a Location and toggle Outside Processing Step.
  3. Click Create Step.

​
Create a step from a PDF

You can turn a PDF into procedure steps instead of authoring them by hand.
  1. While editing a procedure, click Add Step to open the Add Step dialog on the Create New tab.
  2. Set Step Type to PDF.
  3. Upload the PDF, then enter the pages to use in the Pages field, such as 1,2,3-5.
  4. Enter a Step Name, then click Create Step.
ION creates one step whose content is parsed from the pages you entered.

​
Configure the step

Configure the step based on the type you chose.
Content steps hold written instructions. The content box supports text formatting: colors, lists, fonts, pictures, and tables.
To add a table, build it in Google Sheets and paste it in. Pasting from Excel copies the content but not the formatting.

​
Attachments

Attach reference files to a step from the Attachments panel. Click Browse files to upload a file, or Take a photo to capture one. A STEP file (3D CAD model) can be previewed in place, so an operator can inspect the model without downloading it. On an image attachment, Copy image copies the image to your clipboard.

​
Add fields to a step

Both step types collect operator input through data-collection fields, edited in the Step Fields section for the selected step while the procedure is a draft. For each field type and how number validations behave, see Step field types.
  1. In the Step Fields section, click Add Field.
  2. Choose the field’s type from the type list, such as Boolean, Number, or Signoff.
  3. Enter a field name, and optionally a description.
  4. Set the field’s behavior:
    • Turn on Required to block step completion until the field is filled.
    • Turn on Allow “Not Applicable” on a required field to let the operator confirm the field doesn’t apply.
  5. Configure any type-specific settings, such as a signoff role or select options.
To reorder fields, drag a field by its handle. To copy or delete a field, use the controls on the field.

​
Set a step’s lead time

Set a Lead Time on a step to record how long the work should take, entered as a duration such as 1d 2h 20m. Step lead times roll up into the procedure’s total. During a run, the step’s time tracking compares logged time against this lead time.

​
Copy a step

In the Add Step dialog, open the Add Existing Step tab and type the name of the step you want to copy into the Search steps… box. ION fetches existing steps that match, along with the procedure each will be copied from. Click a result to copy it into the procedure. You can also duplicate a step in place. Hover over a step in the step list, open its … actions menu, and choose Duplicate. To share one step across procedures and revise it in one place instead of copying it, use a standard step.

​
Nest child steps

Create child steps by hovering over a step, opening its … actions menu, and choosing Add child step, or by dragging an existing step under another step. Steps show the number of child steps they have on a badge next to the step title. Click the badge to expand or collapse the child steps.
Steps can be nested up to five levels deep.

​
Reorder steps

Drag a step by its handle to reorder the steps.

​
Delete a step

Hover over a step in the step list, open its … actions menu, and choose Delete step. A step that has a dependency can’t be deleted: remove its step dependencies first.

​
Tag a step’s location

Set a step’s location from the Location field when creating the step, such as “Testing Lab” or “Paint booth 1”.

​
Old ION compatibility

Content steps support rich formatting, such as to-do lists, headers, tables with merged and colored cells, toggles for hidden content, code blocks, block quotes, callouts, and a table of contents.
Content step showing a checkbox to-do list, formatted headings, a table with a colored cell, a toggle, and a code block

A content step with rich formatting rendered.

A procedure you draft here, along with its runs, can behave differently in Old ION. Rich formatting does not carry over: to-do lists lose their checkboxes, headers and tables lose their formatting, and toggles, code blocks, block quotes, callouts, and the table of contents do not appear.
Same content step in Old ION where the to-do list is a plain numbered item, the table and toggle lose formatting, and other blocks show as plain text

The same content step in Old ION, with the formatting stripped out.

If your team still works in Old ION, check how a procedure renders there before relying on this formatting in production work instructions.