# Page actions, review and completion

Source: https://govform.com/resources/documentation/article/22-03-page-actions-review-and-completion
Topic: Page Settings

Page actions let a journey do work at specific moments: before validation, after valid answers, at task-list completion or in a review workflow. Keep the trigger and outcome clear. A person should never be surprised that an external update, message or redirect happened because they selected Continue.

## Separate page visibility from validation

**Visibility conditions** decide whether a whole page appears in the journey. They do not validate answers. Use page validation conditions when the page itself should not continue, and component validation conditions when a particular answer is required or must meet a rule.

In a Task List service, a task becomes **Not required** when every page in that task has page-level visibility conditions and they are all false. Do not add separate actions or fields to recreate that status.

## Choose the action trigger based on what must happen

| Trigger | Use it when | Avoid it when |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Pre validate actions** | You must retrieve or prepare data before page validation. | The work is independent of the current answer. |
| **Post validate actions** | An action should run only after the page is valid, such as assigning a value or redirecting. | The action needs to complete before validation. |
| **User complete actions** | A Task List service has reached user completion. | The action belongs to one individual task page. |
| **Workflow actions** | Work should occur after submission, possibly with a review pause. | The person must see its result before continuing. |

Actions in a trigger run in their configured order. Put a lookup before an assignment that reads it, and put a redirect after work that must happen first. Test a retry so that a repeated submission does not create duplicates.

```
flowchart LR
    A["Person selects Continue"] --> B["Pre-validation action (if configured)"]
    B --> C{"Page is valid?"}
    C -->|"No"| D["Show helpful error"]
    C -->|"Yes"| E["Post-validation action"]
    E --> F["Next page or redirect"]
    F --> G["Completion or background workflow"]
```

## Design a safe completion route

**User complete actions** run from the first Task List page when a person completes the overall service. They can run again when a completed journey is updated, so write them to be safe on a repeat. The completion page must make clear whether the person can still make changes, whether a reviewer will act, and how they will receive an outcome.

Review actions may limit a page to reviewers. In **For internal use by reviewer(s)**, select only the review-action IDs that require access. An empty setting does not restrict the page. Check permissions with a reviewer account and a normal user account; do not rely on hidden links as access control.

## Make review summaries easy to scan

Where a flat Check your answers layout is used, spacing and border lines can show where one page’s answers end and another begins. Use separators when they genuinely improve scanning; keep page titles and change links meaningful. Review layout is not a substitute for clear question labels and concise answers.

## Test failure, not just success

Test each relevant trigger in QA with representative non-sensitive data:

1.  A valid answer and expected action result.
2.  An invalid answer, confirming post-validation work does not run.
3.  A failed lookup, timeout or rejected request.
4.  A condition that skips the page.
5.  A repeat attempt or change after completion.
6.  Reviewer-only page access using the correct and incorrect role.

The person’s journey must remain understandable on every path. Provide a recoverable message or route when an external dependency cannot complete.

## Related guides

-   [Add actions and workflows](<https://govform.com/resources/documentation/article/08-add-actions-and-workflows>)
-   [Use conditions and branching](<https://govform.com/resources/documentation/article/07-use-conditions-and-branching>)
-   [Page navigation and journey behaviour](<https://govform.com/resources/documentation/article/22-02-page-navigation-and-journey-behaviour>)
-   [Page task lists and overviews](<https://govform.com/resources/documentation/article/22-04-page-task-lists-and-overviews>)