Build the dataset

When you open a dataset, Proton shows the Dataset Components: the steps in order. Here you add, reorder and remove steps and fill in the parameters of each one.

The screen has two views: View as list, for editing, and View as canvas, the flow of the steps for an overview (double-clicking a step opens its parameters).

Steps

• Add Component: choose the components in the order you want (the search looks by name and system). They are added at the end, in the order you click them. The same component can appear more than once.
• Reorder: drag the steps to change the sequence and click Finish reorder.
• Disassociate: removes the step from this dataset, along with its values. The component stays registered. To remove several at once, use Select.

When you reorder, check the references: a step that uses the output of another step must come after it.

Step details

Selecting a step shows the component, the system, the documentation and the Expected result in this dataset: what this dataset expects from the step, in addition to the component's expected result (which applies to every dataset). This text goes into the automation document.

Parameters

Edit parameters opens the parameters of the step:

1. Add includes the component's parameters (Add defaults brings all of them at once).
2. Click a parameter to choose the value type and fill it in.

The step's own outputs appear read-only: their value comes from the run.

Value types

Type	What it is
Normal	A fixed text. It can be encrypted with Encrypt value.
Output	The output of an earlier step in this dataset. This is how one step passes data to another, such as the number of the order it created.
Dataset Variable	A variable of this dataset, shared among its steps. You can create the variable on the spot.
Reference	The output of a step in another dataset, even one from another automation.
General	A general parameter of the organization. Changing the general parameter changes every dataset that uses it.
List	A table, with columns and rows, that reaches the component as JSON. Useful for the items of an order, for example.

Encrypted values

Passwords, tokens and keys go with Encrypt value. The value is stored encrypted and no longer appears on screen, in the dataset list or in the spreadsheet: only the run receives it. To change it, uncheck Encrypt value, type the new value, check it again and save.

List

The list editor has two modes, Table and JSON:

• in Columns, the keys (no spaces, in lowercase);
• in Values, the rows;
• in a cell, type {{ to insert a dataset variable, a general parameter or the output of a step.

A list cannot be encrypted.

Permissions

Adding, reordering and removing steps and filling in the parameters require the dataset component and dataset parameter permissions in the profile. In a private automation, your team's access level also applies.