In this guide, you’ll learn how to create an automation that triggers when a custom metadata field changes — and more specifically, when it changes to a particular value.
With Custom Metadata Triggers, you can build automations like:
When Primary Channel changes to Social → Add the tag "Social"
When Region changes to EMEA → Move the asset to a regional folder
When Language Variant changes to en-US → Move the asset to the "Localization Review" workflow status
This feature specifically introduces automation triggers for changes to custom metadata. ‘Standard’ metadata fields (e.g. Name, Description, Alt text, Workflow status, Tags, Legal) are not affected.
If you’re new to automations in Frontify, check out our introductory guide before getting started.
Please note: Automations is currently in Beta. It’s best suited for scoped, well-defined workflows rather than mission-critical, high-volume batch processing. We’re actively improving scalability and visibility.
What are Custom Metadata Triggers?
Custom Metadata Triggers allow automations to react to changes in specific metadata fields — including the exact value they change to. Instead of simply running when an asset is uploaded or updated, you can now define rules like:
When [Custom Metadata Field] changes to [Value] → Run this action.
This transforms metadata from passive information into an active governance tool.
For DAM librarians and content operations teams, this means:
No more manual follow-ups when asset statuses change
Reduced reliance on internal messages or email handoffs
Consistent workflows tied directly to asset data
Greater precision in automation logic
Step-by-step: Set up your automation
In your project or library backend, click Automation at the top of the screen. Then click New automation at the bottom to get started.
1. Name your automation
Choose a clear name that reflects the logic, such as:
Set asset workflow status to "Approved"
Archive asset when Status changes to Expired
2. Select the trigger
Choose Asset custom metadata updated as your trigger.
This allows the automation to run whenever a specific custom metadata property is updated.
3. Configure optional trigger conditions
You can narrow down when the trigger should apply by adding conditions.
These act as filters — the automation will only run if all conditions are met (think of this as: “Run this automation when metadata is updated where…”).
You can filter based on:
A. Asset properties
Title (is, is not, contains, etc…)
Description
Extension
B. Custom metadata
Which field was updated (eg. Field is “Countries”)
What value it was updated to (e.g. Field “Countries” is updated to “Canada”)
Note: Conditions on custom metadata values are:
Supported for: Short text, Long text, Number, Single-select, URL, Catalog
Not supported for: Date, Multi-select
4. Define your actions
Now decide what should happen when the metadata change occurs.
Click the Add action button and choose the appropriate action from the dropdown menu. For more details on configuring actions, refer to the Frontify automations Help article.
The automation in action
Imagine a designer updates an asset’s Status field from In Review to Approved.
As soon as the metadata is updated:
The automation detects the change
Confirms the new value matches Approved
Automatically triggers the defined actions
No manual messages or governance gaps — everything runs based on structured metadata.
Common use cases
1. Streamline approval workflows
Move assets through review processes automatically based on metadata updates.
Example
When: "Approval Status" is updated to "Ready for Review"
Then: Set asset workflow status to "In Review"
2. Organize regional content
Automatically group assets for regional teams based on metadata values.
Example
When: "Country" is updated to "Germany"
Then: Add asset to the "EMEA" collection
3. Categorize assets automatically
Apply consistent tags to assets based on metadata changes.
Example
When: "Primary Channel" is updated to "Social"
Then: Add the tag "Social Media"
4. Enrich asset metadata
Keep related metadata fields synchronized automatically.
Example
When: "Product Line" is updated to "Enterprise"
Then: Set custom metadata "Audience" to "B2B"
5. Manage asset lifecycle
Route outdated assets to the appropriate location for archiving or review.
Example
When: "Brand Status" is updated to "Deprecated"
Then: Move the asset to the "Archive" folder
Why this matters
Custom Metadata Triggers help you:
Eliminate manual coordination
Reduce errors caused by missed updates
Scale governance without increasing workload
Create precise, value-based automation logic
Turn asset data into operational workflows
Instead of relying on people to notice changes, your DAM now responds automatically — ensuring your processes stay consistent as your assets evolve.