Lesson Guide: Working with Unstructured Data and Related Files

In this lesson, you will learn how to expand your workflow capabilities beyond standard text and number fields by working with unstructured data. When managing record structures, high-value assets often sit hidden inside file attachments, signed contracts, or tax sheets uploaded directly to your data ecosystem.

Using Noca Flow’s Related Files mechanism, you can instruct your canvas pipeline to scan underlying storage paths, fetch physical document payloads, and prepare them to be routed seamlessly into downstream automation steps.

Step 1: Locate the Source Asset in Your CRM

Before instructing Noca where to pull assets from, it’s helpful to verify where they are structurally hosted inside your integrated workspace.

1. Open up your connected active CRM environment (e.g., Salesforce).

2. Navigate to a standard record layout, such as a Contact profile dashboard.

3. Scroll down to locate the Notes & Attachments related list block.

4. Notice your physical file attachment (e.g., a PDF, image, or tax document) sitting inside this sub-directory. This is the raw unstructured asset we are going to target.

Step 2: Initialize a Related Files Node

Now, let’s step onto the Noca canvas to establish our data extraction anchor.

1. Open your Noca Flow canvas workspace.

2. Click the central Add Node circle icon on your blank workspace to open the application catalog drawer.

3. In the application search bar, type and select Salesforce.

Step 3: Configure Source Settings for File Extraction

To read attachments instead of basic metadata strings, you must alter your typical node source behavior.

1. On the node setup properties panel, locate the Select a Source parameter dropdown menu.

2. Scroll past your standard database options and choose Related Files.

3. Next, move down to the Select an Object field parameter selector.

4. Choose the primary parent data entity where your target records reside. For this guide, select Contact.

5. Click Insert Node to lock your specialized file-fetching node directly onto the canvas path.

Step 4: Readying Document Payloads for Routing

Your node is now fully configured to dig deeper than basic database fields.

1. By designating Related Files as your root engine function, Noca actively bypasses basic record fields to surface the true binaries of your attachments.

2. Look at your node output parameters: you will notice that the underlying storage sub-directories and document payloads are now fully exposed as variables.

3. You can now grab these document reference variables from your data tree and pipe them directly into downstream steps—such as emailing the physical contract to an approving manager, syncing it to a cloud backup folder, or feeding it into an AI document analysis engine!

Key Takeaways

• Unstructured Data Access: Switching your source setting to Related Files allows Noca to look directly inside file attachments and notes rather than standard field text.

• Parent-Child Architecture: Files are always anchored to a parent object directory (like Contacts or Accounts). Setting your target object tells Noca exactly which sub-folders to crawl across your system environment.

Sensational work! You have officially graduated from basic data strings to advanced unstructured file processing. Keep up the amazing momentum as you move forward through the Noca Academy track!