Utility by UnifyApps is a comprehensive tool within the automations ecosystem that provides a suite of essential file handling, data transformation, and utility operations.
Overview
Utility by UnifyApps is a comprehensive tool within the automations ecosystem that provides a suite of essential file handling, data transformation, and utility operations. These capabilities serve as building blocks for sophisticated integration scenarios, enabling seamless data manipulation and file operations across different systems and formats.
Use Case: Automated Document Processing Pipeline
Incoming HTML email attachments can be processed through a multi-step workflow:
Parse Email to extract attachments
Convert HTML to Text for plain text extraction
Apply Change Text Encoding for consistency
Serialize Object to JSON String
Generate Public File URL for storage and sharing
Actions (65 total)
File Actions
Add Watermark to File — Stamps a text watermark onto every page of a file.
Create UnifyApps Asset from File — Creates a UnifyApps asset directly from an existing file.
Create UnifyApps File from URL — Imports files directly from specified URLs into UnifyApps without manual downloads. Common uses: file organization, temporary file management, batch processing.
Create UnifyApps Path for File — Generates structured paths for uploaded files within UnifyApps.
Decode File from Base64 — Decodes Base64-encoded content back into its original file format.
Delete UnifyApps File — Permanently removes specified files from UnifyApps storage. Helps with file cleanup and automated file deletion.
Download File as String — Retrieves file content as a string, supporting UTF-8 and Base64 encoding types.
Download File via Playwright — Fetches a file from a URL using a headless browser, with optional residential proxy support for bot-protected sites.
Download Multiple Files from List of URLs — Downloads files from provided URL lists as UnifyApps file objects. Simplifies bulk file downloads.
Encode File to Base64 — Encodes a file's contents into Base64 format.
Generate Public File URL — Creates short-term public links for secure, temporary file sharing with configurable expiry times.
Unzip File — Extracts ZIP archive contents into individual files.
Upload Base64 Content — Converts Base64-encoded content into files and uploads to UnifyApps.
Zip List of Files — Compresses multiple files into single ZIP archives.
Conversion Actions
Change Text Encoding — Modifies text string encoding across formats including Base64, UTF-8, UTF-16, and ASCII.
Convert Document to DOCX — Converts DOC, DOCX, or RTF files to DOCX (Microsoft Word) format.
Convert File MIME Type — Changes a file's declared MIME type (for example, plain text to CSV) without re-encoding its binary content.
Convert HTML to PDF — Transforms HTML content into PDF documents while preserving structure and formatting.
Convert HTML to Text — Removes HTML tags to extract plain text or markdown from HTML content.
Convert Image Format — Converts images between formats (PNG to JPG, BMP to PNG, etc.).
Convert Image from HEIC to JPG — Transforms HEIC format (iOS devices) images to widely-supported JPG format.
Convert JSON to TOON — Converts JSON strings or objects into TOON format.
Convert PPT to PPTX — Upgrades legacy PPT presentations to the modern PPTX format.
Convert to PDF — Converts various file types into PDF format while maintaining readability.
Decode Base64 Text — Decodes Base64-encoded text back into its original string.
Decode JWT Token — Decodes a JWT token into its component parts.
Deserialise XML String to JSON Object — Converts XML-formatted data into JSON objects for improved compatibility.
Deserialise String to JSON Object — Converts JSON-formatted strings into JSON objects with validation and error handling.
Serialise Object to JSON String — Converts objects into JSON strings for data transmission or storage.
Data Transformation Actions
Date Difference Calculator — Computes differences between two dates in specified units (days, months, hours, minutes).
Date to Epoch — Converts dates and times into epoch timestamps (seconds/milliseconds since January 1, 1970).
Encrypt Data — Secures textual or binary data using various encryption algorithms.
Epoch to Date — Converts an epoch timestamp back into a formatted date.
Evaluate Filter — Evaluates a UI filter definition against input data and returns a boolean result.
Export Application Datasource — Enables data extraction from specified sources in CSV, XLS, or XLSX formats.
Export UnifyApps Pages to PDF — Converts web pages or documents into PDF format with customizable layout options.
Export UnifyApps Pages to PNG — Captures UnifyApps pages as PNG images encoded in Base64.
Extract Text from DOC/PPT — Extracts text from DOC, DOCX, PPT, and PPTX files using LibreOffice.
Extract Text from DOCX — Extracts text content from a DOCX file.
Extract Thumbnail from PDF — Generates thumbnail images from PDF first pages.
Filter List of Data — Applies conditions to list items and retrieves matching records with complex filtering logic.
Generate Canonical XML — Transforms XML or objects into standardized XML form for digital signing and secure data exchange.
Generate UUID — Generates UUIDs of different versions for unique identifiers.
Get Object Field — Retrieves values of specific fields from objects.
Get PDF Dimensions — Returns the width and height of each page in a PDF file, using either the original or cropped page box.
Get Value at Index from List — Retrieves the item at a given index from a list, counting from the beginning or the end.
Parse Email — Extracts MIME content from emails into structured objects.
Perform Hashing — Generates hash values from input data using MD5, SHA-2, CRC-32, or custom algorithms.
Read Changes to Docx File — Reads tracked changes recorded in a DOCX file.
Resolve Output Value — Evaluates and resolves dynamic or formula-based input values into final outputs.
Retrieve Text from File — Retrieves text content directly from a file.
Run SQL Query on File — Executes SQL queries on structured file formats (CSV, Excel, JSON).
Run SQL Query on List — Executes SQL queries on list data directly within workflows.
Send MQTT Request — Sends an MQTT request/message to a specified broker.
Sequence Generator — Creates ordered series of values for unique identifiers or sequences.
Set Object Field — Updates or adds values to specific object fields.
Sort List of Objects — Sorts an existing list of objects.
Template Resolver — Resolves nested paths (e.g., a.b.c) from context objects.
Text Difference Checker — Compares two text inputs and identifies the differences between them.
Translate Text — Translates text between multiple languages using built-in capabilities.
Write Data to Docx File — Writes structured data into a DOCX file.
Media and Code Actions
Clean XSS — Sanitizes input text by removing potentially harmful scripts and content.
Compress Media Content — Reduces media file sizes without significantly compromising quality.
Generate Barcode — Generates a barcode image from a given value using the selected barcode format.
Transform Java Code to Graph — Analyzes Java source files and converts them into graph representations.
Best Practices
Validate input data before processing.
Handle encoding issues preemptively.
Implement proper error handling for each action.
Monitor performance implications, especially for large files.
Use appropriate content type headers for files.
Establish retry logic for network-dependent operations.
Regularly monitor and log utility operations.
Actions in this node are atomic and reusable, allowing you to combine them flexibly into complex workflows. Always consider rate limits and resource constraints when connecting multiple actions.
Notes
Keep the following in mind when using Utility by UnifyApps:
Search the action list by keyword rather than scrolling; the Utility node contains 65 operations and the list is long.
Use Data Pill references in action inputs rather than hard-coding values so the transformation works on different inputs each run.
For file conversions, verify the input file is in the expected format before calling the Utility action; passing a malformed file causes the step to fail.
Utility actions are stateless; each execution is independent, so ordering matters only for data dependencies, not shared state.
Review the Best Practices section before building pipelines with multiple Utility steps; some action sequences have known ordering requirements