diff --git a/packages/server/src/api/controllers/automation.js b/packages/server/src/api/controllers/automation.js
index 60a0928e33..841473a4ff 100644
--- a/packages/server/src/api/controllers/automation.js
+++ b/packages/server/src/api/controllers/automation.js
@@ -189,15 +189,27 @@ exports.trigger = async function (ctx) {
   }
 }
 
+function prepareTestInput(input) {
+  // prepare the test parameters
+  if (input.id && input.row) {
+    input.row._id = input.id
+  }
+  if (input.revision && input.row) {
+    input.row._rev = input.revision
+  }
+  return input
+}
+
 exports.test = async function (ctx) {
   const appId = ctx.appId
   const db = new CouchDB(appId)
   let automation = await db.get(ctx.params.id)
   await setTestFlag(automation._id)
+  const testInput = prepareTestInput(ctx.request.body)
   const response = await triggers.externalTrigger(
     automation,
     {
-      ...ctx.request.body,
+      ...testInput,
       appId,
     },
     { getResponses: true }
diff --git a/packages/server/src/automations/steps/outgoingWebhook.js b/packages/server/src/automations/steps/outgoingWebhook.js
index 6194e1052b..a509e0e9d0 100644
--- a/packages/server/src/automations/steps/outgoingWebhook.js
+++ b/packages/server/src/automations/steps/outgoingWebhook.js
@@ -97,12 +97,16 @@ exports.run = async function ({ inputs }) {
       "Content-Type": "application/json",
     }
 
-    if (headers && headers.length !== 0) {
+    if (headers) {
       try {
-        const customHeaders = JSON.parse(headers)
+        const customHeaders =
+          typeof headers === "string" ? JSON.parse(headers) : headers
         request.headers = { ...request.headers, ...customHeaders }
       } catch (err) {
-        console.error(err)
+        return {
+          success: false,
+          response: "Unable to process headers, must be a JSON object.",
+        }
       }
     }
   }
diff --git a/packages/string-templates/src/helpers/index.js b/packages/string-templates/src/helpers/index.js
index 1ff729d187..23a20c90c7 100644
--- a/packages/string-templates/src/helpers/index.js
+++ b/packages/string-templates/src/helpers/index.js
@@ -19,6 +19,13 @@ const HELPERS = [
   }),
   // this help is applied to all statements
   new Helper(HelperFunctionNames.ALL, value => {
+    if (
+      value != null &&
+      typeof value === "object" &&
+      value.toString() === "[object Object]"
+    ) {
+      return new SafeString(JSON.stringify(value))
+    }
     // null/undefined values produce bad results
     if (value == null || typeof value !== "string") {
       return value || ""
diff --git a/packages/string-templates/test/basic.spec.js b/packages/string-templates/test/basic.spec.js
index 4536a159df..2e63ce8a5f 100644
--- a/packages/string-templates/test/basic.spec.js
+++ b/packages/string-templates/test/basic.spec.js
@@ -81,6 +81,16 @@ describe("Test that the object processing works correctly", () => {
     expect(error).not.toBeNull()
   })
 
+  it("check objects get converted to string JSON automatically", async () => {
+    const row = {a: 1}
+    const output = await processString("{{ trigger.row }}", {
+      trigger: {
+        row,
+      }
+    })
+    expect(JSON.parse(output)).toEqual(row)
+  })
+
   it("should be able to handle null objects", async () => {
     let error = null
     try {