Visual Workflow Guide

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Visual Workflow
Guide
Version 39.0, Spring ’17

@salesforcedocs
Last updated: April 3, 2017

as are other names and marks. Other marks appearing herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

CONTENTS
Visual Workflow Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Which Automation Tool Do I Use? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Limits and Considerations for Visual Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Limits for Visual Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Flow Best Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Considerations for Designing Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Considerations for Managing Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Considerations for Running Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Flow Accessibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Create a Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Flow Building Blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Cloud Flow Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Common Flow Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Flow Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Sample Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Manage Your Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Flow and Flow Version Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Open and Modify a Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Test a Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Activate or Deactivate a Flow Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Delete a Paused or Waiting Flow Interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Delete a Flow Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Let Users Pause Flows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Distribute Your Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Distribute a Flow to Internal Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Distribute a Flow to External Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Launch a Flow Automatically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Deploy a Flow to Other Organizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Why Did My Flow Interview Fail? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Emails About Flow Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Limitations of Emails About Flow Errors (Beta) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Add Temporary Elements to a Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Troubleshoot Flow URLs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Visual Workflow Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

VISUAL WORKFLOW GUIDE
Automate business processes by building applications, known as flows, that collect, update, edit,
and create Salesforce information. Then make those flows available to the right users or systems.

EDITIONS

Flows can either require user interaction—perhaps a wizard or guided UI for data entry—or run in
the background on their own—perhaps something that automatically transfers records when a
user’s role changes.

Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience

IN THIS SECTION:

Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

Which Automation Tool Do I Use?
Salesforce provides multiple tools to automate your organization’s repetitive business processes:
Approvals, Process Builder, Workflow, and Visual Workflow.

Limits and Considerations for Visual Workflow
When designing, managing, and running flows, consider the permissions, use limits, and data issues.
Create a Flow
Once you understand the process that you want to automate, design a flow in the Cloud Flow Designer for that process.
Manage Your Flows
Use the flow detail page to do anything with your flow outside of designing it—such as activating a flow, testing it, or viewing its
properties.
Distribute Your Flow
Once you’ve designed and tested your flow, it’s time to put it to work! Flows can be executed in several ways, depending on who
the flow is designed for. Internal users, external users, or systems can run a flow, or a flow can be deployed for another organization.
Why Did My Flow Interview Fail?
To troubleshoot a failed flow interview, use the flow fault email. You can also set up temporary Screen or Send Email elements to
identify the problem.
Visual Workflow Terminology

Visual Workflow Guide

Which Automation Tool Do I Use?

Which Automation Tool Do I Use?
Salesforce provides multiple tools to automate your organization’s repetitive business processes:
Approvals, Process Builder, Workflow, and Visual Workflow.

EDITIONS

The best automation tool for your needs depends on the type of business process that you’re
automating.

Available in: Lightning
Experience and Salesforce
Classic

• How a record gets approved
Example: Managers approve their direct reports’ requests for vacation.
• What to do when a record has certain values
Example: Notify the account owner when a related case is escalated.
• Collecting information from users or customers and then doing something with that information
Example: Customer support uses a wizard to step through a call script, and cases are created
based on the information that they enter.

Processes are available in:
Professional, Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions
Flows, approvals, and
workflow are available in
Enterprise, Performance,
Unlimited, and Developer
Editions

How a Record Gets Approved
For example, when an employee requests time off, that time has to be approved by the employee’s manager. You need to ensure that
when a time-off request is submitted for approval, the right person (the employee’s manager) receives the request.
To automate your organization’s processes for approving records, create approval processes.

What to Do When a Record Has Certain Values
Three of our tools can address this use case: Workflow, Process Builder, and Visual Workflow. Respectively, these tools create workflow
rules, processes, and flows.
We recommend starting with Process Builder, especially for business processes that can be simplified to if/then statements. For example:
if a case is escalated, then notify the account owner.
Process Builder includes almost all the functionality that’s available in workflow rules, and more. In fact, a single process can do what it
would normally take multiple workflow rules to do. The only thing you can do with workflow that you can’t do with processes is send
outbound messages without code. However, you can work around this limitation by calling Apex code from a process.
If the process is too complicated for the Process Builder or requires more advanced functionality, create a flow by using the Cloud Flow
Designer. For example, create a flow to:
• Use complex branching logic (if certain conditions are true, evaluate for further conditions)
Example: First, check whether a case is escalated. If the case is escalated, check the account’s region and route the case accordingly.
• Sort through, iterate over, and operate on several records
Example: After an opportunity is closed and won, calculate the opportunity’s discount. Then apply that discount to all the related
opportunity products.

Visual Workflow Guide

Which Automation Tool Do I Use?

Getting Information from Users or Customers and Then Doing Something
with It
If you need to build a wizard to collect information, Visual Workflow is the tool for you. Create a flow that displays information to and
requests information from a user. Then take the information that they enter and perform actions in Salesforce with it.
For example, create a flow that walks customer support representatives through a call script. The flow uses information that the
representative entered, such as the caller’s name and account number, to create a case that’s assigned to the right person.
You can add more complexity to the flow to match your business process. For example:
• Route the representative to different screens, depending on earlier choices. This prevents the representative from doing things like
trying to upsell a product to a customer who already bought that product.
• Check whether the reported problem is blocking the customer’s business and the account is high-value. If so, the flow notifies the
region director.

Automation Tool Features
Here’s the breakdown of all the features and actions that are supported in each of our automation tools. Use it to figure out which tool
is best for your business needs.

Complexity

Process Builder

Visual Workflow

Workflow

Approvals

Multiple if/then
statements

Complex

A single if/then
statement

A single if/then statement

All (Chrome
recommended)

All (Safari not recommended)

All

Visual designer
Browser support
Starts when

• Record is
changed

• User clicks button or link

• Invoked by
another process

• Process starts

Record is changed • User clicks button or link

• User accesses custom tab

• Process or flow starts that
includes a Submit for
Approval action

• Apex is called

Supports
time-based
actions
Supports user
interaction
Supported Actions
Call Apex code
Create records

Tasks only

Invoke processes
Delete records

Tasks only

Visual Workflow Guide

Limits and Considerations for Visual Workflow

Process Builder

Visual Workflow

Workflow

Approvals

Launch a flow

(Pilot)1
Post to Chatter
Send email

(Email alerts only)

The record or its
parent

The record or its parent

Send outbound
messages without
code
Submit for
approval
Update fields

Any related record

Any record

The Process Builder has superseded flow trigger workflow actions, previously available in a pilot program. Orgs that are using flow
trigger workflow actions can continue to create and edit them, but they aren’t available for new orgs.

Limits and Considerations for Visual Workflow
When designing, managing, and running flows, consider the permissions, use limits, and data issues.

EDITIONS

IN THIS SECTION:

Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience

Limits for Visual Workflow
When using Visual Workflow, keep flow limits and Apex governor limits in mind.
Flow Best Practices
Before you begin building and distributing flows, understand the best practices.
Considerations for Designing Flows
When you design flows, keep certain guidelines in mind.
Considerations for Managing Flows
When managing flows, consider the administration and activation limits.
Considerations for Running Flows
When you run or test a flow, keep the limits and guidelines in mind.

Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

Visual Workflow Guide

Limits for Visual Workflow

Flow Accessibility
Visual Workflow is 508-compliant with a few exceptions.
SEE ALSO:
Cloud Flow Designer
Considerations and Limitations for Flows in Lightning Pages (Beta)

Limits for Visual Workflow
When using Visual Workflow, keep flow limits and Apex governor limits in mind.
Maximum number of versions per flow

Maximum number of executed elements at run time

2,000

Maximum number of active flows and processes per org

500

Maximum number of flows and processes per org

1,000

Maximum number of flow interviews or groups of scheduled actions (from 30,000
processes) that are waiting at one time

EDITIONS
Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience
Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

Maximum number of flow interviews that are resumed or groups of scheduled 1,000
actions that are executed per hour
Maximum number of relative time alarms defined in flow versions or
schedules based on a field value in processes

20,000

IN THIS SECTION:
Apex Governor Limits that Affect Flows
Salesforce strictly enforces limits to ensure that any runaway flows don’t monopolize shared resources in the multitenant environment.
Per-transaction limits, which Apex enforces, govern flows. If an element causes the transaction to exceed governor limits, the system
rolls back the entire transaction. The transaction rolls back even if the element has a defined fault connector path.
Flows in Transactions
Each flow interview runs in the context of a transaction. A transaction represents a set of operations that are executed as a single
unit. For example, a transaction can execute Apex triggers and escalation rules in addition to a flow interview. If one interview in a
transaction fails, all the interviews in the transaction are rolled back, as well as anything else the transaction did. The transaction
doesn’t retry any of the operations—including the flow interview.
Flow Bulkification in Transactions
Programmers can design their code so that similar actions are performed together in one batch. For example, one operation to
create 50 records rather than 50 separate operations that each create one record. This process is called bulkification, and it helps
your transaction avoid governor limits. If you’re working with flows, you don’t even have to think about bulkification. Flow interviews
bulkify actions for you automatically.
SEE ALSO:
Visual Workflow
Limits and Considerations for Visual Workflow

Visual Workflow Guide

Limits for Visual Workflow

Apex Governor Limits that Affect Flows
Salesforce strictly enforces limits to ensure that any runaway flows don’t monopolize shared resources
in the multitenant environment. Per-transaction limits, which Apex enforces, govern flows. If an
element causes the transaction to exceed governor limits, the system rolls back the entire transaction.
The transaction rolls back even if the element has a defined fault connector path.
1

Description

Per-Transaction Limit

Total number of SOQL queries issued

100

(Record Update, Record Delete, Record Lookup,
and Fast Lookup element executions)
Total number of records retrieved by SOQL
queries

EDITIONS
Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience
Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

50,000

(across all Record Update, Record Delete, Record
Lookup, and Fast Lookup elements executed in
all interviews in the transaction)
Total number of DML statements issued

150

(Record Create, Record Update, Record Delete,
Fast Create, Fast Update, and Fast Delete
executions)
Total number of records processed as a result
of DML statements

10,000

Autolaunched flows are part of the larger transaction through which they were launched. For example, flows launched from a process
are executed with the process actions as part of the larger transaction. Flows with Screen elements can span multiple transactions. A
new transaction begins each time the user clicks Next in a screen. Flows with Wait elements span multiple transactions. A transaction
ends when a flow interview begins to wait for an event. When the flow interview resumes, a new transaction begins. Everything after
the Wait element is executed as part of a batch transaction that includes other resumed interviews.
SEE ALSO:
Apex Developer Guide: Execution Governors and Limits
Limits for Visual Workflow

Flows in Transactions
Each flow interview runs in the context of a transaction. A transaction represents a set of operations that are executed as a single unit.
For example, a transaction can execute Apex triggers and escalation rules in addition to a flow interview. If one interview in a transaction
fails, all the interviews in the transaction are rolled back, as well as anything else the transaction did. The transaction doesn’t retry any
of the operations—including the flow interview.
In each transaction, Salesforce enforces governor limits to prevent shared resources from being depleted. Because multiple Salesforce
organizations share the same resources, Salesforce prevents one organization from depleting all the resources and leaving the other
organizations high and dry. It’s similar to an apartment building that uses one cache of water to service every tenant. If your neighbor

Visual Workflow Guide

Limits for Visual Workflow

uses all the water, you can’t take a shower. (It’s trite, but hopefully you get the idea.) Per-transaction governor limits help prevent such
things from happening.
IN THIS SECTION:
When Does a Flow’s Transaction Start?
Depending on how the flow was distributed, a transaction that runs an interview for that flow starts in different ways.
When Does a Flow’s Transaction End?
When a transaction ends depends on whether the flow contains certain elements and whether it originally started because a record
was changed.
SEE ALSO:
Flow Bulkification in Transactions

When Does a Flow’s Transaction Start?
Depending on how the flow was distributed, a transaction that runs an interview for that flow starts in different ways.
Distribution Method
Process Builder

Transaction starts when...

A record is created or updated.

Flow URL

The URL is accessed.

Custom button or link

The button or link is clicked.

Visualforce page

The page is accessed.

Interview.start() method

If the method starts via a before or after trigger, the
transaction starts when a record is created or updated.
Otherwise, the transaction starts when the method (or a parent
method) is invoked.
The start() method shares its limits with other operations in
the transaction and other methods in the class.

REST API (Custom Actions or Flows resource)

When the REST call is made. Depending on how the REST call is
implemented, the limits can be shared with other operations.

The same also applies if the flow is distributed through a workflow rule. The pilot program for flow trigger workflow actions is closed.
If you've already enabled the pilot in your org, you can continue to create and edit flow trigger workflow actions. If you didn't enable
the pilot in your org, use the Flows action in Process Builder instead.
Note: When a Screen or Wait element is executed, the existing transaction ends and a new one begins.

When Does a Flow’s Transaction End?
When a transaction ends depends on whether the flow contains certain elements and whether it originally started because a record
was changed.
The transaction ends when:

Visual Workflow Guide

Limits for Visual Workflow

• A Screen or Wait element is executed
• The order of execution has completed—if the flow was triggered when a record was created or updated
• All the interviews in the transaction have finished
Tip: If you think that a flow’s interview is likely to hit governor limits within its transaction, consider adding a Wait element or a
Screen element.
If the interview is one of many things being done in a given transaction, that interview shares the transaction’s governor limits with the
other operations.
Example: You update 100 cases through Data Loader. Due to the order of execution in a transaction and the customizations in
your organization, here’s what happens.
Transaction Operation

DML Statement
Used

Cases are saved to the database, but aren’t committed yet.

Case assignment rules are executed. Each case’s owner is updated.

Case escalation rules are executed. If any case has been open for 10 days, an
email is sent to the owner.

Process is started.

Process looks up the case’s account.

If the account is hot, process uses Chatter to notify the account owner that there’s
a new case associated with the account.

Process launches a flow interview.

Flow interview looks up the parent account and how many cases it has.

Flow interview checks whether the account has more than five open cases.

If it does, flow interview looks up the account’s division manager then posts on
the account’s Chatter feed to notify the division manager and account owner.

If it doesn’t, flow interview posts on the account’s Chatter feed to notify only the
account owner.

SOQL Query
Used

SEE ALSO:
Apex Developer Guide: Triggers and Order of Execution

Flow Bulkification in Transactions
Programmers can design their code so that similar actions are performed together in one batch. For example, one operation to create
50 records rather than 50 separate operations that each create one record. This process is called bulkification, and it helps your transaction
avoid governor limits. If you’re working with flows, you don’t even have to think about bulkification. Flow interviews bulkify actions for
you automatically.

Visual Workflow Guide

Limits for Visual Workflow

IN THIS SECTION:
How Does Flow Bulkification Work?
Interview operations are bulkified only when they execute the same element. That means that the interviews must all be associated
with the same flow.
Which Flow Elements Can Be Bulkified?
Flows can bulkify any element that performs a DML statement or SOQL query or does something else external to the flow, like
sending an email.
Example of Flow Bulkification
This example demonstrates how operations are bulkified for a flow when 100 cases are updated through Data Loader.
SEE ALSO:
Flows in Transactions

How Does Flow Bulkification Work?
Interview operations are bulkified only when they execute the same element. That means that the
interviews must all be associated with the same flow.

EDITIONS

When multiple interviews for the same flow run in one transaction, each interview runs until it
reaches a bulkifiable element. Salesforce takes all the interviews that stopped at the same element
and intelligently executes those operations together. If other interviews are at a different element,
Salesforce then intelligently executes those operations together. Salesforce repeats this process
until all the interviews finish.

Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience

If, despite the bulkification, any interview hits a governor limit, all the interviews in the transaction
fail. Any operations that the interviews performed are rolled back, and the transaction doesn’t try
to perform the operations again.

Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

Example: When you upload 100 cases, the flow MyFlow_2 triggers one interview for each case.
• 50 interviews stop at Record Create element Create_Task_1.
• The other 50 interviews stop at Record Create element Create_Task_2.
The result? At least two groups of bulk operations to execute.
• One for the 50 interviews that execute Create_Task_1
• One for the 50 interviews that execute Create_Task_2

Which Flow Elements Can Be Bulkified?
Flows can bulkify any element that performs a DML statement or SOQL query or does something
else external to the flow, like sending an email.

EDITIONS

Elements that create, update or delete records
When a record is created, updated, or deleted, the transaction performs a DML statement.

Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience

• Create elements (Record Create, Fast Create)

Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

• Update elements (Record Update, Fast Update)
• Delete elements (Record Delete, Fast Delete)
• Quick Action elements
• Post to Chatter elements

Visual Workflow Guide

Limits for Visual Workflow

• Submit for Approval elements
• Apex elements—depending on your organization (invocable Apex only)
Elements that look up records
When fields on a record are looked up, the transaction performs a SOQL query.
• Lookup elements (Record Lookup, Fast Lookup)
• Record Update elements
• Record Delete elements
• Apex elements—depending on your organization (invocable Apex only)
Elements that send emails
• Send Email elements
• Email Alert elements
• Apex elements—depending on your organization (invocable Apex only)
Note:
• Unlike invocable Apex, Apex Plug-in elements aren’t bulkified.
• Although invocable Apex is bulkified, the flow has no way of knowing what the invoked methods’ operations are. If you want
those operations to also be bulkified, make sure the code follows bulkification best practices.

SEE ALSO:
Apex Developer Guide: Running Apex within Governor Execution Limits

Example of Flow Bulkification
This example demonstrates how operations are bulkified for a flow when 100 cases are updated
through Data Loader.

EDITIONS

The Associated Flow

Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience

You’ll understand the concepts better if you understand the design of the associated flow.

Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

Visual Workflow Guide

Limits for Visual Workflow

The flow:
1. Looks up the case’s parent account and how many open cases that account has.
2. Checks whether the account has more than five cases open.
3. If the account has more than five open cases:
a. Looks up the division manager for the account.
b. Posts on the account’s Chatter feed to notify the division manager and the account owner.
4. If the account has five or fewer open cases, posts on the account’s Chatter feed to notify only the account owner.

The Bulkified Interviews
When you update the records, one flow interview is created for each case simultaneously. All of the interviews are associated with the
same flow. Each interview runs until it gets to a bulkifiable element.
The first interview goes through the Record Lookup element (1). Because Record Lookups can be bulkified, the interview waits there
until all the other interviews have done the same. Then, Salesforce executes all the Record Lookup operations together (because they’re
all for the same element in the same flow). Instead of 100 SOQL queries, the transaction issues one SOQL query.
The first interview is evaluated by the Decision element (2). The account has six cases, so the interview is routed down the “More than
5” path. The interview proceeds to the second Record Lookup element (3a). Because it’s a bulkifiable element, the interview waits there.
The second interview is evaluated by the Decision element (2). This account has one case, so the interview is routed down the “5 or
fewer” path. The interview proceeds to the Post to Chatter element (4). This element is also bulkifiable, so the interview waits there.
After all the interviews have been processed, 30 are waiting to execute the second Record Lookup element (3a) and the remaining 70
are waiting to execute the Post to Chatter element (4).
Salesforce executes all the Record Lookup (3a) operations for the first 30 interviews together. Instead of 30 separate SOQL queries, the
transaction issues one.

Visual Workflow Guide

Flow Best Practices

Next, the transaction returns to the Post to Chatter element (4), where the 70 interviews are ready to execute their Post to Chatter
operations. Remember, these are the interviews whose accounts don’t have more than five cases. Salesforce executes the Post to Chatter
operations together. Instead of 100 separate DML statements to create each Chatter post, the transaction issues one DML statement to
create all 100 posts at one time. Because the Post to Chatter element isn’t connected to a subsequent element, those 70 interviews
finish.
The 30 interviews—which looked up the relevant division manager—proceed to the final Post to Chatter element (3b). When all 30
interviews are ready, Salesforce executes all 30 Post to Chatter operations together. Instead of issuing 30 separate DML statements for
the individual Chatter posts, it issues one. Because the Post to Chatter element isn’t connected to another element, those 30 interviews
finish.

Flow Best Practices
Before you begin building and distributing flows, understand the best practices.
Plan out your flow before you start building.
Write or draw out all the details of your business process. That way, you have a clear idea of
what information you need, where you’re getting that information from, and what logic and
actions to perform. Doing so makes building the corresponding flow much easier.
Build your flows in a test environment—like a sandbox or Developer Edition org.
The last thing you want to do is accidentally change records in your company’s production org.
Build your flows in a separate environment. That way, you can enter fake data and test various
permutations of your flow without worrying about changing or deleting data that your users
actually need.

EDITIONS
Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience
Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

Never hard-code Salesforce IDs.
IDs are org-specific, so don’t hard-code new or existing IDs. Instead, let Salesforce create the IDs, and pass them into variables when
the flow starts. You can do so, for example, by using merge fields in URL parameters or by using a lookup element.
Wait until the end of the flow to make changes to the database.
Have you heard about flow limits? Because flows operate under Apex governor limits, the sky is not the limit. To avoid hitting those
limits, we recommend bunching all your database changes together at the end of the flow, whether those changes create, update,
or delete records.
Control when running users can navigate backward.
If the flow commits changes to the database between two screens, don't let users navigate from the later screen to the previous
screen. Otherwise, the flow can make duplicate changes to the database.
Provide an error handler.
Sad to say, but sometimes a flow doesn’t perform an operation that you configured it to do. Perhaps the flow is missing crucial
information, or the running user doesn’t have the required permissions. By default, the flow shows an error message to the user and
emails the admin who created the flow. However, you can control that behavior. See Customize What Happens When a Flow Fails
for more information and recommendations.
Save early and often.
Sometimes the Cloud Flow Designer falls victim to unexpected problems, like losing Internet access. Salesforce doesn’t save your
changes automatically, so it’s up to you to save your work. Save as often as possible, so that you don’t accidentally lose a few hours’
worth of work.
Test as many permutations of your flow as you possibly can.
As with all customizations in Salesforce, it’s important to test your work. This is especially true if your flow uses branching or other
complex logic. Make sure that you test as many possibilities as you can think of before you distribute the flow to your users.

Visual Workflow Guide

Considerations for Designing Flows

Considerations for Designing Flows
When you design flows, keep certain guidelines in mind.

EDITIONS

Deleting Variables
If you delete an sObject variable or sObject collection variable, any variable assignments that
use the deleted variable are set to null.
Manipulating Percentage Values
Test your flows carefully if they use sObject variables to manipulate percentage values. When
you insert a value into an sObject variable’s percentage field and then reference that field in a
formula, the value is automatically divided by 100.

Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience
Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

For example, an opportunity’s Probability field is set to 100. If you assign that value to sObject
variable {!Opportunity.Probability}, the value is still 100. But if you create a
formula whose expression is {!Opportunity.Probability}, the value is 1.
Referring to Blank Fields or Resources
If you leave any field or resource value blank, that value is null at run time. To treat a text value as an empty string instead of
null, set it to {!$GlobalConstant.EmptyString}.
Boolean Types Treat null Differently than false
Flow treats null as a different value than false. For example, if you try to find a record whose checkbox field is set to null,
no records are returned. Instead, look for records where the checkbox field is set to false. If you’re using a variable (such as
myCheckbox = {!varBoolean}), make sure that the variable isn’t set to null before you reference it in your record filter or
condition.
Setting the Record Type
To set the record type for a record, use the ID of the record type. Look up the record type by its name and then store its ID in the
flow.
For example, use a Record Lookup element to find the RecordType record whose Name is “Reduction Order”. Then store that record
type’s ID in a variable. You can then use the variable to set the Order Record Type field on an order record.
Working with Person Accounts
If your org uses person accounts, reference Contact.Salutation instead of Account.Salutation.
External Objects
External objects aren't supported in flows.
IN THIS SECTION:
Considerations for the Cloud Flow Designer
When you create a flow in the Cloud Flow Designer, familiarize yourself with its limitations and behaviors. For example, it supports
a handful of locales and can’t open flows from managed packages.
Guidelines for Working with Large Flows
Business processes can be complex. When your flow is too large for the canvas, control the zoom, search in the Explorer tab, or
collapse the left side panel.
Considerations for Two-Column Flows
If your org has Lightning runtime enabled, you can control whether a flow displays in one column or two columns. Before you use
this feature, understand how the flow layout currently behaves.
Limitations for Multi-Select Choice Fields
Multi-select checkboxes and multi-select picklist fields let flow users select multiple choices in a screen field. Before you start using
multi-select choice fields, understand how they work in flows, both when you design the flows and when your users run them.

Visual Workflow Guide

Considerations for Designing Flows

Limitations for Flow Formulas
When you create a formula resource or add validation to a screen input field, understand the formula limitations in Visual Workflow.
Limitations for Time-Based Flows
Before you design flows that contain one or more Wait elements, understand the limitations and guidelines.
Flow Operations and Read-Only Fields
Understand when flows have read-only access to field values. You can control the behavior when a flow tries to update a read-only
field and remove read-only field values from flow operations.
SEE ALSO:
Create a Flow
Flow Operators
Limits and Considerations for Visual Workflow
Cross-Object Field References in Flows

Considerations for the Cloud Flow Designer
When you create a flow in the Cloud Flow Designer, familiarize yourself with its limitations and
behaviors. For example, it supports a handful of locales and can’t open flows from managed packages.

EDITIONS

• At run time, time zones for date/time values can differ from what you see in the Cloud Flow
Designer. During run time, date/time values reflect the running user's time zone settings in
Salesforce. In the Cloud Flow Designer, date/time values reflect the time zone set on your
computer. The Cloud Flow Designer appends the GMT offset to your date/time value.

Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience

• The Cloud Flow Designer doesn't support UTF-8 encoding for text in user input fields.
• The Cloud Flow Designer contains embedded fonts for all locales it supports. The supported
locales are:

Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

– English (US)
– French (France)
– German (Germany)
– Spanish (Spain)
– Japanese (Japan)
– Chinese (Traditional)
– Chinese (Simplified)
If you enter unsupported characters for a supported locale, they’re displayed using system fonts instead of the embedded fonts.
In unsupported locales, your system font settings are used to display all characters in the Cloud Flow Designer.
• The Cloud Flow Designer can’t open flows that are installed from managed packages.
• Don’t enter the string null as the value of a text field in the Cloud Flow Designer.
• The Cloud Flow Designer has access to information that exists when you open it. If you modify data or metadata in your organization
and need to refer to it in a flow, close and reopen the Cloud Flow Designer. For example, if you add a custom field or modify an Apex
class with the Cloud Flow Designer open, close and reopen the Cloud Flow Designer.
• The Cloud Flow Designer uses the permissions and locale assigned to the current user.
• If you open a flow that was last opened in Winter ’12 or earlier, each Boolean decision is converted to a multi-outcome Decision
element that:

Visual Workflow Guide

Considerations for Designing Flows

– Uses the same name as the old decision.
– Takes the unique name of the old decision, appended with “_switch”.
– Has an outcome labeled “True”. This outcome’s unique name matches that of the old decision, and its conditions are migrated
from the True outcome of the old decision.
– Has a default outcome labeled “False”.

Guidelines for Working with Large Flows
Business processes can be complex. When your flow is too large for the canvas, control the zoom,
search in the Explorer tab, or collapse the left side panel.

EDITIONS

Zoom
To zoom in and out of your flow, use the + and - buttons on the right side of the canvas.

Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience
Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

Search in the Explorer tab
Looking for a specific element or resource? Search for it in the Explorer tab.

• To find an element with a specific name, type in the search box.
• To find all instances of a certain element or resource, click the magnifying glass and select the type.
Once you find the right resource in the Explorer tab, see which elements are using the resource. In the Description pane, click the
Usage tab.

Once you find the right element in the Explorer, find that element in your canvas. Hover over the element, and click the magnifying
glass.

Visual Workflow Guide

Considerations for Designing Flows

The element is highlighted in green in your canvas.

If the element wasn’t in view, the Cloud Flow Designer automatically scrolls to show the element.
Collapse the left side panel
To hide the Palette, Resources, and Explorer tabs from your view, click the left arrow next to the side panel. That way, you get even
more space in the canvas.

Considerations for Two-Column Flows
If your org has Lightning runtime enabled, you can control whether a flow displays in one column
or two columns. Before you use this feature, understand how the flow layout currently behaves.

EDITIONS

Granularity
The layout setting is applied at the flow level. So you can’t control the layout at the screen or
field level. If you set a flow to use two columns, every screen in that flow displays in two columns.

Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience

Order of Fields
You can’t manually control which fields go in which columns. If the flow is set to display two
columns, the fields alternate in each column. The odd fields (first, third, fifth, and so on) are
placed in the left column. The even fields (second, fourth, sixth, and so on) are placed in the
right column.

Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

Visual Workflow Guide

Considerations for Designing Flows

If your users navigate screens with the TAB key, they’ll tab through all the fields in the left column and then all the fields in the right
column. You can’t configure the fields to tab left-to-right.
Responsiveness
The flow layout isn’t responsive to the user's screen dimensions. It uses the same layout whether the user’s screen is one inch wide
or twenty inches wide.
Tip: Don’t apply two-column layout to a flow if users will run it from a phone or small tablet.

SEE ALSO:
Limits and Considerations for Visual Workflow
Embed a Flow in a Lightning Page (Beta)
Considerations and Limitations for Flows in Lightning Pages (Beta)
Render Two-Column Screens from a Flow URL

Limitations for Multi-Select Choice Fields
Multi-select checkboxes and multi-select picklist fields let flow users select multiple choices in a
screen field. Before you start using multi-select choice fields, understand how they work in flows,
both when you design the flows and when your users run them.
Configuring a Multi-Select Resource Field
• A multi-select choice field can have only one default value.
• A dynamic record choice resource can be configured to assign field values from a
user-selected record to variables in the flow. When a multi-select choice field uses a dynamic
record choice, only values from the last record that the user selects are stored in the flow
variables. If multiple multi-select choice fields on one screen use the same dynamic record
choice, the variable assignments obey the first of those fields.

EDITIONS
Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience
Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

Using Values from a Multi-Select Resource Field
• At run time, a multi-select field’s value is a concatenation of the user-selected choice values, separated by semicolons. If any of
the selected choices’ values included semi-colons, those semi-colons are removed.
• If you referenced multi-select choice fields in flow conditions, follow these best practices.
– Configure a stored value for each choice that you use in multi-select choice fields.
– Don’t use the same choice in multiple multi-select choice fields on the same screen.

SEE ALSO:
Flow Screen Element: Choice Fields

Visual Workflow Guide

Considerations for Designing Flows

Limitations for Flow Formulas
When you create a formula resource or add validation to a screen input field, understand the formula
limitations in Visual Workflow.

EDITIONS

• Flow formulas can’t contain more than 3,000 characters.

Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience

• A formula returns null if:
– The value that the formula returns doesn’t match its data type.
– The formula contains an unsupported function.
For example, if your formula resource has a data type of Number, the output must be numeric.

Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

• These functions aren’t supported in a flow formula.
– GETRECORDIDS
– IMAGE
– INCLUDE
– ISCHANGED
– ISNEW
– PARENTGROUPVAL
– PREVGROUPVAL
– PRIORVALUE
– REQUIRE SCRIPT
– VLOOKUP
For a complete list of operators and functions for building formulas in Salesforce, see Formula Operators and Functions.
• In a flow, the CONTAINS function checks all characters within its parentheses. For cross object field references, CONTAINS works
like it does in the rest of Salesforce. It checks only the first 250 characters in the reference.
Here’s an example. varContract refers to an sObject variable that contains the values of a contract record. This formula expression
checks only the first 250 characters.
CONTAINS({!varContract.Account.Description}, "description")

This formula expression checks all characters in the field.
CONTAINS({!varContract.Description}, "description")

• If a Display Text screen field contains an invalid formula resource, the flow displays an empty string at run time.
• If a formula expression has an error at run time, it resolves to null.
• If a flow contains an invalid formula resource, you can’t activate the flow.
SEE ALSO:
Flow Formula Resource
Flow Resources

Visual Workflow Guide

Considerations for Designing Flows

Limitations for Time-Based Flows
Before you design flows that contain one or more Wait elements, understand the limitations and
guidelines.

EDITIONS

• After you deactivate a flow or flow version, the associated waiting interviews continue as usual.
You can’t delete a flow or flow version if it has associated waiting interviews.

Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience

• An interview can execute only one event path per Wait element. After one of its events is
processed, the remaining events are removed from the queue.
• An organization can process up to 1,000 events per hour. When an event is processed, the
interview that it’s associated with is resumed and any other events for that interview are removed
from the queue. If an organization exceeds this limit, Salesforce processes the remaining events
in the next hour.

Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

For example, an organization has 1,200 events scheduled to be processed between 4:00 PM and 5:00 PM. Salesforce processes 1,000
events between 4:00 PM and 5:00 PM and the additional 200 events between 5:00 PM and 6:00 PM.
• An organization can have up to 30,000 interviews waiting at a given time.
• If the user who started the interview is deactivated when Salesforce tries to execute an event path, the interview fails to resume.

Transactions and Waiting Interviews
A transaction ends as soon as a flow interview begins to wait for an event. When the flow interview resumes, a new transaction begins.
Everything after the Wait element is executed as part of a batch transaction that includes other resumed interviews.
Interviews aren’t resumed independently. They’re grouped into a single batch that starts resuming within one hour after the first interview
enters the batch. Any actions that fire as a result of those grouped interviews are also executed in that transaction. This behavior can
cause you to exceed your Apex governor limits if the resumed interview executes DML operations or SOQL queries through:
• Flow elements such as Record Create or Fast Lookup
• Apex Plug-in elements
• Apex triggers
• Immediate workflow actions
For details on Apex governor limits, see Limits for Visual Workflow on page 5.
If a Wait element precedes any flow elements that execute DML operations or SOQL queries:
• Ensure that your flows don’t perform more DML operations or SOQL queries between Wait elements than the Apex governor limits
allow.
• Consider using multiple Wait elements so that the DML operations and SOQL queries are performed in multiple transactions.
• Add fault paths for those elements so that the flow returns to the Wait element if the fault message contains:
Too many SOQL queries

or
Too many DML operations

If an interview fails after it’s resumed:
• Prior interviews in that batch’s transaction are successful.
• Operations that the interview executed before it waited are successful.

Visual Workflow Guide

Considerations for Designing Flows

• If a fault connector handles the failure, operations that the interview executed between when it resumed and when it failed are
successful. The operation that caused the interview to fail isn’t successful.
• If a fault connector doesn’t handle the failure, operations that the interview executed between when it resumed and when it failed
are rolled back. The operation that caused the interview to fail isn’t successful.
• The remaining interviews in that batch are tried.

Limitations for General Alarms
• Alarms don’t support minutes or seconds.
• If an interview is waiting for an event that’s set for a time in the past, Salesforce resumes the interview within one hour.
For example, a flow is configured to email an opportunity owner seven days before the close date. An interview is started for an
opportunity with the close date set to today. Salesforce resumes the interview within an hour.

Limitations for Absolute Time Alarms
• Absolute time alarms are evaluated based on the time zone of the user who created the flow.

Limitations for Relative Time Alarms
• Relative time alarms are evaluated based on the organization’s time zone.
• Across all your flow versions, your organization can have up to 20,000 defined relative time alarms.
• Alarms can’t reference the following:
– DATE or DATETIME fields that contain automatically derived functions, such as TODAY or NOW.
– Formula fields that include related-object merge fields.
• If you change a date field that’s referenced by an unexecuted relative time alarm in a waiting interview, Salesforce recalculates the
events associated with the interview.
For example, a flow is configured to email an opportunity owner seven days before the opportunity close date and the close date
is 2/20/2014. The following things could happen.
– The close date isn’t updated before the interview resumes. Result: Salesforce resumes the interview on 2/13/2014 and sends
the email.
– The close date is updated to 2/10/2014 before the interview resumes. Result: Salesforce reschedules the relative time alarm and
the interview resumes on 2/3/2014.
– The close date is updated to a date in the past. Result: Salesforce recalculates the relative time alarm and resumes the interview
shortly after you save the record.
• If a relative time alarm references a null date field when the interview executes the Wait element, Salesforce resumes the interview
within an hour.
• If a relative time alarm references a date field that’s that has a non-null value when the flow interview executes the Wait element
and it’s updated to null before the alarm is processed, Salesforce resumes the interview within an hour after the date field is
updated.
• If a waiting interview has a relative time alarm and the referenced record or object is deleted, the alarm is removed from the queue.
If the interview has no other events to wait for, the interview is deleted.
• You can’t archive a product or price book that’s referenced in a relative or absolute time alarm in a waiting interview.
• Lead Convert Limitations

Visual Workflow Guide

Considerations for Designing Flows

– You can’t convert a lead that has associated relative time alarms in waiting interviews.
– If Validation and Triggers from Lead Convert is enabled, existing operations on leads after a Wait element aren’t executed during
lead conversion.
– If a campaign member based on a lead is converted before a waiting interview that’s associated with that record finishes,
Salesforce still executes the interview.

SEE ALSO:
Considerations for Designing Flows
Limits and Considerations for Visual Workflow
Operators in Flow Conditions
Flow Wait Element

Flow Operations and Read-Only Fields
Understand when flows have read-only access to field values. You can control the behavior when
a flow tries to update a read-only field and remove read-only field values from flow operations.

EDITIONS

IN THIS SECTION:

Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience

Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

Control What Happens When a Flow Tries to Set Values for Read-Only Fields
When creating or updating records, the flow sets values for specific fields. But what happens if the running user doesn’t have edit
access to all those fields? For Fast Create and Fast Update elements, that’s up to you. To control the behavior, select or deselect the
Filter Inaccessible Fields from Flow Requests preference.
Remove Read-Only Fields from an sObject Variable
If a flow tries to update fields that the running user can’t edit and Filter Inaccessible Fields from Flow
Requests is not enabled for your org, the flow fails. If your sObject variable includes read-only fields and you can’t grant your
running users “Edit” permissions for those fields, remove the fields from the sObject variable. Use a Record Create or Record Update
element instead of a Fast Create or Fast Update element, or copy the writable field values into a new sObject variable.

Which Fields Are Inaccessible When a Flow Creates or Updates Records?
A flow can perform an operation only if the running user has permission to do so. When a flow tries
to create or update records, fields that the running user can’t edit are considered inaccessible, or
read only. A field can be inaccessible because the user hasn’t been granted permission to edit the
field or because it’s a system field that’s always read only.
To determine which fields are system fields, see the Object Reference for Salesforce and Force.com.
To determine which other fields aren’t editable, review the running user’s permissions.

EDITIONS
Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience
Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

Visual Workflow Guide

Considerations for Designing Flows

How Did Read-Only Fields Get in My sObject Variable?
If the Variable Is Populated by ...

The Variable Includes ...

A Fast Lookup element

Id and any other read-only fields that you choose to include.

An Assignment or Record Lookup
element

Any read-only fields that you choose to include.

A process or a workflow rule

All the object’s system fields and any fields that the running user doesn’t have permission
to edit. The variable includes every field for the object by default.

What Do I Do When My sObject Variable Includes Read-Only Fields?
For each read-only field that’s stored in your sObject variable:
1. Determine whether the flow uses that field anywhere. If it doesn’t, update the flow so that it doesn’t store a value for that field. This
suggestion applies only if the variable is populated by an element in the flow, like Fast Lookup.
For example, a Fast Lookup element stores CreatedByDate, but no other elements reference that field. You update the Fast
Lookup so that it’s no longer storing CreatedByDate.
2. If the read-only field is referenced in the flow, give the running users the permissions needed for the flow to execute its operations.
3. If you can’t give the running users the needed permissions for a field, update the flow so that it doesn’t try to update that field.
Example: Using a Fast Update element, a flow updates several fields on an account. While your users can edit Description
and Account Rating, they can’t edit Owner ID or LastModifiedDate. To prevent the flow from failing at runtime:
• Give your users “Edit” permission for Owner ID.
• Copy only the writable field values (Description, Account Rating, and Owner ID) from the original sObject
variable into a new sObject variable. Reference the new sObject variable in the Fast Update element.
Copying only the writable field values ensures that the flow doesn’t try to set a value for LastModifiedDate at runtime.

SEE ALSO:
Remove Read-Only Fields from an sObject Variable
Control What Happens When a Flow Tries to Set Values for Read-Only Fields
Object Reference for Salesforce and Force.com: System Fields

Visual Workflow Guide

Considerations for Designing Flows

Not Selected
(Recommended)

Result when the running
The operation partially
user doesn’t have edit access succeeds.
to all fields
The flow filters read-only fields
out of the operation. The fields
that the user can edit are
updated. The fields that the
user can’t edit aren’t updated.
The flow doesn’t execute the
fault path.

The operation fails.

Notification when one or
more fields aren’t updated

No notification is sent to the
user or admin to indicate that
some fields weren’t updated.

The admin receives a flow error
email with full details.

Compared to Record Create
and Record Update
elements

Inconsistent

Consistent

No fields in the operation are
updated. The flow executes the
fault path if there is one.

EDITIONS
Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience
Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

USER PERMISSIONS
To edit process automation
settings:
• “Customize Application”

Tip: We recommend disabling this preference so that you always know when a flow doesn’t set all expected field values.
1. From Setup, enter Automation in the Quick Find box, then select Process Automation Settings.
2. Select or deselect Filter Inaccessible Fields from Flow Requests.
If your org was created in Winter ’17 or earlier, the preference is enabled by default. Otherwise, the preference is disabled by default.
Example: Using a Fast Update element, a flow updates several fields on an opportunity. At runtime, the flow tries to update the
Acme account on behalf of your user. The user can edit Stage and Close Date but not Amount. As a result, the flow
doesn’t have permission to update Amount.
• If Filter Inaccessible Fields from Flow Requests is selected, the flow successfully updates the account,
but it only updates Stage and Close Date. The flow doesn’t notify anybody that Amount wasn’t updated.
• If Filter Inaccessible Fields from Flow Requests is not selected, the flow fails to update the account.
The admin receives a flow error email. The email includes this error.
INVALID_FIELD_FOR_INSERT_UPDATE: Unable to create/update fields: Amount

That's API-speak for “The running user doesn’t have permission to edit the Amount field.”

Visual Workflow Guide

Considerations for Designing Flows

Warning: If you change your org’s selection for this preference, use a sandbox to test how the change impacts your flows.
Consider following the same process as you would for a critical update.
SEE ALSO:
Which Fields Are Inaccessible When a Flow Creates or Updates Records?

Remove Read-Only Fields from an sObject Variable
If a flow tries to update fields that the running user can’t edit and Filter Inaccessible
Fields from Flow Requests is not enabled for your org, the flow fails. If your sObject
variable includes read-only fields and you can’t grant your running users “Edit” permissions for those
fields, remove the fields from the sObject variable. Use a Record Create or Record Update element
instead of a Fast Create or Fast Update element, or copy the writable field values into a new sObject
variable.
Note: If the read-only fields are populated in the sObject variable in a Fast Lookup or
Assignment element, consider updating those elements so that they don’t populate that
field at all.

EDITIONS
Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience
Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

IN THIS SECTION:
Copy Field Values from One sObject Variable to Another
sObject variables and sObject collection variables can have values set for fields that the running user can’t edit. However, you can
use the other values to create or update records with Fast Create or Fast Update elements. To do so, map the writable values from
the original sObject variable into a new sObject variable.
SEE ALSO:
Flow Record Create Element
Flow Record Update Element

Visual Workflow Guide

Considerations for Designing Flows

Copy Field Values from One sObject Variable to Another
sObject variables and sObject collection variables can have values set for fields that the running
user can’t edit. However, you can use the other values to create or update records with Fast Create
or Fast Update elements. To do so, map the writable values from the original sObject variable into
a new sObject variable.
Note: With sObject collection variables, use loops to map the field values to a new collection.
1. Add an Assignment element to your flow. Make sure that the flow executes this element after
the original sObject variable has been populated but before the Create or Update element.

EDITIONS
Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience
Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

2. For each writable field in the original sObject variable, add a row.
• Variable—Select {!sObjectVar2.field}, where sObjectVar2 is the name of
the new variable and field is the field on that variable.
• Operator—Select equals.
• Value—Select {!sObjectVar1.field}, where sObjectVar1 is the name of
the original variable and field is the field on that variable.
Note: If you plan to reference the variable in a Fast Update element, include the record’s
ID in the new sObject variable. Although Id is read only, the flow uses the value to
determine which records to update.

USER PERMISSIONS
To open, edit, or create a
flow in the Cloud Flow
Designer:
• “Manage Force.com
Flow”

Example: You have a case sObject variable called {!myCaseVar_all}. It stores values for some read-only fields, so you
can’t use it in a Fast Update element. You copy the fields that you want to update to a new sObject variable: IsEscalated
and Status. You also copy Id, because it’s required for an update operation.Here’s what those assignment rules look like.
Variable

Operator Value

{!myCaseVar_final.Id}

equals

{!myCaseVar_original.Id}

{!myCaseVar_final.IsEscalated}

equals

{!myCaseVar_original.IsEscalated}

{!myCaseVar_final.Status}

equals

{!myCaseVar_original.Status}

The same example works for an sObject collection variable. However, because you can’t directly change the values of a collection
variable, you use a loop.

Visual Workflow Guide

Considerations for Managing Flows

1. Using a Loop element, the flow passes each item’s values into a loop variable ({!myCaseLoopVar_original}).
2. For each iteration, an Assignment element copies the Id, IsEscalated, and Status fields from the loop variable to
another sObject variable ({!myCaseLoopVar_final}).
3. The flow then adds the {!myCaseLoopVar_final} variable’s values to a new collection. The second Assignment
element includes this rule.
Variable

Operator Value

{!myCaseColl_updated}

add

{!myCaseLoopVar_final}

After the flow has iterated over every item in the original collection, it exits the loop.

SEE ALSO:
Which Fields Are Inaccessible When a Flow Creates or Updates Records?
Control What Happens When a Flow Tries to Set Values for Read-Only Fields
Flow Assignment Element

Considerations for Managing Flows
When managing flows, consider the administration and activation limits.
Activating Flows
When you activate a new version of a flow, the previously activated version (if one exists) is
automatically deactivated. Any running flow interview continues to run using the version with
which it was initiated.
Deleting Flows
To delete an active flow version, first deactivate it. If a flow has any paused or waiting interviews,
it can’t be deleted until those interviews are finished or deleted. Flows that have never been
activated can be deleted immediately.

EDITIONS
Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience
Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

Flow Properties
The properties for a given flow’s versions automatically match the active version’s properties by default. In other words, if you have
three versions and you activate version 2, Salesforce updates the properties for versions 1 and 3 to match version 2. However, if you
edit the properties for an inactive version, that version’s properties are no longer automatically updated to match the active version.
The flow's active (or latest) version determines the flow's type. For example, if a flow's active version contains a screen, its type is
Flow. It can't be implemented through a system-based method, like the Process Builder.
IN THIS SECTION:
Considerations for Installed Flows
Keep these considerations in mind when you distribute, upgrade, or remove a flow that you installed from a package.
SEE ALSO:
Manage Your Flows
Limits and Considerations for Visual Workflow

Visual Workflow Guide

Considerations for Managing Flows

Considerations for Installed Flows
Keep these considerations in mind when you distribute, upgrade, or remove a flow that you installed
from a package.

EDITIONS

• The Cloud Flow Designer can’t open flows that are installed from managed packages.

Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience

• If you install a package that contains multiple flow versions in a fresh destination organization,
only the latest flow version is deployed.
• If you install a flow from a managed package, error emails for that flow’s interviews don’t include
any details about the individual flow elements. The email is sent to the user who installed the
flow.

Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

• If you install a flow from an unmanaged package that has the same name but a different version
number as a flow in your organization, the newly installed flow becomes the latest version of
the existing flow. However, if the packaged flow has the same name and version number as a flow already in your organization, the
package install fails. You can’t overwrite a flow.
Status
An active flow in a package is active after it’s installed. The previous active version of the flow in the destination organization is
deactivated in favor of the newly installed version. Any in-progress flows based on the now-deactivated version continue to run
without interruption but reflect the previous version of the flow.
Distributing Installed Flows
• When you create a custom button, link, or Web tab for a flow that’s installed from a managed package, include the namespace
in the URL. The URL format is /flow/namespace/flowuniquename.
• When you embed a flow that’s installed from a managed package in a Visualforce page, set the name attribute to this format:
namespace.flowuniquename.
Upgrading Installed Flows
Upgrading a managed package in your organization installs a new flow version only if there’s a newer flow version from the developer.
After several upgrades, you can end up with multiple flow versions.
Removing Installed Flows
• You can’t delete a flow from an installed package. To remove a packaged flow from your organization, deactivate it and then
uninstall the package.
• You can’t delete flow components from Managed - Beta package installations in development organizations.
• If you have multiple versions of a flow installed from multiple unmanaged packages, you can’t remove only one version by
uninstalling its package. Uninstalling a package—managed or unmanaged—that contains a single version of the flow removes
the entire flow, including all versions.
SEE ALSO:
Flows in Change Sets and Packages
Considerations for Deploying Flows with Packages
Install a Package

Visual Workflow Guide

Considerations for Running Flows

Considerations for Running Flows
When you run or test a flow, keep the limits and guidelines in mind.
• Be careful when testing flows that contain delete elements. Even if the flow is inactive, it triggers
the delete operation.
• At run time, time zones for date/time values can differ from what you see in the Cloud Flow
Designer. During run time, date/time values reflect the running user's time zone settings in
Salesforce.
• Interviews don’t perform actions—such as sending emails or creating, editing, or deleting
records—until the associated transaction completes. Transactions complete either when the
interview finishes, executes a Screen element, or executes a Wait element. Record and Fast
elements aren’t the only ones to create or update records. Post to Chatter, Submit for Approval,
and Quick Actions elements do, as well.

EDITIONS
Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience
Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

• Don't use your browser's Back or Forward buttons to navigate through a flow. Doing so can result in inconsistent data between the
flow and Salesforce.
• A single flow can have up to 50 different versions. When you run a flow, you see the active version, but your admin could have a
more recent version.
• For flows that interact with the Salesforce database, make sure that your users have permission to create, read, edit, and delete the
relevant records and fields. Otherwise, users receive an insufficient privileges error when they try to launch a flow. For example, a
flow looks up and updates a case record’s status. The flow users must have “Read” and “Edit” permissions on the Status field of
the Case object.
• When you distribute a flow, don’t pass a currency field value from a Salesforce record into a flow Currency variable with a URL
parameter. When a currency field is referenced through a merge field (such as {!Account.AnnualRevenue}), the value
includes the unit of currency’s symbol (for example, $). Flow variables of type Currency can accept only numeric values, so the flow
fails at run time. Instead, pass the record’s ID to a flow Text variable with a URL parameter. Then in the flow, use the ID to look up
that record’s value for the currency field.

Lightning Runtime Limitations
When Lightning runtime is enabled for your org, flows in Lightning Experience don’t load in:
• Web tabs
• List buttons that are set to display an existing window with or without a sidebar
When Lightning runtime is enabled for your org, flows in Salesforce Classic don’t load in:
• Web tabs
• Custom buttons or links that are set to display in an existing window with or without a sidebar
Users can’t enter more than 16 digits, including digits before and after a decimal point.
SEE ALSO:
Test a Flow
Flow Interviews
Limits and Considerations for Visual Workflow
Flow Runtime Experiences

Visual Workflow Guide

Flow Accessibility

Flow Accessibility
Visual Workflow is 508-compliant with a few exceptions.

EDITIONS

• The title of the screen doesn’t change when you click Next or Previous, so you might not realize
you're on a new page.
• Radio button fields don’t have labels. Screen readers can't distinguish between questions.
• Questions without defined prompts can read incorrectly.

Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience
Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

• Errors are not noted when reading the fields.
SEE ALSO:
Limits and Considerations for Visual Workflow

Create a Flow
Once you understand the process that you want to automate, design a flow in the Cloud Flow
Designer for that process.
Tip: Before you start creating your flow, plan it out. It’s much easier to automate a business
process by using Visual Workflow when you fully understand the details of your business
process.

EDITIONS
Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience

If you’re new to the Cloud Flow Designer, we recommend walking through one or more of the flow
projects in the Automate Your Business Processes trail on Trailhead. They’re a great way to learn
about the tool and discover how it works.

Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

1. Open the Cloud Flow Designer. From Setup, enter Flows in the Quick Find box, then
select Flows, and then click New Flow.

USER PERMISSIONS

2. Drag the appropriate elements onto the canvas.
Tip: If you’re not sure which element you need for a node, add a Step element as a
placeholder until you figure it out. You can always replace the Step later.
3. Connect the elements together so that it’s clear what the order of the elements is.
4. Identify which element the flow should start with when it runs.
5. Save any changes that you made to the flow.
6. Test the flow to make sure it’s working as you expect it to.
7. Activate the flow so that users can run it.
8. Distribute the flow to the appropriate users.
SEE ALSO:
Manage Your Flows
Considerations for Designing Flows
Flow Accessibility
Flow Building Blocks

To open, edit, or create a
flow in the Cloud Flow
Designer:
• “Manage Force.com
Flow”

Visual Workflow Guide

Flow Building Blocks

Flow Building Blocks
Use combinations of elements, connectors, and resources to build flows.

EDITIONS
Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience
Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

• Each element (1) represents an action that the flow can execute. Examples include reading or writing Salesforce data, displaying
information to and collecting data from flow users, executing logic, or manipulating data.
• Each connector (2) defines an available path that the flow can take at run time.
• Each resource (3) represents a value that you can reference throughout the flow.
SEE ALSO:
Flow Elements
Flow Resources
Flow Connectors

Visual Workflow Guide

Cloud Flow Designer

Cloud Flow Designer
The Cloud Flow Designer lets you design flows without writing any code.
Watch a Demo:

EDITIONS

Visual Workflow Cloud Flow Designer Overview

For a collection of useful resources, including videos and sample flows, open the Cloud Flow Designer
and click Get Started.
IN THIS SECTION:
Requirements for the Cloud Flow Designer
To use the Cloud Flow Designer, you need an up-to-date browser and Adobe® Flash® Player.

Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience
Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

Tour the Cloud Flow Designer User Interface
Before you use the Cloud Flow Designer to design flows, understand the tool's main components.
Search Within a Flow
As a flow grows and becomes more complex, it becomes more challenging to find things within it. The Cloud Flow Designer offers
tools for quickly finding flow elements and resources.
Search Within the Palette
As you add more flows, actions, and Apex classes to your organization, it becomes more challenging to find a specific item in the
Palette. You can, however, search in the Palette to quickly find the right element for your flow.
SEE ALSO:
Flow Elements
Flow Resources

Requirements for the Cloud Flow Designer
To use the Cloud Flow Designer, you need an up-to-date browser and Adobe® Flash® Player.

EDITIONS

We recommend:
• Windows® Internet Explorer® versions 8 through 11, Google® Chrome™, or Mozilla® Firefox®.
Internet Explorer 6 and 7 are not supported.
• Adobe® Flash® Player version 10.1 and later. The minimum version required to run the Cloud
Flow Designer is 10.0.
• A minimum browser resolution of 1024x768.

Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience
Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

Tour the Cloud Flow Designer User Interface
Before you use the Cloud Flow Designer to design flows, understand the tool's main components.

EDITIONS
Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience
Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

Visual Workflow Guide

Cloud Flow Designer

Button Bar (1)
Manage your flow as you build it.
• Run runs the most recent saved version of the flow that you have open. If the flow contains subflow elements, each subflow
runs the active version of its referenced flow. If the referenced flow has no active version, then the subflow element runs the
latest version of its referenced flow.
• The status indicator on the right side displays whether:
– The flow is active or not
– The latest changes to the flow are saved or not
– There are any warnings or errors in the last saved version of the flow
To see a list of the warnings or errors, click the indicator.
Canvas (2)
The canvas is the working area, where you build a flow by adding elements. As you add elements to the canvas and connect them
together, you see a visual diagram of your flow.
Palette Tab (3)
Add new elements, like Screens and Record Creates, to your flow from the Palette tab.
Resources Tab (4)
Create resources, like a variable or formula, to use in your flow from the Resources tab.

Visual Workflow Guide

Cloud Flow Designer

Explorer Tab (5)
The Explorer tab is a library of all elements and resources that you’ve added to the flow.
SEE ALSO:
Flow Properties
Manage Flow Elements, Resources, and Connectors
Search Within the Palette
Search Within a Flow

Search Within a Flow
As a flow grows and becomes more complex, it becomes more challenging to find things within
it. The Cloud Flow Designer offers tools for quickly finding flow elements and resources.

EDITIONS

Open the flow in the Cloud Flow Designer. Then find an element or resource in the flow by using
one or more of the following options.

Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience

• On the Explorer tab, enter search text.
The Explorer tab displays only the elements and resources whose properties contain the entered
text.
• Filter the Explorer tab contents to one type of element or resource by clicking
To remove the filter, click

and select SEARCH ALL.

• Dim all visible elements on the canvas other than the results by selecting Highlight Results
on Canvas.
• Zoom in and out as desired using the controls near the top right corner of the canvas area.
• To see the location of an Explorer item on the canvas, complete one of the following procedures.
If the Explorer item is a canvas-visible element or a screen field:
1. Hover over the item on the Explorer tab.
2. Click

If the Explorer item is a resource that doesn’t appear on the canvas:
1. Click the item on the Explorer tab.
2. Click the Usage tab in the Description pane.
3. Hover over an element listed on the Usage tab.
4. Click its

Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

The canvas shifts to display the element and momentarily highlights it.
SEE ALSO:
Tour the Cloud Flow Designer User Interface

USER PERMISSIONS
To open, edit, or create a
flow in the Cloud Flow
Designer:
• “Manage Force.com
Flow”

Visual Workflow Guide

Set a Flow’s Start Element

Search Within the Palette
As you add more flows, actions, and Apex classes to your organization, it becomes more challenging
to find a specific item in the Palette. You can, however, search in the Palette to quickly find the right
element for your flow.
From the Palette tab, use the following options to find a specific item.
• Next to , enter search text.
The Palette displays only the items that contain the entered text.
• To filter the Palette tab contents to one type of element, click
see.
• To remove the filter, click

and select what you want to

and select SEARCH ALL.

EDITIONS
Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience
Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

USER PERMISSIONS

SEE ALSO:

USER PERMISSIONS

3. To delete the flow completely, including all versions, click the Delete button.

Considerations for Managing Flows
To delete a flow:
• “Manage Force.com
Flow”

Manage Your Flows

Let Users Pause Flows
Enable your users to pause a flow interview that they can’t finish yet by customizing your
organization’s process automation settings. A flow interview is a running instance of a flow. For
example, a customer service representative can pause a flow interview when the customer doesn’t
have all the necessary information.
1. From Setup, enter Process Automation Settings in the Quick Find box, then
select Process Automation Settings.
2. Select Let Users Pause Flows.
3. Click Save.
Screens don’t automatically display the Pause button once Let Users Pause Flows is
enabled. If you want your users to be able to pause at a given screen, select “Show Pause button”
when you configure that screen.
SEE ALSO:

EDITIONS
Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience
Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

USER PERMISSIONS
To edit process automation
settings:
• “Customize Application”

Flow Screen Element: General Info

Distribute Your Flow
Once you’ve designed and tested your flow, it’s time to put it to work! Flows can be executed in several ways, depending on who the
flow is designed for. Internal users, external users, or systems can run a flow, or a flow can be deployed for another organization.
IN THIS SECTION:
Distribute a Flow to Internal Users
Enable your internal users to run your flow through the flow URL, a Lightning Page, or a Visualforce page.

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Distribute a Flow to Internal Users

Distribute a Flow to External Users
Let external users run your flow by adding the flow to a Visualforce page and distributing that page externally. For example, through
a Force.com site, Customer Portal, or Partner Portal.
Launch a Flow Automatically
Some flows don’t require any user interaction to start. To enable a system to automatically launch a flow, use the start Apex
method, a process, or a workflow action.
Deploy a Flow to Other Organizations
Flows created in the Cloud Flow Designer can be included in change sets and packages. The recipient organization of either the
change set or package must have Visual Workflow enabled.

Distribute a Flow to Internal Users
Enable your internal users to run your flow through the flow URL, a Lightning Page, or a Visualforce
page.

EDITIONS

IN THIS SECTION:

Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience

Flow Runtime Experiences
Depending on how a flow is distributed, your users see either the Classic runtime or Lightning
runtime UI when they run the flow. Like its name suggests, Lightning runtime looks and feels
like Lightning Experience.

Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

Embed a Flow in a Lightning Page (Beta)
To easily distribute a flow to Lightning Experience or Salesforce1 users, embed it in a Lightning Page.
Distribute a Flow URL
Users in your organization who don’t need a customized look and feel can run the flow via its URL. Distribute a flow URL directly or
through a custom button, link, or Web tab.
Embed a Flow in a Visualforce Page
To customize your flow’s look and feel for internal users, add the flow to a Visualforce page. Then distribute that page through a
Visualforce tab, custom button, or custom link.

EDITIONS
Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience
Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

147

Visual Workflow Guide

Distribute a Flow to Internal Users

Which Runtime Experience Do My Users See?
Flows that run from a Visualforce page always use Classic runtime. Flows that run from a Lightning Page always use Lightning runtime.
All other methods depend on whether Lightning runtime has been enabled in your org’s Process Automation settings.
This table summarizes which runtime experience your users see based on how you distribute the flow.
Flow Distribution Method

When Lightning Runtime for Flows is
Not selected

Selected

Visualforce page

Classic runtime

Custom button

Classic runtime

Lightning runtime

Custom link

Classic runtime

Lightning runtime

Web tab

Classic runtime

Lightning runtime

Direct link

Classic runtime

Lightning runtime

Lightning Page

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• Collection variables of any data type
SEE ALSO:
Choose Your Org’s Runtime Experience for URL-Based Flows
Considerations for Running Flows

Embed a Flow in a Lightning Page (Beta)
To easily distribute a flow to Lightning Experience or Salesforce1 users, embed it in a Lightning
Page.
Available in: Lightning Experience
Available in: Enterprise, Performance, Unlimited, and Developer Editions

Note: This release contains a beta version of the Flow component for Lightning Pages, which
means it’s a high-quality feature with known limitations. The Flow component isn’t generally
available unless or until Salesforce announces its general availability in documentation or in
press releases or public statements. We can’t guarantee general availability within any particular
time frame or at all. Make your purchase decisions only on the basis of generally available
products and features. You can provide feedback and suggestions for the Flow component
for Lightning Pages in the IdeaExchange.

USER PERMISSIONS
To create and save Lightning
Pages in the Lightning App
Builder
• “Customize Application”
To view Lightning Pages in
the Lightning App Builder
• “View Setup and
Configuration”

If you’re not yet familiar with the types of Lightning pages you can customize, check out the Lightning App Builder module in Trailhead.
1. Open a Lightning Page in the Lightning App Builder.
2. Drag the Flow (Beta) component from the Lightning Components pane on the left onto the Lightning Page canvas.
3. Configure the component.
Flow

Only active flows of type Flow are available. Flows that were built in the Desktop Flow Designer aren’t
supported.

Layout

By default, flows display in one column.

Input Variables

If you see other properties, they are the flow’s input variables. Variables appear only if they allow input
access.

Pass record ID into this This option is available only for Text input variables in Record pages. For simplicity, we recommend passing
variable
the ID to only one variable.
For example, when this component is embedded in an Opportunity Record page, at runtime the component
passes the opportunity’s ID into the selected input variable.

4. Save the page.
5. Hang on, you’re not done yet! To make your page available to your users, activate it. You can activate the page from the Save dialog
when you save it for the first time, or later using the Activation... button.

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6. Test that the flow is working correctly, and then roll the Lightning Page out to your users.
SEE ALSO:
Considerations and Limitations for Flows in Lightning Pages (Beta)
Considerations for Two-Column Flows

Considerations and Limitations for Flows in Lightning Pages (Beta)
Here are some things to keep in mind when you add a flow component to a Lightning Page.
Note: This release contains a beta version of the Flow component for Lightning Pages, which
means it’s a high-quality feature with known limitations. The Flow component isn’t generally
available unless or until Salesforce announces its general availability in documentation or in
press releases or public statements. We can’t guarantee general availability within any particular
time frame or at all. Make your purchase decisions only on the basis of generally available
products and features. You can provide feedback and suggestions for the Flow component
for Lightning Pages in the IdeaExchange.

EDITIONS
Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience
Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

Lightning Pages always use Lightning runtime, so also review the Lightning Runtime Limitations.
Running Flows from a Lightning Page
When a user opens a Lightning Page that has a flow component, the flow runs when the page loads. Make sure that the flow doesn’t
peform any actions – such as create or delete records – before the first screen.
Input Variable Limitations
• These variables aren’t supported.
– Collection variables
– sObject variables
– sObject collection variables
– Variables of type Picklist or Multi-Select Picklist
• The component supports only manually entered values for input variables.
• Text input variables accept a maximum length of 4,000 characters.
Deployment Limitations
• If a Lightning Page or FlexiPage contains a flow component, we don’t support:
– Creating packages that include the Lightning Page
– Copying a sandbox that includes the Lightning Page or FlexiPage
– Creating trialforce templates that include the FlexiPage

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• If you use the Metadata API to deploy a FlexiPage that includes a flow component, the referenced flow must already exist. If it
doesn’t, deploy the flow first and then deploy the FlexiPage.
SEE ALSO:
Embed a Flow in a Lightning Page (Beta)
Limits and Considerations for Visual Workflow
Lightning Pages
Lightning Page Considerations and Limitations
Considerations for Two-Column Flows

Distribute a Flow URL
Users in your organization who don’t need a customized look and feel can run the flow via its URL.
Distribute a flow URL directly or through a custom button, link, or Web tab.

EDITIONS

1. From Setup, enter Flows in the Quick Find box, then select Flows.

Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience

2. Click the name of the flow.
3. Verify that there’s an active version.
Only users with the “Manage Force.com Flow” permission can run inactive flows. If the flow
contains subflow elements, the referenced flows must also have an active version.
4. Copy the flow URL, and append it to your instance.
For example:

Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

USER PERMISSIONS
To view flow detail pages:
• “Manage Force.com
Flow”

https://yourDomain.my.salesforce.com/flow/MyFlowName

If the flow was installed from a managed package, include the namespace prefix in the flow URL. For example:
https://yourDomain.my.salesforce.com/flow/namespace/MyFlowName

5. To set the initial values of your flow’s variables, append ?variable1=value1&variable2=value2 to the URL.
6. Distribute the flow URL.
Here are some examples:
• Create a custom button or link, and add it to a page layout.
• Create a Web tab, and add it to the appropriate profiles.

IN THIS SECTION:
Flow Runtime Experiences
Depending on how a flow is distributed, your users see either the Classic runtime or Lightning runtime UI when they run the flow.
Like its name suggests, Lightning runtime looks and feels like Lightning Experience.

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Choose Your Org’s Runtime Experience for URL-Based Flows
Are you distributing a flow via a URL? That includes things like direct URLs and custom buttons, as well as links in Setup. You can flip
one switch to upgrade all those flows to Lightning runtime.
Render Two-Column Screens from a Flow URL
When you distribute a flow using a URL, you can control whether to display the screens with one column or two columns. Two-column
screens are supported only for orgs that have enabled Lightning runtime.
Set Flow Variables from a Flow URL
When you distribute a flow using a URL, you can set the initial values of flow variables and collection variables by using parameters
in the URL.
Set Flow Finish Behavior with a Flow URL
By default, when a flow interview that uses screens finishes, a new interview for that flow begins and the user is redirected to the
first screen. If you want users to be redirected to another page within Salesforce when they click Finish, use the retURL parameter
in the flow URL.

EDITIONS
Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience
Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

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Distribute a Flow to Internal Users

When Lightning Runtime for Flows is
Not selected

Selected

Visualforce page

Classic runtime

Custom button

Classic runtime

Lightning runtime

Custom link

Classic runtime

Lightning runtime

Web tab

Classic runtime

Lightning runtime

Direct link

Classic runtime

Lightning runtime

Lightning Page

Do the Runtime Experiences Behave Differently?
For the most part, the only difference between the two runtime experiences is the look and feel. However, Lightning runtime doesn’t
support passing values to these types of variables from outside the flow.
• Picklist variables
• Multi-select picklist variables
• sObject variables
• Collection variables of any data type
SEE ALSO:
Choose Your Org’s Runtime Experience for URL-Based Flows
Considerations for Running Flows

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Distribute a Flow to Internal Users

EDITIONS

We have two flavors of runtime experience for your flow users. Classic runtime looks more like a
standard Visualforce page. Lightning runtime fits right in with Lightning Experience. To see a
comparison of the two runtime experiences, check out Flow Runtime Experiences.

Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience

To render all URL-based flows in Lightning runtime:

Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

1. From Setup, enter Process Automation Settings in the Quick Find box, then
select Process Automation Settings.
2. Select Enable Lightning Runtime for Flows.

USER PERMISSIONS

3. Save your changes.
This setting also lets you control whether a flow displays in one or two columns if you distribute
the flow via a URL or via a Lightning Page.

To edit process automation
settings:
• “Customize Application”

When enabled, flows use Lightning runtime when they’re run from:
• A direct link
• A custom button or link
• The Run button in the Cloud Flow Designer
• A Run link on the flow list page
• The Run button on a flow detail page
SEE ALSO:
Flow Runtime Experiences
Render Two-Column Screens from a Flow URL

Render Two-Column Screens from a Flow URL
When you distribute a flow using a URL, you can control whether to display the screens with one
column or two columns. Two-column screens are supported only for orgs that have enabled
Lightning runtime.

Prerequisites
Enable Lightning runtime so that your flows respect the specified layout.
1. From Setup, go to Process Automation Settings.
2. Select Enable Lightning Runtime for Flows.

Format
To display a flow’s screens in two columns:
/flow/flowName?flowLayout=twoColumn

154

EDITIONS
Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience
Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

Visual Workflow Guide

Distribute a Flow to Internal Users

Examples
This example displays a “Case Management” flow in two columns.
/flow/Case_Management?flowLayout=twoColumn

This example displays a “User Info” flow in two columns and sets the varUserFirst and varUserLast variables (both of type Text) to the
running user’s FirstNameand LastName field values.
/flow/User_Info?varUserFirst={!$User.FirstName}&varUserLast={!$User.LastName}&flowLayout=twoColumn

SEE ALSO:
Choose Your Org’s Runtime Experience for URL-Based Flows
Considerations for Two-Column Flows

Set Flow Variables from a Flow URL
When you distribute a flow using a URL, you can set the initial values of flow variables and collection
variables by using parameters in the URL.

EDITIONS

Implementation Tips

Available in: Salesforce
Classic

• You can’t set the values for sObject variables and sObject collection variables using URL
parameters. If the flow uses Lightning runtime, you also can’t set the values for picklist variables,
multi-select picklist variables, and collection variables of any data type.

Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

• The variable must have its Input/Output Type set to allow input access.
• Variable names are case-sensitive. For example, you can’t set the variable varNumber by entering VarNumber as a URL
parameter.
• When you distribute a flow, don’t pass a currency field value from a Salesforce record into a flow Currency variable with a URL
parameter. When a currency field is referenced through a merge field (such as {!Account.AnnualRevenue}), the value
includes the unit of currency’s symbol (for example, $). Flow variables of type Currency can accept only numeric values, so the flow
fails at run time. Instead, pass the record’s ID to a flow Text variable with a URL parameter. Then in the flow, use the ID to look up
that record’s value for the currency field.

Format
To set the initial value of a flow variable:
/flow/flowName?variableName=value

To set the initial value of a flow variable when launching a specific version of a flow:
/flow/flowName/flowVersionNumber?variableName=value

Note: Only users with the “Manage Force.com Flow” permission can run inactive flows.
To set the initial values of multiple flow variables:
/flow/flowName?variable1Name=value1&variable2Name=value2

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To set the initial values for items in a collection variable:
/flow/flowName?collection=value1&collection=value2

Valid Values
Variable
Type

Acceptable Values

Date

Merge field of type Date or YYYY-MM-DD

DateTime

Merge field of type Date/Time or YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ssZ

Text

Merge field of any type or a string

Number

Merge field of type Number or a numeric value

Currency

Merge field of type Number or a numeric value

Boolean

• Merge field of type Checkbox
• True values: true or 1
• False values: false or 0

Examples
The following example is a flow URL that is used in a custom button on a case page layout. When a user clicks that button, the flow
launches with the varID variable (of type Text) set to the case record’s CaseNumber field value.
/flow/Case_Management?varID={!Case.CaseNumber}

The following example sets the varUserFirst and varUserLast variables (both of type Text) to the running user’s FirstName and
LastName field values.
/flow/User_Info?varUserFirst={!$User.FirstName}&varUserLast={!$User.LastName}

The following example is a flow URL that is used in a custom button on a contact page layout. When a user clicks that button, the flow
launches and adds text values from the contact as items in the {!collNames} text collection variable.
/flow/Contact_Info?collNames={!Contact.FirstName}&collNames={!Contact.LastName}

Set Flow Finish Behavior with a Flow URL
By default, when a flow interview that uses screens finishes, a new interview for that flow begins
and the user is redirected to the first screen. If you want users to be redirected to another page
within Salesforce when they click Finish, use the retURL parameter in the flow URL.

EDITIONS
Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience
Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

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Format
To redirect users to a specific page in Salesforce after they click Finish:
/flow/flowName?retURL=page_name

where page_name is a relative URL (the part of the URL that comes after https://yourInstance.salesforce.com/).

Limitations
• You can't redirect flow users to a URL that’s external to your Salesforce organization.
• You can’t use a flow variable as the value for the retURL parameter. If you want to use a flow variable to redirect a user, such as to a
specific record, distribute the flow by using Visualforce.
• retURL can cause nested top and side navigation bars to render on the destination page.

Examples
The following flow URL redirects the user to the home tab for cases (https://yourInstance.salesforce.com/500/o).
/flow/Case_Management?retURL=500/o

The following flow URL sets the varUserFirst and varUserLast variables (both of type Text) to the running user’s FirstName and
LastName field values. When the flow interview finishes, the user is redirected to
https://yourInstance.salesforce.com/home/home.jsp.
/flow/User_Info?varUserFirst={!$User.FirstName}
&varUserLast={!$User.LastName}&retURL=home/home.jsp

SEE ALSO:
Distribute Your Flow
Troubleshoot Flow URLs
Set Flow Variables with the Flow URL

Embed a Flow in a Visualforce Page
To customize your flow’s look and feel for internal users, add the flow to a Visualforce page. Then
distribute that page through a Visualforce tab, custom button, or custom link.

EDITIONS

1. Find the flow’s unique name.

Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience

a. From Setup, enter Flows in the Quick Find box, then select Flows.
b. Click the name of the flow.
c. Copy the unique name of the flow.
2. From Setup, enter Visualforce Pages in the Quick Find box, then select
Visualforce Pages.

Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

USER PERMISSIONS

3. Define a new Visualforce page, or open an existing one.
4. Add the component somewhere between the
tags.
5. Set the name attribute to the unique name of the flow.

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version settings for
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For example:

If the flow is from a managed package, the name attribute must be in this format: namespace.flowuniquename.
6. Click Save.
7. Restrict which users can access the Visualforce page.
a. Click Visualforce Pages.
b. Click Security next to your Visualforce page.
c. Move all the appropriate profiles from Available Profiles to Enabled Profiles by using the add and remove buttons.
d. Click Save.
8. Add the Visualforce page to your Force.com app by using a custom button, link, or Visualforce tab.
IN THIS SECTION:
Set Flow Variable Values from a Visualforce Page
After you embed your flow in a Visualforce page, set the initial values of variables, sObject variables, collection variables, and sObject
collection variables through the component.
Get Flow Variable Values to a Visualforce Page
Flow variable values can be displayed in a Visualforce page. Once you’ve embedded your flow in a Visualforce page, you can use
Visualforce markup to get values for variables or sObject variables. To display values for a collection variable or an sObject collection
variable, you can use Visualforce markup to get the individual values contained in the collection.
Configure the Flow's Finish Behavior
By default, users who click Finish start a new interview and see the first screen of the flow. After you embed a flow in a Visualforce
page, configure the finishLocation attribute to route users to another page in Salesforce.

Set Flow Variable Values from a Visualforce Page
After you embed your flow in a Visualforce page, set the initial values of variables, sObject variables, collection variables, and sObject
collection variables through the component.
Note: You can set variables only at the beginning of an interview. The tags are evaluated only once, when
the flow is launched.
You can set only variables that allow input access. For each flow variable, input access is controlled by:
• The Input/Output Type variable field in the Cloud Flow Designer
• The isInput field on FlowVariable in the Metadata API
If you reference a variable that doesn’t allow input access, attempts to set the variable are ignored. Compilation can fail for the
Visualforce page, its component, or the Apex class.
The following table lists the ways you can set a flow’s variable, sObject variable, and sObject collection variable values using Visualforce.

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Method

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Variables

sObject Variables

Collection Variables

sObject Collection
Variables

Without a controller
With a standard controller
With a standard List
controller
With a custom Apex
controller
With an Interview Map

Setting Variable Values without a Controller
This example sets myVariable to the value 01010101 when the interview starts.

Setting Variable Values with a Standard Controller
You can use standard Visualforce controllers to set variables or sObject variables by passing in data from a record. This example sets the
initial value of myVariable to the Visualforce expression {!account} when the interview starts.

Setting an sObject Collection Variable Value with a Standard List Controller
Because sObject collection variables represent an array of values, you must use a standard list controller or a custom Apex controller.
This example sets myCollection to the value of {!accounts} when the interview starts.

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Setting Variable Values with a Custom Apex Controller
For finer control over your Visualforce page than a standard controller allows, write a custom Apex controller that sets the variable value,
and then reference that controller in your Visualforce page. This example uses Apex to set myVariable to a specific account’s Id
when the interview starts.
public class MyCustomController {
public Account apexVar {get; set;}
public MyCustomController() {
apexVar = [
SELECT Id, Name FROM Account
WHERE Name = ‘Acme’ LIMIT 1];
}
}

This example uses Apex to set an sObject collection variable myAccount to the Id and Name field values for every record with a
Name of Acme.
public class MyCustomController {
public Account[] myAccount {
get {
return [
SELECT Id, Name FROM account
WHERE Name = 'Acme'
ORDER BY Id
] ;
}
set {
myAccount = value;
}
}
public MyCustomController () {
}
}

Setting Variable Values with an Interview Map
This example uses an Interview map to set the value for accVar to a specific account’s Id when the interview starts.
public class MyCustomController {
public Flow.Interview.TestFlow myflow { get; set; }

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public MyCustomController() {
Map myMap = new Map();
myMap.put('accVar', [SELECT Id FROM Account
WHERE Name = 'Acme' LIMIT 1]);
myflow = new Flow.Interview.ModemTroubleShooting(myMap);
}
}

Here’s a similar example that sets the value for accVar to a new account when the interview starts.
public class MyCustomController {
public Flow.Interview.TestFlow myflow { get; set; }
public MyCustomController() {
Map> myMap = new Map>();
myMap.put('accVar', new Account(name = 'Acme'));
myflow = new Flow.Interview.ModemTroubleShooting(myMap);
}
}

This example uses a map to add two values to a string collection variable (stringCollVar) and two values to a number collection
variable (numberCollVar).
public class MyCustomController {
public Flow.Interview.flowname MyInterview { get; set; }
public MyCustomController() {
String[] value1 = new String[]{'First', 'Second'};
Double[] value2 = new Double[]{999.123456789, 666.123456789};
Map myMap = new Map();
myMap.put('stringCollVar', value1);
myMap.put('numberCollVar', value2);
MyInterview = new Flow.Interview.flowname(myMap);
}
}

Get Flow Variable Values to a Visualforce Page
Flow variable values can be displayed in a Visualforce page. Once you’ve embedded your flow in a Visualforce page, you can use Visualforce
markup to get values for variables or sObject variables. To display values for a collection variable or an sObject collection variable, you
can use Visualforce markup to get the individual values contained in the collection.

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Note: You can get only variables that allow output access. For each flow variable, output access is controlled by:
• The Input/Output Type variable field in the Cloud Flow Designer
• The isOutput field on FlowVariable in the Metadata API
If you reference a variable that doesn’t allow output access, attempts to get the variable are ignored. Compilation can fail for the
Visualforce page, its component, or the Apex class.
The following example uses an Apex class to get an sObject variable value from a flow and then displays it in a Visualforce page.
public class FlowController {
public Flow.Interview.flowname myflow { get; set; }
public Case apexCaseVar;
public Case getApexCaseVar() {
return myflow.caseVar;
}
}

This example uses an Apex class to get the values that are stored in a string collection variable (emailsCollVar) in the flow. Then
it uses a Visualforce page to run the flow interview. The Visualforce page iterates over the flow’s collection variable and displays the
values for each item in the collection.
public class FlowController {
public Flow.Interview.flowname myflow { get; set; }
public List getVarValue() {
if (myflow == null) {
return null;
}
else {
return (List)myflow.emailsCollVar;
}
}
}

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The following example uses an Apex class to set the flow to {!myflow} and then uses a Visualforce page to run the flow interview.
The Visualforce page uses a data table to iterate over the flow’s sObject collection variable and display the values for each item in the
collection.
public class MyCustomController {
public Flow.Interview.flowname myflow { get; set; }
}

Name

{!account['Name']}

Rating

Billing City

Employees

Depending on the contents of the sObject collection variable in your flow, here’s what that data table looks like.

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Configure the Flow's Finish Behavior
By default, users who click Finish start a new interview and see the first screen of the flow. After you embed a flow in a Visualforce page,
configure the finishLocation attribute to route users to another page in Salesforce.

Set finishLocation with the URLFOR Function
Note: You can't redirect flow users to a URL that’s external to your Salesforce organization.
To route users to a relative URL or a specific record or detail page, using its ID, use the URLFOR function.
This example routes users to the Salesforce home page.

This example routes users to a detail page with an ID of 001D000000IpE9X.

For details about URLFOR, see Functions in the Visualforce Developer’s Guide.

Set finishLocation with the $Page Variable
To route users to another Visualforce page without using URLFOR, set finishLocation to the name of the destination page with
the format {!$Page.pageName}.

For details about $Page, see Global Variables in the Visualforce Developer’s Guide.

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Set finishLocation with a Controller
You can set finishLocation in a few ways with a custom controller.
This sample controller configures a flow’s finish behavior in three different ways.
• getPageA instantiates a new page reference by passing a string to define the location.
• getPageB returns a string that is treated like a PageReference.
• getPageC returns a string that gets translated into a PageReference.
public class myFlowController {
public PageReference getPageA() {
return new PageReference('/300');
}
public String getPageB() {
return '/300';
}
public String getPageC() {
return '/apex/my_finish_page';
}
}

Here’s a sample Visualforce page references that controller and sets the flow finish behavior to the first option.

Congratulations! This is your new page.

If you use a standard controller to display a record on the same page as the flow, users who click Finish start a new flow interview and
see the first screen of the flow, without the record. This is because the id query string parameter isn’t preserved in the page URL. If
needed, configure the finishLocation to route users back to the record.

USER PERMISSIONS

For example, you can set up a self-service tool for your public Force.com site to help visitors generate
custom sales quotes. Because the flow is embedded in a Visualforce page, you can customize the
appearance of the flow so that it uses your company’s branding and style.

To create, edit, and set
version settings for
Visualforce pages:
• “Customize Application”

Note: When you make a flow available to site or portal users, point them to the Visualforce
page that contains the embedded flow, not the flow itself. Site and portal users aren’t allowed
to run flows directly.
To add a flow to a Visualforce page, embed it by using the component.
1. Find the flow’s unique name.
a. From Setup, enter Flows in the Quick Find box, then select Flows.
b. Click the name of the flow.
c. Copy the unique name of the flow.

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2. From Setup, enter Visualforce Pages in the Quick Find box, then select Visualforce Pages.
3. Define a new Visualforce page, or open an existing one.
4. Add the component somewhere between the tags.
5. Set the name attribute to the unique name of the flow.
For example:

If the flow is from a managed package, the name attribute must be in this format: namespace.flowuniquename.
6. Click Save.
7. Restrict which users can access the Visualforce page.
Any external users with access to the Visualforce page can run the embedded flow.
a. Click Visualforce Pages.
b. Click Security next to your Visualforce page.
c. Move all the appropriate profiles from Available Profiles to Enabled Profiles by using the add and remove buttons.
d. Click Save.
8. Distribute your Visualforce page by taking one of these actions.
• Add the Visualforce page to your Force.com site.
• Define a custom Visualforce tab by using the Visualforce page, and then add that tab to your portal or community.

SEE ALSO:
Configure the Flow's Finish Behavior
Get Flow Variable Values to a Visualforce Page
Set Flow Variable Values from a Visualforce Page

Launch a Flow Automatically
Some flows don’t require any user interaction to start. To enable a system to automatically launch a flow, use the start Apex method,
a process, or a workflow action.
Most of these methods can be used only with an autolaunched flow. An autolaunched flow can be launched without user interaction,
such as from a process or the Apex interview.start method. Autolaunched flows run in bulk and without user interaction. They
can’t contain steps, screens, choices, or dynamic choices in the active or latest flow version.When a flow user invokes an autolaunched
flow, the active flow version is run. If there’s no active version, the latest version is run. When a flow admin invokes an autolaunched
flow, the latest version is always run.
IN THIS SECTION:
Start a Flow with a Process
Just like workflow rules, processes start when a certain object’s records are created or edited. Add a flow action to give a process
even more functionality. For example, create a process that checks if a new feed item is a question. If it is, wait a day and then use a
flow to check whether a Best Comment has been selected or not. If it hasn’t, use that question to create a case.

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Start a Flow with a Workflow Action—Pilot
Create a flow trigger workflow action to launch a flow from workflow rules. With flow triggers, you can automate complex business
processes—create flows to perform logic, and have events trigger the flows via workflow rules—without writing code. For example,
your flow looks up and assigns the relevant entitlement for a case. Create a flow trigger to launch the flow whenever a case is created,
so that all new cases are automatically set with a default entitlement.
Invoke a Flow from the Force.com REST API
Use the Custom Invocable Actions endpoint to invoke an autolaunched flow from the Force.com REST API.
Invoke a Flow with Apex
Use the start method in the Flow.Interview class to launch an autolaunched flow or user provisioning flow from Apex.

Start a Flow with a Process
Just like workflow rules, processes start when a certain object’s records are created or edited. Add
a flow action to give a process even more functionality. For example, create a process that checks
if a new feed item is a question. If it is, wait a day and then use a flow to check whether a Best
Comment has been selected or not. If it hasn’t, use that question to create a case.
1. Create and activate the autolaunched flow for the process to launch.
2. Create the process that you plan to launch this flow from.

USER PERMISSIONS
To create or change
processes:
• “Manage Force.com
Flow”
AND

For details, see “Create a Process” in the Salesforce Help.

“View All Data”

3. Add a “Launch a Flow” action to the process.
a. For Flow, search for and select the flow that you created.
b. Optionally, click Add Row to set values for the flow’s variables.
4. Activate the process.

Start a Flow with a Workflow Action—Pilot
Create a flow trigger workflow action to launch a flow from workflow rules. With flow triggers, you
can automate complex business processes—create flows to perform logic, and have events trigger
the flows via workflow rules—without writing code. For example, your flow looks up and assigns
the relevant entitlement for a case. Create a flow trigger to launch the flow whenever a case is
created, so that all new cases are automatically set with a default entitlement.
Note: The pilot program for flow trigger workflow actions is closed. If you've already enabled
the pilot in your org, you can continue to create and edit flow trigger workflow actions. If you
didn't enable the pilot in your org, use the Flows action in Process Builder instead.
Before you begin, review the special behavior and limitations of flow triggers. See Flow Trigger
Considerations (Pilot).
To set up a workflow rule to launch a flow:
1. Create and activate the autolaunched flow to launch from this workflow action.
2. Create the workflow rule that you plan to add this workflow action to.

EDITIONS
Available in: Salesforce
Classic
Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

USER PERMISSIONS
To view workflow rules and
actions:
• “View Setup and
Configuration”
To create or change
workflow rules and actions:
• “Customize Application”

3. Define the flow trigger.
4. Associate the flow trigger to the workflow rule.

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Flow Trigger Considerations (Pilot)
Flow trigger workflow actions have special behaviors and limitations.
Note: The pilot program for flow trigger workflow actions is closed. If you've already enabled
the pilot in your org, you can continue to create and edit flow trigger workflow actions. If you
didn't enable the pilot in your org, use the Flows action in Process Builder instead.
Understand these considerations before you create flow triggers or add them to workflow rules.
• Flow triggers are available only for workflow rules. You can’t use them as actions elsewhere,
for example, in approval processes.

EDITIONS
Available in: Salesforce
Classic
Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

• Flow triggers are available on most—but not all—objects that are supported by workflow rules.
You can see the list of supported objects when you create a new flow trigger. From Setup, enter Flow Triggers in the Quick
Find box, then click Flow Triggers.
• Only active, autolaunched flows can be launched by flow triggers. However, if a flow trigger is in test mode, administrators run the
latest flow version while other users run the active flow version.
• Flows that are launched from workflow rules are run in system context, which means that user permissions, field-level security, and
sharing rules aren’t taken into account during flow execution.
• If a flow trigger fails at run time, the user who created or edited the record to meet the workflow rule criteria won’t be able to save
the record. To troubleshoot run time issues, see the flow action events in the Workflow category of debug logs, which show the
flow version and the values passed into flow variables.
• A flow trigger can set the values of up to 25 variables and sObject variables in the flow, with the following limitations.
– Flow triggers can’t use multi-select picklist fields to set flow variables or sObject variables.
– When a flow trigger uses a currency field to set a flow variable, only the amount is passed into the flow. Any currency ISO code
or locale information is ignored. If your organization uses multiple currencies, the flow trigger uses the amount in the currency
of the record that contains the specified currency field.
– Flow triggers can’t pass values into sObject collection variables in flows.
• Always keep one version of the flow active if it’s referenced by an active workflow rule’s flow trigger.
• Once you activate a workflow rule using the flow trigger, don’t modify or add a version of the flow to include screens or other
elements that would violate the run restrictions for an autolaunched flow. If you modify a flow to no longer be autolaunched, it can’t
be launched by flow triggers. To work around this situation, you can save the non-autolaunched flow as a new flow and change the
new flow to become autolaunched. Then update the flow triggers to launch the new flow.
• Flow triggers aren’t available as time-dependent workflow actions. You can add flow triggers to workflow rules only as immediate
workflow actions.
• When the system executes a workflow rule with multiple flow triggers, those flows aren’t run in any particular order.
• In a transaction, flow triggers are executed after all workflow field updates, including any Apex triggers and standard validations that
are executed as a result of those workflow field updates. After executing flow triggers, the system executes escalation rules.
• Flows that are launched from workflow rules are governed by the per-transaction limits already enforced by Apex.
• When flows are launched from workflow rules that are triggered by bulk loads or imports, the flows’ data manipulation language
(DML) operations are executed in bulk to reduce the number of calls required and to optimize system performance. The execution
of any of the following flow elements qualifies as a DML operation: Record Create, Record Update, Record Delete, Fast Create, Fast
Update, or Fast Delete.
For example, suppose that you use Data Loader or the Bulk API to update 50 records, and those updates meet the criteria of a
workflow rule with a flow trigger action. In response, the system executes 50 instances of the flow within the same transaction. Each
instance of a running flow is called an interview. The system attempts to execute each DML operation across all the interviews in
the transaction at the same time. Suppose that five of those interviews are executing the same branch of the flow, which has a

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Record Update element called “SetEntitlement.” The system waits for all five interviews to reach that element, and then executes all
five record updates in bulk.
• Flow triggers aren’t available in change sets.
• Flow triggers aren’t packageable.

Define a Flow Trigger—Pilot
After you create an autolaunched flow, create a flow trigger to launch that flow as part of a workflow
rule.
Note: The pilot program for flow trigger workflow actions is closed. If you've already enabled
the pilot in your org, you can continue to create and edit flow trigger workflow actions. If you
didn't enable the pilot in your org, use the Flows action in Process Builder instead.
1. From Setup, enter Flow Triggers in the Quick Find box, then select Flow Triggers.
2. Click New Flow Trigger.
3. Select the same object as the workflow rule, and then click Next.

EDITIONS
Available in: Salesforce
Classic
Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

USER PERMISSIONS

4. Configure the flow trigger.
To view workflow rules and
actions:
• “View Setup and
Configuration”

Field

Description

Name

Name of the flow trigger.

Unique Name

Enter a unique name to refer to this component in the API. The Unique
Name field can contain only underscores and alphanumeric characters.
It must be unique within the selected object type, begin with a letter,
not include spaces, not end with an underscore, and not contain two
consecutive underscores.

Protected
Component

Reserved for future use.

Flow

Unique name of the autolaunched flow that this workflow action
launches.

Set Flow
Variables

Whether to pass values into the flow’s variables and sObject variables.

To create or change
workflow rules and actions:
• “Customize Application”

5. If you select Set Flow Variables, specify their names and values.
Click Set Another Value to set up to 25 variables.
6. To put the flow trigger in test mode, select Administrators run the latest flow version.
When selected and an administrator triggers the workflow rule, the flow trigger launches the latest version of the flow. For all other
users, the flow trigger always launches the active version of the flow.
The same values are passed into the flow variables and sObject variables whether the flow trigger launches the active or latest flow
version.
7. Click Save.
Don’t forget to associate the flow trigger to a workflow rule.

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Associate the Flow Trigger with a Workflow Rule
Add the flow trigger as an immediate action on your workflow rule.
Note: The pilot program for flow trigger workflow actions is closed. If you've already enabled
the pilot in your org, you can continue to create and edit flow trigger workflow actions. If you
didn't enable the pilot in your org, use the Flows action in Process Builder instead.

EDITIONS
Available in: Salesforce
Classic
Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

Before you begin, create:
• An autolaunched flow
• A workflow rule
• A flow trigger that launches the autolaunched flow

USER PERMISSIONS

1. From Setup, enter Workflow Rules in the Quick Find box, then select Workflow
Rules.
2. Select the workflow rule.

To select existing actions:
• “Customize Application”

3. Click Edit in the Workflow Actions section.
4. In the Immediate Workflow Actions section, click Add Workflow Action > Select Existing Action.
Flow triggers aren’t available as time-dependent workflow actions. You can add flow triggers to workflow rules only as immediate
workflow actions.
5. In the Search drop-down list, select Flow Trigger.
The Available Actions box lists all existing flow triggers.
6. Select the flow trigger to associate with this workflow rule. Move the flow trigger to Selected Actions by using the right arrow.
7. Click Save.

Invoke a Flow from the Force.com REST API
Use the Custom Invocable Actions endpoint to invoke an autolaunched flow from the Force.com REST API.
Example: This example invokes the active version of the flow “Escalate_to_Case”.
POST /v33.0/actions/custom/flow/Escalate_to_Case

The request sets values for two of the flow’s input variables: CommentCount and FeedItemId. Once invoked, the flow
checks whether:
• A given feed item has more than five comments and
• A best comment hasn’t been selected yet
{
"inputs" : [ {
"CommentCount" : 6,
"FeedItemId" : "0D5D0000000cfMY"
} ]
}

Invoke a Flow with Apex
Use the start method in the Flow.Interview class to launch an autolaunched flow or user provisioning flow from Apex.

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Example: The following includes a sample controller that starts a flow and the corresponding Visualforce page. The Visualforce
page contains an input box and a start button. When the user enters a number in the input box and clicks Start, the controller’s
start method is called. The button saves the user-entered value to the flow’s input variable and launches the flow using the
start method. The flow doubles the value of input and assigns it to the output variable, and the output label displays
the value for output by using the getVariableValue method.
public class FlowController {
//Instance of the Flow
public Flow.Interview.doubler myFlow {get; set;}
public Double value {get; set;}
public Double getOutput() {
if (myFlow == null) return null;
return (Double)(myFlow.getVariableValue('v1'));
}
public void start() {
Map myMap = new Map();
myMap.put('v1', input);
myFlow = new Flow.Interview.doubler(myMap);
myFlow.start();
}
}

The following is the Visualforce page that uses the sample flow controller.

v1 = {!output}

value :

IN THIS SECTION:
start()
Invokes an autolaunched flow or user provisioning flow.
getVariableValue(variableName)
Returns the value of the specified flow variable. The flow variable can be in the flow embedded in the Visualforce page, or in a
separate flow that is called by a subflow element.

start()
Invokes an autolaunched flow or user provisioning flow.

Signature
public Void start()

171

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Deploy a Flow to Other Organizations

Return Value
Type: Void

Usage
This method can be used only with flows that have one of these types.
• Autolaunched Flow
• User Provisioning Flow
For details, see “Flow Types” in the Visual Workflow Guide.
When a flow user invokes an autolaunched flow, the active flow version is run. If there’s no active version, the latest version is run. When
a flow admin invokes an autolaunched flow, the latest version is always run.

getVariableValue(variableName)
Returns the value of the specified flow variable. The flow variable can be in the flow embedded in the Visualforce page, or in a separate
flow that is called by a subflow element.

Signature
public Object getVariableValue(String variableName)

Parameters
variableName

Type: String
Specifies the unique name of the flow variable.

Return Value
Type: Object

Usage
The returned variable value comes from whichever flow the interview is running. If the specified variable can’t be found in that flow, the
method returns null.
This method checks for the existence of the variable at run time only, not at compile time.

Deploy a Flow to Other Organizations
Flows created in the Cloud Flow Designer can be included in change sets and packages. The recipient
organization of either the change set or package must have Visual Workflow enabled.

EDITIONS
Available in: Salesforce
Classic

IN THIS SECTION:
Considerations for Deploying Flows with Change Sets
Before you use change sets to deploy a flow, understand the limits and unexpected behaviors
that are related to component dependencies, deployment, and flow triggers.

172

Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

Visual Workflow Guide

Deploy a Flow to Other Organizations

Considerations for Deploying Flows with Packages
Flows can be included in both managed and unmanaged packages. Before you deploy one, understand the limitations and behaviors
of packages that contain flows.

Considerations for Deploying Flows with Change Sets
Before you use change sets to deploy a flow, understand the limits and unexpected behaviors that
are related to component dependencies, deployment, and flow triggers.

EDITIONS

Component Dependencies

Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience

• If you plan to deploy a flow with change sets, consider limitations in migration support.
Make sure your flows reference only fields and components that are available in change
sets.
• When you view the dependent components for the change set, the Component
Dependencies page lists the dependencies for all versions of the flow. Add all interdependent
components for the relevant flow version to the outbound change set.

Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

• If a component is referenced by the following flow elements, the Component Dependencies
page doesn’t display that component. To deploy the flow successfully, manually add those referenced components to the change
set.
– Apex
– Email Alerts
– Post to Chatter
– Quick Actions
– Send Email
– Submit for Approval
For example, if you use an email alert, manually add the email template that is used by that email alert.
Deployment
• You can include only one version of a flow in a change set.
• An active flow in a change set is deployed to its destination as inactive. Activate the flow manually after deployment.
• If the flow has no active version when you upload the outbound change set, the latest inactive version is used.
• Deploying or redeploying a flow with change sets creates a version of the flow in the destination organization.
Flow Triggers
Flow triggers aren’t available in change sets.
The pilot program for flow trigger workflow actions is closed. If you've already enabled the pilot in your org, you can continue to
create and edit flow trigger workflow actions. If you didn't enable the pilot in your org, use the Flows action in Process Builder instead.
SEE ALSO:
Change Sets

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Deploy a Flow to Other Organizations

Considerations for Deploying Flows with Packages
Flows can be included in both managed and unmanaged packages. Before you deploy one,
understand the limitations and behaviors of packages that contain flows.

EDITIONS

Component Dependencies

Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience

• If you plan to deploy a flow with packages, consider limitations in migration support. Make
sure your flows reference only packageable components and fields.
• Referential integrity works the same for flows as it does for other packaged elements.
• If any of the following elements are used in a flow, packageable components that they
reference aren’t included in the package automatically. To deploy the package successfully,
manually add those referenced components to the package.

Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

– Apex
– Email Alerts
– Post to Chatter
– Quick Actions
– Send Email
– Submit for Approval
For example, if you use an email alert, manually add the email template that is used by that email alert.
Flow Status
You can package only active flows. The active version of the flow is determined when you upload a package version. If none of the
flow’s versions are active, the upload fails.
Updating Packages
• To update a managed package with a different flow version, activate that version and upload the package again. You don’t need
to add the newly activated version to the package. However, if you activate a flow version by mistake and upload the package,
you’ll distribute that flow version to everyone. Be sure to verify which version you really want to upload.
• You can’t include flows in package patches.
Other Limitations
• If you register your namespace after you referenced a flow in a Visualforce page or Apex code, don’t forget to add the namespace
to the flow name. Otherwise, the package will fail to install.
• If someone installs a flow from a managed package, error emails for that flow’s interviews don’t include any details about the
individual flow elements. The email is sent to the user who installed the flow.
• Flow triggers aren’t packageable.
The pilot program for flow trigger workflow actions is closed. If you've already enabled the pilot in your org, you can continue
to create and edit flow trigger workflow actions. If you didn't enable the pilot in your org, use the Flows action in Process Builder
instead.
• In a development organization, you can’t delete a flow or flow version after you upload it to a released or beta managed package.
SEE ALSO:
Considerations for Installed Flows
Create a Package

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Why Did My Flow Interview Fail?

Why Did My Flow Interview Fail?
To troubleshoot a failed flow interview, use the flow fault email. You can also set up temporary
Screen or Send Email elements to identify the problem.

EDITIONS

IN THIS SECTION:

Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience

Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

Limitations of Emails About Flow Errors (Beta)
The email about errors in flow interviews has some limitations for Screen, Lookup, Create, and Subflow elements—as well as some
general limitations.
Add Temporary Elements to a Flow
Add Screen or Send Email elements to the flow so you can check what the resources’ values are at any given time. Once you’ve
solved the problem, delete temporary Screen elements.
Troubleshoot Flow URLs
If you’re distributing a flow and the custom button, custom link, or a direct flow URL isn’t working as expected, verify the referenced
flow. In addition, verify its variables if you’re passing values into a flow from the URL.

Emails About Flow Errors
Every time a flow interview fails, the admin who created the associated flow gets an email. The
email includes the error message from the failure and details about every flow element that the
interview executed.
Note: This release contains a beta version of the flow error email that is production quality
but has known limitations. You can provide feedback and suggestions for the flow error email
on the IdeaExchange.
If the interview failed at multiple elements, the admin receives multiple emails, and the final email
includes an error message for each failure. If a flow uses fault connectors, its interviews can fail at
multiple elements.

EDITIONS
Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience
Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

Example:
An error occurred at element Apex_Plug_in_1.
List index out of bounds: 0.
An error occurred at element Fast_Delete_1.
DELETE --- There is nothing in Salesforce matching your delete criteria.

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Limitations of Emails About Flow Errors (Beta)

An error occurred at element Email_Alert_1.
Missing required input parameter: SObjectRowId.

SEE ALSO:
Limitations of Emails About Flow Errors (Beta)
Customize What Happens When a Flow Fails
Why Did My Flow Interview Fail?

Limitations of Emails About Flow Errors (Beta)
The email about errors in flow interviews has some limitations for Screen, Lookup, Create, and
Subflow elements—as well as some general limitations.
Note: This release contains a beta version of the flow error email that is production quality
but has known limitations. You can provide feedback and suggestions for the flow error email
on the IdeaExchange.
General
• If the user who started the flow doesn’t have a first name, null replaces the user's first
name in the “How the Interview Started” section.

EDITIONS
Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience
Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

• Variable assignments display in this pattern: {!variable} (prior value) =
field/variable (new value). If the variable had no prior value, the parentheses display as empty. For example:
{!varStatus} () = Status (Delivered)

• If you install a flow from a managed package, error emails for that flow’s interviews don’t include any details about the individual
flow elements. The email is sent to the user who installed the flow.
Screen elements
Password fields display in plain text, just like if you reference a password field in a Display Text field.
Lookup elements
The email displays lookup elements as “query” elements. Record Lookup displays as Record Query, and Fast Lookup displays as Fast
Query.
Subflow elements
• The merge field annotation ({!variable} as opposed to just variable) is missing for variables in a referenced flow. For
example, when an interview enters a subflow and gives details about the inputs, the subflow's variable is subVariable
instead of {!subVariable}.
• If the error occurs in a referenced flow, the email gets sent to the author of the master flow, but the subject references the name
of the referenced flow.
• If you see multiple “Entered flow ReferencedFlowName version ReferencedFlowVersion” messages with no
“Exited ReferencedFlowName version ReferencedFlowVersion” messages in between them, the flow user
navigated backwards. To prevent this scenario, adjust the navigation options in the first screen of the referenced flow so that
the user can’t click Previous.
SEE ALSO:
Emails About Flow Errors
Why Did My Flow Interview Fail?

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Add Temporary Elements to a Flow

Add Temporary Elements to a Flow
Add Screen or Send Email elements to the flow so you can check what the resources’ values are at
any given time. Once you’ve solved the problem, delete temporary Screen elements.

EDITIONS

1. Create a single text template that contains the values of all resources and the fault message.

Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience

2. For each fault path, use the text template to configure one of the following elements.
• A Screen element that uses the text template in a Display Text Field. (Only if the flow’s type
supports Screen elements.)
• A Send Email element that uses the text template as the body and your email as the recipient.
• A Post to Chatter element that uses the text template as the message. Consider creating a
Chatter group specifically for flow errors.
3. Test the flow.
Example: Here’s a text template for the Calculate Discounts on Opportunities flow in the
Cloud Flow Designer Workbook.
RESOURCE VALUES for “Calculate Discounts on Opportunities”
opptyID: {!opptyID}
AccountID: {!AccountID}
AccountRevenue: {!AccountRevenue}
Full_Discount outcome: {!Full_Discount}
Partial_Discount outcome: {!Partial_Discount}
Discount: {!Discount}
ERROR
{!$Flow.FaultMessage}

After each element in the flow, add a temporary Post to Chatter element. Each Post to Chatter
element is configured to use:
• The text template as the post’s message
• The “Flow Troubleshooting” Chatter group as the post’s target
Configure the Record Lookup and Record Update elements’ fault connecters so that they
route to the Post to Chatter elements.

177

Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

USER PERMISSIONS
To open, edit, or create a
flow in the Cloud Flow
Designer:
• “Manage Force.com
Flow”

Visual Workflow Guide

Troubleshoot Flow URLs

This way, the flow posts to the Chatter group after the Record Lookup, Decision, Assignment, and Record Update elements are
executed. Each post provides insight into the values of each resource throughout the flow. If the flow fails, the error is included in
the Chatter posts.
After you identify and fix the problem with the flow, remove the temporary elements.

SEE ALSO:
Why Did My Flow Interview Fail?

Troubleshoot Flow URLs
If you’re distributing a flow and the custom button, custom link, or a direct flow URL isn’t working
as expected, verify the referenced flow. In addition, verify its variables if you’re passing values into
a flow from the URL.
To make sure that the URL can find the right flow, verify that:
• The flow that the URL references hasn’t been deleted or deactivated.
• The flow name is spelled and capitalized correctly. It must be an exact, case-sensitive match to
the flow’s Unique Name.

178

EDITIONS
Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience
Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

Visual Workflow Guide

Visual Workflow Terminology

If your flow URL references a specific flow version, verify that the version hasn’t been deleted or deactivated.
If you’re using the URL to pass values into the flow and the URL can’t access the variable, the parameter that references the variable is
ignored.
To make sure that the URL can find the right flow variable, verify that each variable you’re trying to pass values into:
• Is spelled and capitalized correctly. It must be an exact, case-sensitive match to the variable.
• Allows input access. The variable’s Input/Output Type must be set to “Input Only” or “Input and Output.”
• Hasn’t been renamed in the flow.
• Hasn’t been removed from the flow.
• Isn’t an sObject variable or an sObject collection variable.
In addition, make sure the value that you’re trying to pass into the variable is compatible with the variable’s data type and is correctly
formatted.
SEE ALSO:
Set Flow Finish Behavior with a Flow URL
Set Flow Variables with the Flow URL
Set Flow Variables from a Flow URL
Why Did My Flow Interview Fail?

Visual Workflow Terminology
The following terminology is used for Visual Workflow in Salesforce:
Cloud Flow Designer
Cloud-based application that lets administrators create a flow for use in Salesforce.
Connector
Connectors determine the available paths that a flow can take at run time.
Element
Each element represents an action that the flow can execute. Examples of such actions include
reading or writing Salesforce data, displaying information and collecting data from flow users,
executing business logic, or manipulating data.

EDITIONS
Available in: both Salesforce
Classic and Lightning
Experience
Available in: Enterprise,
Performance, Unlimited,
and Developer Editions

Flow
A flow is an application that can execute logic, interact with the Salesforce database, call Apex classes, and collect data from users.
You can build flows by using the Cloud Flow Designer.
Flow Interview
A flow interview is a running instance of a flow.
Master Flow
A master flow is a flow that contains a subflow element. The term “master” is used to distinguish it from the flow that is referenced
and called by the subflow element.
Resource
Each resource represents a value that you can reference throughout the flow.

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Visual Workflow Terminology

Subflow
A subflow element references another flow, which it calls at run time. The flow that contains the subflow element is referred to as
the master flow.
SEE ALSO:
Cloud Flow Designer
Visual Workflow

180

INDEX

usage 158, 161

E
Elements
Apex plug-in 59
assignment 60
Call Apex 61
decision 61
email alert 62
fast create 63
fast delete 64
fast lookup 65
fast update 67
fault connector 52
fault connector, best practice 53, 55
fault connector, default behavior 52
fault connector, examples 55
loop 67
Post to Chatter 73
quick actions 72
record create 68
record delete 69
record lookup 70
record update 71
screen 75–77, 79
Send Email 79
step 80
subflow 59, 83
Submit for Approval 81
Email
send from flow 46, 79
Email Alert element 62
Event types, flow
absolute time alarm 127

A
Absolute Alarm Event
example 140
Alarm events
absolute time 127
relative time 128
Apex
call from a flow 46
Apex Plug-in element 59
Approvals
submit from a flow 81
Assignment element
adding 60
configuring 60
operators 108

C
Call Apex element 61
Chatter
post from a flow 73
Choice 89
Clone records, flow
Fast Create element 49
Cloud Flow Designer
overview 31
system requirements 31
Collection
example 135, 141
Collection variable
example 134
populate with values 50
Conditions
flow 45
Constant 92
Create a Flow 29
Cross-object references
in flows 103–106

F
Fast Create element 63
Fast Delete element 64
Fast Lookup element 65
Fast Update element 67
Fault Connector element
best practice 53, 55
default behavior 52
examples 55
flow
activating 145

D
Decision element
adding 61
configuring 61
Dynamic Record Choice 92

181

Index

Flow
absolute time alarms 127
accessibility 29
administration considerations 26
building blocks 30
call Apex 46
call email alert workflow action 62
Classic runtime 147, 152
clone record, Fast Create 49
conditions 45
connectors, types of 51, 107
considerations 4
considerations, Cloud Flow Designer 14
considerations, large flows 15
considerations, two-column layout 16
creating 29
creating records 39
delete waiting interviews 145
deleting 146
deleting records 43
delivering to users 146
delivering to users, external 165
delivering to users, internal 147, 149, 157
design considerations 12–16
design considerations, formula 18
differences from Process Builder 2
differences from Workflow 2
editing properties 133, 143
elements overview 57
embedding in Lightning Page 149
embedding in Visualforce pages 157, 165
formula limitations 18
global variables 95
in change sets 173
in Lightning Pages, considerations 150
inaccessible fields 21, 24
Invoke quick action 72
launching from processes 167
launching from workflow rules 167
Lightning runtime 147, 152
Lightning runtime, enable 154
limits 5–6
looking up records 37
managing 142
managing connectors 36
managing elements 36
managing resources 36
modifying 144
opening 144

Flow (continued)
operators 107
operators, assignment 108
operators, conditions 114
operators, record filter 121
passing values into 37
pause, enable 146
process action 167
querying records 37
reference cross-object field values 103–106
relative time alarms 128
resources overview 87
run time considerations 28
runtime experiences 147, 152
saving 35
searching 33
send email 46, 79
setting start element 34
settings 23, 146, 154
sharing 146–147, 149, 157, 165
submit record for approval 81
testing 144
time-based 19
time-based considerations 19
troubleshooting 175, 177
troubleshooting, emails 175–176
type 132
updating records 41
wait 84
wait event types 126
wait, waiting conditions 86
workflow action 167
workflow action considerations 168
Flow collection values
getting 161
setting 158
Flow condition
operators 114
Flow connectors
adding 36
editing 36
removing 36
Flow constant values
getting 161
setting 158
Flow Designer
user interface 31
Flow elements
adding 36

182

Index

Flow elements (continued)
editing 36
removing 36
Flow event types
absolute time alarm 127
Flow examples
absolute alarm event 140
loop through a collection 135, 141
populate a String collection variable 134
relative alarm event 136, 138
wait for many events, all 136
wait for many events, any 138
wait for one event 140
Flow Fast Create element
enforce field-level security 23
ignore read-only fields 23
read-only fields 23
Flow Fast Update element
enforce field-level security 23
ignore read-only fields 23
read-only fields 23
Flow finish location
setting via URL 154, 156
Flow formula resource
create 94
limitations 18
Flow interviews
delete 145
Flow record filters
operators 121
Flow resources
adding 36
editing 36
formula, create 94
formula, limitations 18
removing 36
Flow screen
validate user input 44
Flow sObject variable values
getting 161
setting 158
Flow trigger
associated with workflow rule 170
considerations 168
defining 167
test mode 167
Flow URL
setting finish location 154, 156
setting flow variable values 155

Flow URL (continued)
troubleshooting 178
Flow variable values
getting 161
setting 158
setting via URL 155
Flows in packages 173

G
Global actionQuick action
Invoke in flow 72
Global constants 95
Global variables
in flows 95

L
Lightning App Builder
considerations for adding Flow components 150
embedding flows 149
Limits
flow 5–6
Loop element
adding 67
configuring 67
example 135, 141

M
multi-select choice fields 17

O
Object-specific action
Invoke in flow 72
Operators
flow assignment element 108
flow condition 114
flow record filters 121

P
Palette, searching 34
Picklist Choice 97
Populate variable with values
collection variable 50
Post to Chatter element 73
Process Builder
differences from flow 2
differences from Workflow 2

Q
Quick action element 72

183

Index

Record Create element 68
Record Delete element 69
Record Lookup element 70
Record Update element 71
Relative Alarm Event
example 136, 138
Resources
choice 78, 89
Collection variable 91
constant 92
dynamic record choice 78, 92
global constants 95
picklist choice 78, 97
sObject collection 99
sObject variable 100
system variables 101
text template 102
variable 102
variable in referenced flow 48

Test mode for flow triggers 167
Text Template 102
Troubleshooting
flow URL 178
flows 175
flows, add temporary elements 177
flows, emails about errors 175–176
flows, fault email 175–176

S
Saving a flow 35
Screen
choice fields 78
choice resources 78
Screen element
about multi-select choice fields 17
adding 75
choice fields 77
configuring output fields on the Field Settings tab 79
configuring the Field Settings tab 76, 79
configuring the General Info tab 75
configuring user input fields on the Field Settings tab 76
editing 75
settings 75–76, 79
Searching
a flow 33
the Palette 34
Send Email element 79
SObject variable 100
sObject Variable, flow
copy values to new sObject variable 25
Step element 80
Subflow element 59, 83
Submit for Approval element 81
System variables 101

V
Variable 102
Variable in referenced flow 48
Visual Workflow
administration considerations 26
considerations 4
considerations, Cloud Flow Designer 14
considerations, large flows 15
considerations, two-column layout 16
design considerations 12–16
design considerations, formulas 18
design considerations, time-based flows 19
formula limitations 18
run time considerations 28
Visualforce
embedding flows 157, 165
getting flow variable values 161
setting flow variable values 158

W
Wait element
example 136, 138, 140
Wait event types
flow 126
Wait events
relative time 128
Wait in a flow
configure 84
event types 126
waiting conditions 86
Waiting conditions
flow 86
Workflow
differences from Process Builder 2
differences from Visual Workflow 2
flow trigger considerations 168
flow triggers 167

184

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