Visual Workflow Implementation Guide

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Understanding the Flow Designer User Interface

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

Visual Workflow allows administrators to build applications, known as flows, that guide users through screens for collecting and updating data. For example, you can use Visual Workflow to script calls for a customer support center or to generate real-time quotes for a sales organization.

The Flow Designer user interface has several functional areas.Flow Designer UI

Button Bar (1)

Use the buttons in the button bar to save, close, undo or redo changes to run, or view properties of your flow. The status indicator on the right side of the bar shows whether your flow is active or inactive, saved or unsaved, and whether you got any warnings or errors upon saving. You can click the notification of warnings or errors to see all of them in a list. Warnings and errors in the list are based on the state of the flow at your last save, not the present state of the flow.
Save and Save As
Depending on your needs, you can quick-save, save a new flow, or save a new flow version. To find out more about how save works, see Saving a Flow.
Run
Runs the most recent save of the flow you’re working in. 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.
Run with Latest
Only appears if the open flow contains a subflow element. Runs the most recent save of the flow you’re working in, and each subflow element runs the latest version of its referenced flow, even if that version is not active.
Close
Clicking Close from within an unsaved flow returns you to the flow list page. Clicking Close from within a saved flow returns you to the flow detail page.
Undo (Undo button) and Redo (Redo button)
Undo or redo recent actions on the main canvas.
Copy (Copy button) and Paste (Paste button)
Copy and paste selected elements on the main canvas. Click to select a single element, or click and drag to select multiple elements on the canvas. Once you’ve selected what you want to copy, click Copy (Copy button), and then click Paste (Paste button). You can undo or redo a paste action, but not a copy.

When you copy and paste an element, the new copy has the unique name of the original, appended with “_x”, where “x” is a number. The first copy of an element has “_0” appended to its unique name, and the number increments from there with subsequent copies of the same element.

Note

Flow Properties (Properties button)
Shows you information about your flow, such as its name, unique name, description, version, and created and modified dates. You can edit the name and description of your flow any time, but you can only change its unique name when saving it for the first time.

Main Canvas (2)

To move an element, drag it around the canvas. If the element is connected to a line, the line moves with it. You can connect items on the canvas by clicking the node beneath the source element and dragging and dropping a line anywhere onto a target element. To select multiple elements, either drag a square around a group or use control-click to select individual elements. Double-click any element in the main canvas to edit it.

Zoom Control (3)

Combined with the search options on the Explorer tab, the zoom control helps you manage large, complex flows.

Explorer Tab (4)

The Explorer tab is a library of all elements and resources added to the flow. Double-click items in the list to edit them. Single-click an item to view its details and usage in the Description pane. Use the Explorer’s search options to quickly find an element or resource in the flow. If you hover over a canvas-visible element on the Explorer, you can click its Focus icon to see its location on the canvas.

Resources Tab (5)

The Resources tab lets you create new resources for your flow, like variables and constants. Once created, your new resources show up in the Explorer tab.

Palette Tab (6)

The Palette tab lists all the element types available for your flow. Drag and drop elements from the palette onto the main canvas. Click an element in the Palette to see its description or properties in the Description pane. Once created, your new elements show up in the Explorer tab. If your palette contains many Apex classes and flows, use the Palette’s search field to quickly find what you need to add an Apex plug-in or subflow element to your flow.

Description Pane (7)

When viewing an item in the Palette or Resources tab, the Description pane shows the item’s description or details. When viewing items on the Explorer tab, the Description pane includes two subtabs:
  • Properties—This subtab shows you information about the element or resource you have selected, such as its label, unique name, description, and data type.
  • Usage—This subtab lists the elements where the selected item is used. To see where one of the listed elements is located on the canvas, hover over it and click its Focus icon.