Record-Triggered-Flows

Get Started with Triggered Flows

• Flow Types
  • Three general types of flows:
    • Screen Flow: launched by quick actions, lightning page, experience cloud site, etc. Provide a UI that guides users through a business process.
    • Autolaunched Flow: launched by another flow, Apex code, or REST API. Automate business processes that have no UI. They have no trigger and they run in the background.
    • Triggered Flow: launched by time, data change, or platform event. Autolaunched by a trigger you specify and run in the background.
• Tools
  • Flow Builder has replaced Workflow Rules and Process Builder as the primary automation builder on the platform
  • Provides debugging, testing, and intgration with functions across the platform
  • Record-Triggered flows can update a Salesforce record 10 times faster than a record-change process built with process builder
• Triggered Flows
  • Triggered flows consist of:
    1. A trigger: identifies what launches the flow
    2. At least one criterion: defines the specifics of the trigger
    3. At least one action: determines what the flow does
• Trigger Types
  • Three types of triggers:
    • Schedule: runs at t time and frequency you specify. Use it to run nightly batch jobs.
    • Platform Event: runs when a particular platform event message is received. Use it to subscribe to events. Use it to subscribe to events.
    • Record: runs when a record is created, updated, or deleted. Use it to update records and send notifications.
• Record-Triggered Flows
  • Record Triggered Flows are the most commonly used automation - its the best way to interact with records in your org
  • “If something happens, then do something else.”
  • Can run when a record is:
    • Created, Updated, Created or Updated, Deleted
  • They can:
    • Update another record, send a notification, initiate a process, maintain data consistency
  • Because the flow is triggered when a record has been changed, that original change is already on its way to the database. This is often called a transaction, and is referred to as the “initial triggering transaction”
  • Fine tune the timing of the automation with different options:
    • Fast Field Update: runs during the record update that triggered the flow and before that update is saved
      • Use it to update the record that triggered the transaction
      • Benefit: optimal performance since its limited to updating the triggering record
    • Related Records and Actions: runs during the record update that triggered the flow and after that update is saved
      • Use it to create, update, or delete other records. Or call subflows. Or call actions, such as sending an email alert or posting to chatter.
      • Benefit: automates common processes triggered by record changes.
    • Run Asynchronously: runs immediately after the record update that triggered the flow is complete
      • Use it to execute more advanced scenarios like sending requests to external systems or performing other longer running processes
      • Benefit: avoids slowing down or blocking the record update that triggered the flow
    • Scheduled Paths: in the future, after the trigger has fired, based on dates and times
      • Use it to schedule reminders or follow-ups based on dates in the record that triggered the flow, such as Close Date
        
        
• If you want to automate a process every time a contact is added to an account, use a Triggered Flow
• The record-triggered flow option to use to send a subscription renewal offer one month before the current subscription expires: Scheduled Paths

Build a Record-Triggered Flow

• Business Requirement
  • Business requirement is what you want your flow to do
  • Three parts: trigger, criteria, action
  • Ex: “If an opportunity is created or updated (trigger) and it’s high-value and closed won (criteria), then create a draft contract (action).”
• Plan and Explain Your Flow
  • Consider three questions:
    • Run immediately or is it scheduled?
    • Create another record or just update a record?
    • Run every time a record is updated or only the first time its criteria are met?
• Note the options available for “When to Run the Flow for Updated Records”
  • “Every time a record is updated and meets the condition requirements” - Executes more frequently
  • “Only when a record is updated to meet the condition requirements” - Executes less frequently, just went switching from not meeting to meeting the requirementss

Add a Scheduled Task to Your Flow

• Automation on a Schedule
  • Two types of delay:
    • Specific: runs at a specified date and time, once daily or weekly. Ex: August 18 at 5:00 PM
      • Use it to perform operations on multiple records as a batch by configuring the Start element to filter for the specified records
    • Relative: runs at a specified time relative to a date in the record that triggered the flow. Ex: 6 hours after a case is created, 2 days before the renewal date for an account
      • Plan one or more automations to run after the trigger fires
• Business Requirement
  • “Remind the opportunity owner to follow up with the account owner 5 days after the opportunity closes.”

Meet Flow Trigger Explorer

• Open Flow Trigger Explorer
  • Can be opened from using a link available when viewing flows on the object in question, or from the Object page in Object Manager
• Reorder Your Flows
  • Using the Edit Order button in Flow Trigger explorer, it is possible to reorder the order of execution of launched flows
• Monitor Your Record-Triggered Flows
  • Use the Time-Based Workflow page to see individual instances of flows with a scheduled path, so you can monitor pending automation
  • Access Time-Based Workflow page from Setup > Quick Find > “Time” > Time-Based Workflow