Salesforce flow helps you automate complex business processes. Flows let you work smarter, not harder, by saving your users time and ensuring the required tasks are accomplished correctly. Flow extends declarative processes similar to that of workflow and process builders by providing the ability to automate the creation, updating and deletion of records that require more complex logic.
Why do we use Salesforce Flows?
Flow gives us the ability to design and build more complex functionality without writing a single line of code. As custom development requires apex classes or apex triggers, which must be deployed from the sandbox environment to the production environment, we need to write test classes. It may sometimes fail while moving from one environment to another is not the case with Salesforce Flows.
Types of Flows
Flows are of five types:
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Screen Flow
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This flow works as a UI element and requires input from the user. This flow is either launched as an action or used as an element on a lightning page.
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Auto launched Flow
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This flow runs automatically. This flow has to be invoked from a process builder or from an apex class or from a record change, or from a platform event.
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Schedule Triggered Flow
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This flow launches at a specified time as scheduled for each record in a batch.
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Record Triggered Flow
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This auto launched flow runs in the background whenever a record is created, updated or deleted
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Platform Event Triggered Flow
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This flow gets triggered when a platform event message is received.
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Flow Elements and Resources
Flows Elements
A salesflow is built by using a flow builder. This flow builder provides point and click functionality to build our flow. Flow builder consists of Elements that act as the building block of our flow. Elements are of 3 types :
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Interaction
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Screen element
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Screen elements are only available for screen flows. This enables the user to interact with the screen, and it accepts input from the user.
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Action
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Perform an action outside of the flow. This includes sending an email alert, post to chatter, submit for approval.
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Sub Flow
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This element launches another flow that can be used in the existing flow.
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Logic
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Decision
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This element acts as an if else statement used in the apex. It is used to evaluate a set of conditions.
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Assignment
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This element is used to set values in a variable.
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Loop
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Loop element is basically used to perform iteration.
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Data
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Create Records
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It is used to create records using values from the flow.
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Update Records
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It is used to update records using values from the flow.
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Get Records
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Find records and store their field values to use later in the flow.
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Delete Records
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It is used to delete records.
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Flow Resources
A Flow resource is a representation; it represents a value that you can use throughout the flow. There are different types of resources available such as Variable, Constant, Formula, Text Template, Choice, Record Choice Set, Picklist Choice Set, Stage.
As other automation tools will be depreciating in the coming years, Salesforce Flow will emerge as a tool that everyone will use for automation.
