This module is designed for intermediate Salesforce admins who are familiar with basic Salesforce customization features and have some experience using basic flows. If you're not there yet, that’s OK. Before you begin this badge, we recommend that you complete the Flow Basics module. In that badge, you learn when and how to use flows to automate business processes.
There are three general types of flows.
Flow Type
Launched By
Description
Screen Flows provide a UI that guides users through a business process.
Autolaunched Flows automate business processes that have no UI. They have no trigger and they run in the background.
Triggered Flows are autolaunched by a trigger you specify. They run in the background.
You may have used Workflow Rules or Process Builder to create a triggered process. Now Flow Builder is the optimal tool. Why? It combines the capabilities of Workflow Rules and Process Builder in a single point-and-click tool. Use Flow Builder to automate if/then business processes and see a graphical representation of your automation as you build it.
Flow Builder provides debugging, testing, and integration with functions across the Salesforce Platform. It now combines the capabilities of Workflow Rules and Process Builder with the power of Flow for a single no-code automation home. And if that’s not enough to convince you, a record-triggered flow can update a Salesforce record 10 times faster than a record-change process built with Process Builder!
This module focuses on triggered flows. A triggered flow consists of a trigger, at least one criterion, and at least one action.
There are three types of triggers.
Trigger Type
When It Runs
How to Use It
At a time and frequency you specify
Running nightly batch jobs
When a particular platform event message is received
Subscribing to events
When a record is created, updated, or deleted
Updating records and sending notifications
A record-triggered flow is the most commonly used automation. It’s the best way to interact with the records in your org. Simply put, the job of a record-triggered flow is, “If something happens, then do something else.”
For record-triggered flows, the trigger determines which object the flow acts on and when it runs.
Create a record-triggered flow to update another record, send a notification, initiate a process, or maintain data consistency. To avoid conflicts and improve performance, you can fine tune the timing of your automation using options within the record-triggered flow.
Because the flow is triggered when a record has been changed, that change is already on its way to the database. This is often called a transaction, and is referred to as the initial triggering transaction.
Option
When It Runs
How to Use It
Fast Field Update
During the record update that triggered the flow and before that update is saved.
Benefit: Optimal performance because the database is minimally affected
Related Records and Actions
During the record update that triggered the flow and after that update is saved.
Benefit: Automating common processes triggered by record changes
Immediately after the record update that triggered the flow is complete.
Executing 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
In the future, after the trigger has fired, based on dates and times.
Scheduling reminders or follow-ups based on dates in the record that triggered the flow, such as Close Date
Benefit: Waits a specified amount of time between the trigger firing and the automation running
Next you learn how to build a record-triggered flow!