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  4. Using Actions in a Flow

Using Actions in a Flow

An action step in a Composer flow performs a task in a system. An action might extract data from a system, manipulate data, or send a notification in a system.

Create an Action

To create an action:

  1. After the trigger in your flow, click the large plus sign to open the Add Action dialog.

  2. Click or create a connection for the action.

    For example, if your trigger is "new records created in Salesforce," and you want your action to be "copy new record to a Google Sheet," then you would choose or create a Google Sheet connection.

  3. Select an action, and any other values displayed. What you have to specify for an action depends on system type you are connected to for the action.

  4. If you want to edit a field, and that field is enabled for a custom expression, click the pencil icon.
    Note that you can only enter text or select a single data pill for a field. If you want to enter a complex expression (including functions, math operators, concatenation of text, and special tokens), you must use the Custom Expression Editor.

  5. Click Save.

When there are null values in custom expressions and are:

  • Fields without attributes, the null value is ignored. If the value in a required field, an error message occurs. If the value is in an optional field, the value is ignored and not sent to the connector.

  • Fields with attributes, the value is ignored and not sent to the connector.

Define a Variable

You can define variables in your Composer flow. Defining a variable enables you to complete certain use cases, such as aggregating calculations and storing values. You define variables locally within a flow and use them anywhere within that flow.

Access the Variable Step

To access the Variable step:

  1. Create a new flow or open an existing flow.

  2. In the <Flow Name> page, click Edit.

  3. Locate the position in your flow where you want to access the Variable step and click the plus button.

  4. In the Next Step window, click Variable.
    The Variable step appears.

Create a Variable by Using the Visual Editor

To create one or more new variables using the Visual Editor window:

  1. Access the Variable step.

  2. Select Action > Create Variable.

  3. From the Variable section, click Add Variable.

  4. In the Label field, enter a unique name for the variable.

    The name entered is unique only to this step. You can duplicate values in the Label field across different Variable steps.

  5. In the Data Type dropdown, select the data type to use for the variable. The following data types are supported: String, Number, Boolean, Date, DateTime and List. If you select List, in the List Item Type field, select:

    • String, Number, or Boolean to return a list that contains primitive data types

    • Object to return a list of objects, for example, the output of the Get Records action

    Repeat the steps 4 and 5 until you added all the required fields for the Variable step.

  6. To add additional variables in the Visual Editor, click Add Variable. You can create multiple variables in each Variable step.

  7. Click Apply.

  8. To modify the new variables, click Manage Variables to open the Visual Editor or Edit Schema to open the JSON Schema.

Create a Variable by Using the JSON Schema

To create one or more new variables using the JSON Schema window:

  1. Access the Variable step.

  2. Select Action > Create Variable.

  3. In the Variable section, click Create Schema.

  4. In the JSON Schema window, enter the properties for the variable to create.

    Note that each variable is defined within a Properties object with a Variable Unique ID. The Variable Unique ID enables the variable to be tracked within your flow. The Variable Unique ID can contain only alphanumeric characters, hyphens, and underscores. When using the Visual Editor, this ID is automatically generated for you. Each variable must specify the title and data type. To set the properties for the variable definition, complete the following:

    • Variable Label (Title): Display label for the variable. (Required)

    • Type: Data type of the variable. The following data types are supported: String, Number, Boolean and Array.

      To define a Date or DateTime variable, set the data type to String and define the Format property. (Required)

    • Format: Qualifier for String properties that can specify additional data types not natively supported in JSON. For variables, set this value when defining Date or DateTime variables as date or date-time respectively. (Optional)

    • Items: Item type for List variables. Items is an object and accepts the following child properties: (Required only when defining List variables)

      • Type: Data type of the variable. The following data types are supported for List items: String, Number, Boolean, and Object. If defining an Object, you must also define the properties of that Object. (Required)

      • Properties: Child properties of an object. Properties is required if the List Item Type is set to Object. In the Properties object, each property key is the name of the property in the Object List Item and is set to an object that defines its data type. For more information in defining the data type of object child properties, refer to Type (step 4b) and Format (step 4c). (Optional)

      The properties and values appear in the JSON Schema window.

    Example: Properties and values in the JSON Schema window 
    {
"properties": {
"var-01": {
"type": "string",
"title": "My String"
},
"var-02": {
"type": "number",
"title": "My Number"
},
"var-03": {
"type": "boolean",
"title": "My Boolean"
},
"var-04": {
"type": "string",
"title": "My Date",
"format": "date"
},
"var-05": {
"type": "string",
"title": "My Datetime",
"format": "date-time"
}
}
}

  5. To add variables in the JSON Schema, enter them in the window.

  6. Click Apply.

  7. To modify the new variables, click Manage Variables to open the Visual Editor or Edit Schema to open the JSON Schema.

Initialize a Variable

After creating a variable, you can initialize it:

  1. Create a new variable by using either the Visual Editor or the JSON Schema.

  2. Complete the initial value for each variable. If variable’s data type is:

    • String, Number, Boolean, Date, or DateTime, the default value is defined under each variable. If the field is empty, the value is set to the default value for that data type. You can enter a value manually, select any existing data pill (including variables) from your flow, select a Picklist Mapping (for String variables) or you can select the Custom Expression Editor to create a custom expression.

    • List, the default value is defined under each variable. If the field is empty, the value is set to the default value for that data type. You can enter a value manually. For primitive list types (String, Number, Boolean, Date, or DateTime), you can create a list statically using the Custom Expression Editor or map in a list data pill. For List<Objects>, select either:

      • Dynamic List to create multiple items in the list. Use a list pill to reference the number of items created. Then, map the fields of the elements of the list.

      • Static List, and then initialize the list with as many items as you need. If you do not add any items, the list is empty by default.

    The variable is initialized.

Update a Variable

Before You Begin

If you are updating a variable with a value created from another variable, do not update them in the same step. Variables are not necessarily updated in the same order in which they are listed. To avoid unexpected behavior, update each variable in separate steps.

To update one or more variables:

  1. Access the Variable step.

  2. Select Action > Update Variable.

  3. In the Variable section, click Select Variables.
    The Select Variables window appears, displaying a list of all variables included in your flow before this step.

  4. Select the checkbox next to one or more variables or click Select all <Number> variables to select all variables in the list.

  5. Click Apply.
    The Update Variable step appears.

  6. Update the value for each variable. If the data type for the variable your selected is a:

    • String, Number, Boolean, Date, or DateTime, you can enter a value manually, select any existing data pill (including variables) from your flow, select a Picklist Mapping (for String variables) or you can select the Custom Expression Editor to create a custom expression.

    • List, you can add items to the start or the end of the list or replace the existing list with a new list. For primitive list types (String, Number, Boolean, Date, or DateTime), you can create a list statically using the Custom Expression Editor or map in a list data pill. For List<Objects>, select either:

      • Dynamic List to create multiple items in the list. Use a list pill to reference the number of items created. Then, map the fields of the elements of the list.

      • Static List, and then initialize the list with as many items as you need. If you do not add any items, the list is empty by default.

Create a Picklist Mapping

Using Picklist Mapping, you can map data from one application to the corresponding data needed by another application and then reuse those mappings in different flows in your organization. This enables you to connect two applications that have different values for similar fields and to align the values in those fields across applications. You can then determine how the possible values of an output field (data pill) map to the possible values of an input field.

For example, you can map a data pill from the Country field in a Salesforce record and provide the same values in the Country field of the NetSuite record.

Country (Salesforce) Country (NetSuite)

US

_unitedStates

CA

_canada

DE

_germany

AR

_argentina

In this example, the Status field in a case in Salesforce is mapped to the Status field in a ticket in Zendesk to create continuity in field values across systems.

Status (Salesforce) Status (Zendesk)

New

New

Working

Open

Waiting on Customer

On-Hold

Escalated

Open

Closed

Closed

When mapping source data fields:

  • The source field must be a data pill with a fixed list of values.

  • The target field must be an enumerated data type field or any string field.

  • If any other unmapped value from the source system is found, the default mapping specifies the value in the target system. If you do not specify a default value, the original value from the source field is passed to the target field.

  • The mapping is stored at the organization level and can be reused across flows. No additional steps are needed to reuse mappings across different flows.

  • The mapping must have a unique name.

  • Mappings are available to everyone in your organization.

To map source data fields to target fields:

  1. From the Composer Flows tab, open a flow and click Edit.

  2. In an action card, in a field that supports Pick from List or any string field, select Picklist Mapping from the menu.
    The Picklist Mapping window appears.

  3. In the Picklist Source section, in the Source field, select the value from the list that you want to map to the value in the Target field, and then click Next.

  4. In the Global Picklist Selection section, create a new picklist or choose an existing picklist.

Create A New Picklist

To create a new picklist:

  1. Click Create new picklist.

  2. In the Global picklist name field, enter a unique name for the picklist.

  3. Optionally, in the Description field, enter a description for the picklist. The following description is populated automatically based on your source and target systems:
    This maps [Source Field Name] from [Source Connection Name] to [Target Field Name] from [Target Connection Name]

  4. In the table, select the source fields and their target mappings.

  5. To add additional field mappings, click Add Row and if the additional field mapping is a:

    1. Pick from List field, enter the source field values manually (with a row representing each value) and select the target mappings from the dropdown.

    2. String field, manually define the value in the target field.

  6. Once you have added all applicable field mappings, click Create Picklist.

  7. Click Apply.
    The <Picklist Name> section appears, displaying a table of values and their mappings.

Choose An Existing Picklist

To choose an existing picklist:

  1. Select a picklist from the list. Note that all edits made to an existing picklist will impact all flows in which that picklist is currently used.

  2. Optionally, in the <Picklist Name> section, to edit the values, click the pencil. Once you have edited the values, click Save Picklist and then click Apply.

  3. Optionally, in the <Picklist Name> section, to delete the picklist, click the trashcan. Note that deleting a global picklist will affect all flows currently using that picklist.

  4. Click Apply.
    The action card appears.

Create a Flow Control

If you need to perform some logic before an action, select a flow control first:

  1. After the trigger in your flow, click the large plus sign to open the Add Action dialog.

  2. Click either If/Else Block or For Each. An If/Else block is good when you need to do different actions depending on one or more conditions. A For Each loop is good for processing a set of records.

  3. Complete the flow control, which usually includes adding an action.

  4. Click Save.

Add An If/Else Block

You can create an If/Else block to set conditions and execute actions only when specific criteria are met. This enables you to create flows that cover more than one linear branch, without the need to create separate flows.

Branches are logic-based steps that run vertically in a flow. You can add multiple steps inside each branch. Each branch is then executed in sequential order.

When adding decision steps, the values in the Field list are populated based on values selected when you specify the previous steps of your flow. After the Field value is selected, all compatible value options appear in the Operator list. If the selected Operator requires a second data pill to complete the condition, then the Value field is enabled and the list is populated based on the values you selected when defining the trigger. In the Value field, you can either enter a value manually or you can set it using the existing data from your flow.

For the purposes of comparing flows, if you initiate a date comparison when building a flow and there is no value in one of the date fields, the missing value is updated to 0001-01-01 by default.

The following operators are supported when building conditions in an If/Else block:

Function Supported Data Type Value Required? Notes

Equals/Does not equal

All

Yes

The value in this field is case-sensitive for strings.

Contains/Does not contain

Array, String

Yes

None

Greater than/Less than

Date, Number

Yes

In the Date field, the Greater than value is equal to a later date and the Less than value is equal to an earlier date.

Greater than or equal/Less than or equal

Date, Number

Yes

In the Date field, the Greater than or equal value is equal to a later date or the current date and the Less than or equal value is equal to an earlier date or the current date.

Is empty/Is not empty

Array, String, Object

No

None

Starts with/Ends with

String

Yes

A string value for this field is required.

Is true/Is false

Boolean

No

None

Is present/Is not present

All

No

If the value in this field is null or if there is no value selected, then the value in this field is set to Not present by default.

To create an If/Else block:

  1. Click the plus sign after the trigger or the last action in your flow.

  2. Click Add Action.

  3. Click If/Else Block to define the first branch.

  4. Enter the requested criteria. You can specify that all conditions should be met (AND), any condition can be met (OR), or customize the order and grouping of your conditions.

  5. Click + to add an action to that branch. Every branch must have an action, also called a step.

  6. If you want to add another branch, click Add If and repeat the previous steps for every If/Else branch you create.

  7. If you want to set criteria for how the flow executes if none of the criteria for the existing branches are met, click Add Else and repeat the previous steps for the final branch.

  8. If you want to add additional conditions to your If/Else block, click Add condition.

  9. After you add all the branches, click Save.

Use Custom Logic

Custom logic uses the row number for each condition in the If statement block of an If/Else statement and OR, AND, and NOT to create complex expressions. When you select the custom logic option, each condition is assigned a number and you can then use that number to customize the order of operations for the conditions.

When using custom logic, all conditions defined must be referenced in the expression for the expression to be validated. For example, if there are three defined conditions and you enter “1 and (2 or 1)”, the expression is invalid because “3” is not referenced.

Using custom logic, you can have up to 20 conditions and a condition can be referenced more than once.

Create A For Each Loop

To create a For Each Loop:

  1. Click the plus sign after the trigger or the last action in your flow.

  2. Click Add Action.

  3. Click For Each.

  4. Choose a data pill from the Input list. You must have a trigger or action that returns a set of records or there won’t be anything to choose here.

  5. Click the plus sign to add an action.

  6. After you complete the action, click Save.

You can add logic and actions in different patterns, depending on what your flow needs to do.

Configure Error Handling

When executing a flow, you can watch for connection or logic errors in specific steps of your flow and then specify logic to handle the errors. You can also configure steps to complete additional actions or to send notifications if an error occurs.

Access Error Handling

To access the error handler:

Create a new flow or open an existing flow. . If you create a new flow: .. Select the connector or system to start your flow. .. Select and configure a trigger. .. Select and configure an action. .. Directly before the step to which you want to add an error handler, click the plus button. .. In the What Should Start This Flow? window, click Error Handler. . If you add a step to an existing flow: .. Open your flow. .. Directly before the step to which you want to add an error handler, click the plus button. .. In the Next Step window, click Error Handler.

Watch a Step

You can watch specific steps for connection or logic errors. If an error occurs, the flow stops normal processing and begins processing the steps in the error handler. You can add one or more steps to watch in this section.

To watch a step:

  1. Access the error handler in your flow.

  2. In the Error Handler card, in the Watch section, click the plus sign and select the action to watch or drag the step to watch into the Watch section.
    The selected action appears in the Watch section. If an error occurs, the flow moves to the actions selected in the On Error section.

  3. To add additional actions to watch, repeat the previous step.

Configure Composer to Handle Errors

You can configure Composer to handle errors encountered in the Watch section. If an error occurs in a watched action, the On Error section begins processing the flow based on your configuration. You can add one or more steps to run in the On Error section.

Error Handling Behavior

  • By default, the On Error section allows for one condition to be met; however, you can add as many conditions as you want in this section.

  • When adding a new condition, the On Error condition field value is set to None by default. Leaving this value set to None returns any errors that may occur in the Watch section and processes all steps inside this On Error section.

  • When a condition is met in the On Error section, the error handler processes the conditions in sequential order and stops once the first condition is met. After the first condition is met, any subsequent steps are skipped. If you want the process to continue, you can add an additional On Error section branch inside your existing On Error section.

  • When testing your flow, any errors caught by the error handler appear in the right pane of the action card. Successful steps are marked with a green check and failed steps are marked with a red X.

  • When an error occurs in a watched action, the error information is saved as a data pill that can then be used for subsequent notification or record-updating actions. For example, if an error occurs, you can specify an action to send an email to your team containing the error information from the data pill.

  • When configuring error handling, you can establish different sequences to meet your requirements. You can:

    • Add all steps in one error handler.
      If you have the same On Error process for any errors or if you can configure multiple On Error processes with error conditions to handle specific types of errors, then add all steps in one error handler. As a result, if any error occurs in the step inside the Watch section, the remaining steps in the same Watch section stop.

    • Add more than one error handler in a flow.
      You can group steps into seperate error handlers or each step can have its own error handler. This provides the flexibility to configure different steps when errors occur.

    • Place an error handler inside a For Each loop.
      If an error occurs inside a For Each loop, adding an error handler in the for each loop allows the loop to continue past an error. To set an error handler to continue after an error occurs, in the After running drop down, select Continue. To provide further clarity on the error, add a step to update the failed record for troubleshooting.

Add Steps to the On Error Section

To add steps to the On Error section of your flow:

  1. Select a step to watch.

  2. In the Error Handler card, in the On Error section:

    1. In the Conditions to run this branch dropdown, select one of the following conditions and then enter the requested criteria:

      • AND: Meets all conditions.

      • OR: Meets any conditions.

      • None: Returns all errors without meeting any conditions.

      • Custom Logic: Specify custom logic to meet conditions.

    2. In the After Running dropdown, select:

      • Stop: After processing all steps in the On Error section, Composer flags errors and stops the flow. On the Run History page, the Status field of the flow shows FAILED.

      • Continue: After processing all steps in the On Error section, Composer dismisses errors and the flow continues. If no other errors occur, on the Run History page, the Status field of the flow shows SUCCESS.

  3. If you want to add additional conditions to this On Error section, click Add Condition.

  4. If you want to look for a specific error condition and specify how it is handled within your existing On Error section, click Add On Error to add a new branch with steps.
    When adding a branch to the On Error section, in the After Running section, select:

    • Continue: Processes On Error steps and then continues to the next step within the parent step.

    • Propagate: Processes On Error steps and then pushes the error to the parent error handler section. The child step then stops processing and the error handler process returns to the parent step.

  5. Optionally, in the On Error section, click the plus button to add steps to handle an error:

    1. In the Next Step window, select System Action.

    2. Select an action to complete when an error occurs. For example, add an action to send a notification email with the Record ID and error information to your team or update the source record with error information.

    3. Configure the action.

  6. Save the flow.

  7. Test the flow.

  8. Activate the flow.

See Also