Flows
What are Flows?
Flows are a series of automated actions that you’ve configured in the Builder. Each flow can be attached to any number of events, which means you can make universal changes to your setup with minimal fuss. The trick to a neat and tidy setup in Gnatta is creating Flows that are multifunctional and open ended.
Less is more! Shorter flows are more likely to be ‘repeatable’, and useful against a broader range of events. Think of each flow as a building block, designed to be used in sequence with other flows.
You can view all of the flows in your Gnatta domain in the ‘Flows’ tab. The flows table will show lots of different information about the flows you’ve got, when they were edited, what state they’re in etc. By default, we’ll sort these by usage so your most popular flows appear at the top; you can click on a heading to filter in different ways.
You can open your flow in the builder by clickingor explore other quick actions by clicking
The quick action menu contains an option to ‘Create new from’ - which will duplicate the flow and take you right to the builder. It’s a great timesaver!
You can also view your flows by clicking into an event in the ‘Events’ tab - this will list only the flows attached to that event.
Creating a flow
We’d recommend creating a library of flows to use as building blocks in your workflow architecture - you can create your own, or use pre-built Gnatta templates. To create a flow, go to the ‘Builder’ tab in Workflow. Then, select one of three options:
Use Existing - build a brand new flow by duplicating a flow you’ve already made!
Create New - start with a blank builder, or use this button to import a flow from your clipboard.
Select Template - pick one of the pre-built Gnatta templates to start from.
In the builder, simply click into an existing action to edit it, or click a + button to add a new action. Find out more about the available actions here.
To save your flow, you’ll first need to give it a unique name by clicking the header bar. It’s a good idea to give it a detailed description, too, so other people can use your flow!
If you need to reorganise your flow, you can click and drag on the connections between actions to reattach as needed. When the connector is highlighted purple, it’s ready to be dragged to another action.
The builder uses an an auto-layout to keep things neat and tidy, so when you move a branch it’ll shuffle everything around a little to make space.
Tips and Tricks for Flows
When building flows, make them small and reusable - don’t over-invest in one big flow. It’ll make it easier to make changes, add new channels, and troubleshoot issues in the future.
Make use of Labels when you’re giving your flow a name and description - they’re the best way to manage and group your flows together.
You can enable or disable flows which help control what is working where. To learn more about disabling/enabling, check here. Disabling a flow will stop it from being triggered on any events it is currently added to. You can use this to bulk remove a flow if you need to make changes or remove it. It’s accessible from the quick action menu.