Migrate to Flow (Beta) in Spring 22

Hello folks,

I try out Beta features, but I do not spend much time on them. In the end, beta means: “I can take away this feature if I need to.” Do you remember Salesforce Anywhere? You most probably don’t. I rest my case.

However, Migrate to Flow (Beta) requires extra attention. Although the product is in beta – and you will know that it is in beta once you try it -, Salesforce committed to retiring workflow rules; therefore, Salesforce must roll out this product in the end.

Folks who have been following me will know I have done a few sessions on migrating WFRs and Processes to Flow, one in Florida Dreamin’ in person and a few virtually. You can see a few videos on this topic on my YouTube channel. Please check the resources section below for links.

The tool only works on workflow rules for now. It does not support processes. I assumed it would support most workflow rules, but I was wrong.

I had two workflow rules in my Preview Org that I have built for my sessions before. I tried to migrate these workflow rules using this tool. Unfortunately, one did not convert due to an update on a long text area field. The other one was not supported because it created a task.

This wasn’t very reassuring, to be honest. But I had to test the tool, so I created a simple field update flow to migrate that.

The use case is as follows: When a picklist value is updated with a specific value on the lead record, the workflow rule updates the other picklist value.

The tool worked without a problem for this use case.

And as you would expect, it converted the workflow rule to a before save flow which is faster and more efficient.

Here is the message you see on the screen when the new flow is created:

“Because this workflow rule only updates fields, we converted it to a before-save flow for optimal performance. A before-save flow quickly updates fields on the record that triggers the flow.

This conversion changes the order in which this automation is executed. To have this flow run after other related automation, change it to an after-save flow. For both before-save and after-save flows, we recommend that you perform end-to-end testing for all scenarios in which the automation is triggered.”

Did you notice something here that immediately caught my attention? Salesforce practically wiped out the terms before save and after save from the record-triggered flow configurator screen; they buried the terms into the description fine print. This flow is called a fast field update flow on that screen. And after save is called actions and related records.

However, these terms don’t exist on this screen or the Trigger Explorer screen. And if I am going to be picky before-save is written with a dash here, without a dash on the Trigger Explorer.

It seems like Salesforce needs more clarity around the terms they use.

The release notes are very brief for the Migrate to Flow (Beta) tool. It does list what it supports; however, it does not list what it does not. I would recommend adding that to the release notes.

Related content (all videos):

Build your Workflow/Process as a Record Triggered Flow – Salesforce Platform Power Hour hosted by Sarah Pilzer
Salesforce Process To Flow Conversion with Brenda Glasser
Don’t Migrate your Automation to Flow with Terri Miller – In other words, analyze, plan, redesign and build.

Enjoy

P.S. Originally published on 02/14/2022.

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Flow Orchestrator in Spring 22

Hello folks,

This week I will give you an overview of the Flow Orchestrator. This tool is possibly the most important tool that is going GA (generally available) with the Spring 22 Release.

I watched the Salesforce Spring 22 Release Readiness webcast for Admins on Friday. It was a great webcast.

Flow orchestrator is one of the topics that caught a lot of attention. Rightfully so! According to the Salesforce team, the use cases for the Orchestrator are:

Handoff of tasks between users and teams.
Multiple flows running parallel.

If your use cases don’t require any of these items, flow should be sufficient for you.

This simplified definition of the Flow Orchestrator is missing two important superpowers that we did not have before this release:

Orchestrator supports on-screen user/public-group/queue targeted interactions that are triggered by object create/update.
On-screen interactions can be delayed/scheduled based on triggers.

There are two types of Orchestrations:

Autolaunched
Record-Triggered

Orchestrations include stages consisting of one or multiple steps, each step pointing to one autolaunched or screen flow. They can also have decisions to determine what needs to be executed depending on various scenarios.

With the introduction of the flow Orchestrator, I can say flow is a skill that can keep you busy full time. I don’t know if this is the case already, but you could freelance just building Salesforce flows.

Getting started on the Orchestrator is quite intimidating.

You may be wondering what you need to do to prepare yourself for them. I will tell you: If you don’t have the fundamental knowledge of process, and have not done any process mapping, get started with that now. This is not for the faint-hearted.

When you click on create Ligtning App or Record-Triggered flow button in Salesforce you are greeted with a configurator.

You get a blank canvas when you choose to create new Orchestration.

Help menu takes you to the standard flow help pages linked to Orchestrator help pages that offer minimal information.

There are advanced features that come with the Orchestrator. If you want, you can set entry and exit conditions that determine when each step in your flow is considered completed. This allows for enhanced functionality, but increases complexity at the same time.

I will give you more information as I experiment with Flow Orchestrator further.

Enjoy

P.S. Originally published on 02/06/2022.

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Collection Filter Element in Spring 22

Hello folks,

Let’s talk about the brand new collection filter element this week.

I wrote a newsletter issue about the get element before. Get elements are essential. They can query the Salesforce database and get multiple records for you. The corresponding functionality in coding is called SOQL. However, SOQL is much more powerful than the get element.

Get element and flow limitations can force the low-coder to build loops inside loops to process related records. When you are forced to build a solution like this, you should seriously consider whether flow is your best option.

When you loop within loops and start getting records, you run up against two limitations of flows:

You can only do up to 100 gets or SOQL’s in one synchronous transaction.
You can only process up to 2,000 elements in one flow interview.

This is where the new collection filter element comes to the rescue. For example, let’s say you need to get the cases for a specific contact under one account and show the case field values to the user. In the beginning, you can query all cases under the account. Then, you can show the user a few selection screens in your screen flow; finally, show the case field values and have the user edit them. Then, the user can go back to the contact selection screen and do it again for another contact. You can do all that using the new collection filter element without using another get element again after the first get execution.

Remember that your choice elements in your screen flows can accept collections as choices starting with Spring 22, as well.

But something even more impressive is offered with the new collection filter element. You can now use formulas to decide which records you select and add to your filtered collection.

You want to filter Account records with Annual-Revenue/Employee ratio within a specific range. Prior to this release, you had to create a formula field on the Object to show the Annual-Revenue/Employee calculation result. You don’t need to do that anymore. Instead, you can use a formula in your collection filter element to select records that have Annual-Revenue/Employee = $100,000, for example. This is huge.

If you don’t understand some of the concepts and the terms used in this newsletter issue, you may want to read get element issue here.

Recently published content:

My dear friend Daryl Moon and I had a live video chat o Flow Tips today on both LinkedIn and YouTube. Watch the YouTube recording here.

Enjoy

P.S. Originally published on 01/31/2022.

Read the previous issue of the newsletter here.

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Subscribe to the weekly educational Salesforce Flow Tips newsletter here.

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Top 6 Spring 22 Features

Hello folks,

Let’s talk about the new goodies hidden in the Salesforce Spring 22 release notes for flow.

First of all, let me point out that when you go to the release notes, you need to click on “Einstein Automate” to find flows. Weird, right? I know.

Here is my top 6 list:

1. First place goes to the Flow Trigger Explorer and the run order setting: You can now Visualize All Your Record-Triggered Flows in One Place with Flow Trigger Explorer and Define the Run Order of Record-Triggered Flows for an Object.

2. Second place goes to the Flow Orchestrator: Declaratively build sophisticated business processes that involve multiple people over multiple stages with multiple flows. Display orchestrated work items to assignees on relevant record pages. I will dive into this in one of the future issues of the newsletter. This feature is now generally available.

3. The bronze medal goes to the Migrate to Flow Tool (Beta): It’s time to begin the transition to using Flow Builder, the future of low-code automation. Use the Migrate to Flow tool to convert your workflow rules into flows. Although I personally don’t recommend resorting to this solution more than you need to, it eliminates the possibility of refactoring and optimization.

4. Auto-Layout: Finally generally available now. Building flows and aligning elements are easier with auto-layout. Elements on the canvas are spaced, connected, and aligned automatically, saving you time and keeping your canvas neatly organized. Auto-layout is now the default canvas layout for flows.

5. Filter Items into a Collection in Flow Builder: This is huge for sophisticated flows with multiple loops. Now you can filter unwanted data from your collections in Flow Builder. Use the Collection Filter element to select a collection and define conditions. When the flow runs, the element outputs a collection with only the items that meet those conditions, leaving your original collection intact.

6. Generate Choice Options from Record Collections and use existing record collections to generate collection-based choices in a flow: Collection choice sets prevent the need to duplicate the results of a Get Records element, a component, or an action. Combine number 5 and number 6, and you can make exciting flow designs. I cannot wait to play with this.

Nice touch award: Track Flows in Browser Tabs. A flow’s name and version now appear on your browser tab titles, so you can quickly scan your workspace and find your flow.

Promising artist: Make Custom Screen Components React to Other Components on the Same Flow Screen (Pilot) Design a flow screen with custom screen components that respond to updates on the same screen, and reduce the number of screens for a user to navigate through.

If you would like to learn more about the flow Trigger Explorer, read the previous issue of the newsletter here.

Exciting News: I will be one of your judges at FlowFest. FlowFest is an exciting flow competition. Join to have fun and win prizes. Read the announcement on my LinkedIn profile here.

Enjoy

P.S. Originally published on 01/24/2022.

Read the previous issue of the newsletter here.

Read the next issue of the newsletter here.

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Flow Trigger Explorer in Spring 22

Hello folks,

Spring 22 release date is very close. So it is time we talk about the new flow features in this release.

The flow product team usually gives us pretty big new features to talk about. But this time, the flow trigger explorer and the trigger order functionality caught me by surprise. I was not expecting something like this to come this soon.

What is the Flow Trigger Explorer? It sure sounds like the next blockbuster movie by Dwayne Johnson. It has an impressive title. But in reality, it is a browser that shows you all active and inactive flows in your Org triggering on a specific object. You can filter the list by the trigger method: Created, Updated, or Deleted. And the list is separated into three sections titled fast field updates (before-save), actions and related records (after-save), and asynchronous flows.

This is how it looks on screen:

The explorer is pretty cool even from a viewer standpoint, but this is not all we got in this release. Now we can assign a trigger order number to our Record-Triggered flows in the settings under the gear icon. Specifically, we can set a number from 1-2,000 and rearrange the sequence of multiple before-save flows that run on the object. Similarly, we can determine the order of the after-save record-triggered flows by assigning a number value.

Why is this significant? This new functionality came at a time when posts surfaced promoting the idea of only one before-save and one after-save flow on each object. I was never part of the one record-triggered flow camp, but Salesforce has not clearly said what they prefer; other than stating a few times, you should be able to run multiple flows without problems.

With the flow trigger explorer and the trigger order, Salesforce gives us the tools to do multiple before and after flows per object. The one-flow camp’s most powerful argument was that the outcome would not be predictable since the low-code-builder cannot control the order of execution for the multiple record-triggered flows. This was a valid concern. However, this concern is now addressed with the new trigger order setting.

I understand you may still be worried. You are wondering how this actually works. Don’t worry; I got you covered.

This weekend, I built flows, set trigger order, and published the recording on YouTube. I built flows, I broke them, and I fixed them. I had a lot of fun.

Watch this video to understand how the new flow trigger explorer and the trigger order functionality really work. I promise you that you will have a much clearer picture of it.

Click here to watch it on the Salesforce break YouTube channel.

Recently published content:

Do you need a deep dive into record-triggered flows?

Click here to watch this Chicago Salesforce Saturday Video on the Salesforce Break Youtube channel.

Salesforce Break

Salesforce Made Easy

Tag Archives: Spring22