Process flow versioning

Introduction

With our process flow versioning system, you can be sure that a process flow that's currently deployed will never be edited while it's in use:

To edit a deployed process flow, you take a copy as a draft and work on that. When you're ready, you can then deploy your draft. Each time you deploy a process flow, the previously deployed version is saved as an inactive version. You can view all versions associated with a process flow in process flow settings.

For any process flow, there's always one draft version, one deployed version, and any number of inactive versions.

If virtual environments are in use for your organisation, process flow versioning works differently. Please refer to Understanding flow versioning for virtual environments.

Version types summary

At any given time, a process flow can be associated with one of the following version types:

Version	Is set when...	Can edit?	Can delete?
Draft	A new process flow is added A deployed version is copied to draft An inactive version is copied to draft	yes	no
Deployed	A draft version is deployed An inactive version is deployed	no	no
Inactive	A draft process flow is deployed, replacing an existing deployment An inactive process flow is deployed, replacing an existing deployment	no	yes

More about version types

• Draft

• Deployed

• Inactive

Draft

There is always one draft version of a process flow. The draft version can be edited freely without any possibility of changing or breaking the version that's currently deployed. With a draft version, you can add/update shapes and process flow settings.

Any trigger shape settings defined for a draft version are ignored. A draft version is never triggered to run automatically.

Available actions

You can take the following actions with a draft version of a process flow:

Action	Summary
Deploy	When you deploy a draft version, it becomes deployed and a new draft version is created (the previous deployed version becomes inactive).
Enable/disable	If you enable a process flow when viewing a draft version, there's no impact on the draft version. However, the deployed version will start to run automatically as per any trigger shape settings.
Duplicate	Create a new process flow from the selected draft version. There is no impact on the draft version.
Run manually	Use initialise flow or initialise flow (advanced) options to run the process flow immediately.

If you choose to run the draft version of a process flow manually, the draft version runs and any target connections will be updated. Where possible, it's always best to use sandbox connections when you're editing and testing draft process flows.

Deployed

The deployed version of a process flow is the one that's currently in use (if enabled) or ready for use (if it's disabled).

The deployed version of a process flow cannot be edited - shapes can't be added/updated, and you can't change process flow settings.

Available actions

You can take the following actions with a deployed version of a process flow:

Action	Summary
Enable/disable	For a process flow to initialise automatically (as per trigger shape settings) it must be both deployed AND enabled.
Copy to draft	The process flow remains deployed and the content is copied to the existing draft version (existing draft content is discarded). This is a good solution if you're editing a draft but reach the point where you need to restart from a known, sound point.
Duplicate	Create a new process flow from the selected deployed version. There is no impact on the deployed version.
Upload to marketplace	Upload the selected version to your private marketplace (only applicable if the partner features bolt-on is enabled for your company profile).
Run manually	Use initialise flow or initialise flow (advanced) options to run the process flow immediately.

Inactive

Each time a draft version of a process flow is deployed, the previously deployed version becomes an inactive version, so you have a full version history for all deployed versions of a process flow.

An inactive version of a process cannot be edited - shapes can't be added/updated, and you can't change process flow settings.

Available actions

You can take the following actions with an inactive version of a process flow:

Action	Summary
Deploy	When you deploy an inactive version, it becomes the currently deployed version. The previous deployed version becomes a new inactive version, and the existing draft is not affected.
Enable/disable	If you enable a process flow when viewing an inactive version, there's no impact on the inactive version. However, the deployed version will start to run automatically (as per any trigger shape settings).
Run manually	You can use initialise flow or initialise flow (advanced) options to run an inactive process flow immediately; however, this is not recommended unless you are certain what the impact will be on source/target systems.
Copy to draft	The process flow remains inactive and the content is copied to the existing draft version (existing draft content is discarded). This is a good solution if you need to revert to an old way of working.
Duplicate	Create a new process flow from the selected deployed version. There is no impact on the deployed version.
Delete	Whilst it's often useful to refer back to an inactive version of a flow for a reminder of how things used to be set up, retaining lots of process flows with multiple inactive versions can be detrimental to system performance. In this case, deleting older inactive versions is a useful housekeeping task.

If you run an inactive version of a process flow manually, the inactive version runs, and any target connections will be updated. Avoid this option unless you are certain what the impact will be on source/target systems.