# Enabling & disabling a process flow

## Introduction

Having built or updated a process flow, it must be `deployed` and `enabled` before it runs automatically, according to defined [trigger shape](/product-documentation/process-flows/building-process-flows/process-flow-shapes/standard-shapes/trigger-shape.md) settings (or [API requests](/product-documentation/developer-hub/patchworks-core-api.md)). How you do this depends on whether the [virtual environments](/product-documentation/virtual-environments/about-virtual-environments.md) feature is enabled for your company profile. 

* If yes, you have the option to enable/disable specific deployments of a process flow (bearing in mind that any version of a single flow can be deployed to multiple environments). There are multiple ways to do this - for details, please refer to [Enabling & disabling a flow deployment (with virtual environments)](/product-documentation/process-flows/managing-process-flows/enabling-and-disabling-a-process-flow/enabling-and-disabling-a-flow-deployment-with-virtual-environments.md).
* If no, you will only ever have a single deployment for any process flow; therefore, the enable/disable option applies to the flow as a whole. For details, please refer to [Enabling & disabling a flow deployment (without virtual environments)](/product-documentation/process-flows/managing-process-flows/enabling-and-disabling-a-process-flow/enabling-and-disabling-a-process-flow-without-virtual-enviroments.md).

## How do I know if virtual environments are enabled?

If you're not sure whether virtual environments are enabled, check the left-hand navigation menu - if you see a `virtual environments` section, this feature is enabled:

<div align="left"><figure><img src="/files/YLGvNKOkglPZvbFx37Lr" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div>

## Pages in this section

* [Enabling & disabling a flow deployment (with virtual environments)](/product-documentation/process-flows/managing-process-flows/enabling-and-disabling-a-process-flow/enabling-and-disabling-a-flow-deployment-with-virtual-environments.md)
* [Enabling & disabling a flow deployment (without virtual environments)](/product-documentation/process-flows/managing-process-flows/enabling-and-disabling-a-process-flow/enabling-and-disabling-a-process-flow-without-virtual-enviroments.md)


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