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Any process flows that you create are added to your manage process flows page - for example:
From here, you can add new process flows, or choose to update/remove an existing one.
To access your existing process flows, follow the steps below.
Step 1 Log in to the Patchworks dashboard.
Step 2 Select process flows > process flows.
When you build a new process flow, it is disabled by default. When you're satisfied that a flow is ready for use, you must:
This page explains how to enable a process flow.
If a process flow version is deployed but disabled, it won't be triggered to run automatically (as per trigger shape settings). Conversely, if a process flow is enabled but not deployed, it will not run automatically (as per trigger shape settings).
For more information about process flow versions, please see our Process flow versioning page.
To enable/disable a process flow, follow the steps below.
Step 1 Access the process flow that you want to enable/disable.
Step 2 Click the 'cog' icon in the canvas toolbar to access general settings for this process flow:
Step 3 In the settings panel, toggle the enabled option on/off as required:
How to rename an existing process flow
The process flow name can be changed via flow settings. Any change takes immediate effect.
To rename a process flow, follow the steps below.
Step 1 Access the process flow that you want to rename.
Step 2 Click the 'cog' icon to access flow settings:
Step 3 Change the name as required and save your changes - for example:
Any process flows that you can be found in your process flows list. From here, you can view, update or remove any existing flow.
If you are managing multiple linked companies, copying process flows between them can be very useful. In this case, the duplicate process flow procedure is slightly different.
You can only copy a process flow to companies that you have been granted permission to access.
All shapes are copied but some shapes require reconfiguration in the receiving company - reconfiguration requirements can be different when duplicating between companies. Please see our Shape configuration in a duplicated process flow page.
Existing labels are duplicated (which means they are created automatically in the receiving company).
The status of the duplicated flow is always set to disabled.
The version of the duplicated flow is always set to draft.
Step 1 Access the process flow that you want to duplicate.
Step 2 Click the 'cog' icon to access flow settings:
Step 3 Click the ellipses that's associated with the version that you want to duplicate:
Step 4 Select the duplicate flow option:
Step 5 When prompted, choose copy to other company:
Step 6 Search for the required company profile, or browse all company profiles that you manage - for example - for example:
The list of company profiles includes all profiles that you have permission to manage, and your own agency/partner profile.
Step 7 Having selected a company profile, click the duplicate button to complete this operation:
The duplicated process flow is copied into the manage process flows area for the selected company profile. This may take a moment to complete and you'll see a message when the process flow is ready.
Step 8 Switch into the managed company and edit the process flow. Check all shapes to see if any reconfiguration is required. If a shape includes options that cannot be duplicated, it's displayed with a warning icon - for example:
For general information about agency/partner linked companies please see our Linked company profiles section.
Labels are used to tag/organise process flows in whatever way you need:
Labels are created and managed in general settings and then applied to process flows via process flow settings.
When you register for a Patchworks account, two labels are added to your company profile automatically - production and staging. If these aren't relevant to your needs, you can choose to update/remove them.
If you update the name and/or colour of a process flow label, that change is immediately applied to any process flows where this label is already applied.
If you delete a process flow label from general settings, that label is immediately removed from any process flows where it was already applied.
A process flow label cannot exceed 20 characters.
To stop a running process flow that was triggered automatically, follow the steps below.
Step 1 Log into the Patchworks dashboard.
Step 2 Select run logs from the left-hand navigation menu.
Step 3 Check the status of entries to find the running process flow that you want to stop.
Step 4 Click the stop button associated with the entry that you want to stop:
Step 5 The process flow is stopped and the status for this run is set to stopped.
When a process flow is duplicated, all shapes are copied (so the structure of the flow is replicated entirely) however, some shapes must be reconfigured. Reconfiguration requirements depend on where the process flow is copied:
The table below summarises shape reconfiguration requirements when a process flow is duplicated within the current company profile.
If you and want to stop the run, you can use . However, there may be times where you need to stop a process flow that was triggered to run automatically. You can do this via the page.
You can filter log entries by status, so it's easy to find all 'running' entries:
As a 'typical' user managing your own company profile, you can duplicate an existing process flow to use as a starting point for a new process flow, within your company. Please see .
As a Patchworks partner/agency managing multiple company profiles, you can duplicate process flows between these profiles. In this case, there are a few variations to consider - please see .
Shape | Reconfigure? | Notes |
---|
When a process flow is duplicated between different company profiles, most reconfiguration requirements are consistent with those detailed . Variations to consider when duplicating between company profiles are summarised below.
Shape | Reconfigure? | Notes |
---|
No reconfiguration needed |
Full reconfiguration needed |
No reconfiguration needed | Existing settings (including instance and endpoint details) are duplicated in full. |
No reconfiguration needed | Existing settings (including instance, endpoint, route names and conditions) are duplicated in full. All 'child' shapes for routes are also copied - standard reconfigure options apply to these. |
No reconfiguration needed | Existing custom script selections are copied in full. |
No reconfiguration needed | Existing manual payload content is copied in full. |
No reconfiguration needed | Existing manual payload content is copied in full. |
Varies - see notes |
Varies - see notes |
|
Varies - see notes | Copy status depends on the cache type:
|
No reconfiguration needed | Existing settings (including instance and endpoint details) are duplicated in full. |
No reconfiguration needed | Existing settings (including instance and endpoint details) are duplicated in full. |
No reconfiguration needed | Existing settings (including data pool and data path) are duplicated in full. |
Full reconfiguration needed |
Varies - see notes |
Full reconfiguration needed | The shape must be reconfigured with a new cache. |
Full reconfiguration needed | The shape must be reconfigured with a new cache. |
Full reconfiguration needed | The shape must be reconfigured with a new data pool and a new data path. |
Typically, process flows will run on an automated basis, as per trigger shape settings. However, there may be times when you want to run a flow immediately - for example, if you're testing a new flow, or troubleshooting a sync issue.
When you run a process flow manually, you'll see each shape animate as it's reached, with real-time logs displayed in a side panel.
Before running a process flow manually, make sure that you won't be duplicating data, or causing duplication next time the process flow runs according to trigger settings.
There is a limit on the number of process flow runs that can be started per minute. This limit varies according to your subscription tier - please see Core subscription tiers for information.
To run a process flow manually, follow the steps below.
Step 1 Access the process flow that you want to run.
Step 2 Click the 'play' icon to initialise the process flow:
Step 3 The process flow runs. As it runs, you'll see that each shape animates as it's reached, and real-time logs are displayed - for example:
The initialise flow with payload option can be used if you want to run a process flow immediately with a given payload, in a single operation - it's particularly useful if you are sending data into Patchworks via the inbound API or a webhook, and need to test a process flow with specific data.
Before initialising a process flow manually, make sure that you won't be duplicating data, or causing duplication next time the process flow runs according to trigger settings.
The maximum number of characters for a single payload is 100k. Anything larger than this may cause the process flow to fail.
To initialise a process flow manually with a payload, follow the steps below.
Step 1 Access the process flow that you want to run.
Step 2 Click the initialise flow with payload option from the toolbar:
Step 3 A payload window is displayed:
...so you can paste in the required payload and initialise the flow:
If required, you can also choose to pass in a flow variable value. Any existing flow variables are displayed - to make a change, toggle the variable field ON and update the value as needed:
Process flow labels are created and managed from general settings. From here you can:
If you update the name and/or colour of a process flow label, that change is immediately applied to any process flows where this label is already applied.
If you delete a process flow label from general settings, that label is immediately removed from any process flows where it was already applied.
A process flow label cannot exceed 20 characters.
Labels can be created in two ways:
'On the fly' from process flow settings when you need to add a label quickly whilst working with a process flow.
From general settings, which is useful when you need to add/manage a batch of labels
If you're working with a process flow and want to quickly add a label that doesn't exist currently, you can create it from the settings drawer. To do this, follow the steps below:
Step 1 Select the settings option from the canvas toolbar:
Step 2 Click the create label link beneath the labels field:
Step 3 Enter a name for the label and then select a colour:
Step 4 Click the create label button:
Step 5 The label is created and can now be selected via the labels field:
The label is available for selection in this process flow and in any other process flows defined for your company profile.
If you want to create a number of labels for use in your process flows, you can add them via general settings. To do this, follow the steps below:
Step 1 Select settings from the bottom of the left-hand navigation menu:
Step 2 Select the labels option:
Step 3 Click the create label button:
... a new label form is displayed:
Step 4 Enter a name for the label and select a colour:
These selections determine how the label is displayed when it's applied to a process flow - the name will be shown exactly as defined here, with the selected colour.
Process flow labels cannot exceed 20 characters.
Step 5 Click the create label button to save changes. This label is now ready for use with process flows.
To update the name or colour for an existing label, follow the steps below:
Step 1 Access labels from general settings.
See steps 1 and 2 for adding a new label if you're unsure how to do this.
Step 2 If required, change the label name.
Step 3 If required, select a new label colour.
Step 3 Click the save button:
To remove an existing label, follow the steps below:
Step 1 Access labels from general settings.
See steps 1 and 2 for adding a new label if you're unsure how to do this.
Step 2 Click the delete button:
Step 3 Confirm this action:
Existing process flow labels can be applied and removed for a process flow via process flow settings. You can define labels for any purpose - there's no right or wrong way to use them. For example, you might define labels to indicate the testing status of a flow, or indicate a specific shape that's included in the flow, or perhaps you might want to flag a process flow for a specific user.
As the number of process flows grows for your organisation, it can also be useful to filter the main process flows list by specific labels.
Step 1 Access the process flow that you want to update.
Step 2 Click the 'cog' icon in the canvas toolbar to access settings for this process flow:
Step 3 Click in the labels field to list all available labels:
Step 4 Select any labels that you want to apply (you can apply a single label or multiple labels at the same time):
If you don't see a label that you need, you can simply duplicate your Patchworks dashboard browser tab and add the label there. Then, switch back to the process flow, close the settings drawer and reload the process flow. Now you can access process flow settings again and the label will be available for selection.
Step 5 Save settings.
Step 1 Access the process flow that you want to update.
Step 2 Access process flow settings.
Step 3 Click the cross associated with a label that you want to remove:
Step 4 Save settings.
Any labels that have been applied to process flows are displayed in the main process flows list - for example:
To filter this list by specific labels, follow the steps below:
Step 1 Click the filter icon associated with the labels column:
Step 2 Click the select labels field:
Step 3 Select any labels that you want to apply for this filter:
Step 4 Apply your selections.
...the list is updated so only process flows with your selected label(s) are displayed:
Existing and/or settings are duplicated in full. Applies when copying to the same company or to a different company.
All settings (including instance and endpoint details) must be reconfigured. If connectors do not exist in the receiving company, they must be and .
All existing mappings are copied in full. In most cases, are also copied however, if a transformation requires a company-specific resource (such as a or a ), these are not copied. In this case, the map shape displays a warning - you must recreate these resources in the receiving company and reconfigure the associated transformation(s).
Copy status depends on the :
The required custom script must be in the receiving company, then the script shape must be reconfigured.
All existing mappings and are copied. However, if a transformation requires an item which does not exist in the receiving company (for example, a cross reference lookup
, a script
, or a map
) then these items must be added to the company and the transformation(s) must be reconfigured.
If a process flow is no longer required, you have the option to disable it (but keep the process flow in place for future reference or use), or to remove it permanently. This page explains how to remove a process flow permanently.
To remove a process flow, follow the steps below.
Step 1 Access the process flow that you want to enable/disable.
Step 2 Access settings for the process flow:
Step 3 Click the delete flow option:
...the process flow is removed immediately.
If you need to create a new process flow that's similar to one that already exists, you can duplicate the existing process flow and use this as a starting point for your new design.
The duplicate option is available from process flow settings so you can copy a specific version. When a process flow is duplicated, a copy is added to your list of process flows with the same name, appended with an incremented copy number.
If you are a Patchworks partner/agency, you can duplicate process flows between different company profiles.
The status of the duplicated flow is always set to disabled.
The version of the duplicated flow is always set to draft.
Existing labels are duplicated (which means they are created automatically in the receiving company).
All shapes are copied but some shapes require reconfiguration in the receiving company - please see our Shape configuration in a duplicated process flow page.
To duplicate a process flow, follow the steps below.
Step 1 Access the process flow that you want to duplicate.
Step 2 Click the 'cog' icon to access flow settings:
Step 3 Click the ellipses that's associated with the version that you want to duplicate:
Step 4 Select the duplicate flow option:
Step 5 When prompted, click the duplicate button to confirm:
Step 6 A new process flow is added to your manage process flows page, ready for you to rename and edit as required:
A duplicated flow is created with the same name as the original, appended with an incremental number.
Step 7 Check shapes in the process flow to see if any reconfiguration is required. If a shape includes options that cannot be duplicated, it's displayed with a warning icon - for example: