Connecting Flow Blocks to Other Flows

Connecting Flow Blocks to Other Flows

While there are many ways to customize individual flows, you may also want to configure custom behavior outside of a flow for submissions processed through certain blocks. For example, you may need to send submissions' state-change information to your downstream systems mid-flow. With the Notification Flow field in Submission Initialization and Manual Supervision Blocks’ settings, you can link Notification flows to specific blocks in your Document Processing flow.

Top-level flows

When you link one flow to another flow’s block, you create a flow group. A flow group consists of all flows that are linked together to automate a single set of tasks.

In v38, the Document Processing flow included with the application is a top-level flow. Your top-level flows appear as cards on the Top-level Flows page.

To view a list of all dependent subflows included in a top-level flow, click on the top-level flow’s Open → link.

Linking a notification flow to another flow

Document Processing flows from v38

To link a notification flow to the top-level flow:

  1. Go to the Top-level Flows page, find the Document Processing flow you want to link a Notification flow to, and click its Open → link.
  2. Click the Start Document Processing Subflow Block.
  3. In the Settings Type drop-down list the right-hand sidebar, click on the name of the setting type that matches the block that you want to link a notification flow to.
    • Click Submission Bootstrap to see settings for the Submission Initialization Block.
    • Click Classification to see settings for the Manual Classification Block.
    • Click Identification to see settings for the Manual Identification Block.
    • Click Transcription to see settings for the Manual Transcription Block.
    • Click Flexible Extraction to see settings for the Flexible Extraction Block.
  4. In the Notification Flow drop-down list for the block (e.g., Submission Initialization Notification Flow), select the notification flow that you want to link to (e.g., Submission State Notifications V38).
  5. Click Save.

Document Processing flows from v37 and earlier

  1. Go to the Top-level Flows page, and find the card for the Document Processing flow you want to link a notification flow to, and click its Open → link.
  2. Click Edit Flows.
  3. In Flow Studio, click on the block you want to link from, and click on it to reveal its settings.
  4. In the Notification Flow drop-down list, select the flow you want to link to.
  5. Click Save.

Making changes to a subflow

You can make changes to a subflow while viewing its main flow in Flow Studio.

  1. Open the main flow in Flow Studio, and click on the View link subflow you want to edit.
  2. Click on the subflow block that you want to change, make your changes, and click Save above the subflow in the canvas.
  3. Click Save for everyone who has used this subflow and update these flows: to have your changes applied to all occurrences of the subflow in your instance.
  4. Click Save everywhere this subflow is used in this group to create a copy of the subflow that is specific to the group you are currently editing.
  5. Click Save for only 1 subflow to create a copy of the subflow that is specific to the subflow’s connected block.
  6. Click Save everywhere this subflow is used in this parent flow to create a copy of the subflow specific to the flow containing the subflow’s connected block.

Creating multiple levels of linked flows

You can also link flows to your subflows, creating additional levels of linked flows.

Deploying and disabling connected flows

When you deploy a top-level flow, the flow and all of its dependent subflows are automatically deployed along with it. Similarly, when you disable a top-level flow, the system automatically disables its dependent subflows if they’re not used by other flows.

Exporting and importing connected flows

When exporting top-level flows, you export all of its flows to a single ZIP file. You can then upload that ZIP file to another instance to import your flows to that instance.

Troubleshooting connected flows

Each flow shows errors only from that flow, not from any flows linked to it. To view errors for a flow's subflows, you need to open those individual flows in Flow Studio.

Unlinking a notification flow

Document Processing flows from v38 and later

To unlink a flow from a Document Processing flow or from a copy of one:

  1. Go to the Top-level Flows page, and click on the Open → link for the flow group you want to unlink a flow in.
  2. Click the Start Document Processing Subflow Block.
  3. In the Settings Type drop-down list the right-hand sidebar, click on the name of the setting type that matches the block that’s linked to the subflow you want to remove.
  4. In the Notification Flow drop-down list for the block, select None.
  5. Click Save.

Document Processing flows from v37 and earlier

To unlink a flow from a Document Processing flow or from a copy of one:

  1. Go to the Top-level Flows page, and click on the Open → link for the top-level flow you want to unlink a flow in.
  2. Click Edit Flows.
  3. In Flow Studio, click on the block linked to the subflow you want to remove, and click on it to reveal its settings.
  4. In the Notification Flow drop-down list, select None.
  5. Click Save.