# Connecting Flow Blocks to Other Flows

- Published on Mar 18, 2025
- 8 minute(s) read

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**.