You are here:
Flows in Flow Approval Processes
Each background and approval step in a flow approval process runs an associated flow. If the logic for controlling stage and step execution calls for more than 10 requirements, use an evaluation flow to create more complex criteria.
Required Editions
| View supported editions for Flow Approval Processes. |
Approval Steps
Each approval step assigns a screen flow to a user, group, or queue.
Background Steps
Each background step calls an autolaunched flow.
When to Start the Step
Each step can call an evaluation flow to determine whether the step can be started. An
evaluation flow is a flow with a process type of Evaluation Flow. It’s an autolaunched flow
that contains a predefined Boolean output variable named
isOrchestrationConditionMet. To indicate that the custom entry
conditions are met, the output variable must be set to true within the
flow.
false.When to Complete the Step
An approval step can call an evaluation flow to determine whether the step can be marked as
completed. An evaluation flow is a flow with a process type of Evaluation Flow. It’s an
autolaunched flow that contains a predefined Boolean output variable named
isOrchestrationConditionMet. To indicate that the custom exit
conditions are met, the output variable must be set to true.
false.When to Complete the Stage
A stage can call an evaluation flow to determine whether the stage can be considered as
completed. An evaluation flow is a flow with a process type of Evaluation Flow. It’s an
autolaunched flow that contains a predefined Boolean output variable named
isOrchestrationConditionMet. To indicate that the custom exit
conditions are met, the output variable must be set to true.
false.Flow Usage
Flow approval processes are related to flows in 3 ways:
| Relationship | Page | list | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orchestration Step Action | Orchestration Version | Uses Flows |
|
| Evaluation Flow | Orchestration Version | Uses Flows | The evaluation flow that the flow approval process version to determine whether:
|
| Request Approval Action | Orchestration | Used in Flow Versions | The flow version that uses the flow approval process from an Action element that calls the Request Approval action |
View the flows that a flow approval process version uses or the flow approval processes that a flow version uses in the Approval Lightning app. See Determine Flow Usage in a Flow Approval Process Version or Determine Flow Approval Process Usage in Flow Versions.
Flow Variables
Flows can have internal-only, input, and output variables.
If the combined input values for a flow called by a flow approval process step is more than 32,768 characters, the orchestration run associated with the parent approval submission fails. This error can be caused by passing one or more records to a flow called by a step. To avoid this error, pass a record ID to the referenced flow, and use a Get Records element in the flow with the passed ID. Using a passed ID with a Get Records element also means that you always have the latest version of the record.
| Variable | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Internal-only | The variable is used inside the flow and isn’t available for input or output in a flow approval process. | You can create your own internal variables, or you can let flow create them for you. The flow approval process that calls the screen flow or autolaunched flow can’t use these variables. |
| Input | The user-defined variable is marked Available for input. When the flow is called by a flow approval process step, its input variables are inputs for the step. | Flows that can have input values from a flow approval process for input variables are:
|
| Output | The user-defined variable is marked Available for output. Output variables are accessible as automatic outputs for the associated step and are available throughout the flow approval process at design time. | Flow approval processes can access user-defined output variables from:
When you reference automatic output that contains a record or a record collection in a flow approval process, records are refreshed with their latest values each time the orchestration run associated with the parent approval submission resumes. To add custom comments to the run log for an orchestration run associated with the parent approval submission, create a text output variable named Comments in a flow called by an approval orchestration step and assign the variable a value in the flow. |
- Evaluation Flows for Flow Approval Processes
When you need more than 10 requirements to control stage and step execution, use an evaluation flow. Select the Evaluation Flow tile in the New Automation window to create an evaluation flow.
