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Flow Terminology
This glossary provides definitions for commonly used terms in Flow Builder.
Flow and Flow Builder Terms
| TERM | DEFINITION |
|---|---|
| Action | An action that's selected in an Action element and performs a task to extend the functionality of a flow. Actions can include Salesforce-provided actions such as Send Email or Submit for Approval, or from your org’s quick actions and local actions. For a list of Salesforce-provided actions, see Provided Flow Core Actions |
| API Limits | Restrictions on the number of API calls that can be made within a given time period. See General Flow Limits |
| Autolaunched Flow | Flows without a built-in trigger. They run when called by another source such as other flows, screen actions, Apex, and REST API. See Flow Types |
| Autolayout | A Flow Builder interface mode that automatically arranges and connects elements in a streamlined, organized manner. Auto-layout keeps the canvas neat and automatically creates connectors between elements. See Add and Edit Elements in Autolayout. |
| Bulkification | The process of combining multiple flow interviews to execute operations more efficiently. See Flow Bulkification in Transactions |
| Canvas | In Flow Builder, the canvas is where you build flows by adding elements and connecting them together. It presents a visual diagram of your flow. |
| Circular Logic | A situation where conditions reference each other in a way that creates infinite loops. |
| Collection | A list of items, such as records or values. Collections can store multiple values of the same data type. They can be used with Loop elements to process multiple records. This is analogous to the concept of arrays in programming languages. |
| Conditional Visibility | A feature that shows or hides screen components based on specified conditions. |
| Context | The security context in which a flow runs, either (user context or system context). See Flow Run Context |
| Debug | A testing and troubleshooting feature in Flow Builder that provides detailed step-by-step execution information. Debug mode shows the path a flow takes and how resource values change throughout the flow run. |
| Deployment | The process of making flows available for use in other Salesforce orgs or environments. Flows can be deployed through change sets, packages, or Lightning Bolt Solutions. See Distribute a Flow |
| Distribute | The process of making the flow available for users to run by activating the flow. Screen flows also need to be added to a Salesforce home or record page, a Salesforce Experience page, or set to launch from a button or link. |
| Element | A component you can add to a flow that gives the flow instructions to do something, such as get Salesforce records (Get Records) or follow a certain path based on defined criteria (Decision). For details, see Flow Elements |
| Error Message | A custom message displayed to users when an error occurs in a flow. Error messages can be customized to provide user-friendly information about what went wrong. |
| External Service | A connection to an external system or API outside Salesforce that can be called by a flow. |
| Fault | An error handling mechanism in flows. Use fault paths to define what happens when a flow element fails, providing alternative execution paths or error messages. |
| Flow | An automated process you can create with Flow Builder that can create, update, and delete Salesforce records, perform actions like sending emails, and interact with systems external to Salesforce. |
| Flow Builder | The visual interface for creating and editing flows. It provides a point-and-click environment for building automation processes |
| Flow Orchestration | An orchestration is a complex sequence of stages, each comprised of one or more steps. A stage can contain background, interactive, and MuleSoft steps. Use Flow Orchestrator to create advanced approval processes, task lists for groups, or any other processes that require multiple interrelated steps. |
| Flow Type | A flow’s type determines how the flow is triggered, which elements and resources you can add to a flow, and how you can distribute the flow. For details, see Flow Types. |
| Formula | Flow formulas perform calculations, manipulate data, and make decisions based on field or variable values. Formulas can facilitate conditional logic, taking the flow down different paths based on criteria. Use Flow Formula Builder to create an expression in Formula-type resources. You can also use AI to create new formulas in Flow Builder. Just tell Einstein what you want your formula to do and let Einstein figure out the functions and operators. |
| Freeform | A Flow Builder interface mode that allows you to use a drag-and-drop gesture to place elements anywhere on the canvas and connect the elements manually. Freeform is the legacy mode and doesn’t have all the features of auto-layout. |
| Global Variable | Variables that are automatically populated and available in all flows. The available global variables are different depending on the flow type. For example, in record-triggered flows, the $Record, or Triggering Record, is a global variable that holds the record that triggered the flow. |
| Governor Limits | Salesforce platform limits that prevent excessive resource consumption. |
| HTTP Callout | A way to make HTTP requests to external systems outside Salesforce from within a flow. |
| Input Variable | A variable marked as "Available for input" that receives values from outside the flow. For example, if a screen flow is placed on a record page, the record page can send the ID of the record to the screen flow if the screen flow has an input variable to store it. |
| Interview | An individual running instance of a flow. When a flow is triggered, a flow interview is created and runs until completion or until it encounters a pause or wait element. |
| Launch | The process of starting a flow execution. Flows can be started by various methods including record triggers, custom buttons, processes, Apex code, or direct user interaction. Also commonly referred to as “calling” or “invoking”. |
| Loop | A circular path within the flow that starts with a loop element. After adding a loop element, the circular path appears on the flow canvas. The loop element iterates through items in a collection. For each iteration, the flow temporarily stores the current item in a loop variable. Add other elements within the circular path to process each item as it makes its way through the loop. |
| Operator | When setting a condition or filter in an element, you’re creating a logical statement. An operator is used in the logical statement to define how to compare or assign values. For example, use the Contains operator to see if an Account name contains the word Acme in it. |
| Output Variable | A variable that can pass values from the flow to external systems or flows that called the flow. With output variables, flows can send data back to where they were launched from. |
| Reactivity | Reactivity in screen flows means that screens are dynamic and change based on selected choices. For example, if a user selects a value in one screen component, the values available in another component can change. With reactivity, you can build screens that behave like single-page applications and reduce the number of screens that users have to complete. Reactivity is available in screen flows only. |
| Record-Triggered Flow | A flow type that is triggered based on the creation or deletion of, or changes to, Salesforce records. |
| Resume Event | An event that causes a paused flow to continue running. |
| Rollback | A mechanism that undoes all changes made in a transaction when an error occurs. If any part of a flow fails, all operations in that transaction are rolled back to maintain data consistency. |
| Screen Components | Screen components are items placed on screen elements in a screen flow to collect or display information. For example, add a Name screen component to collect a first name and last name from a user at runtime. For a list of standard screen components, see Standard Screen Components |
| Screen Flow | A flow type that has screens so users can interact with it. For example, add screen components to a screen element to collect information about a new contact. |
| Test | A feature that allows you to create automated tests for record-triggered and data cloud-triggered flows. Tests help verify that flows work as expected before activation. |
| Third-Party Connector | Third-party connectors provide no-code connectivity to external systems. Each external system that connects to Flow Builder behaves in different ways depending on how the external system stores the information that you want to retrieve and manipulate. |
| Transaction | A transaction represents a set of operations that are executed as a single unit. A flow interview can be part of a transaction that completes other operations besides the flow. For example, a transaction is started when you upload 100 records into your Salesforce org from a spreadsheet. The creation of those records triggers a flow to run for each new record. The creation of the records and all of those flow runs are within one transaction. |
| Trigger | A trigger is an event that launches a flow. For example, your flow looks up and assigns the relevant entitlement for a case. Create a flow trigger to launch the flow whenever a case is created, so that all new cases are automatically set with a default entitlement. |
| Variable | A resource that stores a value that can be used or changed throughout a flow. Variables can store different data types (Text, Number, Record, Boolean, etc.) and can be configured as collections to store multiple values. |
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