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Getting Started with Visual Workflow

This chapter starts with an overview of Visual Workflow (also called Flow) and its benefits, which take the discussion forward to the various business requirements where we can use Flow. We will discuss various business problems and how we can develop an application without using code to solve them. By the end of this chapter, you will have learned various ways to invoke a Flow and the fundamentals of Visual Workflow.

In the next few chapters, you will be briefed about various concepts related to Visual Workflow and learn numerous ways to create point-and-click solutions without using code. We will also see different ways to streamline our sales process and automate our business process using a Flow. In the last few chapters, we will go through how to automatically launch a Flow using Process Builder, how to create reusable processes using Process Builder, and how to enable Visual Workflows to work with Lightning Experience.

We will cover the following topics in this chapter:

Business problems
The benefits of Visual Workflow
System requirements for using Visual Workflow
An overview of the Visual Workflow life cycle
An overview of the Cloud Flow Designer
An overview of Visual Workflow building blocks
The various ways to invoke a Flow
Visual Workflow outcome behavior

Visual Workflow is a drag and drop interface that allows you to automate business processes by creating applications using clicks not code. Using Visual Workflow, we can create, update, edit, and delete records as well as send e-mail, submit records for approval, post to chatter, and take user input in Salesforce and then make those Flows available to the business users or systems. Visual Workflow can execute business processes, interact with the database, invoke Apex classes (an Apex class implements the Process.Plugin interface), and create a series of screens to take user input in order to collect and update data in Salesforce; Flows can also be built with no user interface to allow them to be run from automated processes.

Business problems

As a Salesforce administrator or developer, you may get business requirements from businesses to streamline the processes. Many of them are achievable using out-of-the-box (OOB) concepts, and for others, we have to use Apex or Visualforce pages. Visual Workflow gives us another method that will let us implement many business processes without needing custom coding. A few examples are discussed in the following sections.

Business use case 1

Sara Bareilles is working as a Vice President, Sales, in a company named Universal Containers. She wants to auto-close all the open opportunities with the Closed Lost stage, when an account out of business field (that is, custom field) is checked.

There are several ways to solve the business requirement; these are mentioned in the following sections.

Solution 1 - using an Apex trigger

Because this requirement means that many child records (opportunities) need to be updated when a parent record (Account) is edited, we can't achieve the preceding business requirement using the Workflow rule. The next possibility is to use an Apex trigger. Generally, a developer writes an Apex trigger on the Account object to update all the open opportunities when an account's custom field, out of business, gets updated to True. The following is the sample code:

trigger UpdateRelatedOpportunites on Account (after update) { 
  for (Account AccountToUpdate : trigger.new) 
    { 
        If (AccountToUpdate.Out_Of_Business__c==True) 
        { 
        // Your logic; 
        } 
    } 
}

In addition, you'll need a test class and then use a change set, Force.com IDE or Force.com Migration Tool, to deploy the trigger and test classes to production. This also means that any change to the business logic will require more development work.

Solution 2 - a combination of Visual Workflow and Process Builder

Another way to achieve the same business requirement is to use a combination of Visual Workflow and Process Builder. Here is the description of the next screenshot:

Section highlighted as 1: In this, a sample Flow updates all the open Opportunity stages to Closed-Lost related to an account that is marked as out of business.
Section highlighted as 2: This is the process on the Account object; it will always fire whenever an account record gets created or updated.

The following screenshot represents solutions for a similar business scenario by using Visual Workflow and Process Builder:

Process Builder is one of the ways to automate complex business requirements using click not code, similar to the Workflow rule and Visual Workflow. The benefit of using this approach is that you can easily follow the Salesforce best practice to create one process per object and use Visual Workflow to manage logic for multiple business requirements. We will discuss this in Chapter 5, Developing Applications with Process Builder, and Chapter 7, Building Applications without Code.

Solution 3- using Process Builder

Another way to achieve the same business requirement is to use a process created on Process Builder. Here is the description of the next screenshot:

A process on the Account object, which will fire when the out of business checkbox is checked
Then the Update Records action will be fired, and it will update all the open Opportunity stages to the Closed-Lost stage related to an account which is marked as out of business

The following screenshot represents solutions for a similar business scenario using Process Builder:

Process Builder allows you to automate complex business processes using click not code.

Business use case 2

Robby Williams is working as a customer success manager in Universal Containers. He wants to send a reminder e-mail on a weekly basis to all the users who don't have a profile picture on Chatter.

Again, there are plenty of ways to solve this requirement. Some of the ways are as follows.

Solution 1 - using Apex

We can't achieve this goal by the Workflow rule. For this, we have to write an Apex class that implements the Schedulable interface for the class and then use Schedule Apex to run it on a regular basis. The following is the code for this Apex class:

global class SendChatterEmail implements Schedulable 
{ 
    global SendChatterEmail (){ 
      // Batch Constructor 
    } 

    // Start Method 
    global Database.QueryLocator start(){ 
      /* Use SOQL query to get the records you want to operate upon 
      select Id, fullPhotoUrl from User where isactive = true AND FullPhotoUrl like '%photo/005%'*/ 
    } 

    // Execute Logic 
    global void execute(){ 
      // perform the operation 

    } 

    global void finish(){ 
      // Logic which we want to execute at finish 
    } 
}

Solution 2 - a combination of Visual Workflow and Process Builder

An alternative way to accomplish the same business requirement is to use a combination of Visual Workflow and Process Builder. Here is the description of the next screenshot:

Section highlighted as 1: This represents a Flow to send e-mail alerts to all users who do not have profile pictures on Chatter
Section highlighted as 2: This represents the Flows action from Process Builder on a custom object (reminder notification) to trigger our Flow

The following screenshot represents the solution for business scenario 2 using Visual Workflow and Process Builder:

The benefits of Visual Workflow

There are certain benefits of using Visual Workflow. They are as follows:

It allows you to create an automated business process using clicks not code.
Visual Workflow does not require coding, and even if you do not know Apex code, you can still develop business processes.
Using screens, fields, and choices, you can implement complex business processes to make sure that your users are entering data in the right format.
Through Visual Workflow, you can manipulate data for certain objects that are not available for the Workflow rule or Process Builder. For example, when a "contact role" is created or updated as primary for an opportunity, then create a new task.
It allows you to auto submit records for approval.
It allows you to apply assignment rules on leads or cases that are created by API calls.
You can post messages on Chatter. For example, if the Opportunity status is changed to Closed-Won, post a message on the Chatter group.
It allows you to embed the Flow into the Visualforce page, and you can expose it for unauthenticated access using the Force.com site.
Once you embed your Flow into the Visualforce page, it allows you to use HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and other Visualforce components.
It can be easily maintained by non-developers.
Since it is not code, you don't need to write test classes.
You can make changes directly to your production organization, just like other configuration changes.
Every time unhandled processes fail or an error occurs in the Flow, the author will get an e-mail from Salesforce with the error details.
Using the debug log, you can debug your Flow. Visual Workflow also has a built-in debugging tool. To open the debug window, press Ctrl + Shift + M (on PC) or command + shift + M (on Mac).
It allows you to invoke the Apex class that implements the Process.Plugin interface.

Key benefits

Develop an application using Point and Click with the help of Flow

Get to grips with various ways to launch a Flow

Capture data from an external user without using the Visualforce page

Save user input into the database, and learn how to query and manipulate the data

Discover various ways to debug and deploy Flow and Process Builder

Understand the concepts of Subflow and Login Flow

Handle complex business processes using Process builder and keep them clean

Use existing or new Flows to work with Salesforce Lightning Experience.

Description

Salesforce Management System is an information system used in CRM to automate the business processes like sales and marketing. To implement this, Force.com developed a powerful tool called Visual Workflow to automate business processes by creating applications also called Flows. Learning Salesforce Visual Workflow, Second Edition is a practical guide on Flows that will enable you to develop custom applications in Salesforce with minimized code usage. The book starts with an introduction to Visual Workflows that teaches all the building blocks of creating Flows and use it efficiently. You will learn how to easily automate business processes and tackle complex business scenarios using Flows. The book explains the working of the Process Builder so you can create reusable processes. The book also covers how you can integrate existing or newly created Flows with the Salesforce Lightening Experience. By the end of the book, you will get a clear understanding on how to use Flows and Process Builder in your organization to optimize code usage.

What you will learn

Develop an application using point and click with the help of Flow

Get to grips with various ways to launch a Flow Capture data from an external user without using the Visualforce page

Save user input into the database, and learn how to query and manipulate the data

Discover various ways to debug and deploy Flow and Process Builder

Understand the concepts of Subflow and Login Flow

Handle complex business processes using Process builder and keep them clean

Use existing or new Flows to work with Salesforce Lightning Experience.

What do you get with Print?

Instant access to your digital copy whilst your Print order is Shipped

Paperback book shipped to your preferred address

Redeem a companion digital copy on all Print orders

Access this title in our online reader with advanced features

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Frequently bought together

€45.99

Learning Salesforce Visual Workflow and Process Builder

€41.99

Salesforce Lightning Reporting and Dashboards

€41.99

Total € 129.97

Paula Crawford Feb 02, 2018

This book gives the reader an excellent understanding of visual workflow and process builder and how the two work together. The writing is clear and easy to understand and I especially like the fact that all of the concepts are explained step by step, without leaving anything out. There are lots of screenshots that make understanding much easier and there are tips to watch out for. The sections are structured well - it covers visual workflow first and then process builder and follows with combinations of both.The breadth and depth of information is a testament to the author's enthusiasm and dedication to these topics and it shows throughout the book and on his website.Given that there are so few books on these topics, I consider this as an essential companion for Salesforce admins and an excellent one at that!

Amazon Verified review

Sissy with Two Pups Jun 03, 2019

I bought this a while back and it was really useful in helping me understand flows and process builders better. I completed alot of the sample exercises while helped me pass one of my certifications. All admins should have this on their shelves.

Learning Salesforce Visual Workflow and Process Builder: Flows and automation for enhanced business productivity , Second Edition

What do you get with Print?

Learning Salesforce Visual Workflow and Process Builder

Getting Started with Visual Workflow

Business problems

Business use case 1

Solution 1 - using an Apex trigger

Solution 2 - a combination of Visual Workflow and Process Builder

Solution 3- using Process Builder

Business use case 2

Solution 1 - using Apex

Solution 2 - a combination of Visual Workflow and Process Builder

The benefits of Visual Workflow

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Learning Salesforce Visual Workflow and Process Builder: Flows and automation for enhanced business productivity , Second Edition

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