Flow Templates

You can create a flow template when an integration flow has common steps but requires workspace-specific customization.

While this requirement is best addressed using configuration mapping or a callable flow, flow templates offer integration builders an additional method for mapping a flow’s field differently for each customer. However, before choosing to use a flow template instead of a configuration mapping, it is important to understand the limitations that this method presents.

When you add a flow template to an integration, a copy is automatically created in each new workspace to which the integration is deployed. This copy is different from other integration flows, which will display as Managed. If you make changes to the template copy within a specific workspace, those changes will only apply to that workspace. Similarly, if you edit the original flow template in the integration, it will not change any of the copies that were already created and instead only apply to new integration deployments.

Comparatively, using a flow with either configuration mapping or a called flow allows integration builders to propagate updates across all workspaces where the flow is used.

Add Flow Templates to a Feature

When flows share common steps across different deployments, create a template for per-workspace customization.

If you have a need for this flow template to be called from another flow, such as if there are fields that need custom logic to populate beyond what can be accomplished through configurations, use a callable flow template. Callable flow templates can be modified to fit specific logic and are managed independently from each other.

Use the call a flow step icon Call a Flow flow step to add the template to your flow. Changes to the template will affect only new users of the flow template.

Create a Flow Template

When you create a flow template, App Xchange adds a template tag and an icon to the template when it is displayed in a list.

  1. Select integration builder icon Integration Builder and open the appropriate integration.
  2. Select the Features icon Features tab and open the feature you want to add a flow template to.
  3. In the Flow Templates section, select Add Flow Template and choose the type you are creating.
    1. Create: Create a template from a flow that already exists.
    2. Use Existing: Adds a reference to a template that already exists in a different feature.
    Note: You can add search criteria in the Search Flows or Workspace fields to filter the flows that display.
  4. To use an existing flow, select the checkbox for the flow you want to use.
  5. Select Save.

    The flow template is added to the integration feature.

Edit a Flow Template

Integration builders can edit flow templates globally within the integration or locally within a customer workspace.

  1. To edit an existing flow template globally, open the flow template in integration builder icon Integration Builder.
    Changes made by the flow author will update the flow across all workspaces that use it.
  2. To edit an existing flow template for a specific customer user, select customer workspace icon Customer Workspaces and open the appropriate workspace. Select the flows icon Flows tab and select the flow. Open the flow template from within the workspace to make your changes.
    Saving these changes creates a copy with the Template Copy tag. It does not modify the original flow template.
The flow template is added to the integration feature. If you created a new flow template, App Xchange adds a Template tag and an icon to the template when it is displayed in a list.
When you are ready to deploy the flow template to a workspace, make sure to select its checkbox in the feature management page of that workspace to enable it, as shown in the image below:

App Xchange feature management window

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