Lightning Flow

 

Lightning Flow

• Lightning Flow is the name of the product.
• It is a Salesforce product that encompasses building, managing, and running flows and processes.

• Process Builder and Flow Builder are the names of the tools.

• Use Process Builder to make processes; use Flow Builder to make flows.

Process Builder

Process Builder is a point-and-click tool that lets you easily automate if/then business processes and see a graphical representation of your process as you build.

Use Process Builder when you need to start a behind-the-scenes business process automatically. Processes can start when:

• A record is created
• A record is updated
• A platform event occurs

Actions: What the Process Should Do

When a criteria node evaluates to true, the process executes the associated actions or waits to execute them at a scheduled time.

• Each immediate action is executed as soon as the criteria evaluates to true.

• Each scheduled action is executed at the specified time, such as 10 days before the record’s close date or 2 days from now. 

Process Builder can:

• Create records.
• Update the record that started the process or any related record.
• Submit that record for approval.
• Update one or more related records.
• Send emails using a specified email template.
• Post to a Chatter feed.
• Invoke auto-launched flow
• Invoke Apex class

Process Builder can’t:

• Post to a community feed.
• Submit a related record for approval.
• Delete records(Without Apex)
• Create a bunch of records and associate them with each other.
• Perform complex logic.

Flow Builder

Use Flow Builder to:

• Automate a guided visual experience.
• Add more functionality for a behind-the-scenes process than is available in Process Builder. Use Flow Builder to build the more complex functionality. Then call the resulting flow from the process.
• Start a behind-the-scenes business process when a user clicks something, like a button.

For example, when an opportunity is won, your company wants a renewal opportunity to be created automatically. As you see later in this module, you can build parts of that use case as a process, but the rest has to be built in a flow.

screen flows : Needs user Inputs to business Automation
autolaunched flows : Run in the background like a process.Can’t have screens

In Process Builder, you can’t grab the ID of the created record and use it elsewhere. Luckily, you can do that in a flow.

Apex

Use Apex when you need more functionality than is available in Process Builder or Flow Builder. Build the more complex functionality as invocable Apex methods. Then call the resulting Apex as an Apex action in the process or as an Apex action element in the flow.

Approvals isn’t included in Lightning Flow, but it offers a declarative way to automate something that Lightning Flow doesn’t cover