With the future of Salesforce automation being Salesforce Flow, it’s no surprise we are all being encouraged to go with the flow, with legacy options such as Workflow Rules and Process Builder due to reach the end of support in the near future.
This powerful clicks-not-code automation tool can automate actions in Salesforce and integrate with other systems without needing to write a single line of code. In this article, we will explore the world of Screen Flows and dive into some of the components that are available out of the box.
What Is a Screen Flow?
A Screen Flow is a clicks-not-code tool provided by Salesforce to guide users through a structured process. For example, they could easily create a case or call out to an external system to fetch exchange rates.
Within Screen Flows, Salesforce provides extra goodies so that you can show or hide sections of the screen based on conditions using component visibility. If you want to ensure the data collected is valid, you can add validation to enforce data standards.
You can also set the behavior should a user revisit a screen to refresh values or retain values that they previously entered. Disable components to stop users from navigating to them or copying values, or make components read-only to stop edits but allow users to copy values.
You can set components to require a value and provide Help Text so users know what’s expected. It may also aid your users if you set a default value from the context that the Flow already has, for example, the opportunity stage of the current record.
With Reactive Components, components can adapt in front of your very eyes to reflect the latest changes elsewhere, for example, to recalculate a total amount.
1. Choice Lookup
Using this element, you can provide a user with a list of values to choose from. These values can be obtained from different sources:
- Choice which is like a picklist value you create directly in the Flow
- Choice Collection Set to allow users to select from a list of records or external data
- Record Choice Set to allow users to select from a filtered list of records
- Picklist Choice Set to allow you to select values from the picklist (e.g. Account Type)
2. Dependent Picklists
This uses an existing Field Dependency already set up in your org to dynamically choose what values to display. This component can handle up to three picklist fields at a time and you can set specific picklists as required if needed.
3. Address
This component has recently been given some attention by Salesforce. As you would expect from an Address component, it handles an address block made up of city, country, postal code, state, and street, which can be fetched from Google Maps. You can give each part a default value or use a part later on in the Flow.
If you happen to use state and country values, you can also set this component to use your pre-defined state or country values and store ISO codes too.
4. Password
As you may have guessed, this component is designed to handle sensitive information that will be masked as a user types input. Use cases include handling a security answer, social security number, or password.
5. File Upload
Use this element to allow users to add files during the process. Within this component, you can set it to allow certain formats and multiple files and give it the Record Id to upload the document against. Personally, I find that the component by UnofficialSF provides a better user experience as you can see what files you’ve uploaded as a confirmation.
6. Text
This allows a user to enter a value into a text field. It works as a free text value, but you can apply validations, make it required, or set a default value too.
7. Display Text
Unlike the majority of the other elements in this article, a Display Text component is for output only. This can be used to guide users through a process, like in the below screenshot.
8. Repeater
Think of the Repeater component as a repeatable block that will contain the same elements each time. You can use this to add multiple records at once via the + Add button to add another block of fields for the next record.
9. Section
This allows you to define columns for your elements to reside in. This helps to display more elements on the screen without users having to scroll and allows you to put related elements such as first name and last name side by side.
10. Custom Components
On the AppExchange there is a selection of Flow components you can install to perform specific functions. If you cast your net wider, you may also discover the Unofficial SF Components which include a library of components to choose from, including automatic redirection, scanning barcodes, and an icon picker. If you are a developer, you can also use code to build your own components too!
Other Components
It’s worth knowing that there are too many Screen Flow goodies for one article!
Other useful components include Record Forms, Data Table, Checkbox, Checkbox Group, Number, Currency, and more!
Summary
Screen Flows are an incredibly powerful tool that helps Salesforce Admins automate processes using clicks-not-code.
This is a key priority for Salesforce, with new features and functionality provided each release, so I’m excited to see what the future holds for this area!
Other Resources
- A-Z Guide to the Salesforce Flow Builder
- Screen Flow Components
- Make Flow Screens Dynamic with Conditional Visibility
- Validate User Input on Flow Screens
- Control Revisited Screen Component Values in Flows