Building and Editing Workflows

Workflows allow you to automate sending your notifications through different channels. You can configure delivery to a single contact or to a segment.

You can use workflows to segment your audience and send different types of campaigns (welcome emails, birthday emails, order confirmations, abandoned cart notifications, reactivation emails, etc.) to defined segments.

eSputnik offers a drag-and-drop builder for building workflows. The builder uses pre-programmed configurable blocks which you can place and connect into a workflow, and assign tasks and conditions to them.

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Read about workflow blocks before you start building and editing workflow.

Creating a New Workflow

To create a new workflow:

  1. Go to Automation → Workflows and click New workflow.
Creating a new workflow
  1. Enter the workflow name (required) and add tags (optional).
Workflow name and tags
  1. Add and set up the necessary blocks.

Each workflow contains the required blocks:

  • Start. This block is automatically added at the beginning of a workflow.
  • End. Place this block at the end of a workflow branch.
  1. After adding all the necessary workflow blocks, choose the following actions:
  • Save
  • Save and exit
  • Save and launch one time
Actions after building workflow

The new workflow will appear in the list of workflows after saving.

New workflow with the Not active status

Managing Blocks

Let's consider the actions that you can do with the blocks.

Adding Blocks

You can add blocks to your workflow in two ways:

  1. Left-click the necessary block. It is automatically connected to the previous block. If the previous block is a condition that has two branches – green and red – the next block is connected first to the green branch.
  2. Drag a block and connect it manually to any block.
Adding blocks

Deleting Blocks

To delete a block, select it and click the trash icon above it or in the top panel. You can also press Delete on your keyboard.

Deleting block

To delete a connection between blocks, select it (the color of the connection points changes to blue) and press Delete on the keyboard.

Deleting connection between blocks

To select a few blocks and connections, press the Shift key on the keyboard and select the necessary workflow fragment.

To select all blocks and connections, press Ctrl+A on the keyboard.

Undo Actions

To undo the previous action or redo the undone action, click the arrow icons on the top panel or press on the keyboard:

  • Ctrl + Z — undo the previous action.
  • Ctrl + Y — redo the undone action.
Undo the previous action

Additional Block Settings

The blocks requiring additional settings have an orange alert label mark. Select a block and configure its settings in the right-hand side panel. Learn more about the block settings in the instructions for each block group.

Block settings

To expand or collapse the block panel, click "[" on the keyboard or angle brackets icon in the drag-and-drop builder.

Expand/collapse the block panel

Copying Blocks & Workflows

You can duplicate blocks in a workflow so that a duplicated block has the same configuration as the original one.

You can also copy selected blocks from one workflow to another and create a new workflow containing the blocks from an existing workflow.

To duplicate a block, select the block and click the Copy icon above it or in the top panel. You can use Ctrl + C / Ctrl + V combinations on your keyboard.

Copying blocks

To copy the selected blocks from one workflow to another:

  1. Open two workflows in different tabs.
  2. Using your mouse, select the blocks in the workflow you want to copy or press Ctrl + C on your keyboard.
  3. Go to another workflow and paste the copied blocks by pressing Ctrl + V on your keyboard.

To copy workflow:

  1. Go to AutomationWorkflows.
  2. Select the ellipses (three dots) icon beside the workflow you want to copy.
  3. Select Copy from the dropdown list.

A new workflow window appears containing the blocks from the copied workflow. You can edit and save it.

Copying a workflow

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Note

For more convenient selection and copying of blocks, you can use the Ctrl/command keys

Setting up Workflow Start/Stop Configuration

In addition to settings you can apply to workflow blocks, you can set up start/stop configuration for your workflow.

Read Configuring Workflow Start/Stop Conditions to learn more.

Activating and Deactivating Workflows

You need to activate your workflow, so it can start automatically in accordance with the launch conditions.

To activate a workflow:

  1. Go to Automation → Workflows, and select Not Active in the menu on the left-hand side.
Activating a workflow
  1. Click the Activate icon beside the workflow you want to activate.
Activate icon

To deactivate a workflow:

Go to Automation → Workflows → Active and click the Deactivate icon beside the workflow you want to deactivate.

Deactivate icon

Viewing Workflow Statistics

The Statistics icon beside a workflow opens a dropdown list of options. You can choose the following options:

  • In progress. This item opens the list of all the currently running workflows.
  • Completed. This item opens the list of all the completed workflows.
  • Launched per 7 days. This item opens the list of the workflows launched during the last 7 days.
  • Statuses of launches to segment. This item opens the details of workflows launched for the segments of contacts.
Workflow statistics

When you select one of the first three items, you can view the launch history of your workflows and check for any errors in their blocks. You can also preview the workflows. Read Using Workflow Launch History to learn more.

Search and Filter Workflows

To find a workflow, use the search bar by name, tag, or workflow ID

Search workflows

To filter workflows by activity, click the corresponding tab in the menu on the left:

  • All workflows (shows workflows with all statuses)
  • Active
  • Not active
Filter workflows