Managing Flows
As you build your flow library you may look for ways to keep your work organized and easily accessible.
In this help article, we'll cover:
Unpublishing a flow
You can unpublish a flow by going to the flow's settings page. In the top right corner of the screen, click the Unpublish button.
If you've made changes to the flow's settings but didn't publish them, you'll instead see a green down arrow next to Push Changes button. Click the down arrow and then choose Unpublish.
Cloning a flow
If you're looking to duplicate a flow you've already created, visit the flow's page, click the three dots on the desired flow, and choose Clone.
Finding the Flow ID
Maybe you're trying to trigger a flow from an image in a tooltip or build your own Choose Your Own Adventure experience, or maybe you're just curious about Flow ID's should you need it in the future.
Either way, we've got you covered! Below you'll find all of the places where you can find your Flow ID.
Via URL
While on the Flow Settings page you may notice that the Flow Id also lives in the URL.
You will see the flow id anytime you're on a page that is flow specific. Like below on the analytics page.
From the Chrome Editor
If you're working in the Editor, the fastest way to find the Flow ID is by clicking on the 'Pencil' icon next to the name of the flow. From there you'll see the Flow ID in the modal that appears
Renaming Flows
If you are no longer happy with the name picked for your flow, you can quickly modify it from the settings page of the flow, or within the flow builder while the flow is open.
From the Dashboard:
- Select the flow you'd like to rename
- Next, select the 'Settings' option in the top right of the flow that you'd like to modify.
- You'll be taken to the Flow Settings page where you will click on the name of your flow and edit the name.
- Click the green 'Save' button when finished
From the Chrome Editor
If you're working in the Editor no need to go back to the Dashboard to change the flow name. You can do so right then and there by selecting the notepad icon. Then click into the 'Flow Name' section to make your modification and select 'Save'.
Changing the Flow URL
If your website's address has changed (or disappeared) there are two parts to updating the URL for the flow. The first involves updating the targeting for the flow so that Appcues can trigger the flow correctly for your end users. The second involves updating the Edit URL in Chrome Extension, so you will be redirected to the appropriate page when its time to edit.
1. Update Targeting
If your flow is targeted to a specific page or domain, you'll want to adjust those if they are affected by your site's URL change. These should be adjusted on the Flow Settings page, as shown below:
This will ensure the flow is triggered as intended when a customer navigates to the new URL for your site.
Note: If the flow is set to 'Show once', updating the above URL will not show the flow again to those who have already seen the flow live. The only way to make that happen is to set the flow to 'Show every time' or clone the flow, and publish the cloned flow.
2. Updating Editing URL
In order to load your flow in the correct location when you'd like to modify the flow in the Chrome Editor, you'll need to update the Editing URL. There are two ways to achieve this: within the Chrome Editor, or within the Settings page for the flow.
In the Chrome Editor:
Once the editor has loaded your flow, you can easily update it to the new URL by selecting the pencil icon (Edit flow details) in the editor bar.
Choose the option in the modal to 'Change Starting Page'
Now follow the on-screen prompt to navigate to the new location for the flow and select "Start flow on this page". Then you're all done!
On the Settings Page:
You can easily update the editing starting page within the flow Settings page as well.
Seeing Old URL no longer exists
If the old URL for a flow no longer exists, your browser will probably take you to an error page saying that the site cannot be loaded or reached. In Chrome it may look something like this:
Now in that same browser tab, type in the new URL for your site in the address bar and hit enter. You should see the new site load up with the Appcues editor. It will have a message that looks like this:
Once at the right location, select the 'start editing on this page' option. This will update the starting location for your flow to the current page that you're on. If you need to further adjust the starting location for the flow, follow the directions in the section above.
Filtering Flows
There are multiple ways to filter your flows so you can easily find what you need. You can use any combination of the following:
- By Status - allows you to filter flows by whether they are in draft, archived, or published live.
- By Tag - allows you to filter all flows by tags you've created.
- By Segment - lets you filter flows by corresponding segment used for targeting. Learn more about segments here!
- By Teammate - lets you filter all flows by who created the flow on your team.
- The search field - allows you to enter in the name or a keyword of the flow you're looking for.
- Sorting menu - lets you sort the flows list by recently updated, recently created, and name (a-z).
Tags
You may need a level of organization flows for easier sorting & filtering. Tags are especially useful for organizing your flows. If you tag every flow with items such as audience, language, etc, you'll be able to locate all the corresponding flows in an instant.
Managing Tags
To manage tags while on the Flows page, click Manage Tags on the top right of the screen.
Creating Tags
The pop-up window will allow you to search for existing tags or create a new tag. Click Create Tag and a new tag input will appear.
Fill it out and click the green checkmark to save it. When you're done, simply select done and your tag will be available for use.
Adding Tags to a Flow
Once in this view, your flows will display the tags assigned to it. Hover over the tag icon and an "add" icon will appear. After clicking on the add icon, you'll trigger a dropdown to select the tags you have created as well as any default tags:
Once a tag is selected, it will auto-save to your flow!
Removing a Tag from a Flow
In order to remove a tag from a flow, enter panel view and hover over the tag you'd like to remove, then click X to delete it:
Note, that in order to fully remove the tag as an option, you must delete the tag in the Manage Tags section (outlined below).
Deleting tags
To delete a tag, click the Manage Tags button in the top right corner of the flows page. Locate the tag you want to delete and hover your cursor over it. From there, click the delete icon (trash can) and then confirm to delete the tag once more on the pop-up window.
Archiving, Deleting and Restoring Flows
To remove flows from your dashboard, you have the option to either archive or delete them.
Archiving a flow is the first step to deleting it entirely. Doing so will unpublish the flow (if it is live), remove it from your dashboard, and place it in the "Archived" status. Deleting a flow will remove it permanently from your account, and will render all analytics and reporting around that flow inaccessible.
To archive a flow:
- Find the name of the flow you'd like to archive in your Appcues dashboard (at studio.appcues.com)
- Click the menu control in the top righthand corner of the flow card and select "Archive" from the dropdown that appears.
To restore an archived flow:
- At studio.appcues.com filter your dashboard by the Archived flow status
- Click the menu in the top righthand corner of the flow card and select "Restore" from the dropdown that appears.
To delete a flow:
- At studio.appcues.com filter your dashboard by the Archived flow status.
- Hover over the flow name and select the Delete icon on the left.
