Once a contact enters a flow, they become an active member of that flow until they exit. Contacts cannot interact with multiple flows simultaneously; they can only interact with one flow at a time. If you start a contact in another flow, they may be kicked out of the current flow they’re in.
Start a Flow
There are two methods to starting a contact in a flow – manually or via a trigger.
Start a Flow Manually
You can manually start a flow via the "Launch Flow" box in the flow editor. Use this method only if you want to launch the flow immediately. If you want to schedule a flow to launch at a later date or time, you will need to use a trigger (more details below).
To manually start a flow for immediate launch:
Navigate to the "flows" tab and click the flow you want to start.
Click on the "Launch Flow" button in the top right portion of the flow editor.
The flow will automatically be set to “Start flow immediately and send to selected groups or individual.”Enter the contacts and/or groups that you want to start the flow.
Optional: check “Exclude contacts currently in a flow” if you don't want contacts that have already started another flow to start this one. Since contacts can only interact with one flow at a time, contacts that have started another flow will exit that flow and start the current one once you hit “OK” if you do not check this box.
Optional: check “Exclude contacts previously in this flow” if you don't want to re-send the flow to contacts who have already received a message from this flow.
Click “Ok” to start the flow. It will be sent immediately.
Create a Trigger to Allow Contacts to Start a Flow
Triggers allow you to control how or when a flow starts. You can use triggers to complete the following actions:
Create a message keyword that launches a flow
Create a message keyword that allows people to join a group
Start a flow in the future or on a schedule
Start a flow after receiving a call
Start a flow after a missed called
Start a flow after receiving a message not handled elsewhere
To learn more about how to use triggers, start here: Introduction to Triggers
In the Flow
Active members of a flow are represented by the blue icon that appears on the top left corner of each ActionSet.
You can click the blue icon to send them a follow-up message. After receiving this message, the contact will continue where they left off in the flow.
Exit a Flow
Contacts will exit a flow when:
They complete a flow by passing through the final step or any unconnected step.
They pass through an “Enter a Flow” action, which will start the contact in another flow.
They expire from a flow after a certain period of inactivity. You can set this time duration within the flow editor. Access this via clicking the gear icon in the upper right corner of the flow editor and then “Edit.” A dropdown menu will allow you to set this time from “after 5 minutes” to “after 30 days.” Click “Save Changes” to update your flow.
