Editing and managing action flows


Action flowsare user-defined integrated workflows that perform actions in Zendesk and external systems, but are managed entirely from within Zendesk. After youcreatean action flow, you can update it, deactivate it, or delete it.


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Tip: Usage of action flows is measured through action credits. Each account includes an allowance of action
credits based on their plan.
Action flows are user-defined integrated workflows that
perform actions in Zendesk and external systems, but are managed entirely from within
Zendesk. After you create an action flow, you can update it, deactivate it, or
delete it.
This article contains the following topics:
Managing action flows
Managing an action flow's steps
Testing an action flow
Troubleshooting action flows


Related articles:
Creating action flows to automate processs
across Zendesk and external systems
Monitoring the usage of action credits and
action flow activity




Viewing your action flows

Admins can use the Action flows page in Admin Center to view a list of action flows
for their account. The list contains additional data about each action flow, such as
the status, which action flow trigger initiates it, and its usage data, including
successful and failed runs and action credits used.

To view the list of action flows
In Admin Center, click
Apps and integrations in the sidebar, then select Actions > Action
flows.





Managing action flows

From the Action flows page in Admin Center, you can view and manage your list of
action flows in the following ways:
Editing an action flow's name and description
Activating action flows
Deactivating action flows
Deleting action flows




Editing an action flow's name and description

Editing an action flow's name and description is separate from editing the flow's
steps in the action builder.

To edit an action flow's name or description
In Admin Center, click
Apps and integrations in the sidebar, then select Actions > Action
flows.
Next to the action flow you want to update, click the options menu
( ) and select Edit name or
description.
Enter the updated name or description.
Click Save.





Activating action flows

New action flows are inactive by default. An admin must activate the flow for it
to be used.

To activate an action flow
In Admin Center, click
Apps and integrations in the sidebar, then select Actions > Action
flows.
Next to the action flow you want to activate, click the options menu
( ) and select Activate.





Deactivating action flows

To prevent an action flow from being used, you can deactivate it or delete it. Deactivated flows
don't occur when their trigger event occurs and aren't presented as options for
agent copilot auto assist.

To deactivate an action flow
In Admin Center, click
Apps and integrations in the sidebar, then select Actions > Action
flows.
Next to the action flow you want to deactivate, click the options menu
( ) and select Deactivate.





Deleting action flows

To prevent an action flow from being used, you can deactivate it. However, you
can have a maximum of 10 action flows at a time. If you are permanently finished
with an action flow, you can delete it.

To delete an action flow
In Admin Center, click
Apps and integrations in the sidebar, then select Actions > Action
flows.
Next to the action flow you want to delete, click the options menu
( ) and select Delete.
In the confirmation dialog, click Confirm.






Managing an action flow's steps

Using the action builder, you can edit and delete steps in an action flow.

To open and manage an action flow in the action builder
In Admin Center, click
Apps and integrations in the sidebar, then select Actions > Action
flows.
Next to the flow you want to manage steps for, click Edit
workflow.
Make any of the following changes:
Editing a step in an action flow
Rearranging the steps in an action flow
Delete a step in an action flow


Click Save.




Editing a step in an action flow

In the action builder, you can click on any step of an action flow to review and
modify its configuration as needed.

To edit a step
In Admin Center, click
Apps and integrations in the sidebar, then select Actions > Action
flows.
Click the name of the action flow you want to edit.
Click on the step you want to edit.
Use the step sidebar to update the step's configuration.
Click Save.





Rearranging the steps in an action flow

Steps can't be re-ordered. Instead, if you need to change the order of the steps,
delete and re-create steps in the appropriate
locations within the flow. In addition to the options to add steps at the end of
an action flow's branches, you can also insert them between existing steps.

To insert a step between existing steps
In the action builder, hover between steps and click the add step icon
( ) that appears.





Delete a step in an action flow

In the action builder, you can click on any step of an action flow to review and
modify its configuration as needed.
Note: Any subsequent steps in the action flow
that refer to a deleted step's output enter an error state and must be fixed
after you delete a step. Even if you recreate an identical step, you still
must remove and re-add references to it in subsequent steps.


To delete a step
In Admin Center, click
Apps and integrations in the sidebar, then select Actions > Action
flows.
Click the name of the action flow you want to edit.
Within the step in the action builder, click the options menu ( ) and select Delete.
In the confirmation dialog, click Delete step.






Testing an action flow

After an action flow has been saved, admins can test it with sample inputs. Test
executions are logged in the integrations log.
Note:

When testing an action flow, real API requests are submitted for each
step. Use test data, such as test tickets, Jira issues, and so on to
avoid accidentally altering your service data.
Any conditions configured for the action flow's trigger are disregarded
during testing.




To test an action flow
In Admin Center, click
Apps and integrations in the sidebar, then select Actions > Action
flows.
Click the name of the action flow you want to test.
Click Test.
If prompted, use the Test action flow sidebar to enter sample
inputs. Outputs from the action flow trigger are simulated, so only
variable inputs used in the action flow need to be provided during
tests.

Click Run test.
Review the results for each step. Each step has a status of Done
or Failed and can be expanded to display its output.
A test
ends when a step fails or all steps have been completed
successfully.

Click Done or click Test again to try the action flow with
other sample inputs.





Troubleshooting action flows

Do the following if you're having trouble with your action flows:
Check the activation status of
your action flow
Fix broken steps
Check the letter casing of
values in conditional steps
Check date and datetime formatting
Align action flow names and
descriptions with auto assist procedures
Re-adding updated action steps
Differentiate the names of
action flows from auto assist actions
Troubleshoot custom code
steps




Checking action flow activation status

If an action flow isn't working as expected, you can start by checking that it's
been activated. The
activation status of your action flows is visible in the list on the Action
flows page in Admin Center.



Fixing broken steps

Assuming the flow has been activated, the next thing to check is whether all of
the steps are properly configured. Steps that aren't working properly, such as
an invalid input or a broken connection to an external service, are highlighted
in red in the action builder.

To fix a broken step
In Admin Center, click
Apps and integrations in the sidebar, then select Actions > Action
flows.
Click the name of the action flow you are troubleshooting.
Click on a step highlighted in red.
Use the step sidebar to resolve any configuration issues with the
step.
Click Save.





Checking letter case in conditional steps

Values for conditional steps are case-sensitive. That means checking for the type
Problem isn't the same as checking for problem.
Standard Zendesk fields typically use lowercase values.



Check date and datetime formatting

Action flows expect specific formats for date and datetime values.
Ensure date and datetimes include the expected punctuation and have the values
in the expected order.
In datetimes, milliseconds are optional, but a timezone is required.



Aligning action flow names and descriptions with auto assist procedures

When an action flow is initiated by an agent approving an auto assist suggestion,
it is important that the language used in the action flow's name and description
is closely aligned with one or more of your auto assist procedures. When the
language isn't similar enough, the action flow won't get suggested to
agents.



Re-adding updated action steps

If you have changed an auto assist action since adding it to your flow, you must
delete it and re-add the action. If you use outputs from the action in
subsequent steps, you will also need to update these references so they reflect
the new version of the action.



Differentiating names of action flows from auto assist actions

Because auto assist can suggest both actions and action flows, it's important to
be precise enough in the names and descriptions for both that auto assist can
tell them apart. If the names are too similar, auto assist might suggest the
wrong one or both, which could result in unexpected behavior. For example, if
you have an action named Create Jira issue and an action flow named
Create Jira ticket, it's likely auto assist could confuse or conflate
the action and action flow.



Troubleshooting custom code steps

If you're using custom code steps in your action flow, you might also need to do
the following:
Using code-hinting tips
Checking your input and output names
Checking your data types
Validating your outputs




Using code-hinting tips

Within the step, errors in your code are indicated by squiggly red
underlining. Hover your mouse over the underlined section to view an
explanation of the issue and suggestions for fixing it.



Checking your input and output names

The names of inputs and outputs within your code must match the names you
enter in the step inputs and outputs. Capitalization and punctuation must
match exactly.



Checking your data types

Verify that your data is of the correct type. If necessary, you can modify
the code to convert the inputs into the correct format. For example:
If you need to perform calculations on a string input, convert it to
a number using Number(my_input_string).

If you’re working with dates, use new
Date(my_input_date_string) to convert a string to a
JavaScript Date object.






Validating your outputs

It's important that your code always returns outputs in the correct type as
defined in your step. For example, if you specify a number as the output
type, but your code returns a text or null value, the step will fail.
To prevent this sort of error, make sure your code checks that the values
exist and are in the expected format. When needed, you can use fallback
values, such as the following, for outputs to maintain reliability:
For text, return an empty string "".
For numbers and decimals, return -1.
For true/false, return false.
For arrays, return an empty array
[].






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