Application developers can access Flow Designer functionality through APIs for flows, subflows, and
actions. Flow designers can enable individual flows, subflows, and actions to be
client callable during design.
Available Flow Designer APIs
Trigger flows, subflows, and actions using these APIs from server or client scripts.
- Server side
- FlowAPI: Trigger a flow, subflow, or action using
synchronous or asynchronous methods, with or without execution details.
- Client side
- GlideFlow: Perform client-side interactions with
actions, flows, and subflows. Flow designers must enable a flow, subflow, and action
to be called from the client.
FlowAPI quick methods
Use quick methods in the FlowAPI class to run an action, flow, or subflow from a
server-side script without creating execution details or other related records. Use these
methods to increase the speed of high-volume processing in a production environment, and to
improve performance by eliminating record-keeping overhead. Methods include:
- executeActionQuick(), executeFlowQuick(),
executeSubflowQuick(): Run an action, flow, or subflow from a
server-side script synchronously from the current user session.
- startActionQuick(), startFlowQuick(),
startSubflowQuick(): Run an action, flow, or subflow from a
server-side script asynchronously.
Client callable APIs
By default, the flows, subflows, and actions can
only be called by the FlowAPI within a server script. Flow and action designers
can make individual flows, subflows, or actions available to client calls by
enabling the Client callable option during
design.
Run as support
Flows and subflows can run as either the system user or the user who initiates the session.
Set this behavior from the flow properties. All
API quick methods ignore the run as property, and always run as the system user.
Actions always run as the user who initiates the session.
Code snippets
Application developers can generate a JavaScript function that calls a specific flow, subflow,
or action with the Code Snippet option. Use the code snippet in scripts
such as business rules or the Scripts - Backgound module to call specific
Flow Designer elements. The system only
generates code snippets for published flows, subflows, and actions. Flow Designer elements in the draft or
modified status do not generate code snippets.
