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Dynamic outputs

Access action and subflow outputs as dynamically generated data pills during flow design. You can also build data gathering actions to generate complex objects from Now Platform and IntegrationHub outputs.

Note: Dynamic outputs are not available in the base system. To use dynamic outputs in Flow Designer, you must request an IntegrationHub Enterprise Pack subscription.

During the flow design, a dynamic output retrieves the complex object's schema values and displays them as data pills in the data pane.

A dynamic output must point to a data gathering action that collects the displayed data. For example, a data gathering action can retrieve values from a third-party system as part of an IntegrationHub spoke. To use a dynamic output in Flow Designer:

An action designer creates a data gathering action.
An action designer creates a parent action with a dynamic output that points to the child data gathering action.
A flow designer adds the parent action to a flow.

Data gathering actions

A data gathering action collects data, typically from a third-party system via a REST call, and dynamically builds its output based on the returned payload. A data gathering action must:

Have a script step that contains an output variable of type JSON.
Have an action output named output of type JSON whose value is derived from the script step's JSON output variable.
Note: The action can have multiple outputs but can only have one of type JSON.
Format the payload in the script step so that output has a property named data.
Wait for up to 300 seconds (5 minutes) to gather data before it times out.
Note: To change the timeout period for a data gathering action, modify the value of the sn_flow_designer.sync_action_execution_timeout_in_seconds system property.

Dynamic object

A dynamic object is either a complex object or an array of complex objects. Action designers build the object structure dynamically with a data gathering action rather than hard-coding it. For more information on building a dynamic object, see Create a data gathering action for a dynamic object.

Design considerations

Consider dynamic outputs for third-party integrations: Use dynamic outputs to introspect and fetch data from external systems during the flow design. For example, you can specify service endpoints or call actions that interact with specific endpoint APIs. For more information on setting up third-party integrations with Flow Designer, see IntegrationHub.
Be aware of the time that is required to retrieve large amounts of data: By default, dynamic outputs have up to 300 seconds to gather data before the system stops them. If your data gathering action needs more time to gather data, set the sn_flow_designer.sync_action_execution_timeout_in_seconds system property to a greater value. Avoid long timeout values for interactive flows where an end user is expecting to enter or select a value.
Be aware of scripting errors: Because all data gathering actions use a script step, be aware of any potential errors that could arise from scripting. Review any scripts that are used to output JSON variables because script errors may prevent the outputs from receiving the JSON values that they need. When a dynamic output scripting error occurs, the following warning message may appear.
Figure 1. Message that is displayed for scripting error

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Dynamic outputs

Note: Dynamic outputs are not available in the base system. To use dynamic outputs in Flow Designer, you must request an IntegrationHub Enterprise Pack subscription.

During the flow design, a dynamic output retrieves the complex object's schema values and displays them as data pills in the data pane.

An action designer creates a data gathering action.
An action designer creates a parent action with a dynamic output that points to the child data gathering action.
A flow designer adds the parent action to a flow.

Data gathering actions

A data gathering action collects data, typically from a third-party system via a REST call, and dynamically builds its output based on the returned payload. A data gathering action must:

Have a script step that contains an output variable of type JSON.
Have an action output named output of type JSON whose value is derived from the script step's JSON output variable.
Note: The action can have multiple outputs but can only have one of type JSON.
Format the payload in the script step so that output has a property named data.
Wait for up to 300 seconds (5 minutes) to gather data before it times out.
Note: To change the timeout period for a data gathering action, modify the value of the sn_flow_designer.sync_action_execution_timeout_in_seconds system property.

Dynamic object

Design considerations

Consider dynamic outputs for third-party integrations: Use dynamic outputs to introspect and fetch data from external systems during the flow design. For example, you can specify service endpoints or call actions that interact with specific endpoint APIs. For more information on setting up third-party integrations with Flow Designer, see IntegrationHub.
Be aware of the time that is required to retrieve large amounts of data: By default, dynamic outputs have up to 300 seconds to gather data before the system stops them. If your data gathering action needs more time to gather data, set the sn_flow_designer.sync_action_execution_timeout_in_seconds system property to a greater value. Avoid long timeout values for interactive flows where an end user is expecting to enter or select a value.
Be aware of scripting errors: Because all data gathering actions use a script step, be aware of any potential errors that could arise from scripting. Review any scripts that are used to output JSON variables because script errors may prevent the outputs from receiving the JSON values that they need. When a dynamic output scripting error occurs, the following warning message may appear.
Figure 1. Message that is displayed for scripting error

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