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    Home Paris Now Platform Capabilities Now Platform capabilities Flow Designer Action Designer Create an action Dynamic outputs

    Dynamic outputs

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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:
    1. An action designer creates a data gathering action.
    2. An action designer creates a parent action with a dynamic output that points to the child data gathering action.
    3. 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
    Dynamic action error message
    • Get started with dynamic outputs

      Create a sample action that builds dynamic objects for use in a flow.

    • Create a data gathering action for a dynamic object

      Create an action to collect output values. Then, pass the values to a parent action as a dynamic object.

    • Dynamic output configuration options

      Use these options to configure your dynamic outputs for a parent action.

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    Release version
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      Dynamic outputs

      • Save as PDF Selected topic Topic & subtopics All topics in contents
      • Unsubscribe Log in to subscribe to topics and get notified when content changes.
      • Share this page

      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:
      1. An action designer creates a data gathering action.
      2. An action designer creates a parent action with a dynamic output that points to the child data gathering action.
      3. 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
      Dynamic action error message
      • Get started with dynamic outputs

        Create a sample action that builds dynamic objects for use in a flow.

      • Create a data gathering action for a dynamic object

        Create an action to collect output values. Then, pass the values to a parent action as a dynamic object.

      • Dynamic output configuration options

        Use these options to configure your dynamic outputs for a parent action.

      Tags:

      Feedback

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