What is a flow?
A flow starts when someone answers a form and defines the path that answer takes between people. You can split the form’s sections, add other forms, request signatures, send emails, and close with a PDF. Each participant receives only their part, as a regular task, and admins can see on a board which stage each answer is in.
Use cases:
Request with approval: one person fills out the request, a supervisor completes their section, and management signs.
Service with checklist: the technician records the service, is assigned a vehicle inspection checklist, and when they finish, an email with the key data is sent.
Inspection with review: if a finding is serious, a decision sends the case to another section.
Before you start
Plan | What’s included |
Professional | Up to 5 flows, with a maximum of 2 steps per flow. The Split form into sections step is not included. |
Enterprise | All steps available and no limit on the number of flows. |
Using Flows has no additional cost. Each form answered and each signature within a flow counts the same as outside of it. Automatic emails and status changes are free.
Flows are created and managed by admins from the Flows module.
There can only be one active flow per form.
Participants don’t need training: they receive a task and answer it. You can add as many people as you need, since DataScope doesn’t charge per user.
How to create a flow
In the side menu, go to Flows and click Create Flow.
In the upper left, replace Untitled flow with your flow’s name. It must be unique in your account. Every new flow starts with two cards: the start and Closing.
On the When a form is answered card, click the pencil. In the Trigger panel, leave When a form is answered selected and click Select form.
Search for the form by name, select it, and click Continue. Then click Save changes.
Click + (Add a step to the flow) between two cards and choose the step you need. You can add as many as your plan allows.
Configure each step by clicking its pencil. Pending steps show the Not configured label.
Configure the Closing card.
Click Publish. The flow becomes Active and you’ll see Published: version 1.
If you don’t finish, use Save draft. The Publish button is enabled once the flow has a starting form.
Steps you can add
The + menu offers six steps: Assign task, Send email, Add decision, Request signature, Change form status, and Split form into sections.
Assign task
Delivers a form to someone as part of the flow. It can be the same starting form or another form in your account. First, choose the form and click Add. Then, in Configure form, set:
Fixed assignee: Users or groups.
Automatic assignment:
Whoever started the flow.
The same person from a previous step.
Based on a form answer: under Select step, choose a previous form in the flow. The task is assigned to whoever is selected in a data list question in that form. This way, the person who completes one task can choose who handles the next one. The data list question can’t be inside a table.
Duration: 1 day, 3 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, or 1 month. By default, it uses the flow’s duration (3 days), and you can change it for that task only.
Send email
Sends an automatic email when the flow reaches this step.
Step name: how the card will appear in the flow.
To: an email address or a dynamic recipient.
Subject and Body: type
/or use the Variables button to insert answers from the flow’s forms. Variables are grouped by form.Attach PDF: select the flow forms whose answer PDF you want to attach to the email.
In This is how the email will look, you’ll see a preview with sample data. Variables are replaced with real data when the email is sent.
Add decision
Defines which path the flow follows based on an answer.
Condition: choose a variable in Select variable, an operator, and enter the value. You can use any question type from the flow’s forms as a variable. Only answers available up to that point in the flow are shown. Use Add condition to add more.
Result: choose the destination for If met and If not met. If a branch is left with No destination, the flow will stop there.
Request signature
Requests an electronic signature within the process.
Form to sign: only forms with electronic signature enabled that are answered before this step are shown.
Who signs: with Add signers, you can add users, external emails, or dynamic signers based on a form answer. You can also select the assignee of the previous section, the assignees of previous sections, or the author of the answer.
How they sign: drag signers between the columns so they sign at the same time or in a set order.
Rejection rules: if you select Stop the flow when a signature is rejected, the flow stops. If not, the section goes back to the previous assignee for correction and, when resubmitted, the signature is requested again.
Reopening rules: with Allow reopening a completed signature, an admin can reopen it. The previous signature becomes invalid and is requested again.
Your account must have electronic signature set up.
Change form status
When the flow reaches this step, the answer always moves to the status you choose, without depending on a condition. Select the Form and the Status.
Split form into sections (Enterprise plan)
Distributes a form’s sections among different assignees. When you hover over the option, you’ll see the flow’s forms and how many sections each one has.
When you choose a form, each section becomes a card with its own assignee and duration. The first section is always completed by whoever starts the flow, which is why it shows a lock. The start card shows Configure sections, so you can adjust them all in one place. On the Professional plan, this option is locked.
Closing
This is the last card and it always exists.
PDF format: Standard (recommended) or Custom (a PDF template for that form). If the flow has more than one form, one PDF is generated per answer.
PDF availability: you can allow a partial PDF to be downloaded before the flow finishes and include a summarized history.
Closing email: select Send an email when the flow closes to send the final PDF as an attachment.
How each person participates
Whoever completes a part receives a task, opens it like any other, and can only edit their section. When they click Complete task, the flow moves forward on its own.
If you assign a form with an active flow, the task covers only the first section. It’s normal for it to be marked as completed after that section: the next ones are assigned automatically.
If the form is opened from its public link, the person only answers the first section.
Tracking answers
In the Flows list, click ⋯ in the Actions column and choose View tracking.
Indicators
Indicator | What it shows |
In progress | Answers moving through the flow. |
Due soon | About to expire. |
Overdue | Past the deadline for their stage. |
Stalled | Need someone to step in. |
You can filter by On time, Due soon, Overdue, Status, Assignees, and Date. From this screen, you can also go to Edit flow.
The board
Below the indicators, you’ll see one column for each step of the flow, in the same order as in the builder. Each column shows how many answers are at that stage. If there are none, you’ll see No answers at this stage. Automatic steps show Sent automatically (emails) or Changed automatically (status changes).
An answer’s path
Click an answer to open the Answer path. At the top, you’ll see its number, the starting form, and which step it’s on (for example, Step 5 of 5). Under Stages, each step appears with its status (Completed, In progress, Skipped, or Pending), who completed it, and the View answer link. For status changes, it also shows the status the form was left in. Skipped stages are the ones a flow decision jumped over.
Actions on an answer in progress
Nudge: remind the assignee of the current stage again.
Reassign: change the assignee of the current stage. You must enter a reason.
Resume (corrected): re-evaluate a stalled answer after fixing the problem.
Cancel answer: stop it permanently. What was answered is kept, but the closing PDF is not generated. This can’t be undone.
Edit, deactivate, and archive a flow
The flow list shows the name, Configuration (for example, “2 forms · 2 form sections”), Status, and Actions. You can filter by All, Active, Inactive, Drafts, and Archived.
Edit: when you save changes to an active flow, a new version is created. Answers in progress finish with the version they started with, and the changes apply to new ones.
Deactivate: the flow stops running for new answers. You can activate it again.
Archive: takes it out of use. Not possible while there are answers in progress.
Delete: only for drafts.
If you change or delete a question in the form that the flow uses, you’ll see the Needs attention label. Fix the affected step; in the meantime, the published version keeps working.
If the problem persists
What you see | What to do |
Publish isn’t enabled | Choose the starting form on the When a form is answered card. |
A step shows Not configured | Open the step with the pencil and complete the missing data. |
There are incomplete steps when publishing | Check the flagged cards: usually an assignee, signers, a recipient or subject, or a decision’s destination is missing. |
A flow with that name already exists | Use a different name. |
This form already has an active flow | Confirm the activation (the current one is deactivated) or deactivate the other one first. |
Step limit warning | On Professional, each flow allows up to 2 steps. Remove steps or upgrade to Enterprise. |
You can’t create more flows | On Professional, you can have up to 5 flows. Review the ones you don’t use or upgrade to Enterprise. |
Split form into sections is locked | This option is part of the Enterprise plan. |
An answer shows as Stalled | Open its path to see the reason, fix it, and use Resume (corrected). |
If you need more help, contact us through the support chat.