Skip to main content
Skip table of contents

What is the Flow Model? (Legacy)

The core of any template is its logic - a series of operations, from data retrieval to PDF creation, saving and emailing. This logic is housed within a Flow, which specifies the paths the logic can take. Being basically lightweight programs, modifying and creating Flows is a task requiring specific knowledge, which is what this documentation section aims to help with.

The fundamentals

  • The first recommended topic for readers new to Flow is Flow structure. It's best to know the building blocks of the Flow before getting into more details of how it works.

  • The next recommended topic following the introduction of the Flow's structural elements is Routes through the Flow. How a Flow advances through its Steps is the basically most important concept in this logic model.

  • If one happens to be familiar with the preceding logic model of Dynamo templates, the Document Controller, taking a look at the differences between Document Controller and Flow may be a good idea. Many elements in the Flow are quite similar to how things used to be.

The details

  • A commonly occurring special step in Flows is the Form. For details about these visual tools of Flows, see How does Forms in the Flow model work.

  • Unless used through API services, Flows provide messages as they progress, as described in Messaging to End-users in Flow. See how to customize these bits of communication to your liking.

  • A template doesn't necessarily contain just one Flow. Office templates even have two by default. Flows can exist for different purposes; the common types are introduced in Different Flow types.

  • With several Flows present, it is possible to make them work together in certain ways. Flow Cooperation shows how to do this either with Flow steps or a specific tag.

  • Flows need to fulfil certain conditions in order to be considered valid, as described in Validity and Limitations. A set of limitations also exists that Flows need to follow when running - designers should be aware of these.

JavaScript errors detected

Please note, these errors can depend on your browser setup.

If this problem persists, please contact our support.