Automated flow statuses let you manage contact entry, session progress, and changes to the flow.
You can activate or pause an automated flow immediately or schedule the status change.
When you need to update the logic and content, stop the automated flow and reactivate it after making your changes.
Before you begin
An automated flow can have one of four statuses:
- Draft: the automated flow has been created but has not yet been activated
- Active: new contacts can enter, and existing sessions progress according to the configured logic
- Paused: new contacts cannot enter, while existing sessions continue along their paths
- Stopped: new contacts cannot enter, and existing sessions remain at their current nodes
When a contact enters an automated flow, magnews creates a session: the contact’s path through the flow. The session progresses along the connections between nodes and ends when the contact exits the automated flow.
The difference between a paused and a stopped automated flow concerns existing sessions: in a paused flow, they continue to progress; in a stopped flow, they remain at their current nodes until execution resumes.
Validate an automated flow
A new automated flow has Draft status. As you build it, you can add nodes, connect them, and configure the content of your communications.
Nodes with an incomplete configuration display an icon next to their name. Open the node to complete or correct its settings.
Before activating the automated flow, click “Validate”: magnews checks the configuration and identifies any nodes that need changes.
Test the automated flow
After completing validation, you can check how the flow behaves using a test contact.
Click “Start test”, select the database, and choose the contact. If the automated flow has multiple entry nodes, also select the node where the test should start.
Magnews creates a test session for the selected contact. To view its progress through the flow, click “Refresh”.
During the test, you can advance the session without waiting for the full duration configured in the wait nodes.
Activate the automated flow
You can manage status changes from both the automated flow home and the designer.
To start an automated flow with Draft or Stopped status, click “Activate”. In the window that opens, select “Activate” and choose when execution should start:
- Immediately: the automated flow becomes active when you confirm
- Starting on…: choose the activation date and time
If the automated flow is Paused, click “Activate” and choose when to activate it.
Once active, the automated flow allows contacts who meet the configured conditions to enter and advances existing sessions.
If you activate a Stopped automated flow, sessions resume according to the updated configuration.
Schedule a follow-up action
When setting up activation, you can also decide when to stop accepting new contacts.
In the “Schedule a follow-up action” section, enable “Pause the automated flow starting on…” and choose the date and time. The pause must be scheduled after activation.
For example, you can schedule the automated flow to activate when a promotion starts and pause when it ends. After the pause, new contacts cannot enter, while existing sessions continue along their paths.
Pause the automated flow
Pause the automated flow when you want to stop accepting new contacts while allowing those already in the flow to continue.
If the automated flow is Active, click “Pause” and choose when to apply the status change:
- Immediately: the automated flow becomes Paused when you confirm
- Starting on…: choose the pause date and time
You can also schedule reactivation: in the “Schedule a follow-up action” section, enable “Activate the automated flow starting on…” and set a date and time after the pause.
If the automated flow has Draft or Stopped status, you can move it directly to Paused by clicking “Activate” and then “Pause”.
Check or cancel a scheduled action
When you schedule a status change, the automated flow keeps its current status until the specified date and time.
In the designer and the automated flow list, an additional indicator shows scheduled changes. For example, “Active from…” indicates a future activation, while “Paused from… to…” indicates a pause period followed by reactivation.
To cancel the schedule, open the menu using the arrow next to the “Activate” or “Pause” button, select “Cancel schedule”, and confirm. The same option is available in the row menu in the automated flow list and the journey asset list.
Canceling removes the schedule and preserves the automated flow’s current status.
Stop the automated flow
To update the logic and content of an Active automated flow, click “Stop”.
When the automated flow is stopped, new contacts cannot enter, and existing sessions remain at their current nodes until execution resumes.
You can add or remove nodes, change connections, and update content. When you reactivate the automated flow, your changes also apply to existing sessions, so consider how the updates will affect contacts already progressing through the flow.
You can also edit a Paused automated flow, but only if it has no active sessions.
After making your changes, validate the automated flow and run the necessary tests. Then click “Activate” to resume execution immediately or schedule it.
Replace an automated flow with a new one
If you want to replace an automated flow, you can let contacts already in it complete their original paths.
For example, you might create a new birthday automated flow with updated content and logic.
Pause the previous automated flow and activate the new one.
Existing sessions will continue in the previous flow, while new contacts will enter only the Active automated flow, even if both flows have the same entry node.
Once all sessions in the previous automated flow have ended, you can stop it.