What are Phases?

Actionflows process data one record at a time. However, sometimes you may want to process all records up to a point, before moving onto the next process.  Phases allow this to happen by acting as an internal break in the Actionflow. 

Phases are useful in the following scenarios:

• To check all data coming out of one Actionflow before starting another Actionflow
• Where one phase reads records into the Actionflow and checks them one at a time, then once all records have been checked, the Actionflow can move to the next phase, where records are updated
• Where the Actionflow requires the user to make a choice as part of the Actionflow, such as confirmation messages

Creating Phases

Using a Phase Action from the Toolbar

1. Click and drag a  Start Phase icon from the toolbar onto the canvas
2. Click the  Add Phase option that appears
   1. Enter a name and optional description for the Phase, then select Create Action
3. The Phase action will show on the canvas and a new phase will be added next to the Processing Phase 

Using the Phases Tabs

1. Every Actionflow contains a Processing Phase; click the  button next to the Processing Phase
2. Choose to  Add Phase before or  Add Phase after
   1.  
   2. Enter a name and optional description for the Phase, then select Confirm
3. To map to the Phase, click and drag a  Start Phase icon from the toolbar onto the canvas
4. The newly created phase can be selected

Moving Action Nodes Between Phases

To move action nodes between phases, the phases must first be created.

1. Create a new phase using the steps above in Creating Phases: Using the Phases Tabs
2. Disconnect ( Remove Connector) the action nodes that are to be moved
3. Select the action nodes to be moved, right-click and choose  Change Phase
4. Select the Phase to move the action nodes to 

Example Setup

This is an example of a  Phase being used to initiate a separate Actionflow after a successful sync to a CRM system .

Worked Example

A worked example of setting up a phase can be found below, this example is taken from 1.13 Confirmation Message Configuration and uses the School Data (available from the Learning Centre), but this example can also be followed using the Shop Data (available from the Learning Centre).