Skip to main content

Create your first flow

You've installed AutoFlow, activated it, and (optionally) redeemed a voucher. Time to see it actually do something.

This page walks you through a five-minute "Hello, AutoFlow" flow. The goal is a single, harmless flow that runs end-to-end, so you know everything is wired up correctly. We won't cover every editor option or step type here – the Flow editor, Triggers, and Steps sections do that in depth.

What we'll build​

A flow that, when you click a button, creates one new BC item called HELLO-FLOW so you can see the result on the Items list. Two pieces:

  1. A Manual trigger – the flow only runs when you say so.
  2. An Insert Record step – the flow creates the item.

That's it. No webhooks, no schedules, no decisions. You'll be able to delete the test item afterwards in one click.

tip

If you'd rather not write to your data at all, swap the Insert Record step for a Sleep step (1 second). The flow will still run end-to-end and give you the same green ticks – it just won't leave anything behind.

1. Open the flow list​

In Business Central, search for AutoFlow Flows in the Tell Me bar and open it. This is the central list of every flow in the company. On a fresh activation it is empty.

Choose New in the action bar to create a flow. Give it a name like Hello AutoFlow and a short description, then save. The flow card opens with the editor embedded – an empty canvas with a single placeholder for the trigger.

2. Pick the Manual trigger​

Click the trigger placeholder. The trigger picker opens; choose When manually started. AutoFlow confirms with "There is nothing to configure for this trigger." – the trigger is valid as soon as you confirm.

Why Manual? It is the simplest trigger to test with: no event, no schedule, no payload. You start the flow yourself with one click. See Manual trigger for the full reference.

3. Add an Insert Record step​

A green + button now hangs off the right edge of the trigger. Click it; the step picker opens. Choose Insert Record.

In the configuration card:

  • Description – type something memorable, e.g. Create the HELLO-FLOW item.
  • Table – pick Item from the lookup. AutoFlow prefills one row in Field Values for the primary key (No.).
  • Field Values – set:
    • No. = HELLO-FLOW
    • Description = Created by my first AutoFlow flow
  • Leave Run Triggers on its default (On) so BC's standard item logic fires.

Confirm the card. The canvas now shows the Manual trigger wired into the Insert Record step.

4. Publish the flow​

A flow has to be Published before you can run it. Use the Publish action on the flow card. AutoFlow validates the configuration and switches the status from Draft to Published.

If validation flags anything, the step that needs attention is highlighted on the canvas – click it to fix the issue and publish again.

5. Run it​

On the published flow card, choose Run this flow. AutoFlow starts an execution on your session straight away and opens the execution card so you can watch it live.

Each step ticks over from pending to running to a green success badge. With only two steps, the whole run is over in a second or two.

6. Verify the result​

Two places to check:

  • The execution card – every step has a green success badge in its top-right corner. Click a step to see its execution log if you want to inspect the inputs and outputs.
  • The Items list – open Items in BC. The new HELLO-FLOW item is at the top of the list. That's the record your flow just created.

Congratulations – your first flow is live. 🎉

Tidy up​

When you're done, delete the HELLO-FLOW item from the Items list. The flow itself you can keep around as a sandbox – or unpublish and remove it from AutoFlow Flows.

Where to go next​

  • The flow editor – every gesture the editor supports while you're authoring a flow.
  • Triggers – the rest of the trigger surface (insert/modify/delete on any BC table, schedules, webhooks).
  • Steps – HTTP requests, decisions, loops, parsers, find/modify/delete record, and more.

Now that you've seen a flow run end-to-end, replacing the placeholder Insert Record with something useful is just step 3 with a different table – and replacing the Manual trigger with an event-driven or scheduled one is just step 2 with a different choice.