Our automation workflow builder is one of the best solutions out there. It’s an intuitive way to map a contact’s path through your marketing & sales processes.
Today, we are releasing a major update to our automation builder that makes it even better…
It’s now completely “drag-and-drop:”
You can move single actions, and portions of the automation, to make restructuring automations faster:
You can also choose to copy single actions, or portions of the automation, to make building repetitive automations faster:
When you copy an action, all its settings are copied as well, so this is a real time saver.
One of my favorite things about the automation builder, what made me fall in love with it the first time I used it, is that it gets out of your way while you work. It works exactly as you’d expect, so it almost disappears while you focus all your attention on what you are trying to create, rather than on figuring out how to get the tool to do what you want.
This update takes that intuitive ease of use to the next level. You’d expect to be able to move and copy actions to different places, and now you can.
Using drag-and-drop functionality…
Before you modify an existing automation, create a back up copy using an automation sharing link (which will save it as it exists at the moment you create the link).
To move or copy a portion of your automation, click and drag the action to a green node anywhere on your workflow. You’ll notice as you hover over a node it changes and expands to indicate you’ve selected it as the drop point. Releasing the click will “drop” the action at that node:
Immediately, a modal window will appear asking whether you’d like to:
After you make your selection, pay attention to any warnings that appear — we’ll make you aware of any potential issues and give you guidance on how to fix problems.
Special situations…
Moving “If/Else” actions
There are some situations with moving “If/Else” actions. For instance, you cannot move an “If/Else” statement with actions in both its branches if it is being placed above existing actions. In that situation, you’ll need to either:
- Remove actions from either its “yes” or “no” branch. If one of its branches is empty, the existing actions will move to that branch.
- Delete the actions below the node you are trying to move it to so you can move both its “Yes” and “No” branch.
In situations where conflicts are created, you’ll be given a warning highlighted with a red background.
You also can’t move a group of actions into the middle of the group itself and you can’t move an “If/Else” action into one of its child branches.
Moving “Go to” and “End automation” actions
Any action that exists below the “Go to” or “End automation” will be removed because both of these actions indicate the end of a branch.
The builder will give you helpful guidance as you move actions, you’ll be clearly warned before moving a “Go to” or “End automation” action, so pay attention to these messages.
We are working on an automation revision system that will work very similar to our campaign revisions. That will be released soon, and will make it very easy to roll back to an earlier version.
Moving “Wait” actions with contacts in them
When you try to move a “Wait” action with contact currently in that wait, you will be presented with three options on how to handle those contacts:
- Move to the new position of the “Wait” action. Basically, they move with the “Wait” action.
- Exit the “Wait” action at its current position and move forward with the rest of the automation. So, even if they are one day into a three day wait, they will exit the wait condition and proceed through the automations actions as if the wait had ended.
- End the automation for these contacts. They exit the automation completely rather than moving to the new position or proceeding through the automation.
Other updates…
In case you missed them, we also announced two new features this week:
- New form builder with four display modes and “baked in” automation
- Save portions of your campaigns in your Content Library for fast and easy reuse
- Save the default color of links in campaigns and modify them all at once
This feature will be part of the same update. We are releasing it to all users slowly, over the next few weeks. To have your account updated immediately, contact support, and request the Form Builder update.
Aggressive, user-focused development
This is another feature that was requested by our users. It’s another example of our intense focus on creating the best marketing & sales platform possible for our users.
This update is one of many on the development roadmap for 2016. It’s going to be an exciting year for all of us. As ActiveCampaign gets better and better, you’ll be empowered to create the intelligence-driven marketing & sales processes that will grow your business faster than ever.
If you have any questions about how this update works, please ask in the comments section.
