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title: Understand the flow builder description: Tour the flow builder: create a flow, add steps from the Step panel, switch views, test, save, publish and turn a flow on.

Understand the flow builder

The flow builder is where you design a chatbot. You place steps on a canvas, fill in each step, test the flow, and publish it. This page shows every part of the screen and every group of steps, so you know where to find each block.

Before you start

The parts of the builder

Part Where it is What it does
Back to flows arrow Top left Returns to the flow list.
Flow name Top left, next to the arrow Click it to rename the flow.
Version chip Next to the name Shows DRAFT, LIVE, PAUSED or VIEWING, with the version number, for example v1 · LIVE.
Undo and Redo Top toolbar Step back or forward through your edits.
Test Top toolbar Opens the Test tab so you can try the flow.
Save Top toolbar Saves your edits as a draft. Shows Unsaved changes until you save.
Publish Top right of the page Makes the saved flow live.
Active switch Top toolbar Turns the published flow on or off. It reads Active or Inactive.
Compact and Preview Top of the canvas Two ways to see the same flow.
Canvas Centre The dotted area where cards and wires sit.
Step panel Right side Shows the settings of the selected step, or the list of steps to add.
Logs and Run test Bottom bar Shows what happened in a test run.
Zoom buttons and minimap Canvas corners Zoom in, zoom out, fit the flow on screen, and jump around a large flow.

Create a new flow

  1. Open WhatsApp in the left rail, then select Flows.
  2. Click New flow. The builder opens on a blank canvas. Nothing is saved until you click Save.
  3. Or click the arrow beside New flow and choose Start from library to begin from a ready-made flow.
  4. On the canvas, read How does this flow start? and pick a start. See Choose how a flow starts.

Steps

Add a step

  1. Click the + at the end of the last step. The Add a step after menu opens.
  2. Type in Search to find a step by its name or by what it does.
  3. Pick a step from COMMON, or click All steps to see every group.
  4. Or use the Step panel on the right. Click a tile to add it, or drag the tile onto the canvas.
  5. Or type what you want in Describe the flow you want… and click Generate with AI. The AI writes a new flow from your words.

Generate with AI replaces the canvas

If the canvas already has steps, the builder asks Replace the steps on the canvas? Click Keep what I have to cancel.

You can also use the right-click menu on the canvas: Add a step here, Select all steps, Fit to screen and See the whole flow.

Work with one step

  1. Click a step on the canvas. Its settings open in the Step panel, in the Setup tab.
  2. Right-click the step to see more: Edit in panel, Rename, Add a step after, Add content block, Duplicate, Disconnect from path and Delete.
  3. Click the + Add Content button at the bottom of a card to add another block to the same card.
  4. Select several steps to Duplicate or Delete them together.
  5. On a card, click Collapse card to fold it into a small box, and Expand card to open it again.
  6. On the right edge of a block, click Add a block (the plus) to add another block to the card. Click Delete this block (the bin) to remove only that block.
  7. On a branch, click Add a step on this branch to add a step to that path only.

Join steps with wires

  1. Drag from the dot at the right edge of a step to the next step.
  2. Right-click a wire to Insert a step in between, Disconnect this step or Delete this connection.
  3. Blocks with choices, such as buttons, have one dot for each choice. Wire each choice to the step that should run next.

Change the view

  1. Click Compact to see each card as a small box. Use it for large flows.
  2. Click Preview to see every card open, as the customer will read it.
  3. Click Hide step panel (tooltip Hide the panel) to give the canvas more room. Click Show step panel to bring it back.
  4. Click the back arrow at the top left (tooltip Back to flows) to return to your list of flows.
  5. Select several steps and click Clear selection in the right-click menu to let go of them. In the Step panel, click Clear selected step to deselect one.

Test, save and publish

  1. Click Test and follow Test a chatbot flow with the chat simulator.
  2. Click Save. The chip reads DRAFT.
  3. Click Publish. The message Published and live — new runs use this version. appears.
  4. If the flow is switched off, the message reads Published. This flow is turned off, so it will not run yet. Switch Active on.
  5. To pause the flow later, switch Active off.

Published versions never change

To change a live flow, edit and publish again. Open the Versions button to go back to an earlier version. See Test a chatbot flow with the chat simulator.

Build and change a flow with the AI panel

  1. Click Build with AI. The panel opens on the left, with the title Build with AI. It greets you with Describe the flow you want and I will build it out. If the flow has a name, it reads You are working on "name". Describe the flow you want and I will build it out.
  2. In Ask anything…, type what you want. Or click the microphone (tooltip Describe the flow out loud) and speak. Spoken words are added to what you already typed.
  3. Press Enter, or click send (tooltip Send · Enter).
  4. Wait. The panel reads Thinking… and then Writing the flow….
  5. If the canvas already has steps, a window asks Replace the steps on the canvas?. It says the new flow replaces the old steps and nothing is saved until you save, so your last saved version is untouched. Click Replace and build to go on. Click Keep what I have to cancel. The panel then says Kept what you have. Say the word when you want it replaced.
  6. When it finishes, the panel says Named it "…" and It is on the canvas. Look it over and save it when it reads right — or tell me what to change.
  7. To change the result, type what to change and send. The panel says Changed. Look it over and save when it reads right — or tell me what else to adjust.
  8. If the AI cannot do it, the panel reads I could not draft that or I could not change that, with the reason. Rewrite your request and send it again.
  9. Read the reminder Look the flow over before you save it. Then click Save.
  10. Click Close the AI builder (the x at the top of the panel) when you are done.

Read the tabs of the Step panel

The Step panel has three tabs: Setup, Test and Output.

  1. Click a step, then click Setup. It shows a short summary: Step name, and for the start step Starts on, Match and Test number. For a card it also shows Selected block. For a step that is not a card it shows Does and Lane.
  2. Click Test to try the flow. See Test a chatbot flow with the chat simulator. Under Would this run? you can check a keyword without sending anything.
  3. Click Output to see what a step returned in the last test run. If no step is selected, the panel reads Select a step on the canvas to inspect it. Edit message content directly inside its card.
  4. With nothing selected, click + Add a step to open the list of blocks.
  5. In the Test tab, click Run published to run the live version once. It uses real data and real side effects, never the draft on the screen.

Publish when some steps are not finished

  1. Click Publish.
  2. If some steps are incomplete, a window opens. Its title reads One step will not be published or N steps will not be published. It lists up to 6 problems and says how many more there are.
  3. Read the line The rest of the flow publishes as it is. Fix these to include them:.
  4. Click Fix the steps to go back and finish them. This is the better choice.
  5. Or click Publish without them to publish only the finished steps.

Open an older version without losing your work

  1. Click Versions at the top of the builder. The list shows each version, and which one is live.
  2. Click a version to look at it. If you have unsaved changes, a window asks Save before switching?. It says This flow has changes you have not saved. Opening another version leaves them behind. Click Keep editing to stay, or Discard and switch to leave your changes.
  3. A published version cannot be changed. The banner reads Showing vN. It is published, so it cannot be changed — use "Edit as new version" to carry on from it.
  4. On a version, click More (the three dots) and choose Edit as new version. If you already have an unpublished draft, a window asks Replace the draft you have open?. It says your draft will be deleted and a copy of that version takes its place, and nothing that is already live changes. Click Replace it or Keep my draft.
  5. To make an older version the live one, click More on it and choose Make this live. This option is not shown on the version that is already live.

Read the Logs panel

  1. Click Logs at the bottom of the builder to open the panel.
  2. Click Run test. If the flow has no steps, a message reads Add a step before testing.
  3. In a chatbot flow, the window Test on your phone opens. It says Message this flow from your own WhatsApp and watch the canvas follow you. Nothing is published — the flow answers this number and nobody else. Type your number in Your WhatsApp number. The box shows 91XXXXXXXXXX. Click Start, or Cancel to close it.
  4. While the test runs, the button reads Testing…. Click Stop to end the test.
  5. Read the chip. It reads Running…, Success, Failed, Stopped or Finished, with the time it took, for example Success in 1.2s.
  6. Click a step in the list to see what it returned. The area reads Pick a step to see what it returned. The result is under STEP RESULT.
  7. Click Refresh to reload the run. Click Clear this run to empty the panel.
  8. Before the first run, the panel reads Nothing to display yet. Run a test to see what each step does. While waiting, it reads Waiting for the first step…. If a run recorded nothing, it reads No steps were recorded for this run.

Every group in the Step panel

The Step panel groups blocks by what they do for the customer.

Group Blocks What the group is for
Triggers Flow Start How the conversation begins. See Choose how a flow starts.
Message types Text, Media, List / Buttons, Catalogue, Single product, Multi product, Template, WhatsApp Form What the bot says. See Text and list blocks and Media, product and form blocks.
Ask the customer Ask name, Ask phone, Ask email, Ask address, Ask Question, Ask Location, Ask Media, Wait & Branch, Delay What the bot asks, and how long it waits. See Ask for name, phone, email and address and Ask and wait blocks.
Actions Set Attribute, Add Tag, Condition, Connect Flow, API Request, Chat with agent, AI Reply, Jump to flow, End What the bot does behind the scenes. See Action blocks and Ask for name, phone, email and address.
Store actions Order status, Cancel order, Reorder, Confirm address, COD check, COD to prepaid, Book appointment Order and booking tasks for store chats. See Look up orders and bookings in a chatbot.
Integrations CRM, Social, Forms, Meta Conversion Send data to other parts of Ohanvi and to Meta. See Integration and advanced steps.
Google Sheets, Google Calendar, Google Meet, Google Contacts Add a row, Read rows, Create spreadsheet, Create event, Find events, Check availability, Update event, Cancel event, Instant Meet link, Find contact, Save contact Work with your Google apps. See Add Google Sheets, Calendar, Meet and Contacts steps.
Advanced Action, Continue only if…, Many paths by rule, Delay, For each, Sub-flow, Parallel, Join, Send email, Wait, Tag contact, Remove tag, Unsubscribe, Split A/B, Webhook, Request Intervention, Invoke Action, and the Pick a … lists Steps for automations and email journeys, and ready-made option lists. Closed until you open it or search. See Integration and advanced steps.

Troubleshooting

Issue Cause Fix
Publish first — there is no live version to run. You clicked Run test on a flow that was never published. Click Publish, then test again.
Unsaved changes stays on the toolbar You edited the flow and did not save. Click Save.
The flow is published but does not answer Active is off. Switch Active on.
A step you expect is missing from the list The step sits in the closed Advanced group. Type its name in Search, or click Advanced to open it.
Remove tag is not a chatbot step — use Set attribute, or move it to a journey card. You put Remove tag on a chatbot card. Use Set Attribute, or move the block to a journey card.
… is not a chatbot step and will not be sent. You put a block that only works in another kind of flow on a chatbot card. Delete the block, or move it to the right kind of card.
… is not a journey step and will be skipped. You put a block that only works in a chatbot on a journey card. Delete the block, or move it to a chatbot card.
Button 'Name' leads to "…", which is not a chatbot step. A button or branch is wired to a step that is not a chatbot step. Know that the wire is saved and the automation follows it, but the conversation ends there. Wire the button to a chatbot step if the chat should go on.
Needs setup on a card The step is missing a required value. Click the step and fill in the fields marked as required.
One step will not be published Some steps are incomplete when you click Publish. Click Fix the steps, or Publish without them. See Publish when some steps are not finished.