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05

Transitioning on Related Records

Subscribe to Record and Join Concepts

🎯 Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this module, you will be able to:

Data Sharing Between Workflows

Before diving into related records, let's review which field types can share data between workflows:

Field Type Can Share? Reason
Workflow Instance Fields ❌ No Private to specific workflow
Workflow State Fields ❌ No Private to specific state
Standard Record Fields ✅ Yes Record-level, available to all workflows
Custom Record Fields ✅ Yes Record-level, available to all workflows

⚠️ Important for Subscribe to Record

Understanding which fields can pass data between workflows is critical when configuring the Subscribe to Record action.

Understanding Record Joins

A join is the ability to access another record type's data in the context of the base record that the workflow is running on.

Example: Sales Order Joins

A Sales Order record has its own fields, but also has several joined (related) records:

Joins are defined at the record level by specifying the list record you want to join to the base record. Once established, these are referred to as related records.

The Subscribe to Record Action

The Subscribe to Record action allows you to monitor a related record for data changes. When the related record value changes, the workflow "wakes up" and evaluates transition conditions.

Fields You Can Monitor

📋 Key Concept

Subscribe to Record is used with transitions, not actions. Changes to subscribed records do not cause Before/After Record Submit events—the only valid transition trigger is blank.

Configuration Process

Step 1: Execute Subscribe to Record Action

Configure the action to subscribe to the related record you want to monitor.

Step 2: Evaluate Changes in Transition Condition

Configure a transition that evaluates the subscribed record's data for changes.

Using with Create Record Action

When using Subscribe to Record with Create Record:

  1. Create Record action creates the related record
  2. Store results in a custom record field (Store Results In dropdown)
  3. Subscribe to Record action references that custom field
  4. Transition condition evaluates the subscribed record's data

✅ Execution Order

Subscribe to Record must execute after Create Record (when subscribing to the created record's fields) but before the transition condition evaluates the data.

Practical Example

Customer Record + Task Record

A workflow running on a Customer record monitors a related Task record:

  1. Step 1: Workflow creates a Task record using Create Record action
  2. Step 2: Task record stored in custom field on Customer record
  3. Step 3: Subscribe to Record action monitors the Task record
  4. Step 4: User updates Task status from "Not Started" to "Completed"
  5. Step 5: Workflow wakes up, evaluates transition condition
  6. Step 6: Transition executes based on Task status change

💡 Use Case

Perfect for approval workflows where a task completion should trigger the next step in the parent record's workflow.

Implementation Summary

Step Action Purpose
1 Create Record (optional) Create related record, store in custom field
2 Subscribe to Record Monitor related record for changes
3 Configure Transition Set TRANSITION ON = blank, add condition
4 Related Record Updated Workflow wakes up automatically
5 Transition Evaluates Executes if condition is true

🌟 Key Takeaways

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