disabling steps

Disabling and Testing Steps

Temporarily disable flow steps for testing, debugging, or maintenance without deleting your configuration. This guide shows you how to safely disable steps and understand the downstream impacts.

📍 You Are Here

You're learning to use step disabling as a powerful debugging and testing tool. Whether isolating issues, testing new configurations, or performing maintenance, disabling steps helps you control flow behavior without losing your work.

🎯 What You'll Learn

• How to disable and enable steps
• Understanding downstream impacts
• Safe testing strategies
• Common use cases

🔧 How to Disable a Step

Basic Process

1. Locate the Step

   • Open your flow in edit mode
   • Find the step you want to disable

2. Access Step Options

   • Click the gear icon on the step
   • Select Disable from the menu

3. Confirm the Action

   • Read any warnings about downstream impacts
   • Confirm to proceed

Visual Indicators

Once disabled:

• The step appears grayed out
• A "Disabled" label is shown
• Affected downstream steps are highlighted
• The flow diagram shows the skip path

⚠️ Understanding Downstream Impacts

The Warning Message

When disabling a step that other steps depend on, you'll see:

Warning: Downstream steps have criteria related to this step. Flow behavior may be unpredictable.

This means:

• Steps that use data from this step won't have that data
• Filters checking for this step's results will behave differently
• Mappings expecting appended data will be empty

What Gets Affected

Enhancement Steps:

• Appended data won't exist
• Fields like appended.service_name.result will be undefined
• Dependent rules may fail

Filter Steps:

• Rules checking step outcomes won't work as expected
• Routing logic may break
• Leads might take unexpected paths

Delivery Steps:

• Missing expected fields in mappings
• Potential delivery failures
• Incomplete data sent to destinations

🎯 Safe Disabling Strategies

Strategy 1: Bottom-Up Disabling

Start with the last steps and work backward:

1. Disable delivery steps first
2. Then enhancement steps
3. Finally filter steps
4. This minimizes unexpected behavior

Strategy 2: Branch Isolation

When testing a specific branch:

1. Disable the entire branch at once
2. Use a filter at the branch start
3. Route test leads around the branch
4. Re-enable when testing complete

Strategy 3: Test Mode Alternative

Instead of disabling, consider:

1. Add a test mode filter at the step
2. Use a custom field like test_mode
3. Skip steps when test_mode is true
4. More control, less disruption

💡 Common Use Cases

Testing New Enhancements

Scenario: Adding a new data verification service

1. Add the new enhancement step
2. Disable it initially
3. Send test leads through
4. Enable for specific test leads only
5. Verify results before full enablement

Debugging Delivery Issues

Scenario: CRM delivery failing

1. Disable the CRM delivery step
2. Add a webhook test destination
3. Verify data arrives correctly
4. Fix CRM configuration
5. Re-enable CRM delivery

Cost Control During Testing

Scenario: Expensive enhancement service

1. Disable costly enhancement steps
2. Test flow logic without charges
3. Enable for final testing only
4. Disable again if issues found

Maintenance Windows

Scenario: Destination system maintenance

1. Disable delivery to system
2. Optional: Add alternate delivery
3. Leads queue or route elsewhere
4. Re-enable after maintenance

🔄 Re-Enabling Steps

Process

1. Click the gear icon on disabled step
2. Select Enable
3. Step returns to normal operation
4. Downstream indicators clear

Verification After Enabling

Always verify:

• Step processes correctly
• Downstream steps receive expected data
• No leads were lost during disabled period
• Performance returns to normal

📊 Best Practices

Before Disabling

Document Your Changes:

• Note which steps you're disabling
• Record the reason
• Set a reminder to re-enable

Check Dependencies:

• Review downstream steps
• Identify data dependencies
• Plan for missing data

Consider Alternatives:

• Can you use step rules instead?
• Would a filter be more appropriate?
• Is there a test mode option?

During Disabled Period

Monitor Closely:

• Watch Events for unexpected behavior
• Check that leads flow as expected
• Verify no critical data is lost

Limit Duration:

• Disable for shortest time possible
• Re-enable as soon as testing complete
• Don't leave steps disabled accidentally

After Re-Enabling

Verify Everything:

• Send test lead through complete flow
• Check all data populates correctly
• Confirm normal operation resumed

🚫 Common Pitfalls

Forgetting to Re-Enable

Problem: Steps left disabled after testing
Solution:

• Set calendar reminders
• Document in team notes
• Regular flow audits

Cascading Failures

Problem: Disabling one step breaks many others
Solution:

• Map dependencies first
• Disable in logical groups
• Test incrementally

Data Loss

Problem: Important data not collected while disabled
Solution:

• Consider impact on reporting
• Plan for data recovery
• Use alternative capture methods

🎯 Advanced Patterns

Conditional Disabling

Use step rules instead of manual disabling:

Step Rule: test_mode is not equal to true
Effect: Step only runs for production leads

A/B Testing Pattern

Test new steps safely:

1. Clone existing step
2. Disable original
3. Add routing filter
4. Send percentage to new step
5. Compare results
6. Choose winner

Gradual Rollout

Enable features progressively:

Day 1: Enable for 10% of leads
Day 2: If successful, increase to 25%
Day 3: Increase to 50%
Day 4: Full deployment

📚 Related Documentation

• Working with Flow Steps - Step configuration basics
• Testing Strategies - Comprehensive testing approaches
• Flow Performance - Optimizing flow efficiency

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🔧 Test with Confidence: Disabling steps gives you surgical control over your flow behavior. Use it wisely for testing and debugging, but always remember to re-enable when done!