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Workflow Editor: How to Create a Workflow

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Create New Workflow

Create Workflow from the Flows screen

  1. Navigate to the Flows page.
  2. Open popup menu and click Add Workflow (nested flow).
  3. The Workflow editor opens immediately.

Create Workflow using Flow type selection

  1. Navigate to the Flows window.
  2. Click Add Flow.
  3. In the Select Flow Type field, enter workflow (or nested).
  4. Select Workflow (Nested Flow).

Workflow Editor Overview

The Workflow editor provides a unified environment for building, navigating, and managing multi-step pipelines.

The editor consists of:

  1. A vertical toolbar for switching between editor views
  2. An expandable side panel for navigation and step creation
  3. A canvas editor where execution order and step settings are configured

The editor preserves state while navigating between parent and child Flows.

Add child flows as steps

Each step references an existing Flow or a newly created Flow and represents one execution unit in the workflow.

Steps are executed in order unless configured to run in parallel, conditionally, or in a loop.

Read how to add a child flow as a step:

Add existing flow using Flow Selector

The Flow Selector displays a searchable list of existing flows.

Use this panel to reuse existing flows as steps in the workflow.

Supported actions:

  • Add the flow as the last step 
  • Drag and drop the flow onto the canvas 
  • Preview the flow in read-only mode

This allows workflows to be built by composing previously created flows.

Create a new flow using Flow Gallery

The Flow Gallery displays available flow types.

Use this panel when a new flow needs to be created as part of the workflow.

Supported actions:

  • Click a flow type to create a new flow and add it as a step 
  • Drag and drop a flow type onto the canvas 
  • Filter flow types by category or name

Draft Steps

Newly added flows appear as Draft Steps until the flow is created and saved.

Draft steps are visible in both:

  • the Canvas Editor 
  • the Flow Structure Tree

Characteristics of Draft steps:

  • Marked with a visual draft indicator
  • Fully configurable
  • Can be removed before finalizing

Create the New Flow

Step 1. Click Create flow of this type. The flow editor opens.

Step 2. Configure the flow

Step 3. Click Save and Back to return to the Workflow Editor.

The step is now fully created and becomes part of the workflow.

Navigate Between Parent and Child Flows

You can navigate freely between parent and child Flows.

  • Unsaved changes are preserved
  • Child Flows open in the same editor context
  • Returning to the parent Workflow restores the previous state

This allows deep editing of complex Workflows without losing context.

Navigate From the Flow Structure Tree

In the left-side Flow Structure Tree:

  1. Click on any Flow name. The selected Flow is highlighted in the tree.
  2. Click link button
  3. or Right-click a Flow and select Open this flow to navigate using the context menu.

This method is useful for navigating large workflows.

Navigate From the Canvas Editor

  1. Select the step.
  2. Click Open this flow.

This is convenient when editing steps sequentially.

Returning back to the nested Flow

When you navigate from a nested Flow to a child Flow editor, Etlworks preserves your context.

  • Unsaved changes in the parent nested Flow are preserved
  • You can safely edit the child Flow
  • When finished, return back to the nested Flow editor using the built-in navigation

This allows deep editing of complex workflows without losing your place or state.

Configure Child Flow Parameters

Child flow execution parameters can be configured in two ways.

Both methods modify the same settings and remain synchronized.

Configure Parameters from the Side Panel

When you select a first-level child Flow, the Child Flow Parameters panel becomes available in the left side bar.

This panel allows you to configure execution parameters without opening a modal dialog.

Configure Parameters from the Canvas

Click the pen icon

This opens the parameter configuration dialog:

Managing Steps

Steps can be managed directly from the Canvas Editor or from the Flow Structure Tree.

Both views operate on the same workflow and remain synchronized.

Most step management tasks are performed directly on the canvas.

Reorder Steps

Steps can be reordered visually using drag and drop.

To reorder a step:

  • Click and hold the reorder icon on the canvas. 
  • Drag it to the desired position. Drop it in the new location.

The workflow structure updates immediately.

Reordering is commonly used when adjusting execution order during workflow design.

Disable a Step

A step can be temporarily disabled without removing it from the workflow.

Disabled steps:

  • remain part of the workflow 
  • are skipped during execution

To disable a step:

Select the step. Click Disable.

This is useful during testing or when temporarily excluding a step from execution.

Delete a Step

Steps can be removed from the workflow if they are no longer needed.

To delete a step:

Select the step. Click Delete.

Deleting a step removes it from the workflow structure but does not delete the underlying flow.

The flow remains available in the Flows list and can be reused later.

Rearranging Steps on the Canvas

In addition to reordering steps, you can reposition steps on the canvas to improve readability.

To move a step:

  • Click anywhere on top of the step block. 
  • Drag the step to a new position on the canvas. 
  • Release the mouse button to place the step.

This action changes only the visual layout of the workflow.

It does not change execution order.

Rearranging steps is useful when:

  • organizing large workflows 
  • grouping related steps 
  • visually improving readability of complex pipelines

Execution order is controlled by the workflow structure, not by the visual placement of steps.

Selecting Multiple Steps and Bulk Operations

The Canvas Editor allows selecting multiple steps and performing operations on them simultaneously.

This is useful when managing large workflows with many steps.

To select multiple steps:

  • Click the checkbox on each step you want to select. 
  • Multiple steps can be selected at the same time.

Once steps are selected, the selection actions menu becomes available in the canvas toolbar.

Bulk Actions

The following operations can be applied to all selected steps.

Enable Selected - Enables all selected steps.

This is useful when multiple steps were previously disabled and need to be re-enabled together.

Disable Selected - Disables all selected steps.

Disabled steps remain part of the workflow but are skipped during execution.

Delete Selected - Removes all selected steps from the workflow.

Deleting steps removes them from the workflow structure but does not delete the underlying flows.

Clear Selection - Clears the current selection without modifying any steps.

Advanced Actions - The Advanced actions option provides additional management operations for the selected steps.

Advanced Bulk Actions

The Advanced actions option allows modifying multiple steps at once.

This feature is useful when reorganizing large workflows or applying consistent naming and tagging rules across many steps.

Rename Multiple Steps

You can rename selected steps in bulk using the following options.

Name prefix

Adds text at the beginning of each step name.

Example:

Prefix: stage1_

Result:

stage1_load_customers
stage1_transform_orders

Name suffix

Adds text at the end of each step name.

Example:

Suffix: _retry

Result:

load_customers_retry
transform_orders_retry

Name regex replace

Allows renaming steps using a regular expression pattern.

Options include:

  • pattern replacement 
  • value case sensitivity

This is useful when renaming multiple steps that follow a similar naming convention.

Manage Tags in Bulk

Tags can also be modified for multiple steps.

Available operations:

Add tags

Adds tags to the selected steps while preserving existing tags.

Remove tags

Removes specific tags from the selected steps.

Set tags

Replaces all existing tags with the specified tags.

When to Use Bulk Operations

Bulk operations are useful when:

  • enabling or disabling multiple steps during testing 
  • cleaning up large workflows temporarily 
  • excluding groups of steps from execution 
  • performing workflow restructuring
  • updating name and tags in all selected flows

Using bulk operations can significantly reduce manual work when managing complex workflows.

Managing Steps from the Flow Structure Tree

The Flow Structure Tree also provides a context menu for managing steps.

Available actions include:

  • opening the flow 
  • disabling the step 
  • deleting the step

This view is useful when managing workflows with many nested steps.

Searching Steps in the Workflow

The Workflow Editor provides search capabilities to quickly locate steps within a workflow.

Search is available in two places:

  • Flow Structure 
  • Tree Canvas Editor

Both search fields work the same way and share the same search modes.

Search Modes: Name Filter vs Full Text Search

The Workflow Editor supports two search modes:

  • Name Filter (default) 
  • Full Text Search

You can switch between modes using the toggle icon next to the search field.

  • Filter icon → Name Filter mode 
  • Binoculars icon → Full Text Search mode

The icon indicates the active mode, and the tooltip explains the current search behavior.

The selected mode is preserved while working within the same workflow session.

Name Filter (Default)

Name Filter searches only by step name.

Behavior:

  • Filters the tree and canvas by step name 
  • Runs instantly on the client side 
  • Highlights matching steps

Matching steps are marked with a green indicator dot.

This mode is useful for quickly locating a specific step when you know its name.

Full Text Search

Full Text Search scans the contents of steps inside the workflow hierarchy.

The search includes:

  • transformations 
  • mappings 
  • scripts 
  • parameters other flow configuration elements

It does not search by step name.

Matching steps are marked with a green indicator dot, and a match counter indicates how many matches were found inside the step.

This mode is useful when searching for specific SQL, scripts, or configuration values within complex workflows.

When to Use Each Mode

Use Name Filter when: locating a step by name navigating large workflows quickly

Use Full Text Search when: searching for SQL statements locating scripts or transformation logic finding specific configuration parameters within flows

Search helps quickly navigate complex workflows without manually expanding each step.

Summary

The Workflow Editor allows you to build workflows by combining flows as steps and organizing them into multi-step pipelines.

Key capabilities include:

  • creating workflows from the Flows screen 
  • adding existing flows as steps 
  • creating new flows directly within a workflow 
  • navigating between parent and child flows 
  • configuring step parameters 
  • reordering, 
  • disabling, and deleting steps 
  • selecting multiple steps and performing bulk operations 
  • searching steps by name or workflow content

The Canvas Editor provides a visual and flexible way to design, organize, and manage complex workflows.

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