--- schema_version: "1" id: ec544a504d01ed8bd76409762af4440a38c02eaf275b7406244e2ba907611a09 title: Paused Flow Interview Considerations collection: admin version: current locale: en-us portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/platform/264-0-0/flow_considerations_design_pause.md canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.flow_considerations_design_pause.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 source_site: help.salesforce.com content_type: documentation content_hash: a6769d4112dc81dfa846ea57954e94b308256df136137b9616d2741dd3100a15 description: Before you design flows that contain one or more Wait elements, understand the behavior and guidelines. products: - Flow Builder - Salesforce Platform release: "264" --- # Paused Flow Interview Considerations Before you design flows that contain one or more Wait elements, understand the behavior and guidelines. ### Required Editions
Available in: both Salesforce Classic (not available in all orgs) and Lightning Experience

Time-based resume events are available in: Essentials, Professional, Enterprise, Performance, Unlimited, and Developer Editions

Platform event-based resume events are available in: Enterprise, Performance, Unlimited, and Developer Editions

## General Considerations - After you deactivate a flow version, its paused interviews continue to wait for the configured resume events. If a flow version has paused interviews, you can’t delete it. - An interview can run only one connector per Wait element. After one of its resume events is processed, the remaining resume events are removed from the queue. - If the user who started the interview is deactivated when Salesforce tries to run a wait connector, the interview fails to resume. - If a flow is paused and the flow interview exceeds 1 MB, the interview fails to save and can’t be resumed. - You can’t call flows that contain wait elements . - Wait elements in screen action autolaunched flows don't work when the screen flow runs. ## Transactions and Paused Interviews A transaction ends as soon as a flow interview pauses for one or more resume events. When the flow interview resumes, a new transaction begins. Everything after the Wait element is run as part of a batch transaction that includes other resumed interviews. Interviews aren’t resumed independently. They’re grouped into a single batch that starts resuming within one hour after the first interview enters the batch. Actions that run as a result of the grouped interviews are also run in that transaction. The batch can have other interviews that resume at the same time, have the same flow version ID, and are run by the same user ID. This behavior can cause you to exceed your Apex governor limits if the resumed interview runs DML operations or SOQL queries through. For details, see [Per-Transaction Flow Limits](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.flow_considerations_limit_transaction.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Salesforce strictly enforces limits to ensure that any runaway flows don't monopolize shared resources in the multitenant environment. Per-transaction limits, which Apex enforces, govern flows. If an element causes the transaction to exceed governor limits, the system rolls back the entire transaction. The transaction rolls back even if the element has a defined fault connector path."). - Flow elements, such as Create Records or Apex Action (Legacy) - Apex triggers - Immediate workflow actions If a Wait element precedes a flow element that runs DML operations or SOQL queries: - Ensure that your flows don’t let a single user run DML operations or SOQL queries that can exceed limits between Wait elements. - Consider using multiple Wait elements so that the DML operations and SOQL queries are performed in multiple transactions. - Add fault paths for those elements so that the flow returns to the Wait element if the fault message contains: `Too many SOQL queries` or `Too many DML operations`. If an interview fails after it’s resumed: - Prior interviews in that batch’s transaction are successful. - Operations that the interview ran before it paused are successful. - If a fault path handles the failure, operations that the interview ran between when it resumed and when it failed are successful. The operation that caused the interview to fail isn’t successful. - If a fault path doesn’t handle the failure, operations that the interview ran between when it resumed and when it failed are rolled back. The operation that caused the interview to fail isn’t successful. - The remaining interviews in that batch are tried. ## Platform Events ![Tip](https://sf-zdocs-cdn-prod.zoominsoftware.com/tdta-platform-platform_automation-264-0-0-production-enus/60568438-ec7e-4665-acd1-7c80dcbe60d5/images/icon_tip.png) Tip Make sure to also review the [considerations](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.platform_events.meta/platform_events/platform_events_considerations.htm) and [allocations](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.platform_events.meta/platform_events/platform_event_limits.htm) for platform events. - Supported Platform Events Flows can subscribe to custom platform events and these standard platform events. - AIPredictionEvent - BatchApexErrorEvent - FlowExecutionErrorEvent - FOStatusChangedEvent - OrderSummaryCreatedEvent - OrderSumStatusChangedEvent - PlatformStatusAlertEvent - Formulas—To reference a platform event in a formula, pass the event data into a record variable in the Wait element. Then reference the appropriate field in that record variable. - Value Truncation—When you filter platform event messages, values for conditions can’t be more than 765 characters. - Subscriptions Related List—On the platform event’s detail page, the Subscriptions related list shows which entities are waiting to receive that platform event’s messages. The related list includes a link to each subscribed process. If flow interviews are waiting for that platform event's messages, one “Process” subscriber appears in the Subscriptions related list. - Uninstalling Events—Before you uninstall a package that includes a platform event, delete the interviews that are waiting for that platform event’s messages. - Einstein Predictions—A prediction event is sent for each Einstein prediction result, so use event condition filters if you want your flow to be triggered only by predictions on a specific object. For example, if your flow uses a Wait element that acts only on predictions written to Lead records, add a resume event to check that the AIPredictionEvent.TargetId field equals the current record. If your flow updates a field that is used by an Einstein prediction, Einstein runs the prediction again and writes back the new results. The new results generate a new prediction event that could trigger your flow again, resulting in a loop. To avoid creating a loop, only update fields that aren’t used in Einstein predictions. ## Platform Cache When a flow contains a Wait element, make sure that later elements in the flow don't invoke Apex code that stores or retrieves values from the session cache. The session-cache restriction applies to Apex actions and to changes that the flow makes to the database that cause Apex triggers to fire. ## Time-Based Resume Events - Time-based resume events don’t support minutes or seconds. - If an interview is waiting for a time in the past, Salesforce resumes the interview as soon as possible. Depending on how many actions Salesforce is processing at the time, actions are run within one hour. For example, a flow is configured to email an opportunity owner seven days before the close date. An interview starts for an opportunity with the close date set to today. Salesforce resumes the interview within an hour. - An org can process up to 1,000 time-based resume events per hour. When a resume event is processed, its associated interview resumes and any other resume events for that interview are removed from the queue. If an org exceeds this limit, Salesforce defers the remaining resume events to be processed in the next hour. For example, an org has 1,200 resume events scheduled to be processed between 4:00 PM and 5:00 PM. Salesforce processes 1,000 resume events between 4:00 PM and 5:00 PM and the additional 200 resume events between 5:00 PM and 6:00 PM. - You can’t archive a product or price book that’s referenced in a time-based resume event in a paused interview. ## Flow-Based Time For resume events based on a specific time, the resume time is evaluated using the time zone of the user who created the flow. ## Record-Based Time - For resume events based on a record field value, the resume time is evaluated using the org’s time zone. - Resume events can’t reference: - DATE or DATETIME fields that contain automatically derived functions, such as TODAY or NOW. - Formula fields that include related-object merge fields. - If you change a date field that’s referenced by a resume event but that hasn't yet run in a paused interview, Salesforce recalculates the resume events associated with the interview. For example, a flow is configured to email an opportunity owner seven days before the opportunity close date, and the close date is 2/20/2014. The following things could happen. - The close date isn’t updated before the interview resumes. Result: Salesforce resumes the interview on 2/13/2014 and sends the email. - The close date is updated to 2/10/2014 before the interview resumes. Result: Salesforce reschedules the resume event and the interview resumes on 2/3/2014. - The close date is updated to a date in the past. Result: Salesforce recalculates the resume event and resumes the interview shortly after you save the record. - If a resume event references a null date field when the interview runs the Wait element, Salesforce resumes the interview as soon as possible. Depending on how many actions Salesforce is processing at the time, actions are run within one hour. - If a resume event references a date field that has a non-null value when the flow interview runs the Wait element and it’s updated to `null` before the resume event is processed, Salesforce resumes the interview within an hour after the date field is updated. - If a record or object that’s referenced by a resume event is deleted, the resume event is removed from the queue. If the interview has no other resume events to wait for, the interview is deleted. - Lead Convert Limitations - You can’t convert a lead that’s referenced in a paused interview’s resume event. - If Validation and Triggers from Lead Convert is enabled, existing operations on leads after a Wait element aren’t run during lead conversion. - If a campaign member based on a lead is converted before a paused interview that’s associated with that record finishes, Salesforce still runs the interview. #### See Also - [_Platform Events Developer Guide_ : Considerations for Defining and Publishing Platform Events](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.platform_events.meta/platform_events/platform_events_considerations.htm) - [Flow Limits and Considerations](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.flow_considerations.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "When designing, managing, and running flows, consider the permissions, use limits, and data issues.") - [Flow Operators in Decision, Wait, and Collection Filter Elements](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.flow_ref_operators_condition.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Use condition operators to verify the value of a selected resource. Use conditions in Decision, Wait, and Collection Filter elements.") - [Wait for Conditions Element](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.flow_ref_elements_wait_for_conditions.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Resume a flow interview after specific conditions are met. Each wait configuration that you define in a flow has optional wait conditions. At run time, these conditions determine whether the flow waits for the associated resume event.") - [Wait for Amount of Time Element](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.flow_ref_elements_wait_for_amount_of_time.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Resume a flow interview after a specific amount of time.") - [Wait Until Date Element](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=platform.flow_ref_elements_wait_until_date.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5 "Resume a flow at a specific date and time.") - [_Platform Events Developer Guide_ : Subscribe to Platform Even Messages with Flows](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/atlas.en-us.platform_events.meta/platform_events/platform_events_subscribe_flow.htm)