Dynamically Passing Information Between Steps
Who this is for
This article is for Flow Builder users who want to make their automations smarter and more flexible. If you’ve ever wished you could collect information during a flow (not just at launch) and reuse it in later tasks, emails, or delays — placeholders are for you.
Placeholders let you save information as the flow runs and use it downstream. Instead of asking for everything upfront, you can gather data step by step, then put it to work exactly when you need it.
What’s New
You can now expose form fields as placeholders while a flow is in progress. This unlocks powerful automation, such as:
Updating the assignment of tasks to the right person without knowing who that will be when the flow starts. You are obliged to start with a placeholder assignee but this can change while the flow is running
Personalizing communications with user-provided details
Controlling delays based on real dates rather than fixed schedules
Once a field is marked as a placeholder, it’s reusable in later steps of the flow.
Real-World Scenarios
1. Update the Assignment of Tasks Dynamically
Imagine you’re running a bug triage workflow:
Flow Task Step 2: A form asks, “Who should review this bug?” (Field Type: User).
You expose the answer as a placeholder called
qa_reviewer.Flow Task Step 5: The system automatically updates the assignment of
{{qa_reviewer}}.
Now each subsequent bug related task automatically updates to the assignee selected in the form while it is running.
2. Personalizing Emails with User Inputs
Suppose you’re onboarding new vendors:
Step 3: A form asks, “What is the vendor’s ID number?” (Field Type: Number).
You expose the response as
vendor_id.Step 6: An automated email goes out saying:
“Hello, your vendor account {{vendor_id}} has been successfully created.”
Each vendor sees their unique ID, making communication clear and personalized.
3. Controlling Delays with Dates
Picture a finance workflow for invoice follow-up:
Step 3: A form includes a field: “When is this invoice due?” (Field Type: Date).
You expose it as
invoice_due.Step 5: Add a delay until
{{invoice_due}}.
The flow pauses until the due date, then automatically sends reminders or moves to the next step.
How to Set It Up
In a flow step where you want to actually capture the information, you can do so by adding a form to the step. From here you can add the field type desired.
The system will suggest a placeholder name (based on the field label), but you can edit it in the placeholder panel.
Supported field types include:
Short Answer (e.g., employee ID, project name)
Number (e.g., invoice amount, ticket priority)
User (e.g., assigned reviewer, manager name)
Currency (e.g., deal size, budget)
Date (e.g., contract start, renewal date)
Not supported: Long text, single choice, multi-choice, and attachments.
Helpful Flow Builder Features
Placeholder Launch Form
A central place to view, edit, add, and delete all placeholders collected at the time of flow launch
Smart Validation
You’ll see an error if you try to use a placeholder before it’s collected.
The builder warns you if you reference one too early.
Where You Can Use Placeholders
Placeholders can be referenced using {{placeholder_name}} syntax in:
Task assignees (“Assign to {{qa_reviewer}}”)
Step descriptions (“Reviewed by {{qa_reviewer}}”)
Emails (“Invoice {{invoice_number}} is due soon.”)
Delays (“Wait until {{invoice_due}} before continuing”)
Bonus: Reusing Data Later
Placeholders aren’t just for early steps — you can collect and reuse them anytime. This is especially useful for:
Approvals: Capture a manager’s name mid-flow and request their review later.
Conditional workflows: Branch logic based on earlier inputs (e.g., region = EU vs. US).
Notifications: Reuse collected values in stakeholder alerts.
In short: Placeholders let you build flows that adapt to real-world inputs. They save you from hard-coding every detail upfront and allow your automation to be flexible, personalized, and efficient.