Process Automation and Logic28% of the exam

Declarative automation with Flow and approvals

What each flow type can and cannot do (screen, record-triggered before and after save, schedule-triggered, platform event-triggered, autolaunched), how flows run by default, and when an approval process is the declarative answer.

Official exam objective
Identify the capabilities of the declarative process automation features.

~8 min read · 10 practice questions ·

What the exam expects

  • Pick the flow type from how the automation starts: a user on a page, a record save, a schedule, a platform event message, or a call from Apex or another flow.
  • Say what a before-save flow can do that an after-save flow can't (and the reverse), and when work belongs on an asynchronous path.
  • Recognise the context a flow runs in by default and what that means for sharing and field access.
  • Choose an approval process when a record needs recorded, multi-step sign-off and must be locked while pending.
  • Reject retired tools: Workflow Rules and Process Builder are never the answer for new automation.

Key terms: flow type (sets allowed elements and launch methods); $Record (the record a triggered flow runs for); fast field updates (the before-save option); system context without sharing (ignores the running user's access); approval process (ordered approval steps for a record).

Key facts

Before-save elements
Detail
Assignment, Decision, Get Records and Loop only
Before-save limits
Detail
No actions and no changes to related records
Callouts from a record-triggered flow
Detail
Only on the asynchronous path, after the save commits
Screens
Detail
Screen flows only; screen flows don't support Wait elements
Schedule frequency
Detail
Once, daily or weekly; one interview per matching record
Default context: record-, schedule- and platform event-triggered
Detail
System context without sharing
Activating a triggered autolaunched flow
Detail
Requires View All Data
Workflow Rules and Process Builder
Detail
Support ended December 31, 2025; build new automation in Flow Builder
Locked record editing (default)
Detail
Only users with Modify All on the object or Modify All Data
Sources for this section (8)
  • Why is a before-save flow faster than an after-save flow for a same-record update?
  • When should a record-triggered flow use an asynchronous path?
  • Why can't a record-triggered flow replace a schedule-triggered flow for marking stale records?
  • What context does a platform event-triggered flow run in by default?

The questions are free to read. Answers with their sources and self-grading are included with the pack.

Keep reading with the Platform Developer pack

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