Flow actions for records, notifications, approvals, subflows and messaging
Key Takeaway
Data elements change records, and the Action element does work outside the flow. A child flow can't access the parent flow's triggering record, so the parent passes the record ID into a child variable set as "Available for input".
In Flow Builder, a flow changes Salesforce data with data elements and reaches outside itself with the Action element. Actions can send emails, post to Chatter, send notifications and messages, and submit records for approval. The Subflow element lets one flow run another flow, so shared logic lives in one place. Each element or action fits a specific job and has its own limits, so a scenario question usually comes down to picking the right one.
Data elements
Changing a flow variable does not change any Salesforce record. To read or change data, a flow uses data elements: Get Records, Create Records, Update Records, and Delete Records.
A flow stores the value Hot in a text variable called newRating. The account's Rating field stays the same, because changing a flow variable doesn't change a record. The account's Rating changes when an Update Records element sets Rating to newRating.
Create Records can create a record for any object you can see in Object Manager, standard or custom. Create Records also works for some API-only objects. API-only objects tend to have greater requirements or downstream effects. Create Records can create one record, or many at once from a record collection variable. The "Manually" option sets each field value one by one, which suits a record built from several data sources.
Update Records edits existing records. In a record-triggered flow, Update Records can update the record that triggered the flow. The Triggering global variable holds that record's fields. For example, Triggering Case > OwnerId is the owner of the case that triggered the flow. Update Records can also find records by conditions, such as Account ID equals an input variable, and set their fields individually.
Delete Records picks records by object, conditions, and filters. Deleted records go to the Recycle Bin. Salesforce recommends testing a flow that deletes records thoroughly in a sandbox before you activate it. Salesforce also recommends deleting a record only when the record should never have existed and you need no history of it.