Launching flows from quick actions and custom buttons
Key Takeaway
A quick action runs only a screen flow. To start an autolaunched flow from a record page, use a custom button and add each variable value to the flow's URL yourself.
Quick actions and custom buttons give users a one-click way to start a flow from a record page or a list view. A quick action is the simple choice for running a screen flow from a record page. A custom button uses the flow's web address (URL), so it can also start autolaunched flows and send any variable value into the flow.
What the button type decides
The button type decides three things: which flow types you can start, where users see the button, and what values you can send into the flow.
| Flow types you can start | Where users see it | Values you can send into the flow | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quick action | Screen flow only | Record page | The record ID or the whole record, sent automatically, but only into a variable named recordId |
| Custom record page button | Screen flow or autolaunched flow (Autolaunched Flow (No Trigger)) | Record page | Any variable, but you must add each variable name and value to the flow URL yourself |
| Custom list view button | Screen flow or autolaunched flow | List view page | The IDs of the records the user selected, sent automatically into a text collection variable named ids |
To start an autolaunched flow from a record page, use a custom button instead of a quick action. Quick actions that run a flow also work only as object-specific actions.