Changing Workflow name refires the last workflow

Tips & Tricks
1

Hi Everyone

This is just a note on something I’ve noticed which might be useful to know.

When I rename an ‘Active’ workflow, it re-executes the last historic run of that workflow (in that it’s not firing on any new triggers but is firing from the historic data that it last received).

Hope this is helpful

Stephen

1 Like
2

Hey @spessex,

Thank you for letting us know. Tagging @jan to make sure it’s an expected behaviour.

3

Honestly do not understand that and also not how it would happen. To make sure I understand you correctly. When an active workflow gets renamed it just takes old data from a previous execution and runs that again?

Definitely not expected behavior.

4

Yes, it’s happened to me twice on two of my workflows.

See example of one of the workflows (the other one is the same but sends out email using Send Email instead of Twilio SMS);

Screenshot 2021-08-16 at 12.17.10
Screenshot 2021-08-16 at 12.17.102008×1462 233 KB

  1. So it checks for AT modication with AT trigger node.
  2. Checks to see if a ‘Selection’ (check mark) has been made on a specific Column of the AT base and table using IF node.
  3. Sets the data for those that have been Selections.
  4. Sends SMS to those users via Twilio.

So in this example when I renamed the ‘LIVE’ workflow (a few days later), it re-ran it again using the same data, so the same people received the same SMS again (not a problem as a test).

And as a note I knw at least one of the people did not have a current ‘Selection’ on their table so it suggests it was using the past data.

Hope this helps.

5

Thanks, that is very helpful!

Am I assuming correctly that it actually just ever happened with a workflow that used the Airtable Trigger node and never another Trigger node?

6

Yes, I’ve only used the Airtable trigger node so far, so my comments are only in relation to that type of flow :slight_smile: