1. Product updates

Widgets are now officially available for both Android and iOS

, Program Manager Intern, Dienstag, 23. Mai 2017

I’m excited to share widgets are now officially available for both Android and iOS (learn more about Flow mobile here).
Flow widgets are button shortcuts which provide you an easier & faster way for button triggering.
With Flow widgets, you can conveniently open a new bug, create a new contact in Dynamics CRM or trigger any of your button flows straight from your home screen, without having to open the app.

Learn more about Flow button on a short video here or below:

 

Also, we will be adding support for shared buttons soon, so you’ll be able to leverage the widgets power even more. For example, let’s say you want to create a tool for your team to help them track their working hours. You can create this flow once, share it with your team, which in turn will be able to trigger it by tapping on its widget on their device home screen.
 

How to get started:

Let’s look at an example – follow the steps below to create a widget for triggering a new build in VSO and learn more about the widget possibilities.

 

Prerequisites:

Android widget:

The Android widget is a single button shortcut, which you can place on your device’s home screen and use to trigger a specific flow. It’s resizable, and you can add as any as you’d like.

Here’s how you can create your own Android Flow widget:

  1. Long tap on the home screen background

    Android home screen
     

  2. Tap on the ‘widgets’ menu item

    Android personalize menu
     

  3. Scroll down to the Flow entry or search for it

    Android widget menu
     

  4. Tap/drag the widget to your home screen

    Android adding Flow widget
     

  5. Pair the widget with any of your button flows

    Android pair Flow widget to a existing button
     

  6. Set your widget location & size

    Android resize Flow widget
     

 

iOS widget:

The iOS widget is a widget containing all your enabled button flows.
The widget can be accessed from the widget screen, lock screen, and from the 3D touch menu of the Flow app.

Here’s how you can add the Flow widget:

  1. Swipe to your widgets screen, scroll down and tap ‘Edit’

    iOS widget screen
     

  2. Choose ‘Flow Buttons’ from the ‘MORE WIDGETS’ list, reorder the widget list and click ‘Done’

    iOS add widgets screen       iOS reorder widgets       iOS add widgets - Done     
     

  3. Flow widget will be added to the widget screen.
    Use the ‘Show More’ button to expand it and see all your buttons flows.

    iOS Flow widget added       iOS Flow widget expanded

 

Flow widget can also be accessed from the 3D touch menu – simply long tap on the Flow app’s icon:

iOS 3D touch Flow widget

 

 

 

Learn more and connect with us

That’s it, you can now start using the Flow widget to trigger flows easily. This opens a world of possibilities for you, your colleagues, and your customers.
Visit our Flow community and share what you’re doing, check out our documentation, ask questions or even submit new ideas and reach out to us on Twitter.