Build your first flow

01Before you start

Make the spreadsheet the flow will write to, and note down two things about it.

1. Create a Google Sheet

   In Google Sheets, create a new spreadsheet called Sign-ups. In the first row, type the headings Name, Email and Signed up in columns A, B and C.

2. Copy its ID from the link

   Look at the address bar. The spreadsheet's ID is the long code between /d/ and /edit. Copy just that part:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1aBcD2eFgH3iJkL4mNoP5qRsT6uVwX7yZ8example/edit

Also check the name of the tab at the bottom of the sheet. For a new spreadsheet it's Sheet1.

02Create the flow

Find it: Automate›Flows

1. Start a new flow

   Open Flows, click New, then choose Blank Flow. The editor opens.

2. Give it a name

   Click Untitled Flo at the top left and type New sign-ups to Google Sheets.

03Add a form

The form is the trigger: each time someone submits it, the flow runs.

1. Add the Form Trigger

   Click Add Node, type form trigger, and click Form Trigger.

2. Remove the Manual Trigger

   This flow starts from the form, so you don't need it. Click the Manual Trigger, then click Delete Node at the bottom of its settings.

3. Name the form

   Click the Form Trigger to open its settings. Under Form title, type Sign up for updates. This is the heading people see.

4. Add a name field

   Click Add Field and choose Text. Set the Label to Your name and switch on Required.

5. Add an email field

   Click Add Field again and choose Email. Set the Label to Email address and switch on Required.

Scroll to the bottom of the Form Trigger's settings. The Trigger URL is your form's own web address. You'll open it to test the flow at the end.

04Connect your Google account

Find it: Configure›Environments

To let the flow add rows to your sheet, you connect your Google account once. Flomation keeps the connection in an environment, away from the flow itself.

1. Create an environment

   Open Environments and click Create Environment. Call it Live and click Create. Then click Live to open it.

2. Add a Google credential

   Open the Credentials tab, click Add and choose Google.

3. Name it and choose what it can do

   Type the name my_google. Click Sheets and choose Read/Write, so the flow can add rows. Leave everything else as it is.

4. Sign in to Google

   Click Create & Authorise. Google opens in a pop-up: choose your account and allow access. When you're back in Flomation, the credential shows Active.

Now tell your flow to use this environment. Back in the editor, click Settings and, under Environment, choose Live.

05Add the Google Sheets step

1. Add Append to Sheet

   Click Add Node, type append to sheet, and click Append to Sheet.

2. Connect the two steps

   Drag from the small dot on the right of the Form Trigger to the dot on the left of Append to Sheet. A line joins them.

3. Tell it which sheet

   Click Append to Sheet. Paste your spreadsheet's ID into Spreadsheet ID, and type the tab name, Sheet1, into Sheet/Range.

4. Fill in the row

   Under Rows to append, click the first box and type ${ followed by your. Pick your_name from the list. Click + Column and do the same for email_address. Click + Column once more, type ${start and pick start_time, the time the flow ran.

5. Choose your Google account

   Scroll down to Google OAuth Credential, click Choose a credential… and pick my_google. Leave Google Account (email) empty: it's for a different kind of flow, and filling it in stops this one from using your credential.

That's the whole flow: a form, and a step that writes each answer to your sheet.

New sign-ups to Google Sheets · Flomation

06Test it

1. Open your form

   Click the Form Trigger, copy the Trigger URL and open it in a new browser tab.

2. Fill it in and submit

   Type a name and an email address and click Submit. You'll see Thank you! Your response has been submitted successfully.

3. Check your sheet

   Switch to your Google Sheet. Within a few seconds a new row appears with the name, the email and the time.

07See what happened

Find it: Automate›Executions

Every time the form is submitted, Flomation records the run, called an execution.

Click View on the newest run. Both steps show a tick, and the line between them turns green.

Click Append to Sheet to see exactly what it did. Under Outputs you'll see Appended 1 row(s) and which cells it filled.

08Share your form

The Trigger URL is your form's public link, so you can share it however you like: in an email, a newsletter, a QR code or a button on your website. Below it, HTML Form Embed gives you code to put the form straight onto a web page.

Each submission adds a row to your sheet and shows up under Executions, just like your tests did.

09If something goes wrong

10Next steps

You've built a flow with a trigger, an action and a connected app: the same pieces every flow uses. Some ideas for what to add next:

• Tidy the time. Add a Format Date step and use its result in the third column. Pass information between steps walks through it, including the one extra line you'll need.
• Tell the team. Add a Send Slack Message or Send Email step after Append to Sheet, so someone hears about each sign-up.
• Catch problems. Add an On Error step so you hear straight away if a row can't be added.