The Flow Controller switches a flow between its saved configurations without leaving the dashboard. For example, the same hardware can use a Record configuration for one task and a Playout configuration for another. Create and edit configurations on the Flows page, then use this widget for day-to-day switching.
The widget is not bound to a flow: it lists every flow you can see that has more than one configuration.
A Flow Controller with one flow that has several configurations
Adding the widget
Open Add Widgets and pick Flow Controller from the Generic category. No flow is asked for; the table fills on its own.
Layout
The header contains the Flow Controller title and the widget menu.
The table contains one row for each flow with two or more configurations, sorted by flow name and then host. A glowing green dot indicates an active flow; a gray dot indicates an inactive flow. The row also shows the flow name, host, and a menu containing its configurations. The current configuration is selected. If another configuration has a different type, its type appears in parentheses, for example Playout config (Playout) on a flow currently running as Record.
Footer: N flows found with multiple configurations (or 1 flow found …).
While the configurations load, the body and the footer read Loading configurations…. Without any qualifying flow the body reads No flow has more than one configuration. with the hint Configurations are managed on the Flows page.
Switching a configuration
- Open the configuration menu for a flow and select another configuration. Selecting the current configuration has no effect.
- For an inactive flow, the change is applied immediately. For an active flow, confirm the Switch configuration? dialog. If the new configuration has a different flow type, an amber warning explains that incompatible dashboard widgets will be unlinked. Click SWITCH to continue or CANCEL to keep the current configuration.
- While the backend applies the change, the row pulses and all configuration menus are disabled. They become available again when the request completes.
If the backend refuses the switch, a toast shows its reason (or Failed to switch configuration) and the select snaps back to the configuration the flow still runs.
The select is disabled for viewers (Switching configurations needs the User role). Users and admins can switch.
What a switch does to the dashboards
Changing the flow type affects widgets assigned to that flow:
- A widget compatible with the new type remains linked and resumes operation after the restart.
- An incompatible widget is unlinked by the backend. For example, when a Playout flow becomes a Record flow, its Single Player loses the assignment and the flow becomes available to a Record Viewer.
- A widget assigned in advance to a compatible saved configuration remains inactive until you switch to that configuration, then starts automatically.
All open dashboards refresh their flows and widgets when a switch lands, whoever triggered it. See Dashboards for assigning widgets and Flows for creating, renaming and deleting configurations.
Widget menu
| Entry | What it does |
|---|---|
| Refresh | Reloads the flow list and the configurations for every flow. |
| Remove Widget | Removes the widget from the dashboard. |
Good to know
A flow created after the dashboard was opened appears in the table once the widget refreshes (it refreshes on being added, and with Refresh).
Switches made elsewhere (the Flows page, another Flow Controller, another user) update the select without a refresh.
Only the flow's last configuration cannot be deleted; deleting is done on the Flows page, not here.