Manage the Flow Canvas

once you click the go to flow definition icon for a flows manager, you can manage the flow canvas filter nodes you can search for individual nodes by using the search bar deploy flows there are several options available when deploying a flow the options in the deploy drop down list indicate the type of save that is currently active for a deploy action full this option allows you to save the flow logic for all tabbed flows in the workspace everything in the workspace is deployed note if many flows containing complex logic have been created, a full save may not be your best deploy option modified flows this option only saves and deploys flows that contain changed nodes modified nodes this is the fastest option for individual node changes, as it only saves and deploys the updated nodes restart flows this option restarts the currently deployed flows flow canvas menu open the menu in the top right corner to view options for the flow canvas edit edit options for nodes and the canvas view view options for the canvas arrange options to arrange nodes on the canvas import see the "import nodes" section below export see the "export nodes" section below search flows configuration nodes see the "configuration nodes" section below flows add, rename, or delete flows subflows see the "subflows" section below groups options to group, ungroup, and merge selections on the canvas settings see manage user settings docid 5pe6ke5olmeenikhlckcc import nodes importing nodes allows you to easily deploy flow logic for a variety of devices and use cases the import operation relies on a previous export to the library, download, or clipboard copy using import from the menu offers three tabs clipboard , local , and examples the clipboard tab provides a way to paste code saved to the clipboard or select a json file from your hard drive to import to import a json file saved from a previous export, use the local tab you can import the nodes from the following ways copy and paste one or more nodes and their connecting wires to a flow nodes that were downloaded to your hard drive nodes were exported to the library nodes that appear in the examples tab before you begin make sure you have exported nodes to examples, creating a json file make sure you have selected a flow tab into which the nodes will be imported import nodes options clipboard import copy and paste the flow or select a json file to import you can paste one or more nodes and their connecting wires to a flow local import select a json file from the list examples import select a json file from the list after selecting the nodes to import, select if the import should go to the current flow or a new flow when you import to a new flow, the system automatically creates a new flow tab and displays the nodes and wires freely so you can place them in the new flow export nodes exporting nodes allows you to download a file of flows using export from the menu offers two tabs clipboard and local the clipboard tab temporarily saves node data to the clipboard to save node data for a longer term, use the library tab note when exporting, passwords are not exposed you can export one or more nodes and their connecting wires and then paste them to a flow before you begin select the nodes and connecting wires within a flow tab \[1] select if you want to export selected nodes , the current flow , or all flows \[2] select to view the nodes in list view or in json format if you view in json format, you have the option of viewing the code in compact or formatted style export nodes options copy to the clipboard you can export the selected nodes and wires for just the selected nodes, the current flow, or all flows click copy to clipboard to copy the code to your clipboard download the code to download the code, click download a json file is downloaded to your hard drive export to library to export to the local drive, click the local tab, enter a file name for the json file in the export as field, and then click export to library you can use the json file located in the library to import the nodes and connecting wires to another flow configuration nodes selecting configuration nodes opens the config tab beneath the canvas to display used and unused nodes when you delete a node from a flow, it may not be deleted from the back end server based nodes that require network / connectivity settings, such as mqtt nodes, are found here if they have been deleted from a flow you may want to remove these types of unused nodes from the back end because they may continue to try connecting to a port and degrade performance to view unused nodes, click unused to filter the nodes displayed not all deleted nodes appear in the config tab when you save a flow or the entire workspace, a pop up message notifies you if there are unused nodes subflows subflows serve as sub routines to place complex logic into code blocks, which then can be called from the main flow as with any structured programming language, this modular approach simplifies troubleshooting, modifications, and basic understanding you have two options for creating a subflow to create a subflow, select subflows > create subflow to create a subflow from an existing flow, drag and select the nodes to include, and then select subflows > selection to subflow flow tabs menu use the flow tabs menu to add new tabs, manage existing tabs, and show/hide tabs click the + icon to add a new tab additional options review the following additional options for the flow canvas note to view messages, drag the vertical window bar up action details \[1] toggle the navigator to navigate the entire canvas also zoom in and out of the canvas \[2] info review information for flows \[3] help search help for using the canvas and flows \[4] debug messages review debug messages for flows that are running \[5] configuration nodes see the "configuration nodes" section above \[6] context data context data provides essential background information for flows \[7] dashboard the flows dashboard allows you to visualize data and information pertaining to your flows you can organize the dashboard into tabs and groups, and then add widgets and links to display specific information you can then make aesthetic choices for the look and feel of your dashboard the following tabs allow you to customize how you view the data layout allows you to add tabs or links and to launch the node red dashboard where you can review your dashboard site allows you to configure the node red options theme allows you to select the style, font color, and font for the dashboard angular