Where Flows work, or come completely unstuck due to validation rules, other flows, or anything else along the line failing…

The current state (as of Summer '21) is atrocious and it has been atrocious for years.

To think that Salesforce expects that users can just get an Unhandled Exception error and no way of doing anything about it is just appalling. So I’m trying to document them as I go along and work out the best way of avoiding them if possible.

Regular Validations

Not related to Flows

Lookup Filter Validation

Validating that the lookup must be a specific record type

• Works well

Validation Rule

Simple Validation on the status of a field

• Works Well

Before Save Flow

Field Set that invokes Validation Rule

• Works well

• No Error Message

• No Error Email

• No Error Thrown

After Save Flow

• Bad Value for Restricted Picklist

• This was from a Quick Action where a Flow was setting the bad value. (Intentionally caused to debug the flow).

• It is absolutely unacceptable that this type of error is displayed to a user in any situation. (I got the Debug email, and that is fine to get the error in there). The error should say only “bad value for restricted picklist field: Error.“

• Let’s talk more about unacceptable…

  • In this case I was trying to force an error to get the flow to appear in the Failed Flow Interviews.

  • But this was the error I got on the record page.

  • What on earth am I going to do with that as a user?

• Using Narender Singh’s Exception Message

  • This is a standard Apex Exception message

  • But it’s created as a handy Invocable Apex that you can force an error in Flows

  • https://forcepanda.wordpress.com/2019/12/26/how-to-throw-exceptions-in-flows/

  • but it’s still UGLY and not acceptable for end users. I use it for debugging though!