Folders and subfolders

In the Okta Workflows Console, the Flows page uses folders and nested subfolders to organize your flows and tables.

The structure provided by folders and subfolders helps you to create meaningful differentiation between your various projects. When you can quickly reference folders and their contents, you can better visualize the relationships between related flows and tables.

Folders and subfolders are sorted alphabetically. Top-level folders and subfolders have the same basic attributes and functionality.

Folder tasks

You can create, rename, move, import, export, and delete folders and subfolders from the Flows page of your Okta Workflows Console.

Create a top-level folder

  1. Click Add folder in your side navigation bar.

  2. Enter a name and an optional description for the folder.

    When naming folders and subfolders, establish a system that aligns to your needs. Begin with project-level concepts for top-level folder names and then use more granular, task-specific names for subfolders. Capitalize folders consistently for readability.

Create a subfolder

While there's no limit to the total number of subfolders you can create, the maximum folder depth (including the top-level folder) is five levels.

  1. After creating or opening a folder, click the Actions dropdown menu and select Create subfolder.

  2. Enter a name and an optional description for the folder.

An alternative method to create the subfolder is to click Add subfolder from a folder in the side navigation.

Rename a folder

If your folder structure or naming conventions change at any point in the future, you can rename the folder.

Also, you can add or edit the folder description. Include any details such as test results, deployment status, or other information pertinent to the flows and tables inside the folder.

Move a folder into another folder

On the Flows page, folders and subfolders can be moved around within the Folders navigation panel to meet your organizational needs.

All flows and tables, and any subfolders contained within the folder, are retained in the folder's new position.

  1. Click and drag the folder you want to move over an existing folder.

  2. Release to add the moved folder as a subfolder.

    When you drag and hold over a closed target folder, the target folder automatically expands by one level. You can drop your folder onto any of the nested folders inside, or repeat the hold action to continue inside any other closed subfolder.

The total depth of a folder and its subfolders can't exceed the maximum depth of five levels. This limit includes any subfolders contained in the folder being moved.

After you move a folder, Okta shows a notification along with an option to undo the change.

Move a subfolder to a higher level

You can also click and drag any subfolder up to a higher level, including moving it to become a top-level folder.

  1. To move a subfolder to a higher level, click and drag the subfolder up to the new level and release.

  2. To move a subfolder to the top level, click and drag the subfolder to any white-space area outside of the existing folders.

    Okta highlights the entire Folders navigation panel to show that the folder destination is the top level. Release the folder to complete the move.

Import a folder

You can use the import and export actions to move flows, tables, and subfolders to a new Okta org. You can also use these actions to duplicate a folder within the same org.

The imported flows appear as new flows. They don't preserve any application connections, so you need to reconnect all applications.

For tables, the export action doesn't include any of the original table data. The import action recreates all tables according to the table schema listed in the export file, but the tables are initially empty. The limit of 100 tables in a folder remains.

If any of the imported flows refer to a flow not included in the export (for example, a helper flow called to handle a list), you need to specify a replacement flow to complete the import.

To import an Okta Workflows.folder file, complete the following steps:

  1. In the Workflows Console, select the folder where you want to place the imported flows.

  2. In the Actions dropdown menu, click Import.

  3. Drag and drop your file into the dialog, or click the link to browse your local file system for the file.

Okta imports the content to the current folder, unless the import action would exceed the maximum folder depth of five levels. In this scenario, Okta provides the option to import the contents as a top-level folder instead.

When importing, Okta preserves the exported locations of any subfolders, along with their flows and tables.

See Export and import flows.

Export a folder

To export an entire folder, including all nested subfolders, complete the following steps:

  1. In the Workflows Console, select the folder you want to export.

  2. From the folder's dropdown Actions menu, click Export.

    In the Export folder dialog, you can choose to export the current folder tree including content from all nested subfolders, or export only the current folder contents.

  3. Click Download to save the exported .folder file to your local filesystem. This file contains all exported flows, tables, and subfolders.

The export function removes all connection account information and table data. After importing this file, you must create or assign application connections to use the flows. However, if you import the same flows or tables into the original Okta org, you can reapply your existing connections to the cards in those flows.

The export function maintains links between objects referenced by the flows. For example, if a flow calls a helper flow to process a list, the link between the parent and helper flows is kept.

If you export a folder containing referenced objects that aren't part of the folder, the export dialog warns that there are flows with missing references. When you import this folder, Okta requires you to recreate the referenced objects for the flows.

You can also use a function card to export a folder containing one or more flows as a single JSON object. See Export Folder.

Delete a folder

Deleting a folder removes all flows and tables for that folder, including any contained within subfolders.

Deleting a folder is irreversible. Back up any flows, tables, table data, or other information that you want to keep before deleting the folder.

  1. Open the folder that you want to remove and turn off all flows in the folder.

  2. In the Actions dropdown menu, click Delete.

  3. Confirm your intent by typing the name of the folder.

  4. Click Delete.