Designer Overview

The Designer is your unified visual workspace for building data workflows. Whether you're creating data transformations, automated pipelines, or REST APIs, the Designer provides an intuitive drag-and-drop interface to build and configure your workflows without writing code.

Understanding the Designer Interface

When you open the Designer, you'll see a powerful visual environment with several key areas:

The Homepage

The Designer homepage displays all your flows, views, and APIs organized by category:

• All Items - Everything in your workspace
• Flows - Automated pipelines with triggers
• Views - Data transformation definitions
• APIs - HTTP endpoints
• Categories - Custom folders you've created

From here you can:

• Click any item to open it for editing
• Use the search bar to find specific workflows
• Create new items with the + New button
• Organize items into categories

The Canvas

The canvas is the central workspace where you build your workflows:

• Nodes represent operations (data sources, transformations, actions)
• Edges (connections) show data flow between nodes
• Data flows left to right through your workflow

You can navigate the canvas by:

• Dragging with your mouse to pan
• Scrolling to zoom in/out
• Using the minimap in the bottom-right corner
• Clicking "Fit to View" to see your entire workflow

The Toolbar

The toolbar at the top provides navigation and canvas controls:

Button	Action
← Back	Return to the homepage
Browse	Open the drawer to browse all items
Entity	Add data source nodes
View	Add view nodes (reusable transformations)
Action	Add action nodes (outputs and triggers)
Undo/Redo	Reverse or replay changes
Zoom Controls	Zoom in, out, or fit to view
Preview	Run and preview data at selected node
Save	Save your changes
Deploy/Remove	Publish or undeploy flows

The Element Panel

On the left side, the Element Panel lets you browse and add elements:

Data Sources

• Entities - Tables, views, and endpoints from your connections
• Views - Reusable transformations you've created
• Call Flow - Trigger another flow and use its output

Transforms

• Filter, Map, Transform, Group By, Distinct
• Merge, Append, Divide, Split
• Lookup, Convert, Custom Field
• AI Classify

Actions

• Trigger configurations (Schedule, HTTP, From Flow)
• Response nodes (for API responses)
• Action nodes (write data, call APIs)

The Configuration Panel

When you select a node, the configuration panel opens on the right side:

• Configure properties specific to each node type
• Set up field mappings for transformations
• Define conditions for filters
• Build expressions for calculated fields

The panel slides in and out as you select different nodes, keeping your focus on the canvas while providing deep configuration options.

Working with Nodes

Adding Nodes

There are several ways to add nodes to your canvas:

1. Toolbar Buttons - Click Entity, View, or Action in the toolbar
2. Drag from Panel - Drag elements from the left panel onto the canvas
3. Context Menu - Right-click the canvas for quick-add options
4. Quick Create - Click the + button that appears when hovering near existing nodes

Tip: When adding entities, you can select multiple at once by holding Cmd/Ctrl and clicking each one before dragging them onto the canvas.

Connecting Nodes

Data flows through connections between nodes:

1. Click on a node's output handle (right side of the node)
2. Drag the connection line to another node's input handle (left side)
3. Release to create the connection

Connections show data flow direction with arrows. Data always flows left to right through your workflow.

Configuring Nodes

To configure a node:

• Single-click - Selects the node and opens the configuration panel
• Double-click - Opens the detailed editor for complex configurations

The configuration panel provides:

• Node-specific settings
• Field selectors and mappings
• Condition builders
• Expression editors
• Preview options

Selecting Multiple Nodes

You can select multiple nodes for bulk operations:

• Click + Drag on empty canvas to draw a selection box
• Cmd/Ctrl + Click to add/remove nodes from selection
• Cmd/Ctrl + A to select all nodes

With multiple nodes selected, you can:

• Move them together
• Delete them all
• Group them into an Action Group

Deleting Nodes

To delete nodes:

• Select the node(s) and press Delete or Backspace
• Right-click and select Delete from the context menu

Deleting a node also removes its connections.

Three Workflow Types

The Designer supports three types of workflows, each with different capabilities:

Flows

Flows are automated pipelines that run based on triggers:

When to use:

• Scheduled data synchronization
• Event-driven processing
• API endpoints that write data

Components:

• Trigger (required) - What starts the flow
• Data sources - Where data comes from
• Transformations - How data is processed
• Actions - What happens with the results

Deployment: Flows must be deployed to run. Click Deploy to publish your flow, and Remove to undeploy it.

Views

Views define data transformations without automation:

When to use:

• Reusable transformation logic
• Ad-hoc data exploration
• Building blocks for flows

Components:

• Data sources - Where data comes from
• Transformations - How data is processed

Usage: Views can be previewed directly or included in flows as data sources.

APIs

APIs are flows exposed as HTTP endpoints:

When to use:

• Building REST APIs for external systems
• Creating data services
• Real-time data access

Components:

• HTTP Trigger (required) - Defines the endpoint
• Data sources and transformations - Process the request
• Response node - Defines what's returned

Canvas Features

Auto-Save

Your work is automatically saved as you make changes. You'll see a "Saved" indicator in the toolbar when changes are persisted. You can also manually save with Cmd/Ctrl + S.

Undo/Redo

Made a mistake? Use undo/redo to reverse changes:

• Undo - Cmd/Ctrl + Z
• Redo - Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + Z

The history tracks node additions, deletions, connections, and configuration changes.

Auto-Layout

If your workflow looks messy, use auto-layout to organize nodes:

1. Click the Layout button in the toolbar
2. Nodes automatically arrange in a clean left-to-right flow

Zoom and Navigation

Navigate large workflows easily:

Control	Action
Scroll wheel	Zoom in/out
Click + Drag on empty space	Pan the canvas
Fit to View button	Show entire workflow
Zoom controls	Fine-tune zoom level
Minimap	Quick navigation overview

Preview

Preview data at any point in your workflow:

1. Select a node
2. Click Preview (or press Cmd/Ctrl + Enter)
3. See the data that would flow out of that node

This is invaluable for debugging and understanding your transformations.

Best Practices

Organize with Action Groups

For complex workflows, group related nodes:

1. Select multiple nodes
2. Right-click and choose Group
3. Give the group a meaningful name

Groups can be collapsed to simplify your view and expanded when you need to edit.

Use Descriptive Names

Name your nodes meaningfully:

• "Filter Active Customers" instead of "Filter1"
• "Join with Products" instead of "Merge1"

Clear names make workflows easier to understand and debug.

Build Incrementally

Build and test your workflow step by step:

1. Add a data source and preview
2. Add a transformation and preview
3. Continue adding one node at a time

This helps you catch issues early and understand how data transforms.

Reuse with Views

Create views for common transformation patterns:

1. Build the transformation once
2. Save it as a view
3. Include that view in multiple flows

This keeps your workflows DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself).

Keyboard Shortcuts

Master these shortcuts to work faster:

Shortcut	Action
Cmd/Ctrl + S	Save
Cmd/Ctrl + Z	Undo
Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + Z	Redo
Cmd/Ctrl + Enter	Preview selected node
Cmd/Ctrl + A	Select all nodes
Delete / Backspace	Delete selected
Escape	Clear selection
?	Open help panel

Troubleshooting

Nodes Not Connecting

If you can't connect two nodes:

• Make sure you're dragging from an output (right) to an input (left)
• Check that the connection is valid (you can't connect incompatible node types)

Preview Not Working

If preview shows an error:

• Check that upstream nodes are configured correctly
• Ensure your connections are healthy
• Look for red indicators on nodes showing configuration issues

Canvas Performance

For very large workflows:

• Collapse action groups you're not actively editing
• Use the minimap instead of zooming out extremely far
• Consider breaking complex workflows into multiple flows

Next Steps

• Node Types - Learn about all available nodes
• Transform Reference - Master data transformations
• Building Flows - Create automated pipelines
• Keyboard Shortcuts - Work faster