How to merge and converge in Make.com/Integromat

The ability to merge multiple paths of a workflow back together is a popular feature request in many workflow automation platforms. The bad news is a lot of platforms still do not offer this functionality. The good news is that you can merge and converge in Workflow86. In this article, we go through the why and where you would use merging in a workflow.

A guide to branching and merging workflows

Workflows are rarely entirely linear and this is where features like the ability to branch and merge a workflow come into play. A workflow or process will often feature parts where a task or operation will lead to multiple other tasks or operations. Where one task triggers multiple other tasks is known as branching. This is where the workflow diverges or splits into multiple branches or paths. In the example below, we can see how the form branches into three separate paths:

The ability to branch a workflow into multiple paths is a pretty standard feature, and you will find it almost any workflow or process automation platform. For example, in Make (formerly known as Integromat), you can branch or create paths in your workflow by using their Router module:

Merging or converging workflows back together again

The opposite of branching a workflow is merging a workflow, and this involves taking multiple branches or paths and directing them into one path. Let’s take a look at a few scenarios as to why and when you might need to use a merge in a workflow.

Converge to avoid duplicate steps

Here’s an example from Workflow86. Say you have a workflow where you want to execute the same tasks whether Form A or Form B gets submitted:

Rather than duplicate the Form to Email twice, you can instead use the merge component so that the email will get sent whether Form A or Form B is triggered.

Below is an example of a similar situation where a merge would be very useful in Make/Integromat:

After the workflow is branched into two paths, those paths contain identical modules or steps. Without a merge, these steps have to be duplicated for each path of the workflow after the branch. A merge (or Converger as Integromat calls it) would allow the user to merge the two (or more) routes into one and connect the common sequence after it to achieve something like this:

Converge to allow multiple triggers

A merge component could also allow users to set multiple triggers for a single workflow as well. This is another application of a merge – allowing a workflow to be started by multiple separate events. For example, the workflow below in Workflow86 can be triggered by a Form submission or a Webhook.

The bad news for Make users…

Make is, of course, a very different tool to Workflow86, given its focus on integrations between third party apps. However, Make does highlight how useful a merge/converge feature is for any workflow or process automation tool. Indeed, a merge/converger feature is currently the second top request in the “Updates to existing apps” category:

Unfortunately, it appears that make has marked this as "not immediately planned", likely meaning that it is unlikely to be released any time soon (if at all).

In the meantime, Make recommends several possible workarounds.

Method 1: Using the data store

One approach involves using a data store. You can create an additional, unfiltered route from your router specifically for the common steps.

Then, at the end of each of the other routes, save the necessary data to a data store record. The common sequence begins by retrieving this record from the data store, ensuring it has the data it needs regardless of which initial path was taken.

1. Add an extra filter-free route to the router to connect the common sequence (the one you would put after a converger module).

2. Add Data store > Add/replace a record modules at the end of each router's route (except the new extra route) to store the data output by the modules on the route that should be passed to the common sequence. The data store would contain just one record, the record's key can be, for example, MyKey.

3. Add a Data store > Get a record module at the beginning of the common sequence to obtain the previously stored data.

Method 2: Using JSON

Alternatively, you can work with JSON. After the steps in each distinct route, create a JSON object containing the required data and store it in a variable. The common sequence then starts by getting this variable and parsing the JSON to access the data. It's important to handle cases where no route might execute, potentially using functions like ifempty() to prevent errors when parsing the JSON.

1. Use a JSON > Create JSON module followed by Tools > Set variable to store the resulting JSON in a variable (e.g. MyBundle).

2. Use Tools > Get variable to obtain the previously stored variable followed by JSON > Parse JSON.

Method 3: Set a variable

For simpler cases where only one or a few specific values need to be passed to the common sequence, setting and getting variables can be sufficient. You can use dedicated modules to set a variable at the end of each route and then retrieve its value at the start of the shared steps. Some platforms also offer tools to set multiple variables at once.

Method 4: Create a separate workflow

A fourth method is to move the common sequence into an entirely separate scenario. Each route in the original scenario would conclude by sending its data via an HTTP request to trigger the new, dedicated scenario. This second scenario would start with a webhook trigger to receive the incoming data and then proceed with the common steps.

How to merge paths in Workflow86

Fortunately for Workflow86 users, we have just released a dedicated component specifically for merging workflow paths. This feature allows users to configure a merge in two ways. Firstly, you can configure a merge that will allow the workflow to progress any of the selected components have been executed. For example, we can specify that the workflow continues to run the Conditional Logic and Email if any of Form A OR Form B OR Form C gets executed.

Here is what that configuration would look like in the Merge Workflow component:

The Merge Workflow component can also get a bit smarter by allowing you to configure a more conditional merge. In the example below, we can implement a merge if a certain combination of components gets executed. In this case, we want to run the rest of the workflow if (Form A and Form B) or (Form A and Form C) gets submitted. So if Form B gets submitted, the merge will not occur unless Form A also gets submitted. Similarly, if Form A gets submitted, it will not continue to run unless Form B or Form C gets submitted.

Here is what that configuration would look like in the Merge Workflow component:

You can find the detailed documentation on the Merge Workflow component below. The Merge Workflow component is currently available to all users on any plan, giving everyone an additional way to make their workflows even more powerful.