User Navigation with Salesforce’s New Built-In Progress Indicators – Spring 25

Navigating complex screen flows in Salesforce just got easier! With the introduction of built-in progress indicators, you can now visually guide users through each stage of a flow without writing a single line of custom code. Whether you’re designing a multi-step onboarding process or a customer service form, this feature enhances user experience by clearly showing where users are in the flow and how much remains. Let’s dive into how this works and how you can use it today.  Join us to learn about how User Navigation with Salesforce’s New Built-In Progress Indicators.

What Are Salesforce’s Built-In Progress Indicators?

Progress indicators eliminate the guesswork for users by displaying their current stage and remaining steps. Salesforce offers two styles:

• Simple Style: A minimal design showing progress as a numeric or bullet-point list.
• Path Style: A visual “path” that highlights completed, current, and upcoming stages (only supported at the top of the screen).

You can position these indicators at the top of the screen or in the footer (except path-style, which is top-only).

Important Notes:

• Enabled by default for flows created in Spring ’25 or later.
• For flows built in Winter ’25 or earlier, manually enable the feature.

How to Enable Built-In Progress Indicators

1. For New Flows (Spring ’25+): The feature is automatically enabled—no setup required!
   
2. For Older Flows (Winter ’25 or earlier): Manually activate it via Flow settings. 

How It Works Under the Hood 

Salesforce automatically tracks progress using two key variables:

• $Flow.CurrentStage: Updates to the current screen’s stage when the screen loads.
• $Flow.ActiveStages: Stores all active stages. When a screen loads, its stage is added to this list if not already present.
  

For example, if a user moves from Stage 1 to Stage 2:

• $Flow.CurrentStage becomes Stage 2.
• $Flow.ActiveStages appends Stage 2 (if new). 
  

Example:

1. Open Your Flow: Navigate to Setup → Flows → Open the desired Screen Flow.

2. Enable Progress Indicator: In the Flow Builder, click on the Settings gear icon. Enable the Show Progress Indicator option.

Choose Progress Indicator Types :

1. Simple:Top of Screen
2. Path: Top of Screen
3. Simple: Footer of Screen.

3. Define Stages: Assign stages to screens by selecting a screen element and specifying the stage name in the Progress Indicator section.

Once the setup is complete, try debugging it, and you will see that the Path has been incorrectly added to the screen flows. Please correct it.

Best Practices & Limitations

• Path-Style Indicators: Ideal for linear flows with a clear sequence. Use the top position.
• Simple Indicators: Flexible for non-linear flows and footer placement.
• Avoid: Using this feature in Field Service Mobile or Scheduler flows.
• Testing: Always preview flows to ensure stages align with user navigation.