# How to structure your flows **URL:** \ **Category:** Flows\ **Created:** [January 27, 2020, 10:31pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/how-to-structure-your-flows/25109 "2020-01-27T22:31:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![FKey](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/fkey/32/14793_2.png) [@FKey](https://community.homey.app/u/FKey)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2020, 7:37pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/how-to-structure-your-flows/25109/21 "2020-03-03T19:37:08Z")
I use time of day. But you can use any trigger to start a flow that set the value of “KK is donker” ---
**Author:** ![victoroos](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/victoroos/32/8344_2.png) [@victoroos](https://community.homey.app/u/victoroos)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2020, 8:38am UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/how-to-structure-your-flows/25109/22 "2020-03-04T08:38:12Z")
Okay, I’ll start working with that! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![FKey](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/fkey/32/14793_2.png) [@FKey](https://community.homey.app/u/FKey)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2020, 12:42pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/how-to-structure-your-flows/25109/23 "2020-03-09T12:42:04Z")
Added a new section at the top: > [@FKey](#): > > How to structure flows: **prepare your flows for debugging** ---
**Author:** ![Oakhill](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/oakhill/32/16705_2.png) [@Oakhill](https://community.homey.app/u/Oakhill)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2020, 9:42am UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/how-to-structure-your-flows/25109/24 "2020-04-26T09:42:58Z")
Thank you for sharing your work. Could you post a screenshot from the flow.homey.app web gui with expanded folders please? This would be very helpful for me to understand your approach, rebuild my structure and clean up my mess 😊 ---
**Author:** ![FKey](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/fkey/32/14793_2.png) [@FKey](https://community.homey.app/u/FKey)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2020, 4:35pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/how-to-structure-your-flows/25109/25 "2020-04-28T16:35:07Z")
![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/uploads/athom/original/3X/4/c/4cf52d4c737fda914811f339807b3dcc360778a6.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Oakhill](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/oakhill/32/16705_2.png) [@Oakhill](https://community.homey.app/u/Oakhill)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2020, 5:37pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/how-to-structure-your-flows/25109/26 "2020-04-28T17:37:16Z")
Thank you 👍 😀 ---
**Author:** ![FKey](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/fkey/32/14793_2.png) [@FKey](https://community.homey.app/u/FKey)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2020, 5:54pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/how-to-structure-your-flows/25109/27 "2020-09-03T17:54:36Z")
How to structure flows: **Add comments to your flows** Splitting up flows can also be confusing sometimes. For better understand and for refernece you can add comment to a flow. I created an app that allows you to add comment. Find the app description [here](https://community.homey.app/t/app-flowcomments-simple-cards-to-add-comments-to-flows-v1-0-0/32251) And the app [here](https://homey.app/nl-nl/app/nu.fkey.CommentsForFlow/FlowNotities/) ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/uploads/athom/original/3X/8/6/865301b349ce0b5008daa98b289a8b548dc4925a.png) ---
**Author:** ![Rob\_van\_der\_Poel](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/rob_van_der_poel/32/7801_2.png) [@Rob\_van\_der\_Poel](https://community.homey.app/u/Rob_van_der_Poel)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2020, 8:04pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/how-to-structure-your-flows/25109/28 "2020-09-03T20:04:28Z")
Great work! Thanks…a lot of your flows are in dutch, it would be great all the text was also in dutch:-) Very interesting! ---
**Author:** ![Ploegske](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/ploegske/32/52116_2.png) [@Ploegske](https://community.homey.app/u/Ploegske)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2020, 2:29pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/how-to-structure-your-flows/25109/29 "2020-11-27T14:29:30Z")
Great work. Structuring helps in understanding. Actually this inspired me to do it slightly different and use icons in all my flows. This gives me a much quicker insight than using special characters. My flows now tell me what they are about (first icon) and what type they are (second icon). I use (2nd icon) lightning for a trigger, rolling ball for a flow, clock for a timed flow etc. Hope this helps too! ![homey_flows](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/uploads/athom/original/3X/a/3/a37513e4d16425a44b0692b89270e3afff1fda5a.png) ---
**Author:** ![CB83](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/cb83/32/30125_2.png) [@CB83](https://community.homey.app/u/CB83)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2020, 6:17pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/how-to-structure-your-flows/25109/30 "2020-11-28T18:17:44Z")
How do you use icons? ---
**Author:** ![Henk\_Renting](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/henk_renting/32/87634_2.png) [@Henk\_Renting](https://community.homey.app/u/Henk_Renting)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2020, 6:40pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/how-to-structure-your-flows/25109/31 "2020-11-28T18:40:43Z")
> [@CB83](#): > > How do you use icons? You can simply use emoticons, just like you do anywhere else. Not only in flows, but in the naming of devices, logic, etc too, by the way… ---
**Author:** ![Ploegske](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/ploegske/32/52116_2.png) [@Ploegske](https://community.homey.app/u/Ploegske)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2020, 6:46pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/how-to-structure-your-flows/25109/32 "2020-11-28T18:46:11Z")
In reply to both: on my Android Phone keyboard I can insert icons from the smiley set. When you have a couple of icons inserted you can use copy/paste them in the web version as well ---
**Author:** ![Oakhill](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/oakhill/32/16705_2.png) [@Oakhill](https://community.homey.app/u/Oakhill)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2020, 8:59pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/how-to-structure-your-flows/25109/33 "2020-11-28T20:59:12Z")
If you use Microsoft Windows you can press the Windows-Key and . (dot), this will show you the Emoji Interface. Happy emojing 😁😉👍🏼 ---
**Author:** ![Dennis\_van\_Dinter](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/dennis_van_dinter/32/28180_2.png) [@Dennis\_van\_Dinter](https://community.homey.app/u/Dennis_van_Dinter)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2021, 6:18am UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/how-to-structure-your-flows/25109/34 "2021-09-05T06:18:25Z")
@FKey After messing around for a few months, just to get familiar with Homey and its possibilities, I just reset my Homey for a fresh start. I added all of my Zigbee devices in a more logical order etc. etc… There’s only one thing I just don’t get to get logical and that’s flows. If I do it your way and I add flows per zone, and I call a flow “Light on/off”, I would have multiple flows called the same, for each zone one of that flow. And if I want to start that flow from another flow, I can’t keep them apart. Because if you want to search for the flow “Light on/off” I get multiple results, but the zone isn’t mentioned. So I end up naming my flows like “Light on/off - Bedroom 1” and “Light on/off - Kitchen”. Long story short. Any ideas who to get around that? Btw.: In the Homey community store, there’s an app called H.O.O.P… This app also helps allot to prevent the use repetitive flows. ---
**Author:** ![Jan\_Willem\_Visser](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/jan_willem_visser/32/10747_2.png) [@Jan\_Willem\_Visser](https://community.homey.app/u/Jan_Willem_Visser)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2021, 11:05am UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/how-to-structure-your-flows/25109/35 "2021-09-05T11:05:40Z")
Use the room in the name of the flow. “lights bedroom on/off” or “lights kitchen on/off” It’s not difficult but you have to be a bit creativ ---
**Author:** ![Dennis\_van\_Dinter](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/dennis_van_dinter/32/28180_2.png) [@Dennis\_van\_Dinter](https://community.homey.app/u/Dennis_van_Dinter)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2021, 6:03am UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/how-to-structure-your-flows/25109/36 "2021-09-06T06:03:26Z")
@Jan_Willem_Visser Thank you, Jan Willem. That is what I have been doing, but I wondered if I wasn’t missing something which would allow to search in flows using the zones. ---
**Author:** ![FKey](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/fkey/32/14793_2.png) [@FKey](https://community.homey.app/u/FKey)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2021, 8:19pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/how-to-structure-your-flows/25109/37 "2021-09-07T20:19:44Z")
> [@Dennis\_van\_Dinter](#): > > here’s only one thing I just don’t get to get logical and that’s flows. If I do it your way and I add flows per zone, and I call a flow “Light on/off”, I would have multiple flows called the same, for each zone one of that flow. And if I want to start that flow from another flow, I can’t keep them apart. Because if you want to search for the flow “Light on/off” I get multiple results, but the zone isn’t mentioned. So I end up naming my flows like “Light on/off - Bedroom 1” and “Light on/off - Kitchen”. > > Long story short. Any ideas who to get around that? I do recognize that issue. See also **How to structure your flows: using virtual devices** above I solved it by creating virtual buttons. Instead of starting the flow with a flowcard “when this flow is started” I start the flows with “when this button is pressed.” (Be aware to create virtual buttons not switches!) This also brings a second advantage: for virual button you can see in which flow this button is used. For flow you can ot see fro which flows they are called. _Several virtual buttons_ ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/uploads/athom/original/3X/e/3/e3846e14eaec680292efa1cf9077296848fcfb3d.png) _Start the flow with this button_ (In this case just 1) ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/uploads/athom/original/3X/7/1/716d86cd0dde834f0287d21867bae38016956596.png) _The buttons show the flows they are used in_ ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/uploads/athom/original/3X/9/a/9a7e843c49dc4db96acd86a1a398cde98556f6c8.png) ---
**Author:** ![thobu](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/thobu/32/18357_2.png) [@thobu](https://community.homey.app/u/thobu)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2021, 10:47am UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/how-to-structure-your-flows/25109/38 "2021-10-01T10:47:27Z")
Thank you guys for the tutorial, and all the comments. I’m still scratching my head when it comes to the “else” statement. I’m using it in 1 flow and it works as expected (turning off in 2 cases) see … ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/uploads/athom/original/3X/7/a/7addb5cc2ad62839cb865ebe7e8f02c901b6b9db.png) I’m actually perplexed but I believe I don’t quite understand the potential of the “else” and how it relates to the “Trigger” and “AND”… maybe someone can explain it w/ a simple metaphor. Thanks ---
**Author:** ![DirkG](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/dirkg/32/118897_2.png) [@DirkG](https://community.homey.app/u/DirkG)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2021, 11:32am UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/how-to-structure-your-flows/25109/39 "2021-10-01T11:32:51Z")
Short and simple (hopefully): The action card/s below **ELSE** is/are triggered if the condition in the **AND** section is not true. So your flow makes no sense. The heater will be in any case switched off, no matter if the heater was on or off when the bathroom became active. ---
**Author:** ![thobu](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex025/user_avatar/community.homey.app/thobu/32/18357_2.png) [@thobu](https://community.homey.app/u/thobu)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2021, 1:19pm UTC](https://community.homey.app/t/how-to-structure-your-flows/25109/40 "2021-10-01T13:19:21Z")
okay, the explanation makes sense to me ! The reason for this flow was that I needed one that acts - once the window is open and you switch on the heater - once you open the window while the heater is already on it seems to work with this flow, before it didn’t work the way I wanted it [Previous page](https://community.homey.app/t/how-to-structure-your-flows/25109.md?page=1) [Next page](https://community.homey.app/t/how-to-structure-your-flows/25109.md?page=3)