We've got 3 options: everything (all nodes redeployed), flow level (that a node has been changed in) and just node level but no "all flows in this tab"
Would it be possible to add another one - all nodes in current tab?
Simon
I would find that useful, particularly if it can be selected even when no changes have been made.
That is so amusing -- I always thought the "Modified Flows" option DID refer to the current tab full of nodes!!! HAHAHA *sigh
I guess I missed the idea that only nodes connected to modified nodes were getting deployed.
Oh, these overloaded terms are really starting to bite back... so what the heck are you going to call this new option for deploying "all the nodes on this tab", since the word "tab" has been used in the past to refer to this "flow"? Look at the "Hamburger" menu -- there's an option to Export the "Current Flow" -- which by the way exports ALL the nodes on the current tab (uh, flow... uh, page? uh, hmmm).
Sorry for raising more issues than I have solutions! For me, the simplest (most expected) solution is to just change the behavior of the Deploy Modified Flows action. If it restarted all the nodes that I'm currently looking at it would be working as I always thought it did ;*) More importantly it would not require any UI changes to provide a solution to this request, albeit at a slight cost of restarting a few more nodes. But if that is way too much overhead, then perhaps the nodes should have been put on separate tabs anyway? Would anybody even notice the change, or am I the only one who was mistaken?
I don't think so 
I'm not even sure if I'm 100% correct (I've run tests and I think I'm right but am I? )
No, I think you are correct.
But I guess the question is - what is the unique use case that would require you to only redeploy a single tab?
And yes, I also wish that we didn't have the overloaded "flow" term. I generally use "flow" to mean a connected set of nodes. But as mentioned, some of the UI uses different meanings.
Not got a unique one - but my main need for one is when there is an MQTT input node in one flow in a tab and I want it to redeploy when I alter nodes in other flows in the same tab
Simon
Ah, I see, you want the MQTT-in node to retrigger a flow even though MQTT hasn't changed the topic's value. Specifically when that node is not in the flow being changed.
I'll admit that might be occasionally useful actually.
The purpose, from my point of view, is to get the mqtt node to send the values of retained messages again. Part of the problem is, I think, that there seem to be some flaws in the conditions under which the MQTT In node restarts. For example, if I have an MQTT In node feeding direct to a debug and deploy it I see the retained messages appear. If I then insert a function node between the mqtt and the debug and do a Flow Deploy then the MQTT In does not restart. If I then edit the function node and Flow Deploy again then it does restart. Also if I add an extra wire on the output of the MQTT node going somewhere else then again it does not restart.
Good points, and I believe the chain of "connected nodes" is also broken when passing through the link in/out nodes. I first noticed this when debugging the built-in swagger client -- if the http in was wired to an http response through a link node, or even a node with multiple outputs, then it was viewed as "not connected".
A bit slow replying perhaps, but the topic was still open...
I make use of link nodes to connect flows on different tabs. Often I need to refer to the linked flow, perhaps to view documentation or check the message properties it expects.
So I find the flow, many tabs away from the one I am developing and mark it as dirty by moving a node.
Now as I scroll through the many tabs in between, it's easy to find it again because there is a blue dot on the tab name. Here is an example though in real life the tabs are always much further apart, so not both in view.
It would be really nice to be able to deploy Flow 4 while leaving Media player dirty.
I suggest a 4th deploy option Current Flow - Only nodes which have been changed, only on the current flow.
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So I do get the problem and often face it myself. The current flow tabs model is certainly less than ideal.
Personally, I would love to see a tab grouping option with a collapse/expand feature. That way it would be easy to group tabs together that need working on together. These groups would change fairly often of course but that's ok.
Another alternative would be to have a "Views" feature that let you name a set of tabs and would hide everything else.
Personally, I would find these more useful than having a "Flow Deploy" option because the workflow you outline still forces me to potentially do a lot of scrolling through tabs.
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For sure there are several possible enhancements to editor tabs:
- Tab groups
- Custom tab colours
- Hide tabs from some users
- A badge when the tab has content in the description
- Navigate to the first/last tab buttons
- New tab next to the current one
- etc
But I suspect each of those would require more coding effort than a tweek to the Deploy options.
