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🎯 For those who already have a pipe running and want to operate with control
A well-built pipe solves half the problem. The other half is in how the team operates the cards day to day: creating the right requests, moving them through the process, editing information, archiving what is completed and deleting what is no longer useful. When these operations are not clear, the process loses traceability and the history turns into noise.
By the end of this article, you will know which operation to use in each situation and why the choice between archiving and deleting matters much more than it seems.
📖 What you will learn here:
Create cards: when and how to start a request
The card represents an instance of the process: a hire, an order, an approval. Every time a new case enters the flow, it needs a card.
The most common way to create a card is through the pipe's start form. This form collects the input information that defines what will be processed in the following phases. The better configured the form is, the less rework the team will have later.
Besides the form, cards can also be created via automation, through integrations with external systems or through Pipefy's email features. For day-to-day operations, the start form is the natural entry point.
Process tip: if the team frequently creates cards manually for urgent situations, consider a specific phase for triage. It separates what arrived outside the flow from what came through the form and keeps the pipeline readable.
Edit cards: update information without losing the history
Information changes over the course of the process. A deadline is revised, an assignee is swapped, a field filled in incompletely needs to be corrected. Pipefy records these changes in the card's timeline.
Editable fields need to be enabled for editing in the corresponding phase. If a field is locked in a given phase, it is because the process logic determined that that information should not be changed there.
Besides the form fields, each card has fixed fields available in any phase: assignee, due date, labels and attachments. These fields give operational context to the card and can be edited at any time by the team.
Attention: editing a field in a phase where it is locked requires pipe admin access. If the team frequently reports being unable to update information, check the field editing configuration by phase before expanding permissions.
Move cards: how progress becomes visible
Moving a card from one phase to another is what turns the Kanban into a real record of the process progress. Each movement indicates that a step was completed and that the case is ready for the next responsibility.
Cards can be moved by dragging them in the Kanban view or by selecting the destination phase inside the open card. If the destination phase has required fields that are not filled in, Pipefy blocks the movement until the data is provided.
Why required fields are your best quality guarantee: when a field is marked as required in a phase, the process does not advance until the information is filled in. This eliminates the need for manual checks and keeps the data integrity throughout the flow.
It is also possible to restrict which phases a card can be moved to. This configuration is useful in processes with steps that cannot be reversed, such as financial approvals or publications. The rule is defined phase by phase and prevents operational errors without depending on manual discipline from the team.
Duplicate cards: when copying is smarter than creating from scratch
Some processes have recurring requests with an identical structure: the same type of purchase request, the same onboarding for a similar profile, the same support case with the same input information. Duplicating a card saves the time of filling in the start form again.
The duplicated card starts in the pipe's initial phase with the fields copied from the original. From there, it follows the flow normally. The source card remains unchanged.
When duplicating makes sense: use this operation for recurring requests with minimal variations. If the data changes significantly between cases, the start form is the right path to ensure correct filling from the start.
Archive or delete: the decision that protects the process history
This is the operation that raises the most questions, and rightly so. The difference between archiving and deleting defines what stays available for future reference and what disappears from the system.
Archiving a card means closing it without deleting it. The card leaves the active pipe, stops appearing in the Kanban and in the default filters, but can be found via search with the archived filter. All the history, comments and filled fields remain intact.
Deleting a card is an irreversible action. All the data inside the card is permanently erased, with no possibility of recovery.
When to use each operation:
- Archive: case closed, cancelled or suspended. The history can be consulted in the future, in audits, queries or as a reference for similar cases.
- Delete: card created by mistake, accidental duplicate or test record that should not persist in the system.
Practical rule: when in doubt, archive. Mass deletion of cards removes information that may be needed for historical reports and internal audits. Deleting is final.
How these operations work together: an onboarding example
An HR team uses a pipe to manage the onboarding of new employees. Here is how the card operations appear in the real flow:
- Create: the start form is filled in at the moment of hiring, with name, role, start date and team.
- Move: the card advances from "Documentation pending" to "Access granted" as soon as the required HR and IT fields are filled in.
- Edit: the start date changes because the employee's arrival was postponed. The field is updated directly in the card, with no need to create a new one.
- Duplicate: a second hire for the same role starts with the same access configuration data. The card is duplicated and only the name and date are changed.
- Archive: the onboarding is completed. The card is archived with all the history of approvals, comments and documents for future reference.
- Delete: a card was created with the wrong name due to accidental duplication. Since it has no real data yet, it is deleted with no impact.
Before moving on, confirm that you know how to:
☐ Create a card through the form and recognize when this should be automatic
☐ Edit fields without compromising the card history
☐ Move a card and understand why it may be blocked
☐ Decide between archiving and deleting based on the value of the data
