Turn on, off and edit
Pause a scenario, publish it again, and safely change a message text or wait time.
3 min read
Ready scenarios are set up for your agency, but things change: you may want to pause reminders over a bank holiday, soften the wording of a message, or send a follow-up after 2 hours instead of 3. This article covers the changes you can make without breaking a scenario's logic.
Before you start
- You need the Admin role to edit automations. See Roles and permissions.
- Any change you save in a Published scenario applies immediately to real contacts. If in doubt, ask your consultant first.
Pausing and resuming a scenario
- Open the scenario from Automation → Workflows. The switch at the top right shows its state: Publish means running, Draft means stopped.
- Move the switch to Draft and click Save. The scenario stops taking in new contacts.
To resume, move the switch back to Publish and save. The Status column in the list updates.
When to pause:
- While the office is closed, so no appointment reminders go out (they won't if there are no appointments, but to be sure).
- When you spot a mistake in a message, until it's fixed.
- To hold a campaign or nurture sequence for a while.
Heads up
What happens to contacts currently at a wait step in a paused scenario depends on how it's built. If you're pausing a scenario for more than a few hours, let your consultant know. Switching off appointment confirmation and reminder scenarios can increase no-shows.
Editing a message
- In the Builder, click the Send WhatsApp step you want to edit; its details open on the right.
- The Template field shows whether the step uses an approved WhatsApp template (e.g.
appointment_confirmation · Utility · Approved). - The Message field shows the text. Fields in curly brackets such as
{{contact.first_name}}and{{appointment.start_time}}fill in for each contact; don't delete them. - If you changed anything, click Save Action, then Save at the top.
There are two cases:
| Step type | Can you change the text? |
|---|---|
| Step using an approved template (confirmation, reminder, no answer, nurture) | No. The template goes out exactly as WhatsApp approved it. New text needs a new template approved: contact your consultant. |
| Free-form message (only sent if the contact wrote in the last 24 hours) | Yes, carefully. Keep it short, keep the fields, stay in your brand voice. |
See WhatsApp templates.
Tip
Copy the current text somewhere before changing it. If something goes wrong, you can put it back straight away.
Changing a wait time
- In the Builder, click the Wait step.
- Change the duration and unit (e.g. 2 hours instead of 3). Check the sending window if there is one; at setup we define a window such as Monday–Saturday 09:00–20:00 so nothing goes out at night.
- Click Save Action and Save at the top.
Changing a wait time may also affect contacts currently waiting at that step. Timings tied to the appointment, such as "1 day before", depend on the appointment time; to change those, contact your consultant.
What not to change
The following change a scenario's logic; leave them to your consultant:
- Changing the trigger or adding a new one.
- Adding, deleting or reordering steps.
- Changing If / Else conditions.
- Changing the agents in assignment and task steps (tell us if someone leaves the team).
- Deleting or duplicating a scenario.
Common issues
I saved, but the message went out with the old text. The step uses an approved template; its text doesn't change. Contact your consultant.
I published the scenario but nobody is entering it. The trigger event may not have happened yet. Check the Enrollment History tab. See Automation history and troubleshooting.
Related articles
Didn't solve your problem?
Ask the assistant or message our support team.