How to Use Merge Routing in Streamline Workflows

Merge Routing lets you bring separate workflow paths back together onto one shared step. When your workflow splits into branches (for example, one path per office, or one path for minors and another for adults) but everyone needs the same ending, you set up that ending once instead of rebuilding it on every branch. Your workflows stay smaller, easier to read, and accurate even when templates, fields, or assignments change.

Merge is optional. Workflows that already duplicate steps on each path keep working exactly as they do today.

Who Has Access?

• Available to all Intellistack Streamline customers. No add-on or upgrade is required.
• Any user who can edit projects can add and configure merges.

Part 1: Add a Merge Step

1. In the workflow builder, open the step menu where you want paths to come back together.
2. Select Merge.

Note: Merge is greyed out unless there is a Logic step before it. Merge only combines branches that were created by a Logic step, so if your workflow has not split into branches yet, the Merge option is not available.

Part 2: Choose Which Branches to Merge

1. In the Merge branches window, check the branches you want to bring together.
2. Enter a Merge label. This name appears on the canvas, so use something clear like "West Office + East Office".
3. Select Merge branches.

Each row in the Branches list identifies a branch two ways: the bold name is the branch (for example, "West Office"), and the smaller name below it is the Logic step that branch came from (for example, "Logic 2"). Reading both together tells you exactly which branch belongs to which split, which is helpful when a workflow has several Logic steps.

Note: At least two branches must be selected before Merge branches becomes available.

You can also layer merges: an existing merge can be combined with more branches to build a larger shared path (for example, "West Office + East Office" merged again with South and North).

After you merge, the merge appears as its own step on the canvas with each path connecting into it. Any steps you add after the merge apply to every path that reaches it.

Part 3: Configure the Shared Ending

1. Add the shared steps after the merge (document, signature, notification, or data delivery).
2. Set each step up once. That single setup applies to all the paths that merged, so there are no duplicate copies to keep aligned.

Note: If a field you map might not exist on every path, Streamline shows a warning so nothing is missed.

Part 4: Work With Merged Data (Data Tab)

When branches merge, each branch collected its own data separately. A "First name" on the West Office path and a "First name" on the East Office path are technically two different fields. The Data tab brings them together for you.

Streamline automatically scans the merged branches and combines matching fields into one unified field. Instead of "West Office first name" and "East Office first name," you get a single "First name" you can use in every step after the merge, no matter which path the submission actually took.

Each unified field shows which branch steps feed into it. Use the controls on the Data tab to adjust:

• Rescan re-checks the branches and rebuilds the combined fields. Run this after you change a branch (for example, add a new step or field upstream).
• Add field adds another source field into an existing unified field if the automatic scan did not catch it.
• Add mapping creates a new unified field.
• Delete all clears the combined fields so you can start over.

Because merges can be layered, the Data tab also combines fields across nested merges. In the example below, the "First name" from the earlier "West Office + East Office" merge is combined with the First name from the South and North Office paths into one field for the final shared steps.

In any step after the merge, these unified fields appear grouped by merge name in the data picker (for example "All Offices" and "East + West"). Pick one field and it works for every path.

Part 5: Delete a Merge

If you delete a merge, Streamline first asks what should happen to the steps that come after it, so nothing is lost by accident. The prompt shows how many steps are affected and offers two options:

• Move to an existing branch keeps the steps after the merge and continues them on a branch you select.
• Delete the steps removes the steps after the merge along with the merge.

Feature Considerations

• Only one path runs for each submission. After the paths merge, only the information collected on the path that was actually taken is available. Information from a path that was not used does not carry forward.
• Merge steps stay in place. Unlike normal steps, a merge step cannot be dragged to reorder.
• Branches must come from a Logic step. Merge only combines branches that originally split from a Logic step.
• The Data tab combines matching fields, not everything automatically. The scan pairs up fields that match across branches. If a field exists on only one branch, or is named or typed differently, add it manually with Add field or Add mapping.
• Rescan is manual. If you edit a branch after merging, use Rescan so the combined fields stay current. It does not update on its own.

Troubleshooting

I can't add a merge here.
Merge is greyed out when it is not possible in that spot, most often because there is no Logic step before it or there are not enough separate branches to bring together. Hover over the option for the note explaining why.

My workflow won't publish.
The merge may be set up in a way that is not supported. Streamline shows a message pointing to the problem. Adjust the merge and try again.

A field is blank after the merge.
Only the path that actually ran carries its information forward. Make sure the shared step uses a unified field from the Data tab that is collected on every path.

A field is missing from the Data tab.
The automatic scan only combines fields that match across branches. Use Add field to pull the missing source field into a unified field, or Add mapping to create a new one.

I changed a branch and the merged data looks wrong.
Use Rescan on the Data tab to rebuild the combined fields after editing branches.

I deleted a merge by mistake.
When you delete a merge, Streamline asks what to do with the steps after it before removing anything. Choose Move to an existing branch to keep those steps.