How to edit a Sequence

This article will teach you how to edit a Sequence by adding or removing Sequence stages.

Updated over a week ago

Sequences are available on the Mixmax Small Business plan and above. Check out our pricing page for more information.

Need to change the order of the stages in your sequence or remove a stage before you send it? Open any unused sequence, switch the stages, or delete them from the Stages tab, and click Save Changes in the bottom left corner. The updates will go into effect immediately, and your sequence will be ready for your recipients!

Requirements

Mixmax users can delete a stage and switch stages of an unused sequence. To do so, the following requirements need to be met:

  • A sequence needs to have more than one stage: If a sequence only has one stage, then the stage will not be deletable or switchable.

  • The sequence needs to be inactive: If the sequence has active recipients, users cannot delete a stage or switch stages.

Deleting a stage

To delete the first stage of the sequence, just hover over the stage. When you do so, a trash can icon will appear. Click the icon to remove the stage.

Deleting a stage

Example: After stage 1 is deleted, stage 2 will become new stage 1.

What happens after a stage is deleted?

  • When a stage is deleted, the next stage replaces the previous stage and will have its conditional trigger removed. For example, if stage 1 is deleted and stage 2 used to say If not read after 3 days, it will lose this conditional trigger as stage 1 can not have any conditional triggers.

  • If the user is deleting a stage of an unused sequence that also has recipients added (draft recipients), then additional requirements around the stage start time will need to be met if the drag-and-drop action impacts the stage.

Drag and drop sequence stages

In an unused sequence, navigate to the Stages tab. From there, click the stage and drag it to the position in the sequence where you would like it to be.

Editing stages order

What happens after drag and drop is used to change the stage order?

  • Based on which stage is moved, the conditional triggers for the specific stage that was moved and the two stages that follow(ed) will update based on the following logic:

    • When a stage is moved to Stage 1, it loses its conditional trigger. For example, if current stage 3 has a conditional trigger Send email automatically/in 3 days/if previous email is not replied and it's moved to the first stage, it will lose this conditional trigger.

    • When a stage 1 step is moved to a different position, its conditional trigger will default to the following:

      • If previous email is not replied if following an email stage.

      • After previous task is marked completed if following a task stage.

      • The default delay time between stages is 3 weekdays.

    • When a stage is moved, its conditional trigger will update if the stage that now precedes it does not have the same stage type as the stage that used to precede it. For example, if stage 5 is dragged to stage 3, and stage 5 used to follow an email stage but now follows a task stage, then the conditional trigger will change to After previous task is marked completed, and it will keep the same delay period:

      • If the stage now follows an auto email, it will default to If previous email is not replied.

      • If following a task stage, it will default to After previous task is marked completed.

  • If the user is dragging and dropping an unused sequence that also has recipients added (draft recipients), then additional requirements around the stage 1 start time will need to be met if the drag and drop action impacts stage 1.

FAQ

Why did some recipients not receive the new stages I added?

When you add a new stage to a sequence that already has some stages sent out, the sequence must have active recipients for the new stage(s) to go out. Once a recipient has exited your sequence, they will not receive the new stage(s) added later.

When a recipient reaches the final stage of a sequence, they exit the sequence and are no longer active in it. As long as recipients have not reached the final stage of your sequence, you can add more stages, and the active recipients will receive these new stages.

If you've added stages to an inactive sequence thinking the original recipients would get the new stages, don't fret! We suggest you create a new sequence using the content from the newly added stages. Once this new sequence is set up, you can add the same recipients to the new sequence.

If your sequence was active when you added new stages, but the new stages were not sent, contact our support team and let us know the name of the sequence. We'll be happy to assist.

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