Visual Automations can have one of three statuses: Active, Inactive, or Paused.

They affect whether subscribers can enter the Visual Automation and go through its steps. Check that your Visual Automation has the right status so it can do its job (or not, depending on the situation).

Here's what each status means.

If a Visual Automation is active, subscribers can enter it and progress through its steps.

This is the status your Visual Automation should have if you want it to work as intended!

An active Visual Automation will have the "Active" status on the Visual Automations page:

And when you click into the Visual Automation, the Active toggle at the top right of the builder will be green.

You can activate your Visual Automation from the Visual Automations page by clicking the three vertical dots next to its name > Set to Active.

Click Activate in the window that pops up to confirm the activation.

Alternatively, click the grayed-out Active toggle from the Visual Automation builder. Then, click Activate in the window that pops up to confirm the activation.

Inactive Visual Automations are completely turned off.

No subscribers can enter it. Any subscribers who had already been in the Visual Automation before it was turned off will be kept waiting before the step(s) they haven't taken yet. They won't be able to progress further until you activate the Visual Automation.

All newly created Visual Automations have the inactive status by default. This is so that subscribers don't go through it while you're setting it up.

You may also want to turn off an active Visual Automation if you want to edit it and don't want any subscribers to enter or go through it while you're doing so.

An inactive Visual Automation will have the "Inactive" status on the Visual Automations page:

And when you click into the Visual Automation, the Active toggle at the top right of the builder will be gray.

You can turn off your Visual Automation from the Visual Automations page by clicking the three vertical dots next to its name > Set to Inactive.

Click Turn off in the window that pops up to confirm.

Alternatively, click the green Active toggle from the Visual Automation builder to turn it off. Then, click Turn off in the window that pops up to confirm.

If a Visual Automation is paused, it is "half active."

Subscribers can enter it but cannot progress any further than that. They will be kept waiting after the Visual Automation's entry point(s) until you unpause it.

Any subscribers who had already been in the Visual Automation before it was paused will be kept waiting before the step(s) they haven't taken yet. They won't be able to progress further until you unpause the Visual Automation.

Pausing a Visual Automation is helpful if you want to:

A paused Visual Automation will have the "Paused" status on the Visual Automations page:

And when you click into the Visual Automation, the Active toggle at the top right of the builder will be green but with a Resume button next to it.

Only active Visual Automations can be paused. You can pause your Visual Automation from the Visual Automations page by clicking the three vertical dots next to its name > Pause.

Click Pause in the window that pops up to confirm.

Alternatively, click the Pause button next to the green Active toggle from the Visual Automation builder. Then, click Pause in the window that pops up to confirm.

Once your paused Visual Automation is ready for use, do the reverse to unpause—or resume—it:

Click the three vertical dots next to the Visual Automation from the Visual Automations page > Resume.

Click Turn it on! in the window that pops up to confirm.

Alternatively, click the Resume button next to the green Active toggle from the Visual Automation builder. Then, click Turn it on! in the window that pops up to confirm.

Here's a summary of how the three Visual Automation statuses work!

Troubleshooting: subscribers waiting in a Visual Automation