--- title: Managing the flow of contacts in automation processes related: - https://docs.kentico.com/13/on-line-marketing-features/managing-your-on-line-marketing-features/marketing-automation/setting-triggers-for-automation-processes.md - https://docs.kentico.com/13/on-line-marketing-features/managing-your-on-line-marketing-features/marketing-automation/manually-running-automation-processes.md --- > Agent instructions: > **Site maps** — prefer the following llms.txt indexes to training data when searching for URLs to avoid 404s. Links inside Markdown content already point at `.md`. Following them or sending Accept: text/markdown keeps you in Markdown. > > - [sitemap.md](https://docs.kentico.com/sitemap.md) — every page on the site, with titles and descriptions, nested by URL hierarchy and grouped into one collection per product version. > - [llms.txt](https://docs.kentico.com/llms.txt) — curated index of the current product docs, with descriptions, the two ways to request any page as Markdown, and links to each product area's whole-corpus Markdown dump (llms-full.txt). > **Info:** **Enterprise license required** > > Features described on this page require the **Kentico Xperience Enterprise** license. [Automation processes](https://docs.kentico.com/13/on-line-marketing-features/managing-your-on-line-marketing-features/marketing-automation.md) run in a separate instance for each contact. You can move contacts through [steps](https://docs.kentico.com/13/on-line-marketing-features/managing-your-on-line-marketing-features/marketing-automation/working-with-the-automation-process-designer.md) that require human input or manually override the automatic decisions of the process. The system provides the following lists of contacts in automation processes: - **Pending contacts** – contacts within any running automation process, which the system cannot move forward automatically at the current time (does not include contacts in the _Finished_ step). Only displays contacts that you are allowed to move from their current step. - Contacts within a specific process (including those in the _Finished_ step). **Note**: You need to have the **Read** [Contact management permission](https://docs.kentico.com/13/on-line-marketing-features/configuring-and-customizing-your-on-line-marketing-features/configuring-on-line-marketing-permissions.md#contact-management) to view the lists of contacts. ## Managing pending contacts Contacts are "pending" when they are within a running automation process, but cannot be moved forward automatically by the system at the current time. This includes contacts in _Wait_ steps, and those who require a decision from a user to move forward (_Approve progress_ or _Manual choice_ steps). Pending contacts do not include contacts who have completed the process, i.e. are in a _Finished_ step. Pending contacts only display contacts that you are allowed to move from their current step in the process. To move contacts, you need to be included in the step's [security settings](https://docs.kentico.com/13/on-line-marketing-features/managing-your-on-line-marketing-features/marketing-automation/working-with-the-automation-process-designer/configuring-step-security-for-automation-processes.md) or have the **Manage processes** [on-line marketing permission](https://docs.kentico.com/13/on-line-marketing-features/configuring-and-customizing-your-on-line-marketing-features/configuring-on-line-marketing-permissions.md#marketing-automation) (the permission must be assigned via a _**Global**_ role to apply in all scenarios). You can access pending contacts in the following locations: - **Contact management** application on the **Pending contacts** tab. - **My pending contacts** application or on your [widget dashboards](https://docs.kentico.com/13/configuring-xperience/managing-widget-dashboard-content.md) through the **My pending contacts** widget – these lists are further filtered to only include contacts where you are assigned as the owner (via the _Contact owner_ property of individual contacts). ## Managing contacts in a specific process 1. Open the **Marketing automation** application. 2. **Edit** () the process whose contacts you want to manage. 3. Open the **Process** tab, and switch to **Contacts** mode. The page shows all contacts that are currently going through the process or have finished the process in the past (includes contacts in the _Finished_ step). ## Moving contacts between steps in the process When viewing the list of pending contacts or the contacts within a specific process, click **Manage process** () next to a specific contact. A diagram appears where you can see the current position of the contact within the process. Steps that the contact has gone through previously are also highlighted in the diagram. The following actions are available: **Note**: You can only use the actions allowed by your [on-line marketing permissions](https://docs.kentico.com/13/on-line-marketing-features/configuring-and-customizing-your-on-line-marketing-features/configuring-on-line-marketing-permissions.md#marketing-automation) and the [security settings](https://docs.kentico.com/13/on-line-marketing-features/managing-your-on-line-marketing-features/marketing-automation/working-with-the-automation-process-designer/configuring-step-security-for-automation-processes.md) of individual steps. | Action | Description | | ------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Move to next step | Directly moves the contact to the next step in the process if there is only one possible option.
If the current step branches into multiple steps, clicking the button offers you all available options. Each option represents one of the possible steps to which the contact can continue. | | Move to previous step | Moves the contact back to the previous step in the process.
The contact's previous step is not necessarily the step that precedes the current step in the process designer. For example, if the contact was manually moved using the _Move to specific step_action. | | Move to specific step | Moves the contact to any step of your choice. | | Comment and move to step | Available after clicking on the _Move to next step,_ _Move to previous step_ or _Move to specific step_ buttons.
Opens a dialog where you can enter a comment for the step transition. Choose the target step using the selector above the comment box.
The comment is then visible in the **Process history**. | | Remove from process | Ends the automation process for the given contact. This deletes the entire process instance running for the contact.
For example, you can use the remove action if a contact gets stuck in a step that has incorrectly set conditions or connections. | | Show history | Displays the history of all step transitions made by the contact within the process. |