What Would Happen When You Make Changes in an Automation
What happens when you make changes in a running SendFox automation—which edits take effect silently, what happens to scheduled emails, and how to edit safely.
The short version
SendFox lets you edit a live automation at any time—and the changes apply silently. There's no confirmation prompt, the automation keeps running, and contacts already moving through the series are affected at different points depending on where they are. That's why we recommend planning the whole sequence before you start it.
What each change does
| Change | What happens |
|---|---|
| Edit an email's subject or content | Contacts who reach that step from now on get the new version. The automation keeps running while you edit. |
| Change a delay | Applies to contacts who haven't reached that step yet; emails already scheduled keep their original send time. See changing the delay time. |
| Stop the automation | Sending pauses (Stopped badge). Contacts keep their place in the sequence. |
| Start it again | Sending resumes. Emails that went more than 14 days past their scheduled time while stopped are sent right away rather than skipped. |
| Delete the automation | All of its scheduled emails are canceled—nothing else from that series will send. |
Edit safely: plan first, change little
Because changes land mid-flight for anyone already in the series, the safest approach is to set up the full email sequence in advance and let it run without changes. If you must edit a live automation:
- Make content edits to steps your current contacts haven't reached yet.
- Avoid reordering or deleting steps in a series with active contacts—build a corrected copy with Clone and point new signups there instead.
- Remember each contact goes through an automation only once, so you can't re-run the fixed series for people who already passed through it.
Troubleshooting
A contact received the old version of an email I edited
- Their copy was already scheduled before your edit. Edits affect contacts who reach the step after you save.
Emails went out in a burst after I restarted the automation
- That's the catch-up behavior: emails more than 14 days overdue are sent immediately on resume. If you plan a long pause, consider deleting the automation (which cancels scheduled sends) and recreating it later with Clone.
- Questions? Visit the SendFox Help Center at help.sendfox.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does editing pause the automation?
No. The automation keeps its Running status while you edit, and there's no warning prompt—changes are live as soon as you save.
If I stop and restart an automation, do contacts start over?
No. Contacts keep their place, and each contact only ever goes through an automation once.
What happens if I delete the whole automation?
Every email it had scheduled is canceled, and nothing further from that series will send.