> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.synclify.cloud/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Edit a connection

> Change a live connection safely using editable drafts.

You cannot edit a live connection in place, and **pausing it does not make it editable**. Instead, Synclify gives you an editable draft: a copy you change freely, validate, preview, and then promote.

<Warning>
  **Pausing is not editing.** Paused connections reject edits — the API returns errors. If you paused a connection hoping to change its mapping, that isn't the path. Create a draft.
</Warning>

## The draft flow

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create the draft">
    Open the connection and make a change. Synclify asks: **Create editable draft?** Confirm.

    The live connection keeps running untouched while you work.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Make your changes">
    Adjust field mappings, per-field directions, sync direction, cadence, publishing, or deletion policy.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save">
    Your changes are stored on the draft.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save & Review">
    Synclify validates the draft and computes a preview of what the next sync would do.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Approve">
    Read the preview. Approving activates the draft, replacing the live configuration.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Drafts survive page reloads and browser restarts. Come back and Synclify picks up where you left off.

## What validation checks

The same guards as creation:

* Every mapping is type-compatible across text / number / boolean / date-time families.
* An identity field is set.
* Required Webflow fields are mapped.
* Existing records still pair correctly under the new mapping.

<Note>
  **Warnings do not block approval.** Anything reported as a warning — including *"dry-run preview is only available"* — lets you activate, with a toast. Only `error`, `failed`, or `invalid` statuses stop you.

  A warning still deserves a read. Warnings are how Synclify tells you a mapping is legal but probably not what you meant.
</Note>

## Changing the identity field

Possible, but think first.

Changing which field identifies a record re-pairs everything. Records that paired under the old field may not pair under the new one. Synclify shows you the consequences in the preview — read the create and delete counts carefully.

If **Delete orphaned records** is on, an identity change that fails to re-pair will **delete** the unmatched Webflow items and create replacements. Turn that setting off before changing identity, then turn it back on once you've confirmed the pairing.

## Picking up a new source column

Adding a column in Airtable does not add it to a live connection. Mappings are fixed at activation.

Create a draft, map the new column, review, approve.

## Approval hiccups

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Approve failed, then succeeded on retry">
    If the preview was incomplete, Synclify re-runs the full preview and retries the approval once. No action needed.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="'Connection is not active — Approve and activate the latest draft before syncing.'">
    You clicked **Sync now** while a draft is pending. Finish the review-and-approve flow first; **Sync now** only works on `active` connections.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Validation reports unpaired records after a mapping change">
    The message tells you: recheck the draft, and if it persists, resolve the records in Airtable or Webflow directly. Usually the new identity field's values don't actually match across the two sides.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## A known limitation

<Warning>
  Webhook-triggered syncs continue to fire against the live connection while you edit a draft. Pausing the connection is not a valid workaround, because paused connections can't be edited.

  In practice: make your draft changes and approve them in one sitting rather than leaving a draft open for days.
</Warning>