// This module is included in the following assemblies:
// as_creating-integrations.adoc

[id='add-aggregate-step_{context}']
= Adding an aggregate step

In a flow, add an aggregate step where you want {prodname} 
to create a collection from individual objects. 
During execution, after an aggregate step, 
instead of executing subsequent steps once for each object, {prodname} 
executes subsequent steps once for the collection. 

When deciding whether to add an aggregate step to a flow, consider the 
connections in the flow. After a split step, for each subsequent 
connection, {prodname} connects to that application once for each element 
in the flow’s data. For some connections, it might be preferable to 
connect once rather than multiple times. 

.Prerequisites
* You are creating or editing a flow.
* The flow already has all the connections that it requires.
* A previous step split a collection into individual objects. 

.Procedure

. In the flow visualization, where you want to 
add an aggregate step to the flow, click the
image:images/integrating-applications/PlusSignToAddStepOrConnection.png[title='plus sign'].

. Click *Aggregate*. This step does not require any configuration. 
. Click *Next*. 

.Additional information 

Typically, you want to add any split and aggregate steps 
before you add data mapper steps. This is because 
whether the data is a collection or individual objects affects
the mappings. If you add a data mapper step and then add an
aggregate step, you usually need to redo the mappings. Likewise, if you 
remove an aggregate step, then you would need to redo
any mappings. 
