What happens to contacts in an Automation when stopped, then resumed?

You have a running automation in your account that needs to be updated.  In order to edit the emails in the workflow, you must stop the automation. So, what happens to the contacts that were in the workflow when the automation is resumed?

The answer depends a bit on how long the automation is stopped and how long the pauses are between steps. In the examples below let's say the automation uses a three day pause between it's steps. 

1. The automaton is stopped and resumed the same day. Contacts will continue the path they were on and wait the remaining amount of time to achieve the three day pause.
   
   
2. The automation is stopped and resumed one week later. Contacts will immediately flow to their next step in the workflow because the elapsed of time is greater than the three day pause.

A similar result will occur when you remove steps from an automation. Depending on the pause times used and how long the automation is stopped, contacts may still be in the pause step or end up outside of the pause window, therefore immediately flowing to the next when the automation is resumed. For example, (using the same three day pause) removing an email between two pauses results in contacts either waiting to achieve 6 days, or immediately moving to the next step is 6 days have passed between the stop and resume of the automation.