Use conditional logic to filter and split your Zap workflows

With conditional logic, you can define specific criteria, or conditions, that determine whether later action steps in your Zap will run or not. Conditional logic can be framed as: “If A happens, then do X. If B happens, then do Y.” The Filter and Paths tools allow you to use conditional logic in your Zaps.

What are filters and paths?

With the Filter tool, you can create a single set of conditions to control your workflow. In this case, the filter step determines whether the Zap continues running subsequent steps or not. Use Filter in linear workflows where you only need one set of steps to follow afterward.

With the Paths tool, you can create multiple conditions to control your workflow. Each condition starts a new branch in your workflow with its own set of steps afterward. Depending on how you set up your path conditions, one, some, all, or none of your branches can run.

What can you do with filters and paths?

Filters and paths let you build more complex workflows. They act as powerful decision points within your Zaps, determining whether the Zap continues and what actions are taken based on specific conditions. They allow you to implement the following logic:  “If A happens, then do X. If B happens, then do Y.”

For instance, if you have an online shoe store that emails discount coupons to customers, you can use a filter to ensure you’ll only send a 30% boot discount coupon to customers interested in boots. The filter step will ensure you do not email the boot discount to customers who are not interested in boots.

Using paths in the online shoe store example, you can send targeted emails to different customer groups. One path sends a 30% discount coupon to customers interested in boots. The second path sends a 10% discount coupon to customers interested in sandals. If a customer happens to like both boots and sandals, they’ll get both emails.

Learn more about ways to use Filter and Paths steps:

• How to add logic and filters to your Zaps to close deals.
• Need to use multiple email marketing tools? Connect everything with Zapier.
• How to get different results with one Zap

Understanding how to set up filters and paths

Setting up rules

Each rule in either a filter or a path is made up of the following logic:

“Only continue if {field} {logic} {value}.

To set this up, rules have three parts.

• The first input box is where you select a field from a previous step. The rule will evaluate that field’s value against the rest of the rule conditions.
• The second input box is where you select a condition for your rule. This is the logic for the rule.
• The third input box is where you enter a value that the condition will compare against the field. You can map a field from a previous step if you need to compare against a dynamic value.
  • These conditions do not contain a third input box:
    • (Boolean) Is true.
    • (Boolean) Is false.
    • Exists.
    • Does not exist.

In the example below, the Zap will only continue if the value in the Occupation field exactly matches “Writer”. Learn more about filter and path rules in Zaps.

Adding additional rules

When adding additional rules, you must use select either “and” or “or” logic to join rules together. With “and” logic, the Zap will only continue if both rules are satisfied. With “or” logic, the Zap will continue if at least one of your rules are met. Learn more about “and” and “or” logic.

Setting up Paths

You must also select the kind of rules to use in your path conditions.

• Custom rules
  • This path will run if your custom rules are met. With custom rules, you can use “and” or “or” logic when adding multiple rules to your path branch:
    • And logic: your data must match all of the path rules for the Zap to continue.
    • Or logic: your data must match at least one of the path rules for the Zap to continue.
    • Learn more about the difference between “and” and “or” logic.
• Always run
  • This path branch will always run. Selecting a path branch as “Always run” means all steps within a path branch will run each time the Zap runs. You can have multiple path branches within a path group set to  “Always run”.
  • The path rules “Always Run” and “Fallback” are mutually exclusive, only one of them can be active in a path group at a given time. However, you can combine either of them with “Custom rules”.
• Fallback
  • If no other path branches within the group run, this one will run. A fallback branch will run if no other path branch's rules are met. You can only set one path branch as a fallback, per path group. If you have Autoreplay enabled, fallback branches will only run after all replay attempts fail.
  • You can designate any path branch as a fallback. If you do, it automatically becomes the last branch (far right) within the path group. It's also renamed to "Fallback" (this name cannot be changed).
  • The path rules “Always Run” and “Fallback” are mutually exclusive; only one can be active in a path group at a given time. However, you can combine either of them with “Custom rules.”
  • Alternatively, you can use custom error handling instead of Paths, to handle any errors that occur in your Zap.

Next steps

For complete step-by-step instructions for setting up your Filter and Paths steps, refer to:

• Add conditions to Zap with filters.
• Add branching logic to Zaps with Paths.