Filters and paths are both tools that can be used for conditional or branching logic in your Zaps. This allows you to ensure actions get performed only on the items you want. Both tools let you set up specific conditions to get the granularity you need.
For instance, you can set up a filter to only capture emails that contain a specific subject line or only customers who purchase a specific product. So when the data from your Zap meets the conditions of a filter, it proceeds to the next action in your Zap. If a filter stops an item, then no further actions are performed.
Using either tool doesn't towards your task usage.
Learn how to set up filters or paths for your Zaps.
Filter rule conditions
Filters can use different rules for logic. Conditions can only work for the type of data that is specified in parentheses. There are five types of filter rules: text, number, date/time, boolean, and generic.
Examples
In this table, you can see which fields would pass a given rule. In each example, the condition is the logic used for the rule, the value is what we’re evaluating the condition against.
| Condition | Value | Examples that would pass | Examples that wouldn’t pass |
|---|---|---|---|
| (Text) Contains | Apples and bananas | Apples Apple Apples and bananas | Strawberries |
| (Text) Does not contain | Apples and bananas | Strawberries | Apple |
| (Text) Exactly matches | Apples | Apples | Apple (not plural) |
| (Text) Does not exactly match | Apples | Apple Banana And more | Apples |
| (Text) Is in | Apples, bananas | Apples Bananas | Apple Banana Strawberries |
| (Text) Is not in | Apples, bananas | Strawberries Apple | Apples Bananas |
| (Text) Starts with | App | Apples Applesauce | Apricots Bananas |
| (Text) Does not start with | App | Apricots Bananas | Apples Applesauce |
| (Text) Ends with | s | Bananas Apple and bananas | Apple |
| (Text) Does not end with | s | Apple Banana | Apples Bananas |
| (Number) Greater than | 10 | 11100 | 9-1 |
| (Number) Less than | 10 | 9-1 | 100 |
| (Date/time) After | 12/31/2018 1:00 | 01/01/2019 12/31/2018 01:01 | 12/31/2017 |
| (Date/time) Before | 12/31/2018 1:00 | 12/31/2017 | 01/01/2019 |
| (Date/time) Equals | 12/31/2018 1:00 | 12/31/2018 1:00 | 12/31/2019 12/31/2018 00:00 |
| Exists | n/a | Apple 10 01/01/2019 | |
| Does not exist | n/a | Apple 10 01/01/2019 |
NoteWhen filtering line items, whether your Zap continues past the filter depends on whether you use positive or negative filter conditions.
Text filters
Text filters only work with text data, so they won’t work with numbers or dates.
- Contains: Checks if the field contains a value. This is not case-sensitive.
- Does not contain: The opposite of Contains, this checks that the field does not contain a value. This is not case-sensitive.
- Exactly matches: Checks if the field matches a value letter-for-letter. This is not case-sensitive.
- Does not exactly match: Checks if the field does not match a value letter-for-letter. This is not case-sensitive.
- Is in: Checks if a field is in a list of values. This is not case-sensitive.
- Is not in: Checks if a field is not in a list of values. This is not case-sensitive.
- Starts with: Checks if a field begins with a certain value. This is not case-sensitive.
- Does not start with: Checks if a field does not begin with a certain value. This is not case-sensitive.
- Ends with: Checks if a field ends with a certain value. This is not case-sensitive.
- Does not end with: Checks if a field doesn’t end with a certain value. This is not case-sensitive.
Number filters
Number filters only work with numeric values, like 1 or 100. They do not work with written forms of numbers (one, two, one hundred) or dates.
- Greater than: Checks if a field is greater than a certain number.
- Less than: Checks if a field is less than a certain number.
-
Date/time
- After: Checks if a date is after a certain date.
- Before: Checks if a date is before a certain date.
- Equals: Checks if two dates are identical.
Boolean filters
- Is true: Checks is a boolean value is true.
- Is false: Checks if a boolean value is false.
Generic filters
- Exists: Checks if a value exists (can be used with any type of field).
- Does not exist: Checks if a value doesn’t exist (can be used with any type of field).
Filters and line items
If you have a set of line items like this:
Whether your Zap continues past the filter depends on whether you use positive or negative filter conditions.
- Examples of positive filter conditions are “Contains” and “Starts with”.
- Examples of negative filter conditions are “Does not contain” and “Does not start with”.
If your filter conditions are all positive
If all conditions are positive, at least one line item must pass all filter conditions for the Zap to continue.
In the example below, the Zap continues because a single line item passed both positive conditions, even if others didn't.
If your filter conditions are both positive and negative or all negative
Whenever there is a negative condition included, all line items must pass all filter conditions for the Zap to continue.
In the example below, the Zap doesn't continue because at least one line item didn't pass the filter conditions.
TipYou can use Formatter to convert line-items to text if you need to filter on all line items.
NoteThe Filter action doesn't remove any line items. If you map line items to later actions, this will include any line items that didn't pass the filter conditions.