After you set up your Zap trigger, the next step is to add an action to your Zap. An action is an event your Zap performs when your trigger event occurs.
ExampleIf you want to receive a Slack notification every time you receive a new email in your Gmail inbox, the Zap action is to send a direct message in Slack.
NoteZaps are limited to 100 steps, including all steps within paths. If you need more than 100 steps, you can separate your Zap into multiple Zaps. Or, you can use paths, create a lookup table with Formatter, or pick from a list of items with Formatter.
1. Select your app and event
The Zap will perform the event in the selected app (a web service like Gmail or Slack) after it's triggered.
- In the Zap editor, click the Action step, or click the plus + icon to add an action to your Zap.
- Search for or select the app you want to use in your action.
- Click the Event dropdown menu and select the action that you want your Zap to perform.
2. Connect your account
When you connect your account, Zapier will use that specific account to perform the action event in. If your organization has multiple accounts for the same app, this ensures that Zapier only sends data to that specific account.
- If you already have an account connected to Zapier for the action app, select it from the account menu.
- If not, click Connect a new account and follow the instructions to connect your app to Zapier.
- If the connection is working, click Continue.
3. Set up your action
Next, set up the data that you want to send to your action app.
In this step, you'll see fields to fill in. Some are required, while others are optional. Different fields accept different types of data—for example, dates, text, or numbers—and there are three different field types that may appear:
Dropdown menus
Dropdown menus only allow you to select an option from a list of preset options. If you don't see the option you need, you can use a custom value instead.
- Click the down arrow to select an option from the list.
Text fields
In text fields, you can use either static values, which are the same every time the action runs, or dynamic values, which change based on data from previous steps.
- To use a static value, enter the value into the field.
- To use a dynamic value, map a field from a previous step.
ExampleFor example, if you're setting up an action to upload new Gmail attachments to Dropbox, you would map the attachment file from the trigger (New attachment in Gmail) to the action.
List field
List fields are collections of text fields that let you enter multiple options. Each time you enter a value in a list field, another blank list field will appear below it.
- To send more than one item, click the empty field below the current field, then enter a value or map a field from a previous step.
- After filling in all required fields and any optional fields, click Continue to move to the final step.
TipYou can use AI to generate values for the fields in your action.
NoteEach action step has a limit of 1,000 fields. This includes fields like Name and Email Address that are standard in your app and custom fields that you create in your app.
4. Test your action
Testing your action allows you to see if your Zap is sending the right data to your app. First, you'll see a preview of the data that Zapier will send to your app.
- To run the action step, click Test & Continue.
After you test, you'll see whether or not Zapier was able to send the data to your app. If it was successful, you'll see a confirmation of the data that was actually sent.
NoteWhen you test an action step, the Zap will send live data to your action app. For example, if your action creates an invoice, a real invoice will be created in your invoicing app.
Once you’ve set up your Zap action, you can add another action or finish setting up the Zap by clicking Publish in the upper right. Once your Zap is published, Zapier will run your action steps each time your trigger event occurs. You can view a log of all your Zap activity, including all the data that goes in and out of each of your Zap steps, in your Zap History.
