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Building Rules: Conditions, Logic & the Otherwise Branch

Conditions are what make a workflow selective — instead of an action applying to every submission, you can target exactly the submissions that meet criteria you define. This article is a deep dive into building conditions, combining them with AND/OR logic, and using the Otherwise branch for fallback actions.

This assumes you're already inside the rule builder — if you need a refresher on getting there, see Creating a Workflow.

Do you need conditions at all?

Not every rule needs them. If you leave the If section empty, the rule's default behaviour is "Applies to all submissions" — every submission the workflow processes will trigger the Then actions.

Add conditions when you want to narrow that down — for example, only submissions where a specific field equals a certain value, or only submissions missing a required piece of information.

Opening the condition builder

In the If (optional) section of a rule, click + Add Conditions. This opens a Filter Group.

Anatomy of a single condition

Each condition line has three parts:

  1. Select property: the form field you want to check (for example, "Applicant Status" or "Requested Amount")
  2. Comparison operator: how you want to compare it
  3. Value: what you're comparing against

Available comparisons by field type

  • Text/string fields:
    • Is Exactly — matches an exact value, full match
    • Is Not Exactly — matches everything except a specific exact value
    • Contains — matches if the value appears anywhere within the field
    • Does Not Contain — matches if the value does not appear anywhere within the field
    • Starts With — matches if the field begins with the value
    • Ends With — matches if the field ends with the value
    • Is Empty — matches if the field has no value
    • Is Not Empty — matches if the field has any value
  • Number fields:
    • Greater Than
    • Less Than
    • Greater or Equal
    • Less or Equal
    • Equals
  • Any field (presence checks):
    • Is Empty — useful for catching incomplete submissions or fields nobody filled in
    • Is Not Empty — useful for confirming something was provided before acting on it

Tip: For text fields, reach for Contains / Does Not Contain when you only care about part of the value (e.g., an email domain), and Is Exactly / Is Not Exactly when you need a precise, full match (e.g., a status field with fixed option values).

Combining conditions with AND

Within a single Filter Group, click + Add underneath your first condition to add another. Conditions within the same filter group are joined with AND — meaning all of them must be true for the group to match.

For example, within one filter group you might set:

  • Applicant Status Is Exactly "Final"
  • AND
  • Requested Amount Greater or Equal "1000"

A submission only matches this filter group if both are true.

Combining filter groups with OR

Sometimes "all of these" isn't flexible enough — you want "either this combination, or that combination." That's what a second filter group is for.

Below your first filter group, click + Add next to the OR label to create a second filter group. Each filter group can have its own set of AND'd conditions. A submission matches the rule overall if it satisfies any one filter group — this is your OR logic.

Example: Say you want to catch either (a) submissions marked Final with a high requested amount, or (b) submissions manually tagged "Priority Review," regardless of amount. You'd set that up as two filter groups:

  • Filter Group 1: Applicant Status Is Exactly "Final" AND Requested Amount Greater or Equal "1000"
  • OR
  • Filter Group 2: Tags Is Not Empty AND Tags Contains "Priority Review"

A submission matching either group triggers the rule's actions.

Duplicating and deleting filter groups

Each filter group has Duplicate and Delete controls. Duplicate is handy when you're building two similar filter groups and only need to change one or two values — duplicate the first, then adjust. Delete removes that group entirely; if you want to remove the whole If step instead, use Remove conditions at the top of the section, which reverts the rule to "Applies to all submissions."

The Otherwise branch

Every rule's Then step is required — but you can also add an Otherwise (optional) section. This defines what happens to submissions that don't match your conditions, as opposed to submissions that do.

This keeps the rule logic linear rather than turning into complex branching: you still only have two outcomes per rule (match → Then, no match → Otherwise), not an open-ended set of "else if" paths.

When to use Otherwise

Use it when you want a genuine two-sided outcome from a single rule — for example:

  • If a submission is eligible, tag it "Eligible" and move it to Committee Review. Otherwise, tag it "Needs Follow-up" and send an email asking for missing information.
  • If the requested amount is within budget, assign it to the standard review phase. Otherwise, assign it to a "Budget Exception" phase for extra scrutiny.

Setting up Otherwise actions

The Otherwise section works exactly like Then — click + Add Action, choose from the same six action types, and configure it the same way. You can add multiple actions to the Otherwise branch, just like you can to Then.

Note: If you don't need a fallback action, just leave Otherwise empty — it's entirely optional. Most simple workflows won't use it, and that's fine. Reach for it specifically when you have a genuine "if not this, then that instead" scenario.

Reading the Live Preview

As you build conditions, the Live Preview panel on the right updates to describe your rule in plain language — for example, "Only If: Applicant Status equals Final AND Requested Amount ≥ 1000." Use this as a quick sanity check, especially once you're combining multiple filter groups with AND/OR — it's easy to build something more (or less) restrictive than you intended, and the preview catches that before you save.

Common mistakes to watch for

  • Confusing AND with OR. Remember: conditions within a filter group are AND'd (all must be true); separate filter groups are OR'd (any one can match). If your rule isn't catching submissions you expect, double check whether you needed a second filter group instead of a second condition in the same group.
  • Forgetting a condition applies to all submissions by default. If you meant to scope a rule but skipped Add Conditions, it will run against every submission — always confirm the Live Preview before saving.
  • Using Otherwise when you actually wanted a second, unrelated rule. Otherwise is for a true fallback to the same trigger and submission set. If the second scenario is really unrelated, it's often clearer to build it as a separate rule within the same workflow.

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