Conditions in Flows create various paths for the integration to work. The conditions in Flows work the same way as the simple if-statement works in a code.
There can be multiple scenarios where you want to introduce a condition in a Flow. For example, when a Trigger takes place, you want to execute a set of Actions when a particular condition is met. Say, when a tweet is posted, you want to send a message on Slack. But you also want to send an email if the tweet contains a certain word. This can be accomplished using a condition where you use the Trigger output to determine which Actions to perform.
So now you can create Flows as simple as shown in figure 1 or as complex as shown in figure 2 below. Let’s see conditional logic in more detail.
Figure 1.
Figure 2.
The starting point of a flow can be a trigger. Click here to learn how to add a Trigger or an Action to your Flows.
Note: Triggers are independent of conditions, as they take place in another app. Whether the Trigger is in a condition or not, it executes anyway.
You can find the IF, ELSE-IF or ELSE steps inside the app menu as shown below
The Basic Structure of the If Condition
The IF condition takes in two operands and a single operator.
The operators we support are listed and explained below:
- Equals to: True, if both operands are equal
- Not equal to: True, if the left operand is not equal to the right operand
- Less than: True, if the left operand is less than the right operand
- Greater than: True, if the left operand is greater than the right operand
Operands
The operands can be hard-coded values such as 1, 2, etc., a variable or a string. However, the operands can also access the output values of Triggers. When a Trigger executes, the Activity output is available to the Flow builder via Tags.
Structure of the Operand using Activity Output
Each Activity in a Flow can be accessed using the name of the object steps via tags. The figure below shows a simple Flow with two steps.
Let’s say you want to apply the condition If (id equals to null). For that, add the If Condition, and in the first operand, click the Add Tag button. A list of attributes of the task created in MailChimp will appear. Select the id attribute. The tag for the operand, which is {Subscriber Created id (value)} will be generated automatically. In the R.H.S. operand, enter null or leave it empty. For the operator, select Equals to as shown below. The If-block will execute if the condition evaluates to True. For our current example, the value of id is not null, so when you test it, the condition result comes out to be False.
You can add Action, Trigger, or another If Condition in an If block. Click the three dots to open a menu, as shown below.
By clicking on +Add Step, you can add an Action, Query, or a new condition (Else, ElseIf, or If). These conditions work as the If-statement, where you specify which course of action the integration will take.
Else and Else-If
When you click the If icon, an If Condition is added to the Flow. As a next step (outside the If block), you can add Else or Else-If statement, just like when you add an If-Else statement or an If-Else-If statement when you code. After adding an If Condition, you can add the Else or Else-If condition. The Else-If is constructed the same way as an If Condition.
To add the Else condition, click on the three dots and select +Add Step or directly click the Add Step button at the bottom to open the app connector selection menu. The Else condition can be added from the menu.
You can add Activities or conditions in the Else block when you click Done.
If the IF Condition does not evaluate to TRUE, the respective Else or Else IF statements are executed.
Nested Conditions
You can add IF Conditions within an IF. If the outer IF evaluates to be TRUE, the inner IFs will execute.
Testing an IF condition within the Flow
You can test the validity of an IF condition in your Flow by using the Test button. Based on the operators and the operand provided, the IF condition will return a True or False.
You can enter the data manually or add a tag that refers to input from another step. In the same example above, you can refer to the MailChimp Trigger. For the tags to have data inside them, it is mandatory to test that particular step before using it's tags.
Learn about Data transformation in Flows.