Triggers & steps

A trigger is what starts an automation: a new email, a new file in a Drive folder, a case left untouched, a value that changes, or a date coming up. Steps are what it does each time, like a calendar reminder or an email draft.

Automations

Updated 2026-10-283 min read

Every automation has one trigger. Pick it at the top of the trigger row, under Trigger type. Switching clears that trigger's settings.

Trigger

01GmailA new email matches your filters

02DriveA new file lands in one folder

03TimeA case sits untouched in a mailbox

04Case dataA value you watch changes

05DateA date on a case is coming up

Fig. 01Five things can start an automation.

Gmail

Watches the inbox of the person who made the automation.

Subject contains, Sender contains, Gmail label, Read status: every filter you fill must match. Capitals don't matter.
Capture from email: Files keeps the attachments, Body the message text. Pick one or both. Sender, subject, and date are always kept.
File types: PDF, Images, or Custom… (a new trigger takes PDFs and images).
With an Extraction step, + Capture from the email saves the sender, the subject, or a piece of the body as case data.

An open Gmail trigger: the Trigger type picker with Gmail picked, the Subject contains, Sender contains, Gmail label, and Read status filters, Capture from email, and File types. — Fig. 02A Gmail trigger watching for emails with invoice in the subject.

Fig. 02A Gmail trigger watching for emails with invoice in the subject.

Drive

Watches one Google Drive folder. Only files directly in it count. Import from Google Drive walks through it.

A folder with a cloud above it — Fig. 03A file dropped in the watched folder starts the automation.

A lightning bolt — Fig. 03A file dropped in the watched folder starts the automation.

Time

Moves cases nobody has touched. Pick the mailbox under From mailbox, the days under After N days idle, and where they go under Mailbox routing. A new file, an edit, or a note resets the count. It checks once a day.

A clock — Fig. 04A case idle for that many days moves to the mailbox you pick.

An inbox tray holding a page — Fig. 04A case idle for that many days moves to the mailbox you pick.

Case data

Runs when a value on a case changes, whoever changes it. Type the values under Watched data keys, separated by commas.

A card of labeled values — Fig. 05Any change to a watched value runs the steps.

Date

Runs a set number of days before a date on a case, like a due date. Pick the Date field and the Days before: 0 is the day itself, a negative number is after it. It checks once a day.

A calendar page with one day marked — Fig. 06The steps run that many days before the date.

Steps

Click Add step under the trigger. Case data and Date automations need at least one.

Step	What it does	Triggers
Extraction	Runs a template on each file	Gmail, Drive
Copy to Drive	Also saves each file to a Drive folder	Gmail
Calendar reminder	Adds an event to your Google Calendar, up to five	All
Notify	Posts a notification to the workspace	All
Move to mailbox	Moves the case	Case data, Date
Compose draft	Drafts an email from an email template in your Gmail	All
Generate document	Runs a template and adds the document to the case	All

Reminders and drafts use your Gmail connection. A draft waits in your Gmail; it is never sent.