Triggers & rules
A trigger is what an automation watches (Gmail, Drive, Time, or Case Data), and a rule binds that trigger to a destination, optional extraction, and file storage; create one in the Automations drawer.
Gmail/Drive filters are AND-logic (every condition must match), and only one automation processes each item: when several automations' filters match the same message or file, one wins and the rest never run, and you can't choose which. Keep filters mutually exclusive (one label, folder, or sender pattern per automation) rather than relying on ordering. The trigger pairs with a destination and an optional extraction template to form the full rule. New to the building blocks? See core concepts.
The four trigger kinds
Gmail pulls messages from the connected user's Gmail. Filters: Subject contains (case-insensitive substring, e.g. invitation to bid), Sender contains (substring on the From address, e.g. @vendor.com), Gmail label (name as it appears in Gmail, e.g. Paperwork/Invoices), Read status (All / Unread only / Read only), and File types, an allowlist of MIME types. New automations default to application/pdf, image/png, image/jpeg; leave it empty to accept every attachment. Add arbitrary types (e.g. text/csv) via Custom… (they store without extraction). Gemini AI-extracts PDFs and images (PNG, JPEG, webp, heic, heif, gif); other types are stored only. The sender address and subject line are always kept on the case as metadata. Capture From Email pills (Body, Files) control the rest: Files (on by default) ingests the attachments, and Body keeps the full message text on the case until you delete the case. Template fields that read the email (Value Source → From the delivery, part Subject line, Sender address, or Message body) resolve either way, so a field reading the message body works with Body off. Use Gmail for inbound document email: vendor invoices, signed PDFs returning from clients, RFP responses, scanned images.
Drive watches one Drive folder for new files. Folder ID (paste from the folder URL, required), Folder name (a label for the card; it never affects matching, and it stands in as a fallback when a template reads the folder name and the app cannot look the real name up), File name contains (substring, e.g. INV-2026), and the same File types allowlist as Gmail. Matching is direct children only: the file has to sit in the watched folder itself, so anything dropped into a subfolder is ignored. Point a second automation at the subfolder if you need it covered. A Drive automation also publishes values a template can read before the file is opened: the file name, the folder name, the date added to Drive, and the date last changed. Point a field at one under Value Source → From the delivery in the template editor, or add it from the automation's Extract node. When that field is the template's ID field, its value decides which case the file joins (see automating document intake). Use Drive for shared-folder drop workflows, or for routing files out of other Drive-based systems.
Time moves a case that has sat idle in a mailbox, no email or file needed. From mailbox is the source the idle clock watches; After N days idle is days with no activity (no new file, edit, note, or move) before it moves, and any activity resets the clock. The case moves to the destination mailbox; a Time automation has no category, extraction, or file storage, so the Extract Data node doesn't apply. Use it to auto-archive stale work (Inbox → Stale Bids after 30 days), advance terminal stages (Confirmations → Done after 14 days), or feed Trash (Inbox → Trash after 60 days, then the 30-day trash purge deletes it). Time triggers run on a daily schedule, not a push.
Case Data watches case-data keys like bid_due_date or application_sent_date. When a writer creates, changes, or removes a watched key, the automation queues its action. The first supported action is a Google Calendar reminder for the connected user (it shows in their own Google Calendar, not an in-app push). These triggers don't poll every case: setup maintains a small workspace watch index of listened-to keys, and writers check it before queueing, so unrelated field changes create no execution request.
Building the rule
Any workspace member can create an automation; edits, toggles, and deletes are restricted to the creator (owners can also delete automations whose powering user was removed). Gmail/Drive need a connected integration; Time needs none. Files already imported from the same source are skipped automatically, with no duplicate-handling setting to configure.
Troubleshooting
- How fast does it fire? Usually under a minute. Gmail and Drive push via Pub/Sub and the Drive Changes API webhook (no polling loop), just a short delay while the message or file is fetched. (Time runs on a daily schedule.)
- Do filters combine AND or OR? AND: a Gmail trigger with both subject and sender filters fires only when both match.
- Does a Time trigger ingest files? No. It only moves an idle case; any case activity resets the clock.
- Does a Drive trigger see subfolders? No. It matches files placed directly in the watched folder. Give each folder you care about its own automation.
- Do Case Data reminders send app push notifications? No: they create or update Google Calendar events, and Google owns the phone, desktop, or email reminder behavior.