--- title: "Using Conditions in Willow360" url: "https://help.willow360.com/en/article/using-conditions-in-willow360" language: "en" last_updated: "2026-10-21T09:55:02.077Z" --- # Using Conditions in Willow360 Conditions let a workflow make decisions. Instead of performing every action on every file, you can set an action to run only when the data collected for a file meets a rule you define. If the rule is not met, the action is skipped and the file simply continues to the next action in the workflow. For example, an invoice might only need the company director's approval if its total is over a certain amount, or it might be uploaded to a different folder depending on the currency it is in. Conditions handle both, automatically, for every file. ## When to Use Use conditions when: • An action should only happen for some files, for example an extra approval for high-value invoices. • Files need different treatment depending on their content, for example different upload folders for different currencies or departments. • You want one workflow to handle several variations of a process, instead of maintaining a separate workflow for each. • You want to react to something AI Data has found in a document, for example applying a Redact action only when the document contains personal information. ## How It Works 1\. A file reaches an action that has a condition set. 2\. Willow360 evaluates the condition using the file's metadata at that moment. 3\. If the condition is met, the action is performed. 4\. If the condition is not met, the action is skipped and the file continues from the next action in the workflow. 5\. The result is recorded in the file's File History, whether the action was performed or skipped. ## Setting a Condition on an Action Open the action's configuration and use the set condition button near the top right corner. This opens the Condition Panel, where you choose between: • **Always run.** This is the default. The action is performed for every file. • **Run only if the condition is met.** The action is performed only when the condition you build is true. The condition is saved as soon as you click Apply on the Condition Panel, even if you later cancel the rest of the action configuration. Any changes you made to the action before opening the Condition Panel are kept when you return to it. Once a condition is set, a small condition icon appears next to the action on the workflow scheme, so you can see at a glance which actions are conditional. Conditions can be set on every action except two: • **Fill in a Form**, because this action is how a workflow starts without a file, so there is nothing to evaluate yet. • **Exit Workflow**, because deciding whether to exit is the whole purpose of that action. Its exit condition is built inside the action configuration instead, using exactly the same rules described in this article. ## Building a Condition A condition is made up of one or more expressions. Each expression is a single row comparing a left value with a right value. ### Values Each side of an expression can be a metadata value, fixed text, or a combination of both. Typically, you compare a metadata value, such as a field extracted by AI Data, with a fixed value. Any metadata produced by earlier actions can be used, including AI Data, Fill in a Form, Supply Information, External Data, approval details and system values such as the current date. ### Operators The following operators are available: • Equal (=) and not equal (≠) • Less than (<), greater than (>), less than or equal (≤) and greater than or equal (≥) • Contains and does not contain • Starts with and does not start with • Ends with and does not end with ### Comparison rules **Text is not case-sensitive.** "invoice" and "INVOICE" are treated as equal. **Less than and greater than work with numbers and dates only.** Both sides are calculated, and if both are numbers or both are dates they are compared. Otherwise the condition fails. **Text operators always compare text.** Contains, starts with, ends with and their opposites treat both values as text. A date is compared as written out, such as "31 March 2026", and a user is compared by their full name. **Fixed dates use your organisation's format.** Enter dates as your organisation displays them, for example 31/03/2026 for UK format or 03/31/2026 for US format. **Calculations are supported.** Either side can include +, -, \* and /, for example Total Amount \* 1.2 + 100. Calculations are worked out only when both sides are numbers and the operator is =, ≠, <, >, ≤ or ≥. If a value is not a number, for example a Total Amount read as "1000GBP", the expression is treated as text and will usually not match a number. ### Combining expressions with AND and OR You can combine several expressions using AND and OR. Expressions are evaluated from top to bottom, without the precedence rules you might expect from mathematics. To prevent unexpected results, any OR expressions must be placed at the top, before any AND expressions. The OR expressions are evaluated together first, and the result is then combined with the AND expressions that follow. For example, to approve high-value invoices from either of two departments: • Department = Finance • OR Department = Legal • AND Total Amount > 10000 ### Missing data If an expression uses metadata that does not exist for a file, for example because the action that provides it was skipped, that expression is treated as false. If it is part of a larger condition joined with OR, the overall condition can still be true. ### Conditions that cannot be calculated If a condition cannot be calculated at all, for example because of a division by zero, the action fails without a retry option and the workflow stops for that file. ## Practical Examples **Approval thresholds.** An Approve action for the finance director runs only if Total Amount > 10000. Smaller invoices skip straight past it to the next step. **Either/or routing.** Two Upload to SharePoint actions follow one another in the workflow. One runs only if Currency = GBP and uploads to the UK payments folder. The other runs only if Currency ≠ GBP and uploads to the international payments folder. Every invoice ends up in exactly one place. **Choosing a signing method.** A WillowSign action runs only if Contract Value ≥ 5000, while a Simple Sign action runs only if Contract Value < 5000, so legally binding signatures are used where the value justifies them. **Protecting sensitive content.** AI Data asks "Does this document contain personal medical information?" A Redact action runs only if the answer is Yes. **Following up unsigned documents.** AI Data asks "Has this document been signed?" A Custom Task asking a team member to obtain a signature runs only if the answer is No. **Department-specific notifications.** A System Email to the legal team runs only if Department = Legal OR Department = Compliance. **Overdue invoices.** A Stamp action reading "OVERDUE" runs only if Due Date < Current Date. **Stopping a file altogether.** When a file should not continue through the workflow at all, rather than skipping a single action, use an Exit Workflow action. It uses the same condition rules but ends the workflow for that file when the condition is met. ## Seeing What Happened Every action with a condition creates a File History entry, whether the action was performed, skipped, or failed because the condition could not be calculated. Select Show condition on the entry to review the condition and the actual values compared at that moment: • The values are shown in a light purple box. • Metadata values are shown in purple and underlined. Hover over them to see which metadata field each value came from. • Dates are shown in your organisation's date format, and Yes/No values are always shown in English. A few actions record their condition in a particular way: • **WillowSign** creates several history entries. The condition is attached only to the first one, Document sent for signing. • **Merge and Split** record the condition on the original files that entered the action, not on the files the action produces. • **Convert to PDF** shows no condition when Willow360 has added it automatically because another action needed a PDF, such as Redact, Stamp or Auto Sign. When you add Convert to PDF to a workflow yourself, its condition is shown like any other. ## Best Practices Use AI Data to supply the values your conditions check. It reads the document content directly, so conditions can respond to what is actually in each file without anyone typing anything. When you build either/or routes, give the two actions opposite conditions, such as Currency = GBP and Currency ≠ GBP, so every file takes exactly one path. Be careful when a later action uses metadata from an action that might be skipped. If an action that supplies data is skipped, any later action that needs that data in its configuration fails with a "missing required data" message. Either make sure the source action always runs, or give the dependent action a matching condition. Prefer Exit Workflow over many repeated conditions when a file should not continue at all. One exit is easier to understand and maintain than the same condition repeated on every later action. Test each path. Add sample files that should and should not meet each condition, then use Show condition in the File History to confirm the results. ## Troubleshooting **An action was skipped when it should have run.** Open the File History, select Show condition and compare the values with what you expected. Check that the metadata was available, that fixed dates use your organisation's format, and that any OR expressions are at the top. **An action failed at its condition.** The condition could not be calculated, for example because of a division by zero, or because a less than or greater than comparison was given something that is not a number or a date. **A later action failed with "missing required data".** An earlier action that supplies the data was skipped by its condition. Adjust the conditions so the data is always available when it is needed. ## Related Articles [AI Data: Let Your Documents Tell You What You Need to Know](https://help.willow360.com/en/article/how-to-effectively-use-willow360s-ai-data-action) [Unlocking the Power of Metadata in Willow360](https://help.willow360.com/en/article/unlocking-the-power-of-metadata-in-willow360) [Exit Workflow](https://help.willow360.com/en/article/exit-workflow) [File History in Willow360](https://help.willow360.com/en/article/file-history-in-willow360) [How to Configure and Use Each Action](https://help.willow360.com/en/article/how-to-configure-and-use-each-action) ## FAQs Q: Can every action have a condition? A: Every action except Fill in a Form and Exit Workflow. Exit Workflow has its own exit condition built into the action, which works in exactly the same way. Q: What happens to the file when an action is skipped? A: Nothing is done to it by that action, and it continues to the next action in the workflow. Q: Can I use more than one rule in a condition? A: Yes. Add several expressions and join them with AND or OR. Place any OR expressions at the top. Q: Are text comparisons case-sensitive? A: No. "Invoice", "invoice" and "INVOICE" are all treated as equal. Q: How can I see why an action was skipped? A: Open the file's File History and select Show condition on the entry for that action. It shows the condition and the exact values compared.