# Rule criteria broken down Understanding each rule section will help you design and implement better rule functionality. So let's understand each section: [When](#h_01fwdzh28nnd59jtkrb4spfg65) [IF](#h_01fwdzhdmym08g7k5wpaz3a6bc) [Then](#h_01fwdzhreayr42t5bzpq4yvb8m) ### When - The trigger Inbound email - rule will apply to all emails coming in to the inbox Inbound (Thread reply only) - rule will apply to email replies only\* Inbound (New thread only) - rule will apply to new emails only *\*If your end client replies to your email but changes the title or previous recipients, then Loop will assume this is a new email* Outbound - rule will apply to all emails going out of the inbox Outbound (thread reply only) - rule will apply to email replies only\* Outbound (new thread only) - rule will apply to new emails only *\*If you reply to an email but change the title, edit recipients or forward the email, then Loop will assume this is a new email* Tag Update - rule will apply only when a tag is updated and is not triggered by the age of the email ### IF - The condition Sender domain - rule looks at the domain of the sender only Sender email - rule looks at the whole email address of the sender Recipient email - rule looks at the whole email address of the recipient Subject - rule looks at the subject of the email only Email body - rule looks at the content in the body of the email only \*\* All of these has contains, does not contain, equals, does not equal, starts with, ends with Day of the week - Rule will read what day the email was received Email import time - Rule will read what time of day the email was received\* \* You can choose different time zones here Assigned to (any) - rule will look at who is assigned the email True - rule doesn't look for any other criteria except the WHEN above Additional IF criteria will appear when you choose WHEN - TAG UPDATE Tag - rule will look for any changes to the system tags - resolve, assign, unassign, archive and delete Custom tag removed - rule will look for any #tags you have removed Customer tag added - rule will look for any #tags you have added ### THEN - The outcome Assign - rule will assign to a single person selected Assign using round robin - rule will distribute assignments between a group of people equally in order Assign using workload management - rule will distribute assignments between a group of people depending on their workload Follow - rule will subscribe you to email updates in your Loop Inbox Unfollow - rule will mute you from email updates in your Loop inbox Archive - rule will archive the thread Delete - rule will delete the thread Resolve - rule will mark the thread as resolved Post chat to team - Rule will post your custom chat to the side chat of the email thread Mention someone - rule will mention someone in the thread Forward to - rule will forward thread to your chosen destination Reply with canned response - rule will auto respond using a canned response Add tag - rule will add a #tag Remove tag - rule will remove a #tag Force archive - rule with archive (regardless of peoples private triage settings) Do nothing As you can see, there are loads of ways to automate your workflows. [We have some examples here.](/workflow-automation/examples-of-popular-rules.md) You can have multiple rules which follow each other - make sure they are ordered in the order you want them to be applied. There is an option to "stop processing other rules" which means any rule following this one - even if the criteria is matched, wont be applied to this email thread. If you are unsure, please do reach out to [support@intheloop.io ](mailto:support@intheloop.io)and we will be happy to help. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://help.intheloop.io/workflow-automation/rule-criteria-broken-down.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.