Triggers
The trigger (also called the event) defines when a rule runs. Every rule has exactly one trigger.
Besides event-based triggers, each supported area also provides the trigger Started manually. Rules with this trigger are started by the rule owner from the Automation menu for selected records.
Which triggers are available depends on the area you create the rule in. A rule started from the task list offers task triggers, a rule started from the project list offers project triggers, and so on. The trigger is the entry point that hands the affected record to the rule's conditions and actions.
For how to pick a trigger in the editor, see Creating a rule.
Tasks
| Trigger | Fires when … |
|---|---|
| Task item created | a new task is created. |
| Task item updated | an existing task is changed. |
| Task item deleted | a task is deleted. |
| Task item marked as done | a task is marked as completed. |
| Task item status changed | a task's status changes. |
| Task item assigned | a task is assigned to a resource. |
| Task item assigned to me | a task is assigned to you. |
| Task item overdue | a task passes its due date without being completed. |
| Started manually | you start the rule from the Automation menu for selected tasks. |
Projects
| Trigger | Fires when … |
|---|---|
| Project created | a new project is created. |
| Project updated | an existing project is changed. |
| Project deleted | a project is deleted. |
| Project status changed | a project's status changes. |
| Project category changed | a category is added to the project or removed from it. |
| Started manually | you start the rule from the Automation menu for selected projects. |
Adding or removing a category doesn't change any field of the project itself, so the trigger Project updated does not run for it. Use Project category changed for rules that react to categories. Since a project can have several categories, compare the Categories field with Contains instead of Equals (see Conditions). If several categories change at once, the rule runs once per changed category.
Budgets
| Trigger | Fires when … |
|---|---|
| Budget created | a new budget is created. |
| Budget updated | an existing budget is changed. |
| Budget deleted | a budget is deleted. |
| Started manually | you start the rule from the Automation menu for selected budgets. |
Documents
| Trigger | Fires when … |
|---|---|
| Document created | a new document is created. |
| Document updated | an existing document is changed. |
| Document deleted | a document is deleted. |
| Started manually | you start the rule from the Automation menu for selected documents. |
Time entries
| Trigger | Fires when … |
|---|---|
| Time entry created | a new time entry is created. |
| Time entry updated | an existing time entry is changed. |
| Time entry deleted | a time entry is deleted. |
| Started manually | you start the rule from the Automation menu for selected time entries. |
Planning
| Trigger | Fires when … |
|---|---|
| Planning element created | a new planning element is created. |
| Planning element updated | an existing planning element is changed. |
| Planning element deleted | a planning element is deleted. |
| Started manually | you start the rule from the Automation menu for selected planning elements. |
Line items
| Trigger | Fires when … |
|---|---|
| Line item created | a new line item is created. |
| Line item updated | an existing line item is changed. |
| Line item deleted | a line item is deleted. |
| Started manually | you start the rule from the Automation menu for selected line items. |
Risks
| Trigger | Fires when … |
|---|---|
| Risk created | a new risk is created. |
| Risk updated | an existing risk is changed. |
| Risk deleted | a risk is deleted. |
| Started manually | you start the rule from the Automation menu for selected risks. |
People
| Trigger | Fires when … |
|---|---|
| Contact created | a new contact is created. |
| Contact updated | an existing contact is changed. |
| Contact deleted | a contact is deleted. |
Organizations
| Trigger | Fires when … |
|---|---|
| Organization created | a new organization is created. |
| Organization updated | an existing organization is changed. |
| Organization deleted | an organization is deleted. |
Custom entity types
Every active custom entity type appears as its own area under Applies to and offers these triggers:
| Trigger | Fires when … |
|---|---|
| Entity created | a new entry of the type is created. |
| Entity updated | an existing entry of the type is changed. |
| Entity deleted | an entry of the type is deleted. |
| Comment added | a comment is added to an entry of the type. |
| Started manually | you start the rule from the Automation menu for selected entries. |
Entity updated is the …updated trigger of a custom entity type and unlocks the same additional operators as in the other areas.
Only the …updated trigger of each area enables the before-change and Has changed operators in conditions, which compare a field's value before and after the change. See Conditions for details.
There is no separate trigger per field. To run a rule only when a specific field changes — a custom field included — choose the …updated trigger and add the condition field Has changed.