Guide: How a condition works
This page: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/flow-conditions/how-a-condition-works
Topic: Conditions
Time: about 4 minutes
Who can do it: Owner, Administrator or Manager
Author: https://anantgupta.xyz (Anant Gupta, founder of CommentWatchDog)
Start in the app: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/inbox
Result when done: One condition with several checks, every one or any one, a Yes and a No way.
Context: A Condition sends each person one of two ways: Yes when they match, No for everyone else. It holds up to eight rules, read in order, and you say whether it needs every rule or any one. There are 23 kinds of check in six groups, from "follows you" to the time of day; a fresh condition offers the most used ones first.

Before you start:
1. Up to 8 rules in one condition.
2. Something the platform does not tell us is never a match, either way round: unknown is not "not following".
3. A condition works anywhere in a flow; some checks need an open chat or a particular start.

Steps:
Step 1 of 6: Add a Condition.
Where: Steps panel on the left, under Decide: drag Condition onto the canvas, or click it to add it after the selected step. On a phone, Add step, then Condition.
Link: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/inbox (Open the app)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-flow-palette.en.webp (Condition, under Decide in the Steps panel.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-flow-palette-phone.en.webp (Add step on a phone: Condition, under Decide.)
You should see: The Condition lands on the canvas with its two ways, Yes and No, and its settings open: Go the Yes way when, then the rules; Everyone else goes the No way.

Step 2 of 6: Pick the first check.
Where: A fresh condition says Pick what to check first and offers the most used checks as tiles: Follows you, Email, Tag, Clicked a link, Been in touch before, What they wrote. Browse all checks, under the tiles, opens the picker with every check: Search checks at the top, then the groups Most used, Instagram profile, History with you, Contact details, This flow, Comment or message and Time. Each check says what it reads.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-cond-fresh.en.webp (A fresh condition: the most used checks as tiles, and Browse all checks.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-cond-fresh-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: The check becomes a rule, open for its details (the tag, the words, the number), with Reads as: saying it in plain words.

Step 3 of 6: Add more rules.
Where: Add a rule, under the last rule, opens the same picker; a condition holds up to 8 rules. A finished rule folds to its sentence, such as Tagged "regular": click it to change it, or the cross on its right to remove it.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-node-condition.en.webp (Add a rule, under the rules.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-node-condition-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: One line per rule in the panel, and the same rules on the step on the canvas.

Step 4 of 6: Choose every rule or any one rule.
Where: Above the rules, once there are two: Needs every rule, or any one rule. Every rule stops at the first rule that fails; any one rule stops at the first that holds.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-node-condition.en.webp (Needs: every rule, or any one rule.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-node-condition-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: The rules are joined by and, or by or, in the panel and on the step.

Step 5 of 6: Turn a rule around when you need its opposite.
Where: Click a rule to open it. Its opposite sits in the same rule, in the choice right under the rule’s name (two buttons side by side, or a list where there is less room): Wrote any of these or Wrote none of these, Follows you or Doesn't follow you, Has an email or No email yet, Tagged or Not tagged.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-cond-said.en.webp (An open rule: Wrote any of these, or Wrote none of these.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-cond-said-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: Reads as: says the rule the new way round, such as Wrote "LINK" or Didn't write "LINK".

Step 6 of 6: Wire the Yes and No ways.
Where: Yes (they match) goes to one step, No (everyone else) to another: drag from each dot on the step, or pick the step under Next steps in the panel. A way with no wire ends the flow there for those people.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-node-condition.en.webp (The two ways out on the step: Yes and No.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/dm-node-condition-phone.en.webp (On a phone: Yes and No under Next steps, each with the step it leads to.)
You should see: Both ways lead somewhere.

If something is off:
Problem: This start has nothing for this rule to read
Fix: Some checks need a particular start: the comment checks need a comment start; What they wrote and Language do not work on link or shared-post starts. Pick another check.
Problem: Facebook does not share this
Fix: The Instagram profile checks never match on Facebook; Messenger shares only the name.
Problem: 8 rules is the most in one condition
Fix: Split the test over two conditions in a row.

Common questions:
Question: What happens when Instagram does not answer a check?
Answer: The rule does not match, either way round. Someone Instagram did not report on is neither a follower nor a non-follower, and the run shows Unknown.
Question: How many checks are there?
Answer: 23 kinds of check in six groups, plus a Most used group that offers the common ones first.
Question: Can one condition check several things?
Answer: Yes. Up to 8 rules, matched all together (Needs every rule) or any one (Needs any one rule).

Related guides:
- Check their Instagram profile: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/flow-conditions/check-their-instagram-profile
- Check what you know about them: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/flow-conditions/check-what-you-know-about-them
- Why a condition took its way: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/flow-conditions/why-a-condition-took-its-way

Plain text of this guide: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/flow-conditions/how-a-condition-works.md
All guides for assistants: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/llms.txt