Rule template library
Overview
Front's rules engine allows you to automate your team’s workflows and increase your team's efficiency in Front. Looking to explore options for your team’s workflow, or do you have a rule in mind, but are unsure where to start? Front’s rule templates are categorized and built with the most common and critical use cases in mind.
Instructions
Step 1
To navigate to Front’s rule templates, click the gear icon on the top right of Front and into the Company settings tab. Click Rules in the sidebar, then select the Template library tab.
Step 2
Search the template library or click a rule category to browse rules related to specific rule actions.
Step 3
Once you find a rule that fits your needs, click the Create button and you’ll be taken to the template.
Step 4
Each template is designed to manage all variations of the same type of rule. When naming your rule, be sure to keep it general to what the rule is actually doing. For example, if your rule template tags conversations based on keywords, you could name your rule “All tag by keyword rules”.
Then, fill out the table with all the variations of your rule. In the example below, the “All tag by keyword rules” template contains five tagging rules.
Elements you can adjust:
Supporting objects: You can select which inboxes, tags, custom fields, teammate groups, etc. are used in rule conditions.
Keywords in open response fields: You can specify the keywords that rules will filter on.
Elements you cannot adjust: The rule conditions used in the template. You cannot adjust the triggers, filters, or actions used in most templates.
Step 5
Click Create rule to finish. To discard the rule draft, click Cancel.
Step 6
Once you create your rule, you’ll be redirected to the Existing rules tab. Your new rule will automatically be added into the correct workflow stage, making rule ordering easy.
See this article to learn more about rule workflows and how your rules will be ordered.
Templates by rule phase and category
Rule templates are categorized by actions and outcomes.
Phase 1: Qualify
Qualification rules will run for conversations coming from all channels or inside any inbox.
For certain qualification templates, you can add up to two more condition columns by clicking on the three-dot menu in the table.
Where possible, the available conditions columns are
Subject or body
Attachment
Message recipient
Language
Rule category: Tag
Tagging rules are placed in the qualification phase. They run every time a message is received and will add tags to the conversation. This includes new messages received in an existing conversation. They do not run when you send an outbound message.
Template | Notes |
Apply additional tags when tag added | When a tag is added to a conversation, apply some complementary tags. Unlike other qualification rules, the rules created from this template are triggered when a tag is added, rather than when a message is received. This includes if a tag is added manually by a user or by another rule that executes earlier in the ordering. |
Add tag based on custom account field | Check attributes of the account linked to the conversation to add tags to the conversation. To create a rule from this template, you must first create a custom account field, and then select this field in the rule builder. You can select any type of custom field except date type. |
Add tag based on attachment name | Add tags to the conversation based on keywords in the name of any attachments included in the last message. Using the ‘contains’ condition will include partial matches, such as using Contains: order will match on the word reorder. It also includes all punctuation you enter into the rule text. |
Add tag based on language | Add tags to the conversation based on the detected language of the last message. If the text is too short or contains multiple languages, Front's language detector will not detect the language. There is a threshold of 25% detection for the condition to be considered true. |
Add tag based on keyword or message content | Add tags to the conversation based on keywords in the content of the message subject, body, body HTML or headers. Keyword text should not be entered in quotes. Using the ‘contains’ condition will include partial matches, such as using Contains: order will match on the word reorder. It also includes all punctuation you enter into the rule text. When matching keywords in body HTML, both the message body and the signature will be checked. |
Add tag based on sender or recipient | Add tags to the conversation based on any sender/recipient field of the email received
When using a Domain filter, do not add the @ symbol before the domain, as the Domain filter includes the symbol by default. |
Rule category: Archive
Archive rules are placed in the qualification phase. When a message is received, archive rules will archive or trash the conversation to help your team focus on important messages.
Template | Notes |
Auto-archive based on keyword or message content | Check for keywords in the content of the message subject, body, body HTML or headers to archive or trash the conversation. Keyword text should not be entered in quotes. Using the ‘contains’ condition will include partial matches, such as using Contains: order will match on the word reorder. It also includes all punctuation you enter into the rule text. When checking body HTML, the condition works for message body and signature. |
Auto-archive based on sender or recipient | Archive or trash the conversation based on any sender/recipient field of the email received
For any Domain filters, do not add the @ symbol before the domain, as the Domain filter includes the symbol by default. |
Auto-archive based on tag | Archive or trash the conversation when a message is received and certain tags have been previously applied, including tags added by tag rules that execute earlier in the ordering. This rule is not triggered when a tag is manually added to a conversation. |
Phase 2: Route
Rule category: Route
Routing rules run when a new message is sent or received, creating a new conversation. They do not run for new messages in existing conversations. A routing rule applies to selected channels and routes new conversations from that channel to the desired inbox.
If there are multiple routing rules acting on the same channel, only the first routing rule to be triggered will apply according to your rule execution order. If a new conversation is not routed by a rule, then it will be routed to the default inbox of the channel.
Routing rules run after the qualification phase, meaning that they can use the tags added in the qualification phase to determine which inbox it is routed to.
Template | Notes |
Route new conversation based on account | To create a rule from this template, you must first create an inbox-type custom account field, and then select this field in the rule builder. The rule will then check the inbox value of the custom field for the account linked to the conversation, and route to that inbox. This template is available on the latest Growth plan or above. |
Route new conversation based on tag | Check the tags previously applied to the conversation, and route the conversation to the selected inbox. If a conversation contains tags in multiple rule variations of your routing rule, then only the row ordered earliest (closest to the top of the table) will apply. |
Phase 3: Assign
Rule category: Assign
Assigning rules apply to selected inboxes and run for inbound or outbound messages when:
A new conversation is created which is routed to that inbox.
A message is received to an existing conversation in that inbox, and the conversation is not yet assigned.
An existing conversation is moved to that inbox and it is not yet assigned.
Assigning rules only run for open conversations, meaning they will not apply to auto-archived conversations. If there are multiple assigning rules acting on the same inbox, only the first assigning rule to be triggered will apply according to your rule execution order.
A teammate will only be assigned by an assignment rule if they have access to the inbox of the conversation.
Template | Notes |
Assign conversation based on account | To create a rule from this template, you must first create a teammate-type custom account field, and then select this field in the rule builder. The rule will then check the teammate value of the custom field for the account linked to the conversation, and assign it to that teammate. |
Assign conversations based on tag | Check the tags previously applied to the conversation, and assign the conversation to the selected teammate. If a conversation contains tags in multiple rule variations of your assigning rule, then only the row ordered earliest (closest to the top) will apply. If a rule variation does not assign because the selected teammate does not have access to the relevant inbox, then the next matching rule variation will apply. |
Assign conversation within a teammate Group | Assign the conversation to a teammate within a teammate Group. To create a rule from this template, you must first create a teammate Group. The rule will select the teammate depending on the assignment method selected
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Phase 4: Resolve
Rule categories: Assign, SLA, CSAT, Auto-reply
Rules in the resolve phase will run after the qualification, routing, and assigning rules.
Template | Notes |
Notify when a conversation is unassigned and open | Check the amount of time since the last message was sent or received and trigger a notification, provided the conversation is still open and unassigned. The teammate selected will still be notified even if they are set as ‘Out of office’ or ‘Do not disturb’. |
Set up an SLA on customer responses | SLA rules will warn you when a message has been unreplied beyond a time limit you define. Read more about SLA rules in this article. |
Schedule and send a customer satisfaction survey | Ask customers to rate their satisfaction level after a conversation has been archived. Read more about Front’s CSAT feature in this article. |
Auto-reply outside of business hours | Automatically reply to inbound messages received, if they are received outside of your business hours. The rule will check the business hours of the inbox the conversation is in, or if they are not defined, the business hours for your company/Workspace. You can choose if the reply will be sent Once or Always. If the conversation already has an outbound message, an outbound reply, or more than one inbound message in it, reply Once will not send anything. |
Custom rules
Looking for full flexibility to help you customize rules for your team’s unique processes? Front’s custom rule builder allows you to create rules from scratch, tailoring them to your exact needs. Check out this article to learn more about creating custom rules.
Custom rules are available on the Scale plan or above.
Pricing
Please see our pricing page for more information on the rules included in each plan.