How do I stop my second Zap from triggering before I manually add 'yes' to the last column in a newly created Excel row?

Hi @jannis44 

For us to have more info, post screenshots with how your Zap steps are outlined and configured in EDIT mode.

Try using this Zap action: Excel - Updated Row

Step 2: Filter

Sure, if I look into the zap history, it seems like the „added row“ by Zap1 is interpretated by zap2 as „updated row“  

@jannis44 

If the Path Filter conditions are set correctly, then even if the Zap fires, it should not use any Tasks because the Zap Run would be filtered out.

The thing is: the zap runs only once (after the row gets initially created). If I include a new value in the specific column it doest run again. 

@jannis44 
Help links for using Excel in Zaps that may provide guidance: https://zapier.com/apps/excel/help

Is the Zap trigger conditions criteria being met for the row? (Trigger Column updated)

Alternatives to try:

• Use GSheets instead of Excel
• Use Airtable instead of Excel

Hi @jannis44 👋

Did you manage to get things sorted following Troy’s latest reply? 

Keen to ensure you’re all set here so please let us know whether you’re still stuck at all - we’re always happy to help further! 🙂

Hi there, unfortunately not.

Once the first zap created a new row, the second zap gets triggered already because technically the column got touched.

Although I understand it technically I would love to see a solution where you can work in excel with different zaps after each other. I think working in excel step by step is a common thing so support by zaps would be nice!

Best

Jannis 

Sorry to hear that @jannis44! 

Ah, yes that would the expected behaviour unfortunately as it’s expected that the Updated Row trigger would still be triggered for new rows:



Both the Google Sheets and Airtable apps on Zapier have similar triggers that would run if a row/record is either added or updated, so you’d run into the same issue them as well. 

If you’d like the Zap to only trigger when a row is updated, you could try Zapier Tables as it has a separate Updated Record trigger that would allow you to trigger a Zap only when an existing record is updated, and not also when it’s added:


If you’d like to give it a try I’ll recommend checking out our Import data into Zapier Tables, Tables help guides and video guides here to learn more. 

That said, looking back at one of your earlier screenshots it seems like Path A worked correctly and didn’t run for the new row. As no value was present in the selected field it could find a match for the word match “ja” and so the subsequent actions in that path weren’t run:


If the row is then updated with a a unique value in that row then is should trigger the second Zap. However, as it’s using a polling not an instant trigger it could take up to 15 mins to trigger your Zap depending on what Zapier plan you’re on. If you’re updating the relevant trigger column with a unique value and it’s not triggering, could it be that it’s just taking a little while for it to see the new value and if that value was then removed before the Zap checks for updates then could that be why it didn’t trigger?

Looking forward to hearing from you!