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Paths inside of Loop From Text

 

I am currently working on a Zap that has a loop with paths nested inside of it. I have read a few articles on Zapier loops and they seem like they should execute similar to iterative loops in most programming languages:

 

For example, in this case I would expect this Zap to execute as so:

Using data from Iteration 1 → Attempt to execute Path A, attempt to execute Path B,

Using data from Iteration 2 → Attempt to execute Path A, attempt to execute Path B,

Using data from… etc.

 

However, when I test this Zap, it seemingly runs in this order:

Using data from Iteration 1 → Attempt to execute Path A,

Using data from Iteration 2 → Attempt to execute Path A,

Using data from Iteration 3 → Attempt to execute Path A,

Using data from Iteration 4 → Attempt to execute Path A,

Using data from Iteration 1 → Attempt to execute Path B,

Using data from Iteration 2 → Attempt to execute Path B,

Using data from… etc.

 

This Zap is being used to create presentation slides and as a result of this loop configuration, it’s creating slides out of order. I’ve seen a few folks put a delay on their loop and I’m wondering if that is a solution for Path steps being executed out of order from the iterative loop. Any insight on this is greatly appreciated!

Hi @RyanKurr 

Good question.

You can try adding a Delay For step within the Loop.

Use the Loop Iteration as the # of Minutes to Delay. (e.g. 1 minutes for iteration 1, then 2 minutes for iteration 2, etc.)

 

Here’s a possible workaround…

Split the 1 Zap into 2 Zaps that are chained together with Webhooks.

That way each Loop iteration from Zap 1 is processed individually by Zap 2.

 

Zap 1

  1. Trigger: ???
  2. Action: Looping
  3. Action: Delay
  4. Action: Webhook - POST
    1. Use Webhook URL from Zap 2, Step 1

 

Zap 2

  1. Trigger: Webhook - Catch Hook
    1. Use Webhook URL in Zap 1, Step 4
  2. Action: Paths
  3. Action: ???

Hey Troy,

 

Thank you for the quick reply! After talking to another member of my team, we may be concerned about timeliness using a delay for this particular zap. For an implementation with 2 webhook-chained Zaps, is there a way to do implement without using delay?

 

Thanks,

Ryan

@RyanKurr 

Looping run loops in parallel.

You don’t have to use a Delay step as outlined above.

A Delay step would be needed to space out the processing of Loops if that’s something you are trying to control.

 

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