# Make Router and Filter Examples: Send Data Two Ways

> How a Make router and filters split one scenario into routes: urgent vs routine, a fallback route, route order and five filter setups you can copy.

Source: https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/blog/make-router-filter-examples · Updated 2026-10-20 · Free from Stepthrough (https://learn.ynteractive.com)

Quick answer

A [Make router](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/make-router) splits one scenario into several routes, and a filter on each route decides which bundles may pass. The usual setup is a filter on the special route (for example "How urgent is this? Equal to Urgent") and **Fallback route: Yes** on the route that should catch everything else. You can build exactly that, with Gmail and Google Sheets, in the free [Filters and Routers in Make](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/make-com-router-and-filters) lesson.

Last updated October 20, 2026

[Take the free module →](https://learn.ynteractive.com/courses/make-zapier-jump-start/5)Module 5 of the free [Make & Zapier Jump Start](https://learn.ynteractive.com/courses/make-zapier-jump-start) course, about 12 minutes. No account needed.

By [Robert Breen](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/about) · Published October 20, 2026 · Updated October 20, 2026 · 4 min read

Make · Routers · Filters · Beginners

## What does a router do in Make?

A router copies each bundle onto every route that follows it, in order, so one form response can reach several modules. Without filters, every bundle goes down every route.

In the lesson, Brookside Dental (a made-up practice) already has a [scenario](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/make-scenario) that sends each Google Forms response to a Google Sheets row. The form gets a new question, **How urgent is this?**, with two choices: **Urgent** and **Routine**. Urgent requests should email the front desk, routine ones should just land in the sheet.

To add the router you right-click the dotted line between **Google Forms** and **Google Sheets**, click **Add a router**, then click the **+** on the router to add a second route. The new route gets **Gmail: Send an email**.

## How do you add a filter to a route?

Click the wrench on the line to the next module, choose **Set up a filter**, give it a label and a condition, and click **Save**.

The urgent filter in the lesson:

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Label | Urgent |
| Condition | **How urgent is this?** > **Value** (mapped from the form) |
| Operator | Text operators: **Equal to** |
| Value | Urgent |

A left-click on the dots of a route that has no filter yet opens the filter panel straight away, which is the quick way to set up the second one.

## What is a fallback route in Make?

A fallback route is the route a bundle takes when it matched none of the other routes' filters. You turn it on in the filter panel with **Fallback route: Yes**.

The routine route in the lesson is the fallback: label **Routine**, **Fallback route: Yes**, no condition. That is safer than writing a second filter ("Equal to Routine"), because a blank answer or a new choice someone adds to the form later still lands in the sheet instead of disappearing. It is the same idea as a [fallback output](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/fallback-output) in n8n's [Switch node](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/switch-node).

## Does route order matter?

Yes. Make runs the routes one at a time, top to bottom, so put the route that must happen first at the top.

Right-click the router, click **Order routes**, move the Gmail route up with its arrow, tick **Auto-align arranges with set order** and click **Apply**. The alert to the front desk now goes out before the sheet is written.

## Five filter examples you can copy

These use the same filter panel. Pick the operator group first (Text, Numeric, Date, Basic), then the operator.

| You want | Condition | Operator | Value |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Only urgent requests | How urgent is this? | Text: Equal to | Urgent |
| Skip blank emails | Email | Basic: Exists | (none) |
| Big orders only | Total | Numeric: Greater than | 1000 |
| Anything that mentions billing | Reason | Text: Contains (case insensitive) | billing |
| Only new rows from today | Date | Text: Equal to | `{{formatDate(now; "YYYY-MM-DD")}}` |

Two [conditions](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/conditional-logic) in one filter can be joined with **AND** (both must be true) or **OR** (either one). If a filter never passes anything, open the module bubble after **Run once** and compare the mapped value with your text: "Urgent " with a trailing space is not equal to "Urgent". [Make Filter Operators Cheat Sheet](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/blog/make-filter-operators-cheat-sheet) lists every operator group.

## Try it free, step by step

**Filters and Routers in Make.com: Send Urgent Requests One Way, Routine Ones Another**. Add a router to your Make scenario, email the front desk about urgent requests with a filter, and send everything else to Google Sheets with a fallback route. You do every step yourself in a practice copy of Make, it checks your work as you go, and “Do it for me” finishes any step you get stuck on. Free, and nothing touches your real accounts.

[Start the free lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/make-filters-routers)

[Or read the full step-by-step guide](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/make-com-router-and-filters)

## How do you test a router?

Click **Run once** with test data waiting, then check the bubbles: each route shows how many bundles it handled.

The lesson sends two new form responses. After **Run once**, each route shows a bubble for the one response it handled: the urgent one becomes a Gmail alert about James, the routine one becomes a sheet row. Save the scenario with the **Save** icon before you leave.

## Where does this fit in the course?

Routers come right after the first scenario in [Make & Zapier Jump Start](https://learn.ynteractive.com/courses/make-zapier-jump-start). Build [Your First Make Scenario](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/make-com-google-forms-to-google-sheets) first, then this one, then [a daily summary email](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/make-com-daily-summary-email-google-sheets-schedule) and [webhooks](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/make-com-webhook-website-form-google-sheets). If you also use n8n, n8n If vs Switch shows the same routing idea there.

## Key takeaways

- A Make router copies each bundle onto every route; filters decide which routes it actually passes.
- Put a filter on the special route and set the catch-all route to Fallback route: Yes.
- Routes run top to bottom. Use Order routes when one step must happen first.
- Text filters are exact: check the real value in the bubble when a filter never passes.

## Frequently asked questions

**How do I add a router in Make?**

Right-click the line between two modules and click Add a router, or add a Flow Control > Router module. Click the + on the router to add more routes.

**What is the difference between a filter and a router in Make?**

A filter is a condition on one link that lets a bundle through or stops it. A router splits the flow into several routes, and each route can have its own filter.

**Can a bundle go down two routes?**

Yes. A router sends a bundle down every route whose filter it passes. Only the fallback route is skipped when another route already matched.

**Does a filter use operations in Make?**

Filters themselves are not modules, so they do not count as operations. The modules after them only run, and count, when the bundle passes.

## Free lessons in this post

- [Filters and Routers in Make.com: Send Urgent Requests One Way, Routine Ones Another](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/make-com-router-and-filters): Add a router to your Make scenario, email the front desk about urgent requests with a filter, and send everything else to Google Sheets with a fallback route.
- [Your First Make.com Scenario: Google Forms to Google Sheets](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/make-com-google-forms-to-google-sheets): Build your first Make.com scenario: every new Google Forms response becomes a new row in Google Sheets. Trigger, connection, mapping, Run once and a schedule.

## Related terms

Plain-English definitions, each with an example from a free lesson.

[Router (Make)](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/make-router) · [Switch node](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/switch-node) · [Conditional logic](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/conditional-logic) · [Bundle (Make)](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/make-bundle) · [Credits (Make)](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/make-credits) · [Module (Make)](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/make-module) · [Operation (Make)](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/make-operation) · [Instant trigger](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/instant-trigger)

[The full AI glossary](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary)

## Keep reading

- [Make Scenario Errors: Fix the 8 You'll Meet First](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/blog/make-scenario-errors): Common Make scenario errors and fixes: ConnectionError, InvalidAccessTokenError, DataError, BundleValidationError, RateLimitError and a bad Form ID.
- [Make Data Mapping Examples: 12 Functions to Copy](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/blog/make-data-mapping-examples): How mapping works in Make, from form answers to sheet columns, plus 12 copy-ready functions: ifempty, if, lower, trim, replace, parseNumber and more.
- [Docparser + Make: Invoice Data into Google Sheets](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/blog/docparser-make-invoices-to-google-sheets): Connect Docparser to Make so every parsed invoice becomes a row in Google Sheets: vendor, number, date and total, with no typing. A how-to guide.

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