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How to Build Automated Workflows with the gPanel Rules Engine

Automate security, lifecycle management, and Drive auditing in Google Workspace with the gPanel Rules Engine.

Contents 

Real-World Use Cases

The Rules Engine is gPanel’s most sophisticated framework, designed for Enterprise-tier organizations that require dynamic, event-driven workflows. Instead of manually monitoring logs, the Rules Engine allows you to create "If-This-Then-That" scenarios that trigger automatically.

Whether it is instantly suspending a user who deletes a high volume of sensitive documents or automatically updating a user’s email signature when their department changes in the Directory, the Rules Engine ensures your domain remains secure and organized without constant administrative oversight.

Create Rule

  1. Navigate to the Rules Engine (located in the Automation module). 

  2. Click the Create Rule button in the top-right corner of your screen. 

  3. Fill out the following information: 

    1. Trigger Information

      1. Trigger Groups: Classify your automation by selecting from Drive, Admin, or Calendar events

      2. Trigger Events: Select specific scenarios like Group Creation, Password Change, or User Update. You can apply "AND/OR" logic to require multiple conditions before an action initiates.
      3. Occurrences & Thresholds: Define if the rule should fire every time an event occurs or only after a specific threshold (e.g., alert security only if a user shares more than 10 files externally within 5 minutes)
    2. Trigger Sources and Filters
      1. Sources: Tell gPanel where to look. You can filter triggers by specific Users, Groups, Organizational Units (OUs), or Domains.
      2. Granular Filtering: For Drive Events, you can filter by file size, type, or even Regular Expressions (Regex). For Admin Events, you can filter based on specific profile changes, such as a Job Title update.

        gPanel Rules Engine Admin Filters interface for adding profile information filters and regular expressions to automation rules.
        gPanel Rules Engine Drive Filters interface with options to filter by file type, file size, and sharing permissions.
  4. Now, decide the actions that gPanel should take based on this information. 

    You can choose to:

     

    1. Run an existing system policy.

    2. Suspend users or reset passwords.

    3. Send automated email notifications to your security team.

    4. Execute multiple actions simultaneously for a comprehensive response.
      gPanel Rules Engine Actions dropdown menu featuring options for sending emails, adding users to groups, and resetting passwords.

  5. Carefully review your configured rules to ensure accuracy. Once confirmed, click 'Create Rule' to save your settings.


gPanel Rules Engine Review screen displaying a summary of rule name, trigger events, and automated actions before creation.

Managing Rule Status

  • Enable/Disable: New rules are enabled by default. Use the Check icon to activate or the Cross icon to deactivate. Disabling a rule immediately halts all associated automated processes.
    gPanel Rules Engine action bar with icons highlighted for enabling or disabling automation rules.

  • Deletion: To permanently remove a rule, click the Trash icon. Confirm the deletion to proceed. 

gPanel Delete Automation Rule confirmation dialog for removing a specific rule from the Rules Engine.
Warning: Deleting a rule stops all scheduled automations linked to it. Use this only when a workflow is truly obsolete.

View Rule Information

To view a rule’s details, simply double-click the desired entry. The information will appear in a pop-up window for easy viewing.

gPanel Rule Details view showing basic information, rule status, creator details, and configured automation actions.

View Rules Engine Logs 

Transparency is vital for automation. gPanel provides two ways to view Logs:

  • Rule-Specific Logs: Click the Log icon under the actions menu of a specific rule to see its individual history.
    gPanel Rules Engine action column showing the history icon for viewing rule logs and past occurrences.

  • Global Activity Logs: Click the History icon in the top right of the module to view an aggregate timeline of all Rules Engine activity.

gPanel Rules Engine toolbar with the global history icon highlighted for viewing all automation rule logs.

gPanel Action Logs dashboard showing columns for Rule Name, Action Type, and Status for auditing automation history.

Real-World Use Cases

To help you get started, consider these common automated workflows:

  • Security Alert: If a user is added to a "Super Admin" group, instantly notify the IT Director.

  • Lifecycle Management: When a user's OU changes to "Accounting," automatically add them to the "Finance" Google Group and apply a new email signature.

  • Data Leak Prevention (DLP): If a file over 100MB is shared with an external email address, automatically revoke the share and email the user's manager.

For more inspiration, explore our gPanel Rules Engine Use Cases blog.