---
title: "How do you filter a list with a targeting in Sarbacane Contacts?"
description: "Isolate the contacts that match your criteria to send them a tailored campaign, without creating a new list."
url: https://help.sarbacane.com/en/articles/206-how-do-you-filter-a-list-with-a-targeting-in-sarbacane-contacts
collection: "How to use"
updated: 2026-10-29
language: en
alternates: [fr, es]
---

# How do you filter a list with a targeting in Sarbacane Contacts?

Isolate the contacts that match your criteria to send them a tailored campaign, without creating a new list.

In Sarbacane Contacts, a targeting filters a list based on the data in its columns. You combine rules, and only the contacts that match them are kept. Once saved, the targeting can be chosen like a list in your campaigns, and it is recalculated at the time of sending.

## Prerequisites

-   A Sarbacane Campaigns license (Sarbacane Contacts is included).
    
-   A standard or synchronized list whose columns contain the information you want to filter on (for example Country or Title).
    

## Steps

1.  In the left menu, open **Contact lists**, then click the name of the list.
    
2.  At the top right, click **Create a targeting**. The **New targeting** pane opens on the right.
    
3.  In the rule's first menu, choose the column: **Creation date**, **Modification date**, **Email** or a column of your list.
    
4.  In the second menu, choose the condition. For text, for example **is equal to**, **contains**, **starts with** or **Filled in**. For a date, for example **is later than**, **is prior to** or **is between (included)**.
    
5.  In the third box, enter or choose the value.
    
6.  To add a rule to the same group, click **+** on the right. The contact must then meet all the rules in the group.
    
7.  To add another population, click **New ruleset**. Above each group, choose **Include** to add its contacts to the targeting or **Exclude** to remove them.
    
8.  At the bottom, click **See the result**.
    
9.  At the top, click **Save as**. In the **Save a targeting** window, replace the default name. Under **Who can access this targeting?**, choose the user groups, then click **Validate**.
    

**Note**: within a group, rules add up (AND). Between two included groups, it's one or the other (OR). For example, with the rules "Title is equal to Mr" and "Country is equal to Italy" in the same group, only men living in Italy are kept. With a large volume of contacts, the calculation can take a few minutes: you receive a notification when it is finished.

**Best practice**: to test a rule without deleting it, turn it off with the switch on its left.

## Expected result

The targeting appears in **Select a targeting**, at the top of the list. In a campaign, at the **Recipients** step, you find it under the name of its list.

## Troubleshooting

### My targeting doesn't keep any contacts

Rules within a group add up: a contact must meet all of them. To keep contacts that match one rule or another, put each rule in a different group with **New ruleset**. Also check that no group is set to **Exclude** by mistake.

### The Save as button is greyed out

First click **See the result**, at the bottom of the pane.

## Related articles

-   [How do you import contacts into Sarbacane Contacts?](https://help.sarbacane.com/en/articles/210-comment-importer-des-contacts-dans-sarbacane-contacts.md)
    
-   [How do you clean a contact list in Sarbacane Contacts?](https://help.sarbacane.com/en/articles/208-comment-nettoyer-une-liste-de-contacts-dans-sarbacane-contacts.md)