Automation Series: Auto-create Dependent Task on Status Change

In Zoho Projects, you can automatically create and assign a dependent task when a task’s status is updated. This helps teams stay aligned, ensures reviews happen on time, and reduces manual effort.

In this post, we’ll walk through an easy setup using a Custom Function scripted in Deluge.

Use-case

In a scenario where an auditor schedules a task that requires a compliance review, once the task status is updated from Scheduled, a Dependent task is automatically created and assigned to the Compliance team. All related attachments are carried forward, ensuring the auditors and reviewers have full overview and can proceed without manual coordination.

To configure this flow,

1. Navigate to the upper-right corner of the page and click  → Developer Space → Connections → Create Connection using the following scopes:

1. ZohoProjects.portals.READ
   
2. ZohoProjects.portals.ALL
   
3. ZohoProjects.projects.READ
   
4. ZohoProjects.tasks.CREATE
   
5. ZohoProjects.tasks.UPDATE
   
6. ZohoProjects.tasks.READ
   
7. WorkDrive.workspace.ALL
   
8. WorkDrive.files.ALL
   
9. ZohoProjects.documents.READ
   
10. ZohoProjects.documents.CREATE
    

2. Navigate to  → Developer Space → Custom Functions. Under the Task tab, create a new custom function and add the following Deluge script.

Ensure that the portal URL aligns with your data centre. If not, the function may not execute as expected. Also, make sure the specified team is associated with the project; otherwise, the task assignment will fail.

1. // TODO : Replace Dependency Type here with "FS, SS, SF, FF"
2. // scopes: ZohoProjects.portals.READ, ZohoProjects.portals.CREATE, ZohoProjects.projects.READ, ZohoProjects.tasks.CREATE, ZohoProjects.tasks.UPDATE, ZohoProjects.tasks.READ, WorkDrive.workspace.ALL, WorkDrive.files.ALL, ZohoProjects.documents.READ, ZohoProjects.documents.CREATE.
3. // get team id
4. endPoint = "https://projects.zoho.in/restapi/portal/";
5. endPointV3 = "https://projects.zoho.in/api/v3/portal/";
6. getTaskStatusTimeline = invokeurl
7. [
8. url :endPointV3 + portalId + "/projects/" + projectId + "/tasks/" + taskId + "/status-timeline"
9. type :GET
10. connection:"connectionprojects"
11. ];
12. size = getTaskStatusTimeline.size() - 1;
13. oldStatusName = getTaskStatusTimeline.get(size).get("previous_status").get("name");
14. if(oldStatusName.containsIgnoreCase("Scheduled"))
15. {
16. teamName = "Compliance Team";
17. userGroupsResponse = invokeurl
18. [
19. url :endPoint + portalId + "/projects/" + projectId + "/usergroups/"
20. type :GET
21. connection:"connectionprojects"
22. ];
23. teams = userGroupsResponse.get("userGroups");
24. for each team in teams
25. {
26. if(team.get("groupObj").get("group_name").containsIgnoreCase(teamName))
27. {
28. teamId = team.get("groupObj").get("group_id");
29. }
30. }
31. teamIds = List();
32. teamIds.add(teamId);
33. dependencyType = "FS";
34. //Create Tasks parameters
35. values_map = Map();
36. values_map.put("name","Compliance Audit Verification");
37. values_map.put("description"," Review task created for the Security and Compliance team to validate requirements, assess risks, and confirm adherence to defined standards. Attachments from the originating task are included for reference.");
38. values_map.put("associated_teams",teamIds);
39. //Invoke Create Task
40. createTaskResponse = zoho.projects.create(portalId,projectId,"tasks",values_map,"connectionprojects");
41. // Get TaskId From Task response
42. if(createTaskResponse != null && createTaskResponse.get("tasks") != null)
43. {
44. taskInfo = createTaskResponse.get("tasks").get(0);
45. newTaskId = taskInfo.get("id_string");
46. // copy attachments to new task
47. getAttachmentsResponse = invokeurl
48. [
49. url :endPointV3 + portalId + "/projects/" + projectId + "/attachments?entity_type=task&entity_id=" + taskId
50. type :GET
51. connection:"connectionprojects"
52. ];
53. if(getAttachmentsResponse.get("attachment").size() > 0)
54. {
55. taskAttachments = getAttachmentsResponse.get("attachment");
56. for each attachment in taskAttachments
57. {
58. associateParam = Map();
59. associateParam.put("entity_type","task");
60. associateParam.put("entity_id",newTaskId);
61. associateToTaskComment = invokeurl
62. [
63. url :endPointV3 + portalId + "/projects/" + projectId + "/attachments/" + attachment.get("attachment_id")
64. type :POST
65. parameters:associateParam
66. connection:"connectionprojects"
67. ];
68. }
69. }
70. //Add Dependancy Between Tasks Parameter
71. dependencyParam = Map();
72. dependencyParam.put("taskid",newTaskId);
73. dependencyParam.put("predids",taskId);
74. dependencyParam.put("projId",projectId);
75. dependencyParam.put("toupdate","dependencyset");
76. dependencyParam.put("childprojId",projectId);
77. dependencyParam.put("dependencytype",dependencyType);
78. // invoke task dependency Api
79. dependency = invokeurl
80. [
81. url :endPoint + portalId + "/projects/" + projectId + "/taskdependency/"
82. type :POST
83. parameters:dependencyParam
84. connection:"connectionprojects"
85. ];
86. info dependency;
87. info "-------------------------------------";
88. }
89. }
90. return "success";

Customise the task name and description in lines 36 and 37 as needed, then save the function.

Replace "connectionprojects" with your Zoho Projects connection name in lines 10, 21, 51, and 84 of the deluge.

3. Add the below arguments during configuration.

After mapping the arguments, save the function and enter the Task ID when prompted. This custom function will execute automatically whenever an issue status changes from Scheduled, creating the dependent task as defined in the workflow rule.

4. After saving the custom function, Navigate to  → Automation → Workflow Rules → Projects Tab → New Workflow Rule with the below settings.

5. Configure the workflow to trigger Based on User Action when a task is Updated, and associate the custom function to execute automatically on the status change.

With this automation in place, tasks are triggered automatically, dependencies are assigned, and supporting attachments are transferred ensuring hand-offs without manual effort.

If you have any questions, feel free to drop a comment below or reach out to us at support@zohoprojects.com.

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