Convert a message on Cliq into a task on Zoho Connect

Message actions in Cliq are a great way to transform messages in a conversation into actionable work items. In this post, we'll see how to build a custom message action that'll let you add a message as a task to board on Zoho Connect. 

If you haven't created a board in Zoho Connect, then head over to this help document to know how to create one. 

For this example, we've created a board for the Zylker Campaigns team in Zoho Connect. The board has three sections: User Interface, Content Marketing, Customer Support. We'll see how the marketing team discusses about upcoming marketing initiatives and keeps track of tasks in their connect board. 

The workflow behind creating this message action is pretty simple. 

1. Once a user clicks on the Add Connect Task message action, the action's handler is triggered to display a form. 

2. The user fills all the information required. We use the form change handler to modify the form field values based on the users' inputs. For example, display networks that the user is a part of by default and on selecting a specific network, we'll show the list boards that the user is a part of under the selected network. The same applies for sections as well. 

3. On choosing the respective network, board and section, the user can add the task title, description, due date, assignee and more. Note that, the message on which the action was performed will be displayed as the task title by default. This can be modified.

4. On clicking Add Task, the form submit handler is invoked to create a task in Connect with all the provided details. 

Prerequisites

Create a connection between Cliq and Connect: 

You'll need an active connection between Cliq and Connect. To create a connection, 

1. Click on your display picture. This will open up the user panel. Now, click on Bots & Tools. 
   
2. Click on the Connections icon present on the left side menu of the Bots & Tools page. 
   
3. Now, click on Create Connection. 
   
4. In the Add Connections view, select the Zoho Oauth option. 
   
5. Name your connection. For example you can name your connection: zoho_connect or zohoconnect and choose the following scopes: zohopulse.networklist.READ, zohopulse.tasks.READ, zohopulse.tasks.CREATE
   
6. Make sure the Use Credentials of Login User option is enabled. 
   
7. Click on the Create and Connect button to generate the invoke URL task with the connection name. 
   

We'll be using this invoke URL task in our code. 

Create a message action 

To create a message action on Cliq, 

1. Click on your display picture. This will open up the user panel. Now, click on Bots & Tools. 
   
2. Click on Message Actions in the left pane.
   
3. Click on the Create Message Action button and fill in the required details. 
   
   Action Name: Provide your message action name. This field is mandatory.
   
   Hint: Brief explanation about the message action.
   
   Access Level: Decide who gets to access your message action. Choose between Organization, Team and Private. Default option is Private.
   
   Choose what kind of messages should have the message action. Options are Text messages, Attachments and Links. For this example, we're choosing messages of the type Text. 
   
4. Click on Save & Edit Code. 
   

Create a form function

To create a form function on Cliq, 

1. Click on your display picture. This will open up the user panel. Now, click on Bots & Tools.
   
2. Click on Functions in the left pane. Click on the Create Function button and fill in the required details. 
   

• Name: Give your function name. Ensure to use the same function name in your form's code as well. 
  
• Description: Briefly describe how your function works. 
  
• Function Type: Choose the component with which the function should be associated. For this example, we're using the function of the type: Form 
  

Step 1: Configuring the message action handler

The message handler is triggered to return the Create Task form as a response. 

1. messageText = message.get("content").get("text");
   
2. getNetworks = invokeurl
   
3. [
   
4. url :"https://connect.zoho.com/pulse/api/allScopes"
   
5. type :GET
   
6. connection: "" // Give your connection name
   
7. ];
   
8. getNetworks = getNetworks.get("allScopes").get("scopes");
   
9. netWorkOptions = List();
   
10. for each  network in getNetworks
    
11. {
    
12. networkList = Map();
    
13. networkList.put("label",network.get("name"));
    
14. networkList.put("value",network.get("id"));
    
15. netWorkOptions.add(networkList);
    
16. }
    
17. inputs = list();
    
18. inputs.add({"type":"select","name":"networks","label":"Network","hint":"Select a network","placeholder":"Select a network!","mandatory":true,"value":"","options":netWorkOptions,"trigger_on_change":true});
    
19. inputs.add({"type":"select","name":"boards","label":"Boards","hint":"Select a board","placeholder":"Select a board!","mandatory":true,"value":"","options":netWorkOptions,"disabled":"true","trigger_on_change":true});
    
20. inputs.add({"type":"select","name":"sections","label":"Section","hint":"Select a section","placeholder":"Select a section!","mandatory":true,"value":"","options":netWorkOptions,"disabled":"true"});
    
21. inputs.add({"name":"title","label":"Title","placeholder":messageText,"value":messageText,"hint":"Enter your task name","min_length":"0","max_length":"50","mandatory":true,"type":"text"});
    
22. inputs.add({"type":"textarea","name":"note","label":"Description","hint":"Describe your task.","placeholder":"To be done by Tuesday","mandatory":false});
    
23. inputs.add({"name":"duedate","label":"Due by","placeholder":"Give your task's due date.","mandatory":false,"type":"date"});
    
24. inputs.add({"type":"select","name":"priority","label":"Priority","hint":"Choose your task priority","placeholder":"High","mandatory":true,"value":"High","options":{{"label":"No Priority","value":"None"},{"label":"Low","value":"Low"},{"label":"Medium","value":"Medium"},{"label":"High","value":"High"}}});
    
25. addTask = {"name":"addTask","type":"form","title":"Add a task","hint":"Add a task to a board in Zoho Connect. ","button_label":"Add Task","inputs":inputs,"action":{"type":"invoke.function","name":"connectTask"}};
    
26. return addTask;
    

Step 2: Configuring the form change handler

The form change handler will be triggered when the user is filling up the form. The handler is responsible for modifying the form field values based on the user's inputs. 

1. targetName = target.get("name");
   
2. inputValues = form.get("values");
   
3. networkID = inputValues.get("networks").get("value");
   
4. actions = list();
   
5. if(targetName.containsIgnoreCase("networks"))
   
6. {
   
7. getBoards = invokeurl
   
8. [
   
9. url :"https://connect.zoho.com/pulse/api/myBoards"
   
10. type :GET
    
11. parameters:{"scopeID":networkID}
    
12. connection:"" // Give your connection name
    
13. ];
    
14. getBoards = getBoards.get("myBoards").get("boards");
    
15. boardOptions = List();
    
16. for each  board in getBoards
    
17. {
    
18. boardList = Map();
    
19. boardList.put("label",board.get("name"));
    
20. boardList.put("value",board.get("id"));
    
21. boardOptions.add(boardList);
    
22. }
    
23. actions.add({"type":"update","name":"boards","input":{"type":"select","name":"boards","label":"Boards","hint":"Select a board","placeholder":"Select a board!","mandatory":true,"options":boardOptions,"trigger_on_change":true}});
    
24. }
    
25. else if(targetName.containsIgnoreCase("boards"))
    
26. {
    
27. boardId = inputValues.get("boards").get("value");
    
28. getResponse = invokeurl
    
29. [
    
30. url :"https://connect.zoho.com/pulse/api/boardSections"
    
31. type :GET
    
32. parameters:{"scopeID":networkID,"boardId":boardId}
    
33. connection:"" // Give your connection name
    
34. ];
    
35. getSections = getResponse.get("boardSections").get("sections");
    
36. sectionOptions = List();
    
37. for each  section in getSections
    
38. {
    
39. sectionList = Map();
    
40. sectionList.put("label",section.get("name"));
    
41. sectionList.put("value",section.get("id").toString());
    
42. sectionOptions.add(sectionList);
    
43. }
    
44. getMembers = getResponse.get("boardSections").get("members");
    
45. if(getMembers.isempty() == false)
    
46. {
    
47. boardMembers = List();
    
48. for each  member in getMembers
    
49. {
    
50. memberList = Map();
    
51. memberList.put("label",member.get("name"));
    
52. memberList.put("value",member.get("zuid"));
    
53. boardMembers.add(memberList);
    
54. }
    
55. actions.add({"type":"update","name":"sections","input":{"type":"select","name":"sections","label":"Section","hint":"Select a section","placeholder":"Select a section!","mandatory":true,"options":sectionOptions}});
    
56. actions.add({"type":"add_after","name":"duedate","input":{"type":"select","name":"members","multiple":true,"label":"Assignees","hint":"Add assignees","placeholder":"Assign task to a member","mandatory":false,"options":boardMembers}});
    
57. }
    
58. else
    
59. {
    
60. actions.add({"type":"update","name":"sections","input":{"type":"select","name":"sections","label":"Section","hint":"Select a section","placeholder":"Select a section!","mandatory":true,"options":sectionOptions}});
    
61. }
    
62. }
    
63. return {"type":"form_modification","actions":actions};
    

Step 3: Configuring the form submit handler

We'll call the create task API in form submit handler. The submit handler typically receives all the inputs filled by the user and will be triggered on form submission. 

1. response = Map();
   
2. formValues = form.get("values");
   
3. scopeID = formValues.get("networks").get("value");
   
4. boardId = formValues.get("boards").get("value");
   
5. sectionId = formValues.get("sections").get("value");
   
6. title = formValues.get("title");
   
7. priority_value = formValues.get("priority").get("value");
   
8. parameters = {"scopeID":scopeID,"boardId":boardId,"sectionId":sectionId,"title":title,"priority":priority_value};
   
9. desc = formValues.get("note");
   
10. if(desc != "" && !desc.isEmpty())
    
11. {
    
12. parameters.put("desc",desc);
    
13. }
    
14. duedate = formValues.get("duedate");
    
15. if(duedate != "" && !duedate.isEmpty())
    
16. {
    
17. duedate = duedate.toList("-");
    
18. eyear = duedate.get(0);
    
19. emonth = duedate.get(1);
    
20. edate = duedate.get(2);
    
21. parameters.put("eyear",eyear);
    
22. parameters.put("emonth",emonth);
    
23. parameters.put("edate",edate);
    
24. }
    
25. assignee = formValues.get("members");
    
26. if(assignee != {} && !assignee.isEmpty())
    
27. {
    
28. userIds = list();
    
29. for each  assgineeID in assignee
    
30. {
    
31. userIds.add(assgineeID.get("value"));
    
32. }
    
33. parameters.put("userIds",userIds.toString());
    
34. }
    
35. addTask = invokeurl
    
36. [
    
37. url :"https://connect.zoho.com/pulse/api/addTask"
    
38. type :POST
    
39. parameters:parameters
    
40. connection:"" // Give your connection name
    
41. ];
    
42. if(addTask.get("addTask").get("stream").isEmpty() == false)
    
43. {
    
44. taskTitle = "[" + addTask.get("addTask").get("stream").get("task").get("title") + "](" + addTask.get("addTask").get("stream").get("url") + ")";
    
45. taskpriority = addTask.get("addTask").get("stream").get("task").get("priority");
    
46. tasksection = addTask.get("addTask").get("stream").get("task").get("section").get("name");
    
47. taskboard = addTask.get("addTask").get("stream").get("partition").get("name");
    
48. response = {"text":"Task added in " + taskboard + ". Take a look at the task details below.","card":{"title":"Task Details","theme":"modern-inline"},"slides":{{"type":"label","title":"Task Details: ","data":{{"Title":taskTitle},{"Priority":taskpriority},{"Section":tasksection},{"Board":taskboard}}}}};
    
49. }
    
50. return response;
    
51. 
    

End notes: 

Message actions in Cliq are super versatile like all other Cliq platform components. You can choose to create a message action that's specific to a message type. This example can be customized even to suit messages of the type attachments and links. So go ahead and give it a try! You can download the source code file attached with this post or access this link here: https://workdrive.zohoexternal.com/external/6OxchwzzBCF-J8HFH

Useful Links: 
Zoho Connect Rest API Guide: https://www.zoho.com/connect/api/intro.html

Forms in Cliq: https://www.zoho.com/cliq/help/platform/cliq-form.html

Form Function: https://www.zoho.com/cliq/help/platform/form_functions_workflow.html

Connections in Cliq: https://www.zoho.com/cliq/help/platform/connections.html

• Topic Participants

• Manasa Manogaran

• gilbert

• ROHIT MATHEW

• Mischa

• Shivam mishra

• Sticky Posts

• Cliq Bots - Post message to a bot using the command line!

  If you had read our post on how to post a message to a channel in a simple one-line command, then this sure is a piece of cake for you guys! For those of you, who are reading this for the first time, don't worry! Just read on. This post is all about how

• Add Claude in Zoho Cliq

  Let’s add a real AI assistant powered by Claude to your workspace this week, that your team can chat with, ask questions, and act on conversations to run AI actions on. This guide walks you through exactly how to do it, step by step, with all the code

• Automating Employee Birthday Notifications in Zoho Cliq

  Have you ever missed a birthday and felt like the office Grinch? Fear not, the Cliq Developer Platform has got your back! With Zoho Cliq's Schedulers, you can be the office party-cipant who never forgets a single cake, balloon, or awkward rendition of

• Automate attendance tracking with Zoho Cliq Developer Platform

  I wish remote work were permanently mandated so we could join work calls from a movie theatre or even while skydiving! But wait, it's time to wake up! The alarm has snoozed twice, and your team has already logged on for the day. Keeping tabs on attendance

• Customer payment alerts in Zoho Cliq

  For businesses that depend on cash flow, payment updates are essential for operational decision-making and go beyond simple accounting entries. The sales team needs to be notified when invoices are cleared so that upcoming orders can be released. In contrast,

• Recent Topics

• Exporting All Custom Functions in ZohoCRM

  Hello, All I've been looking for a way to keep about 30 functions that I have written in Zoho CRM updated in my own repository to use elsewhere in other instances. A github integration would be great, but a way to export all custom functions or any way

• Printing invoices using templates

  Hello. I have a sales application and i need to print invoices, delivery ntoes etc and i'm trying to use the record template feature which allow you to use all of the fields from a report. My question is how do i make calculated fields which are not in

• Zoho Desk - Event Calendar View

  Hi Desk team, Are there any plans to introduce a calendar or timeline view for Events in Zoho Desk? It would be very helpful if we could see Events visually in a calendar and/or timeline. This is very helpful when desk side support activities need to

• Cliq iOS can't see shared screen

  Hello, I had this morning a video call with a colleague. She is using Cliq Desktop MacOS and wanted to share her screen with me. I'm on iPad. I noticed, while she shared her screen, I could only see her video, but not the shared screen... Does Cliq iOS is able to display shared screen, or is it somewhere else to be found ? Regards

• Plug Sample #15 - Enable Human-Like, Contextual Interactions in SalesIQ with Zia Agents

  Zia Agents are conversational AI assistants designed to understand user intent and respond intelligently, helping businesses automate conversations and offer personalized support at scale. While Zia Agents are yet to be publicly released, access is currently

• 【Zoho CRM】キオスク機能のアップデート

  ユーザーの皆さま、こんにちは。コミュニティチームの藤澤です。 Zoho CRMのキオスク機能のアップデートを紹介します。これまで以上に柔軟性が増し、データ処理が高速化されたことで、リアルタイムのデータ取得が可能になりました。 目次 クライアントスクリプトで、キオスクをどこからでも起動が可能に 新規データ作成処理を使用してキオスク実行中にデータをリアルタイムで取得 データ取得画面における新しい機能強化 1. クライアントスクリプトで、キオスクをどこからでも起動が可能に キオスク向けクライアントスクリプトのサポート（第一段階）がリリースされました。これにより、Zoho

• Re: Application Architecture in Zoho Creator — A Platform-Specific Deep Dive

  A recent community post on application architecture made some excellent points about planning architecture early in Zoho Creator projects. The core message is right — Creator applications have a habit of growing organically into maintenance nightmares,

• Introducing SlyteUI : From Idea to a Working Interface in Minutes

  Hello everyone! Are you spending hours building basic UIs? Does even the smallest customization feel like a major task? CRM customization should feel intuitive and straightforward, not time consuming or exhausting. SlyteUI makes this possible by simplifying

• Standard view for every agent

  Hello there, I am facing the following challenge. I would like to provide a standardised view for all agents. This view should not be editable by the user. It would be nice for the users if the tickets were divided into columns (like prio work mode).

• Mapping a new Ticket in Zoho Desk to an Account or Deal in Zoho CRM manually

  Is there any way for me to map an existing ticket in Zoho desk to an account or Deal within Zoho CRM? Sometimes people use different email to put in a ticket than the one that we have in the CRM, but it's still the same person. We would like to be able

• Create a Custom view that displays the current signed on support reps Tickets

  Is there a way to create a custom view that has criteria that says Ticket Owner = [Current Signed on Support rep]?

• Trying to validate user's age through DoB

  We have a form where a user enters their birthdate. We'd like a rule that counts whether the user is over or under 25 years of age. This amounts to 9125 days elapsed between today and an easy way to do this would be to use conditional rule Is Before [x]

• Zoho Desk - Trial Extension Error - Insufficient Privileges to perform this operation. Contact your Administrator.

  Zoho Desk - Trial Extension Error - "Insufficient Privileges to perform this operation. Contact your Administrator." I am receiving this error above when trying to extend my trial, and I am the Administrator. Please advise on how to bypass.

• filter on sheets mobile (iOS, iPadOS) does not work

  re-posting this as a question because reporting as a problem netted zero responses... I have this issue on every spreadsheet, whether imported or created natively in Zoho Sheets. I can use on desktop without issue: but on iOS the filter dropdowns are

• Creating packages according to actual shipping processes

  Hi community. I would like to ask a question to see if there's a better method or workflow for the creation of packages in Zoho Inventory. There is a little confusion in some of Zoho's language relating to the use of term Packing Slip when connected to

• Announcing Zoho Sheet desktop app for macOS and Windows (Beta)

  Hello Sheet users, We know you’ve been waiting for this one. It has always been the top priority on our roadmap to provide a single native desktop app for macOS and Windows that works both online and offline. Today, we are excited to announce that the

• Business Day Logic Update: More Accurate Scheduling for Your Workflows

  Hello everyone, We’re improving how business-day calculations work in workflows, especially when triggers happen on weekends. This update ensures that offsets like +0, +1, and +2 business days behave exactly as intended, giving you clearer and more predictable

• Territories as filters

  The territory function within the CRM is great for controlling record access and managing a sales organization however, territories are not available as a filter options within the CRM when creating reports or dashboard components. Adding the ability

• What's new in Zoho Social - Q1 recap

  Hello everyone, We’ve rolled out a bunch of updates in Q1, and we’re excited to walk you through them. To help you explore these features in detail, we’re hosting a Q1 recap webinar where we’ll show you how to make the most of each update. Q1 recap webinar

• Payment Card or Identity form-fill from Vault?

  Hello! I'm working on replacing Bitwarden with Vault and one issue I've run into is that I can't find any option to fill address and payment forms from Payment Card or Identity info that has been saved in Vault. Is there a way to do this? Is it a planned

• Query on Tracking Visitor Activity with Zoho Forms & SalesIQ

  I have a query regarding Zoho Forms, Zoho SalesIQ, and Zoho CRM. I have embedded a Zoho Forms form on my website, and I’m trying to understand if it’s possible to capture a user’s website activity (such as pages visited, visit count, etc.) when they submit

• Merging Photos from Subforms into Writer

  I've got a subform that contains uploadable photos. Im trying to merge them into a template but there is no option to pull them in. Is this possible? We are creating an inspection module where we can take photos and make notes and export to a report.

• Bank Feeds

  Since Friday my bank feeds wont work. I have refreshed feeds, deactivate and reactivate and nothing is working

• Add Unified Project-Wide Development & Release GitHub Dashboard

  Hi Zoho Projects Team, I am writing to submit a feature request for a Unified Development & Release GitHub Dashboard that provides centralized GitHub visibility at both the Project and Milestone levels. The Vision: We need a single "Command Center" that

• RouteIQ user Licensefor Non–Zoho One User

  Zoho RouteIQ needs to be purchased for Zoho CRM. The current setup uses the Zoho One plan, but RouteIQ is required for a different user who is not part of Zoho One. However, they need access to routes and customer details within RouteIQ for planning their

• Private Contacts & Tasks

  What is the timeframe for being able to filter Activities and Contacts from being viewed by the rest of my team? I sync with Outlook and the ability to create a task that is private would be of great help. I have to take my dog to the vet this morning and because I put it in my Outlook calendar, now my whole team is aware of it because I had no way to mark it "private" in zoho. A simple checkbox would be great! I would be more than happy to provide examples of how ACT does this. For each event or

• Cross Module Filtering – Use Fields from Lookup modules in Custom Views criteria and Advanced Filters

  Hello everyone, Zoho CRM now enables you to achieve deeper filtering of records in a module, using fields of a lookup, thereby enhancing your data management experience manifold. This filtering based on lookup module fields is now available in advanced

• Super Admin Logging in as another User

  How can a Super Admin login as another user. For example, I have a sales rep that is having issues with their Accounts and I want to view their Zoho Account with out having to do a GTM and sharing screens. Moderation Update (8th Aug 2025): We are working

• WhatsApp Calling Integration via Zoho Desk

  Dear Zoho Desk Team, I would like to request a feature that allows users to call WhatsApp numbers directly via Zoho Desk. This integration would enable sending and receiving calls to and from WhatsApp numbers over the internet, without the need for traditional

• Update to CRM Custom Buttons: Collect Users' Location

  Hello everyone! Buttons in Zoho CRM allow you to extend the default CRM capabilities for your bespoke business needs. It provides the flexibility to connect to any third-party application to perform necessary actions. Wouldn't it be better, if those buttons

• Sum over

  Hi, Is there an equivalent in Zoho (Aggregated Formula) to SQL’s SUM() OVER (PARTITION BY ...)? I’m looking for a way to calculate a sum within a group (partition) without collapsing the data, so that the result is still available at the row level. Has

• Api Version 2 Refresh Token invalid_code

  While Refresh token i am always getting Error {     "error": "invalid_code" } i am trying to pass all parameter as per this https://www.zoho.com/crm/developer/docs/api/refresh.html still non of things working any one have idea whats the reason for same ... please help due to this i stuck since last one week

• Is it possible to clone my Lead module layout to Customer and Potential layouts?

  I've customized all fields and their order for Leads module and I would like to know if I'm able to clone those fields into another modules, only to avoid repeated work. Awaiting.

• Invoice date is incorrect

  I'm trying to pull a report of Sales Orders and filter by Invoice Date. (ex: all of 2025) Unfortunately, the filter still returns lots of SO's from other years including 2026 which would be impossible to have an invoice in 2025 from a 2026 order. It's

• DYK 2 - Filter Columns in List View

  Did You Know you could filter columns across lists in Zoho Projects ? This allows you to quickly narrow down large datasets without navigating to the filter panel from time to time, making it easier to focus on what matters right from where you are working.

• Sync Enable issue Between Zoho FSM and Invoice

  Hello Latha, I hope you are doing well. I am trying to enable synchronization between Zoho FSM (Org ID: 170000078905) and Zoho Invoice (Org ID: 170000079301). However, when I attempt to do so, I receive an “Internal error” message. Could you please assist

• Introducing Auto-trigger for Screening Bot

  Still manually sending screening tests after every application? Not anymore. With Auto-trigger for Screening Bot, screening now begins automatically. When a candidate applies for a job that has an attached assessment, Recruit checks whether the test has

• Canvas templates can now be shared with different CRM organizations

  Moderated on 14th February, 2023: Dear all, This feature is now open for all users in all DCs. To learn more about importing and exporting canvas templates, read our help doc -Customizing Record Detail Page Using Canvas Dear All, We hope you're well!

• Zoho Mail Android app update: UI revamp

  Hello everyone! We are excited to share that the first phase of the Zoho Mail Android UI revamp is now live. In this update, we have redesigned navigation bar at the bottom to quickly access the Email, Calendar, Contacts, and Settings modules. Also, the

• CRM x WorkDrive: We're rolling out the WorkDrive-powered file storage experience for existing users

  Release plan: Gradual rollout to customers without file storage add-ons, in this order: 1. Standalone CRM 2. CRM Plus and Zoho One DCs: All | Editions: All Available now for: - Standalone CRM accounts in Free and Standard editions without file storage

• Next Page