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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• Cliq Bots - How to make a bot respond to your messages?

  Bots are just like your buddies with whom you can interact. They carry out your tasks, keep you notified about your to-dos and come in handy when you need constant updates from a third party application.  So, how can you make your bot respond to a message? The bot message handler is a piece of code triggered when a message is sent to the bot. Message handlers help you customise your bot responses to make it look conversational. The message input from the user can be either a string or an option selected

• Cliq Bots - Get notifications about any action on an application with the incoming webhook handler!

  Webhooks can be used to get notified about events happening in other applications inside Cliq. All bots in Cliq have their own incoming webhook endpoint. This makes it simple to post messages to the bot from external applications. Unlike the send message

• Recent Topics

• Problem viewing document imported from google drive.

  Hello, When I add a document via my google drive, it is impossible to preview it. I get the error “Files without extensions cannot be previewed. Download to view this file”. Could you please help me? Also, and this is more of a question: is there a way

• Linkedin - Recruiter System Connect

  Hi there! Does anyone here know how to connect Zoho Recruit to Linkedin Recruiter via Recruiter System Connect?

• Adding Bluesky channel

  Hello, Is Bluesky (AT protocol) soon added on Social ? Bluesky is being developped and is now open to anyone (no more invitation) Thank you

• Problem configuring/customizing sales pipeline steps

  Hello, I have created several sales pipelines with different stages in them. Unfortunately I forgot to properly configure these steps (conversion probability, forecast category). How can I modify and customize all these steps? Thnak you by advance M

• Clear String field based on the value of other field

  Hello everyone, We would like to be able to clear a string field (delete whatever has been written and make it empty) when another field (picklist) is changed to a specific value. While I can empty other types of fields, I noticed that I can't do this

• How Can i put a form in Zobot

  Hi,how can i integrate a form which has a multiple options to choose from.the form should be opened or displayed by zobot after it meets a requirement in the conversation. Thanks in advance !

• workflow for bounced email gets triggered, but email is status = opened

  Hello, I have a workflow that sends me an email if outgoing email are bounced. Now I got some kind of this emails, but the corrosponding contacts have status = open at the email. Why this bounce-workflow is triggered? Reports > Email Reports > Bounce

• Power of Automation :: Automatically start / pause / stop timer on task status update.

  Hello Everyone, A Custom function is a user-written set of code to achieve a specific requirement. Set the required conditions needed as when to trigger using the Workflow rules (be it Tasks / Project) and associate the custom function to it. Requirement:-

• Website Access Blocked (from one pc only) when attempting unattended access to any device

  Hello From one of my laptops I cannot access any remote device using unattended access. A Zoho Assist error page didplays 'Website Access Blocked. See attached.

• Update Zoho Flow on Sprint Work Item Status Change

  Hello, I've contacted Zoho One support but have been unable to help in a timely manner, so I'm asking the community. I want to start using sprints, but I'm having an issue. I need to post updates to Slack when a Work Item has a status change. My understanding

• Fixed Assets Register

  Thank you Zoho Books for adding fixed assets register. BUT there are certian tweeks that needs to be implemented. I found the following issues and seek improvements. 1) Fixed Asset Register Report in the Report Section has columns which are so much confusing.

• Link to Desk tickets

  Hello, We are using Analytics to analyze data in Desk. Is there a way to embed a link to a ticket in reports? We'd love to be able to see the drill down data, and click a value in a result row that would launch the Desk Ticket in another window/tab. Thanks

• Announcing new features in Trident for macOS (v.1.11.0)

  Hello everyone! Trident for macOS (v.1.11.0) is here with interesting features and enhancements to elevate your workplace communication and productivity. Let's take a quick look at them. Export emails. You can now export emails in the .eml file format

• Simplify your day-to-day sales operations with new List View actions

  Greetings everyone, Here are a few enhancements for quick actions in modular List Views that will make your day-to-day CRM operations much easier. List Views in modules display records in rows and columns based on set criteria, and are useful for presenting

• Zoho Sign Product updates - H2 2024

  Hello! We have almost come to the end of 2024! Here's a list of features and enhancements that went live in the later half of the year. NOM 151 certification Witness signing Formula, conditional, and custom fields Zoho Sign's extension for Bigin by Zoho

• Pulling Specific Products from Sales Orders in Books to a CRM Record

  We currently process orders directly through our website (woocommerce) as well as through manual sales orders in zoho books. When an order comes through the website, all of the individual products from that order show up in the CRM record of that customer.

• Constant Sync Errors 🙄

  I'm constantly getting sync error notifications with no actual resolution. Also... I have folders and files with a (!) on the cloud icon, indicating it's not accessible. This has also led to the complete loss of certain folders. Like... the go missing!

• Build custom AI solutions with Catalyst’s QuickML capabilities in CRM

  Hello everyone, We’re thrilled to announce an improvement for our Zoho CRM Enterprise users: the ability to create custom AI solutions using Catalyst’s QuickML directly from Zoho CRM. As you may already know, Zia, Zoho CRM’s AI-powered assistant, offers

• 【Zoho CRM】Webフォームに関するアップデート

  ユーザーの皆さま、こんにちは。コミュニティチームの中野です。 「Zoho CRM アップデート情報」の中からフィルター機能に関するアップデートについて紹介します。 今回、「Webフォーム」機能に以下２点のアップデートがありました。 ダブルオプトイン（2段階の同意確認）後の確認メッセージのカスタマイズ 登録から確認まで一貫したユーザーエクスペリエンスを顧客に提供するために、カスタマイズされた確認メッセージを作成できるようになりました。 ダブルオプトイン認証メールのカスタマイズ 顧客に最初から興味を持ってもらえるよう、パーソナライズされたメールを作成できるようになりました。ユーザーのブランドに合った本文を作成し、パーソナライズすることで、様々な顧客に対応することができます。

• Converting Time and Time Zones

  Hi Everyone I am trying to convert a time Zone to the local time of the user. I am fetching some data from an API, and it is coming back in this format: 2024-12-09T16:49:23Z This is in UTC/GMTZulu time. I am looking to convert it to the user time. In

• Tip of the week 34 - 5 ways to maintain your email list

  A proper email list often reflects the reach of an institution. This reach is coveted by all but achieved by some. We often forget about drawbacks and incline towards numbers. Success is often reflected by quality and not quantity. This simple message reverberates in maintaining a hygienic email list. Here are five tips which will help you maintain a proper email list.    Organic email lists   Non-stop competition can make us susceptible to shortcuts like buying and renting lists from third party

• Whatsapp Limitation Questions

  Good day, I would like to find out about the functionality or possibility of all the below points within the Zoho/WhatsApp integration. Will WhatsApp buttons ever be possible in the future? Will WhatsApp Re-directs to different users be possible based

• Can not send campaign

  Hi, I'm trying to send a newsletter to my subscribers, but seems is not working - or maybe I did some wrong steps re. upgrades. I'm the admin for this account, no other person is using Zoho for my campaigns and I did not access the platform during last

• Does Zoho campaign de-duplicate based on mobile for SMS campaigns?

  Hi - We recently sent our first SMS campaign using Zoho Campaign integrated into Burst SMS and got feedback that some of our customers received multiple messages. Upon inspection, this was due to multiple contacts in our list containing the same mobile

• Multilingual Newsletter

  Hi, Can Zoho campaign give the possibility to create and send a campaign in English and French, giving the possibility to the person receiving it to switch from default language chosen for a campaign? thnaks

• Top Menu Disappeared from Blog Page

  Hi, Our top menu disappeared at Blog Posts page. However, it's still visible any other page on the website. I attached two screenshots, so it can be understood clearly. How can we bring back top menu? Thanks, K.

• Add Comment/Notes to Each Action in Zoho Flow for Internal Documentation

  It would be great if Zoho Flow could introduce a field to every action where we can make an internal note about why we are doing something with a specific action. This is especially helpful if more than one person from the organization handles automation

• Questions about To Do

  1. I created a To Do note on Android and there is a line sorting option in the options drop down menu. But I didn’t find such an option in the PC client. I really need this option. 2. Why is there no search in To Do on the PC client? 3. Why is there no

• Tip of the week 03 - Sending emails in batches

  Today's marketers not only want their email marketing to be efficient, but also smart. For an email campaign, you may think you have all the essential elements for lead conversion—a big mailing list, an attractive template design, and the most-engaging message content, but after hitting the ‘send’ button, you may not get the expected conversions. Wondering why? Here’s one of the major reasons. Many marketers miss out on sending the email campaign the right way. Did you know that you should not be

• Sites Speed and Performance Grades

  I noticed that there are no recent inquiries or complaints about load speed or performance issues with Zoho Sites websites. However, I wanted to understand what Zoho has done to ensure that speed remains optimized, images are compressed and lazy loaded,

• Feature Request - Configurable Payment Icons + Pay Now link in email.

  The PAY NOW buttons (icons) on invoices are really small. It would be great if we could make that a big, colored icon. Better would be to add a button to emails as well. 

• Survey end date extension

  Hi, Is there any way to extend the end date of my survey? I needed more time in finding respondents that is why I need to extend the end date of my survey. Help. Thanks

• AI read notes or explanation

  It would be such a great feature to have AI voices be able to read our Notes or Explanation If not having the AI speak the notes at run time, how about a feature where inside of Zoho Show you can have it look at all the notes of all the slides and have

• Managing Prepaid Hours for Consulting

  We are a consulting firm that bills clients a flat upfront annual fee plus an hourly rate and offer a discount for pre-paying a block of hours. Hours that surpass the pre-paid block are billed monthly at the normal rate. If there are any pre-paid hours remaining at the end of the project they are banked for future use. I'm not seeing a method of doing this in Projects/Books/CRM... thoughts?

• Email Verification Tool

  Hi there, just came across this tool for Google Sheets https://www.producthunt.com/posts/email-verification-tool-for-google-sheets-2 How would one do to automatically verify/validate email addresses entered on the CRM in a similar way?

• Get DealID when Deal Created?

  Hi What's the easiest way to grab the DealID when a deal is created?  I want to add it to a custom field on the deal. Thanks

• ZOHO Widget SDK not loading in html

  I have this code below, I have imported the widgetsdk however I get the error shown in the image, I have tried many different ways of importing and initiating the function ZOHO but nothing is working. can someone explain what I'm doing wrong, if I am

• Enhancements to Zoho Corp Help Center "Team Requests" View

  Dear Zoho Team, I hope this message finds you well. The ability to view both my tickets and my team’s tickets in the Zoho Corp Help Center is a fantastic feature, especially as the focal point for Zoho in our organization. However, we’ve encountered a

• Allow Multiple Scheduled Appointments with Zoho Support

  Dear Zoho Team, I hope you're doing well. First, thank you for introducing the option to schedule support calls via the Zoho CRM booking link. This has been a fantastic enhancement, eliminating the need for back-and-forth coordination when scheduling

• Projectwise budget ---

  Can we have a Project wise subject in addition to the Monthly, and quarterly ACCOUNT LEVEL budget?

• Next Page