Convert a message on Cliq into a task on Zoho Connect

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;






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




      • Sticky Posts

      • 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

      • Zoho Cliq REST APIs v3 : A complete guide to what's changed and why 

        APIs are not just consumed by a developer with numerous automations and a series of open browser tabs. They are parsed by LLMs, fed into agent pipelines, and auto-completed by AI coding assistants that have zero tolerance for inconsistency. A verb tucked

      • 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

      • Automating Real-Time Zoho Bookings Alerts in Zoho Cliq

        Enable your teams to respond in seconds by bridging the gap between booking confirmation and team notification. No sticky notes, no calendar nudges and no follow-up frenzies. For businesses that rely on scheduled appointments, real-time visibility is

      • 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

        • Recent Topics

        • Net ##th Terms (e.g. due on the following 15th)

          I have a client who pays me twice monthly per our contract. It would be helpful to have terms on my invoices where the invoice is due on the 15th or the 30th of the same or the following month.

        • Project status update visibility within a project

          Currently the only place within Zoho projects to see status updates for a given project is actually not in the project it's self it's in the Collaboration section and then by searching for a given project and clicking on the status tab. It would be great

        • Using custom CRM fields

          I have created a series of fields in the Deals module that need to be linked to fields in a contract I have customized. I can only see how to map standard fields, not the custom ones. How do I do this?

        • Como limitar o Zia Agent?

          Geralmente quando estamos criando um agente de IA no ZIa Agent Studio, colocamos o que ele deve fazer, utilizando as instruções que colocamos no Knowledge Base. Mas como colocamos limites que não devem ser ultrapassados? Para isso utilizamos os Guardrails,

        • An important update for Zoho Cliq desktop users

          The latest version of the Zoho Cliq desktop app (v1.8.0) will no longer be supported on macOS 10.15 Catalina and earlier versions. This is because the framework we use (Electron) no longer supports some older macOS versions. If you’re using macOS 10.15

        • Zoho Flow - Zoho Desk trigger "Ticket created or updated" overrides Department

          Just in case anyone else has this issue. We had a Zoho Flow with the Zoho Desk trigger "Ticket created or updated". In the trigger I had selected a Department (Sales). What happens is that the Department ID (Sales) is submitted as part of the request

        • 2026 Product Roadmap and Upcoming Features

          This is your guide to what is coming in Zoho Vertical Studio throughout 2026. We’ll update this post throughout the year as items move from development to release, and as and when new initiatives are added. Once a feature is released, it will be reflected

        • Introducing Canvas templates: Design once, apply everywhere

          Greetings all! We're happy to introduce Canvas templates, a Forms view enhancement that enables you to design form layouts just once and apply them seamlessly across multiple modules. Imagine you use five CRM modules (Contacts, Deals, Leads, and more),

        • Why cant i see the Campaigns module in my Zoho app

          I am on the ZOHO CRM Standard edition. I can clearly see and use the Campaign module when viewing the ZOHO CRM desktop. When I switch to my phone, the Campaign Module does not show. I have gone through all the settings I can think of, but I still can't

        • 📣 Ask the team behind Zoho SalesIQ: Summer '26 Q&A

          Hi everyone! Following our recent webinars, Summer '26 Release: What's New in Zoho SalesIQ—where we walked you through all the new features, what they do, and how they work—and Driving the AI Evolution: Building Smarter Customer Experiences with Zoho

        • Always display images from this sender – Is this feature available?

          In Zoho mail, I had my "Load external images" setting set to "Ask me", and that's fine. That's the setting I prefer. What's not fine though is I always need to tick "Display now" for each email I get, regardless if I've done that multiple times from several

        • Set Custom Icon for Custom Modules in new Zoho CRM UI

        • Displayed sample tracking for multi branch setup.

          We have multiple branches and one of the biggest challenges for us to be able to track if a particular item is in display or not. I am shooting in the dark but I am wondering if there is a solution for the following : Each product used for display is

        • How do I migrate from Office 365 to Zoho Mail?

          Check out Advik Email Migration Wizard, this software is specially developed to move mailboxes from Office 365 to Zoho Webmail. In addition you can migrate from Gmail, Yahoo, Rediffmail and 80+ webmail servers to ZOHO MAIL. Isn't it amazing? This is an all in one email migration solution. Steps to export emails from Office 365 to Zoho Webmail are as follows; Run Advik Email Migration Tool in your system. Select Office 365 as source and enter its login credentials. Select mailbox folders and choose

        • Connection Issues

          Morning. Seems like a few of my colleagues that are offsite are having issues with connection to cliq, even when their internet is working perfectly fine and only 1 person onsite has issues. Can you please explain? Thanks

        • Backorder process review - Automating Removal of Sales Order from "On Hold" When PO is Received

          Hello Zoho Inventory Team, Currently, sales orders in On Hold status are released only when the bill for the purchase order is created. In our workflow, it would be much more efficient if the sales order could automatically move out of On Hold as soon

        • 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

        • Which Is the best online store to buy office furniture in Australia ?

          The most important part of your office is the office furniture. Your office is not complete when you have not put the required furniture in place. You need a furniture in your office so that you and your employees have desks, tables, and chairs which

        • Add "Product Code" as available column and search criteria for Assemblies

          Hi Zoho Community. For product (item) assemblies, it would be helpful to be able to create a custom view search criteria that limits the view by product code or perhaps product category. Currently, Product Code is not an available option to display as

        • What's New - July 2026 | Zoho Backstage

          Hello everyone, We hope you’re having an expectation-exceeding event experience! We’ve been hard at work bringing you a bunch of enhancements designed to make event management even easier. Let’s take a look at what’s new in Zoho Backstage. Export delivery

        • Delete Field that is used in a Zoho Flow connection

          I'm trying to delete a Field used in a Webhook created by Zoho Flow with CRM Connection and i get the following alert: When going to the alert i get to the following issue, can't edit it since its been deployed by a pluggin But yes i have here the prompted

        • Q3 USA ZUG Meetups - Build AI Agents with Zoho

          Hi everyone! What if you could build your own AI agent from scratch in just one session? That's exactly what we're going to do at the upcoming ZUG Meetups across the United States, where you'll get hands-on experience with Zia Agents and explore how AI

        • Data Export is forcing Creation/Modified date just like reports

          The data export now forces you to select a created or modified date. There is not an All-Time option. This severely cripples the whole function of data export for audit purposes. If the data export (or reports for that matter), requires a date, there

        • Default ticket template in helpcenter

          Hello, I have a web form and a ticket template created. How can I make that my default ticket template? If an user clicks New ticket or create a ticket, I want that template to be the default one. Thank you for the time and info.

        • Zia Agents looks promising, but I still cannot deploy my first agent or connect WhatsApp after weeks of support tickets

          Hi Everyone, I am posting here because I am stuck and need practical help from someone who has successfully deployed a Zia Agent with WhatsApp. Zia Agents looks like a very promising product. I have watched the platform expand quickly, and I have noticed

        • Valid characters for use in email addresses using Zoho's apps/APIs

          We have found an issue with the + sign character in zoho subs - we are allowed to create a customer with an email address that has a plus sign but the API doesn't allow the + so the billing portal is not created. We are going to prevent users from using

        • Feature Request – Per-Channel Pre-Chat Form Controls

          We'd like the ability to enable/disable the pre-chat form on a per-channel basis, rather than having a single global setting. On the website widget, asking for name and email before chat starts makes sense. On WhatsApp, however, email isn't necessary

        • Copy + Paste in Notes: Text color and text background are not retained

          I've recently started using Zoho Notebook as an Evernote replacement. When copying and pasting text within Zoho Notes, I notice that the formatting of the text (text color and background color) is not retained when pasting. Only the attributes "Bold"

        • Need to show discount before total after subtotal

          Need to show discount before total after subtotal on my estimate template (see attachment)

        • Google Ads Data is Publicly available in Zoho CRM

          We recently discovered that ALL of the following Google Ads fields are visible to all users in our CRM that have access to either Leads or Contacts modules. Not only is this troubling and inconvenient, it should be unacceptable. It also creates a mess

        • Zoho Books bill pay option not available with zoho one

          Why isn't Zoho Books bill pay add-on not available for Zoho one customers not even as a purchasable option. I think this is very inconvenient for companies wanting to use this feature all in one system

        • Bounce rates

          Where can I see my bounce rates for: 1. Each email I send out, and 2. in total?

        • Appointment- colour code

          This is a real world problem for many companies. We track several employees appointments and this is done by one person so one account. The calendar layout is not great but if we could just colour code appointments to make it easier to see and then what about printing out the diary. I know in the IT world everybody is connected but so many of use still use old technology- paper.

        • Add a Parameter to the ZOHO CRM Deluge sendmail to denote priority (defaulting to normal if unspecified)

          Hello! There is a similar thread for Creator out there that is 2 years old, but I'd like to raise it in the ZOHO CRM category as well. Would you kindly update the existing Deluge sendmail function to allow a priority parameter? The parameter should allow

        • Email outbox is now available in the sandbox

          Hello all! Testing emails without visibility has always been a blind spot in the sandbox. With the new Outbox, that gap is closed. You can now view and verify every email triggered from your sandbox, whether it’s through workflows, approvals, or mass

        • Transform your line of items into line items: ICR can now record your table values as subform values

          Enhancement in Zoho CRM Dear Customers, We hope you're well! Zia Vision’s ICR capability can now recognize, extract, and store tabulated values in your subforms. An ideal example is a university application form. It has printed fields and handwritten

        • is it possible to add more than one Whatsapp Phone Number to be integrated to Zoho CRM?

          so I have successfully added one Whatsapp number like this from this User Interface it seems I can't add a new Whatsapp Number. I need to add a new Whatsapp Number so I can control the lead assignment if a chat sent to Whatsapp Phone Number 1 then assign

        • Add the ability to Hide Pages in Page Rules

          Hi, We have Field Rules to show and hide fields and we have page Rules, but we can't hide a page in Page Rules so it isn't completed before the previous page (And then have the Deny Rules to prevent submitting without both pages completed), we can only

        • Calendar Year View?

          Is there a way I can view the calendar in year view? Maybe create a page with a view like this?

        • Automation Series: Auto-update Project End Date When a Task is Rescheduled

          When a project is planned, tasks are scheduled within the projects timeline. Any delay in the predecessor tasks can delay dependent tasks, which can in turn impact the project timeline. Unless the project is manually rescheduled, the end date might not

        • Next Page