Your team has decided to go for lunch and you're in charge of the menu. But before you decide on the menu, it's important to know their preferences. For instance, what if somebody is vegan and you haven't taken that into account!

Now now, we know hard it is to arrange the menu for a small group of 4, let alone for 50.   How can Cliq help this situation you may ask? Ah, simple. Create a poll using Cliq's slash commands!

With /poll command you can just post a message in channel, ask everybody to vote and get the list. The /poll command  helps you collect data, interpret, analyze and make a decision. Let's take a look at the command workflow, it's pretty easy. :D  

Command Workflow  

The command syntax would be   /poll -topic" " - optn " " 

The user would have to just specify the question (topic) and options in the command syntax and execute the command in a chat window. A poll message card is posted with the question and the options as buttons. Now, to wait for everybody to take their pick! 

The poll question and the options are stored as records in Zoho Creator and when an option is chosen, the selection made is also stored as a record.

To put it in a nutshell, this command is a classic example of multiple workflows and integration with other Zoho Products ( i.e Zoho Creator) 

Now there are four parts to the command execution- three in Cliq and one in Creator. Breaking down the command creation and execution  

Store the questions and results - Creator Application 

• Create an application in Zoho Creator - Refer this  How to create an application help page in Zoho Creator. 
• Create two forms - for Poll Questions and one for the Poll Results with the necessary fields. 
• Use the zoho.creator.createRecord task and zoho.creator.getRecord task in your command and function execution code to create and get records from Creator.  Refer this  help page  

Sample Syntax for the create record task :

zoho.creator.createRecord("ownerName","appLinkName","formLinkName",dataMap,"connectionLinkNam", userAccess )

Get the owner name, appLinkName and formLinkName from the creator application URL. 

URL Format:  https://app.zohocreator.com/ownerName/appLinkName#formLinkName

Sample URL:  https://app.zohocreator.com/scottfisher5/poll-command#Questions

Note: We've attached a sample Poll application file for you. Download and import this file in your creator account to get an idea of the Poll application. 

Connect to the storage - Cliq Connections (authenticated)

Connections are used to integrate your application with other Zoho Applications or Third Party Web Services in an authenticated manner. 

Create a connection to invoke operations on the Creator Application from Cliq, using Cliq Platform. Use the connectionLinkName and define the userAccess parameter in the creator deluge tasks. 

Share the poll with  a group - Cliq commands 

Create a poll command and specify the command parameters. Command parameters will help fetch the question and the options given by the user in the poll. 

The command execution code is attached here. Copy the code in your deluge editor and try executing the command!

2. message = Map();
3. card = Map();
4. card.put("theme","poll");
5. b = options.get("Topic");
6. a = options.get("Optn");
7. buttonnames = a.toList(",");
8. info buttonnames.size();
9. card.put("title","POLL");
10. message.put("text",b);
11. dataMap = {"Question":options.get("Topic"),"Answers":options.get("Optn"),"Creator":user.get("email")};
12. respFromCreator = zoho.creator.createRecord("ownerName","appLinkName","formLinkName",dataMap," connectionLinkName ",  
13. userAccess );
14. creatorId = respFromCreator.get("values").get("ID");
15. buttons = List();
16. for each  name in buttonnames
17. {
18. button = {"label":name,"hint":"Choose an option.","type":"+","action":{"type":"invoke.function","data":{"name":"FunctionName","owner":"yourname@yourdomain.com"}},"key":creatorId};
19. buttons.add(button);
20. }
21. info buttons;
22. if(buttons.size() > 0)
23. {
24. button = {"label":"View Result","hint":"Select an option.","type":"+","action":{"type":"invoke.function","data":{"name":"FunctionName","owner":"yourname@yourdomain.com"}},"key":creatorId};
25. buttons.add(button);
26. }
27. info creatorId;
28. card.put("thumbnail","<insert_image_url>");
29. message.put("card",card);
30. message.put("buttons",buttons);
31. message.put("card",card);
32. //aa = zoho.cliq.postToChat(chat.get("id"),message);
33. info message;
34. return message;

Variables used in the code

Line no 12: You'll find these in your creator application URL

Line no 18 & 24: Give your function name and email ID.

Poll Votes and Results - Cliq Buttons and Functions

  Functions work in association with buttons. Our aim for the function here should be  

• To allow users to select an answer and store the selection in Creator.

• To get the list of all answers for the poll when a user clicks the 'View Result' button.

• To restrict users from answering a poll more than once. 

When a user clicks the 'View Result' option, the function will get records from Creator to display the total number of responses received for the poll. (u se the button name as the criteria for this)

Likewise, when a user tries responding to the poll twice, use the parameter 'Key' to identify if the user has already responded. If yes, then go ahead and show an error message. If no, take the user's response to the poll. 

That sure was a lengthy read. Well, have a look at this video for better understanding! 

So what are you waiting for? Go on and create a poll! Let us know how this command helps you and your team. 

If you're new here, welcome! Take a look at our slash command guide . You can also learn how to connect to accuweather.com and get weather forecast right inside your chat window. Cool right? Then, check this out !

Questions and discussions are welcome!

Until next time,

Manasa

Cliq