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

• Accelerate Github code reviews with Zoho Cliq Platform's link handlers

  Code reviews are critical, and they can get buried in conversations or lost when using multiple tools. With the Cliq Platform's link handlers, let's transform shared Github pull request links into interactive, real-time code reviews on channels. Share

• App Spotlight : PagerDuty for Zoho Cliq

  App Spotlight brings you hand-picked apps to enhance the power of your Zoho apps and tools. Visit the Zoho Marketplace to explore all of our apps, integrations, and extensions. In today's fast-paced world, seizing every moment is essential for operational

• Automate your status with Cliq Schedulers

  Imagine enjoying your favorite homemade meal during a peaceful lunch break, when suddenly there's a PING! A notification pops up and ruins your moment of zen. Even worse, you might be in a vital product development sprint, only to be derailed by a "quick

• Bulk user onboarding for Cliq Channels in a jiffy

  As developers, we frequently switch between coding, debugging, and optimizing tasks. The last thing we want is to be burdened by manual user management. Adding users one by one to a channel is tedious and prone to errors, taking up more time than we could

• Recent Topics

• Agent Performance Report

  From data to decisions: A deep dive into ticketing system reports An agent performance report in a ticketing system provides a comprehensive view of how support agents manage customer tickets. It measures efficiency and quality by tracking key performance

• Show both Vendor and Customers in contact statement

  Dear Sir, some companies like us working with companies as Vendor and Customers too !!! it mean we send invoice and also receive bill from them , so we need our all amount in one place , but in contact statement , is separate it as Vendor and Customer, 

• URL validation

  We use an internal intranet site which has a short DNS name which Zoho CRM will not accept.   When attempting to update the field it says "Please enter a valid URL". The URL I am trying to set is http://intranet/pm/ Our intranet is not currently setup with a full DNS name and given the amount of links using the shortname probably isn't a feasible change for us.

• Pourquoi dans zohobooks version gratuite on ne peut ajouter notre stock d'ouverture??

  Pourquoi dans zohobooks version gratuite on ne peut ajouter notre stock d'ouverture ??

• How can I adjust column width in Zoho Books?

  One issue I keep running into is as I show or hide columns in reports, the column widths get weird. Some columns have text cut off while others can take a fourth of the page for just a few characters. I checked report layout guides and my settings, but

• Invalid value passed for file_name

  System generated file name does not send file anymore - what is the problem?

• Custom Function for Estimates

  Hey everyone, I was wondering if there was a way to automate the Subject of an estimate whenever one is created or edited: * the green box using following infos: * Customer Name and Estimate Date. My Goal is to change the Subject to have this format "<MyFirm>-Estimate

• This domain is not allowed to add. Please contact support-as@zohocorp.com for further details

  I am trying to setup the free version of Zoho Mail. When I tried to add my domain, theselfreunion.com I got the error message that is the subject of this Topic. I've read your other community forum topics, and this is NOT a free domain. So what is the

• Search in module lists has detiorated

  Every module has a problem with the search function :-/

• YouTube Live #1: AI-powered agreement management with Zia and Zoho Sign

  Hi there! We're excited to announce Zoho Sign’s first YouTube live series, where you can catch the latest updates and interact with our Zoho Sign experts, pose questions, and discover lesser-known features. We're starting off by riding the AI wave in

• Search in module lists has detiorated

  Every module has a problem with the search function :-/

• Sales Receipts Duplicating when I run reports why and how do we rectify this and any other report if this happens

  find attached extract of my report

• Add Zoho Forms to Zoho CRM Plus bundle

  Great Zoho apps like CRM and Desk have very limited form builders when it comes to form and field rules, design, integration and deployment options. Many of my clients who use Zoho CRM Plus often hit limitations with the built in forms in CRM or Desk and are then disappointed to hear that they have to additionally pay for Zoho Forms to get all these great forms functionalities. Please consider adding Zoho Forms in the Zoho CRM Plus bundle. Best regards, Mladen Svraka Zoho Certified Consultant and

• Bigin: filter Contacts by Company fields

  Hello, I was wondering if there's a way to filter the contacts based on a field belonging to their company. I.e.: - filter contacts by Company Annual Revenue field - filter contacts by Company Employee No. field In case this is not possibile, what workaround

• Has Zoho changed the way it searches Items?

  Right now all of our searches have broken and we can no longer search using the SKU or alias. It was fine last night and we came in this morning to broken.....this is impacting our operations now.

• Refunds do not export from Shopify, Amazon and Esty to Zoho. And then do not go from Zoho inventory to Quickbooks.

  I have a huge hole in my accounts from refunds and the lack of synchronisation between shopify , Amazon and Etsy to Zoho ( i.e when I process a refund on shopify/ Amazon or Etsy it does not come through to Zoho) and then if I process a manual credit note/

• CRM->INVENTORY, sync products as composite items

  We have a product team working in the CRM, as it’s more convenient than using Books or Inventory—especially with features like Blueprints being available. Once a product reaches a certain stage, it needs to become visible in Inventory. To achieve this,

• Zoho Calendar not working since a few days

  Hey there, first off a minor thing, since I just tried to enable the Calendar after reading this in another topic (there was no setting for this though) : For some reason my current session is showing me based in New York - I'm in Germany, not using a

• Monthly timesheet, consolidation of time by project

  I have time logs for various jobs for project. Is it possible to consolidate the time spent for each job, when I am generating a timesheet for a month? I am getting the entries of jobs done on each day when I generate a timesheet for a month For example

• Building a Strong Online Identity with G-Tech Solutions

  In today’s fast-moving world, having a strong online identity is essential for every business. https://gtechsol.com.au helps businesses establish a digital presence that reflects their vision and values. By focusing on innovation and quality, they create

• Sending emails from an outlook account

  Hi, I need to know if it's possible to send automatic emails from an Outlook account configured in Zoho CRM and, if so, how I can accomplish that. To give you some context, I set up a domain and created a function that generates PDF files to be sent later

• Struggling with stock management in Zoho CRM – is Zoho Inventory the solution?

  My biggest pain point today with Zoho is inventory management. I run a retail business and reliable stock management is absolutely critical. Obviously, I need this inventory to be visible inside the CRM. At first, I tried handling it through custom modules

• Automating CRM backup storage?

  Hi there, We've recently set up automatic backups for our Zoho CRM account. We were hoping that the backup functionality would not require any manual work on our end, but it seems that we are always required to download the backups ourselves, store them,

• Nimble enhancements to WhatsApp for Business integration in Zoho CRM: Enjoy context and clarity in business messaging

  Dear Customers, We hope you're well! WhatsApp for business is a renowned business messaging platform that takes your business closer to your customers; it gives your business the power of personalized outreach. Using the WhatsApp for Business integration

• can't login Kiosk URGENT

  already try, can't login pls help to support. thanks.

• 【Zoho CRM】CRM for Everyoneに関するアップデート：関連データ機能

  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。 今回は「Zoho CRM アップデート情報」の中から、CRM for Everyoneの新機能「関連データ機能」をご紹介します。 関連データ機能は、あるタブのデータを別のタブに柔軟に関連付け、異なるタブで管理されている情報を1か所にまとめて表示できます。 たとえば、組織タブとチームタブのデータを関連付けることで、必要な情報に効率よくアクセスでき、顧客理解を深めながら他チームとの連携もスムーズに行えます。 目次 1. 関連データの設定方法

• Zoho Books

  How do I manually insert opening balance?

• Profit / margins on Sales orders / Invoices / Estimates

  When we select an SKU or item name in any of these documents, much info such as invoice.line_items.rate is pulled from the item & filled into the document being worked on. If we had another lineItem DB field (hidden) auto filled at the same time: invoice.line_items.purchase_rate

• Inventory to Xero Invocie Sync Issues

  Has anyone had an issue with Invoices not syncing to Xero. It seems to be an issue when there is VAT on a shipping cost, but I cannot be 100% as the error is vague: "Unable to export Invoice 'INV-000053' as the account mapped with some items does not

• How to activate RFQ? What if a price list has ladder price for items?

  Where can I find the option to activate request for quotation? How does it work? If the item has ladder price, does it gets calculated depending on how many items are in the cart?

• Mailk got blocked / Inquiry About Email Sending Limits and Upgrade Options

  Dear Zoho Support Team, My name is Kamr Elsayed I created this account to use for applying for vocational training in Germany. As part of this process, I send multiple emails to different companies. However, after sending only 8 emails today, I received

• Can't join canal Developers Zoho User

  Hello, I received an invitation to join this channel, but I get an error when I try to join it, and I get the same error when I go to the Zoho Cliq interface > Search for a channel. Is this because I don't have a license linked to this email address?

• Desk Email reply - set default font / use custom font

  Hello, in our e-mails, which we send to our customers, a certain font must be used (Corporate Design): Segoe UI https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segoe#Segoe_UI How can this be included? How can this be set as the default font to ensure that this font is

• PDF Templates - Checkbox Borders

  Is there a way to remove the border of a radio/checkbox on a PDF? I'd like to use the function of checkbox but if there's no easy way to remove the border (the PDF form already has a rectangle so it gets cluttered), then I'm forced to create a single

• Zoho CRM's custom views are now deployable from sandboxes

  This feature is now available for users in the AU, JP, and CN DCs. This feature is now available for users in CA and SA DCs. New update: This feature is now available for users in all DCs. Hello everyone, We're excited to announce that you can now deploy

• Settings Icon No Longer in ZOHO Desk?

  In ZOHO desk, there has been a gear icon for settings. as of yesterday, it is no longer there. I showed up briefly this morning but is gone again. Anybody else experiecing this?

• Introducing the all-new email parser!

  Greetings, We are pleased to introduce to you, a brand-new, upgraded version of the Zoho CRM Email Parser, which is packed with fresh features and has been completely redesigned to meet latest customers needs and their business requirements. On that note,

• Tip #43 - Track, Review, and Analyze Your Assist Sessions with Reports-'Insider Insights'

  Did you know you can generate detailed reports for both remote support sessions and unattended access sessions in Zoho Assist? This makes it easy to monitor technician activity, measure efficiency, and review customer interactions. Let us now take a closer

• Function #20: Custom calculation in item table of invoices

  When you create an invoice in Zoho Books, the 'Amount' of a line item is typically calculated as the product of the "Quantity" and the "Rate" of the item. For instance, if an item has a sales rate of $50 and a quantity of 5 is sold, then the amount would

• CBSA - GST CHARGES on imports

  Hi there, We have a questions about landed cost categorization. We received a shipment from overseas. CBSA invoiced us for the GST on the items. Now we entered the CBSA-GST as a separate bill and attached it as landed cost to the main invoice based on

• Next Page