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



      Zoho Campaigns Resources


        • Desk Community Learning Series


        • Digest


        • Functions


        • Meetups


        • Kbase


        • Resources


        • Glossary


        • Desk Marketplace


        • MVP Corner


        • Word of the Day


        • Ask the Experts


          • 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

          • 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,

          • 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

          Zoho CRM Plus Resources

            Zoho Books Resources


              Zoho Subscriptions Resources

                Zoho Projects Resources


                  Zoho Sprints Resources


                    Zoho Orchestly Resources


                      Zoho Creator Resources


                        Zoho WorkDrive Resources



                          Zoho CRM Resources

                          • CRM Community Learning Series

                            CRM Community Learning Series


                          • Tips

                            Tips

                          • Functions

                            Functions

                          • Meetups

                            Meetups

                          • Kbase

                            Kbase

                          • Resources

                            Resources

                          • Digest

                            Digest

                          • CRM Marketplace

                            CRM Marketplace

                          • MVP Corner

                            MVP Corner




                            Zoho Writer Writer

                            Get Started. Write Away!

                            Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.

                              Zoho CRM コンテンツ




                                ご検討中の方

                                  • Recent Topics

                                  • CRM gets location smart with the all new Map View: visualize records, locate records within any radius, and more

                                    Hello all, We've introduced a new way to work with location data in Zoho CRM: the Map View. Instead of scrolling through endless lists, your records now appear as pins on a map. Built on top of the all-new address field and powered by Mappls (MapMyIndia),

                                  • Integrating Zoho People Attendance to Biometric Machine (ZKTeco 40 k )

                                    Please help us for Integrating Zoho People Attendance to Biometric Machine (ZKTeco 40 k )

                                  • Move email between inboxes?

                                    Is it possible to move emails from one team inbox to another? We would like to be able to have a single "catch-all" inbox for incoming requests, and then move the email to the appropriate department inbox. I was hoping we would be able to accomplish this

                                  • Updating records through Zoho Sheets View doesn't update timeline or trigger workflow rules

                                    I have noticed that when i update a series of record with the zoho sheets view (see here http://d.pr/i/ahnR) it doesn't update timeline history or trigger workflow rules. I am using it in the Deals module. Looking forward for some more info. Denis

                                  • Manage control over Microsoft Office 365 integrations with profile-based sync permissions

                                    Greetings all, Previously, all users in Zoho CRM had access to enable Microsoft integrations (Calendar, Contacts, and Tasks) in their accounts, regardless of their profile type. Users with administrator profiles can now manage profile-based permissions

                                  • inability to use different primary address on invoice per location

                                    my company operates in two different locations with different email address. The problems then is the inability to edit the primary to suite the invoice for the second location.

                                  • AI Search and Record Retrieval Inside Zoho Creator – Is This Possible?

                                    Is it possible to integrate an AI assistant into Zoho Creator that can intelligently search, retrieve, and analyze records within the application’s forms and reports? Can AI access and query existing Creator data securely using Deluge or APIs to provide

                                  • Rename Service Report

                                    Some of our customers are requesting the name of the service report PDF to be in a specific format, for example, instead of REP-001.PDF some are requesting to include their name like customername.pdf. is that possible?

                                  • Smarter holiday planning with yearly-specific Holiday Lists

                                    Hello everyone! Managing holidays and business hours is now easier and more efficient. Holiday Lists now support holidays that fall on different dates every year, while business hours now supports more than one holiday list. This helps businesses manage

                                  • AI Search and Record Retrieval Inside Zoho Creator – Is This Possible?

                                    Is it possible to integrate an AI assistant into Zoho Creator that can intelligently search, retrieve, and analyze records within the application’s forms and reports? Can AI access and query existing Creator data securely using Deluge or APIs to provide

                                  • Scheduled AU Data Center Database Version Upgrade for Zoho Forms

                                    Dear Zoho Forms' users, We would like to update you on a scheduled AU Data Center database version upgrade for Zoho Forms. Find the schedule below: Migration window: Sunday, 22nd February 2026 12.00 AM to 12.30 AM AEDT This migration is a part of our

                                  • Cannot get code to work with v2.mergeAndStore!

                                    Please can someone help me pass subform items into a repeating mail merge table row using v2.mergeAndStore? I have a mail merge template created in Writer and stored in Workdrive. This template is referenced by a custom CRM function which merges all of

                                  • Hotmail is blocking the zoho mail IP

                                    Greetings, Since last Tuesday (5 days ago today) I wrote to Zoho support and I still haven't received a single response (Ticket ID: 2056917). Is this how you treat people who pay for your email service? I am making this public so that those who want to

                                  • Zoho Bookings and Survey Integration through Flow

                                    I am trying to set up flows where once an appointment is marked as completed in Zoho Bookings, the applicable survey form would be sent to the customer. Problem is, I cannot customise flows wherein if Consultation A is completed, Survey Form A would be

                                  • Zoho CRM Community Digest - December 2025 | Part 2

                                    Hello Everyone! During the final weeks of December, Zoho CRM introduced updates that not only enhanced product capabilities but also offered deeper guidance through Kaizen posts. This section highlights what was released and shared in the last two weeks

                                  • CRUD actions for Resources via API

                                    Hello, is it possible to perform CRUD actions through the API for Resources? We want to create a sync from Zoho CRM Car record to Bookings resources to create availabilities for Car bookings. For Test drives, not only the sales person needs to be available,

                                  • Kaizen #186 : Client Script Support for Subforms

                                    Hello everyone! Welcome back to another exciting Kaizen post on Client Script! In this edition, we’re taking a closer look at Client Script Support for Subforms with the help of the following scenario. " Zylker, a manufacturing company, uses the "Orders"

                                  • Unable to Assign Multiple Categories to a Single Product in Zoho Commerce

                                    Hello Zoho Commerce Support Team, I am facing an issue while assigning categories to products in Zoho Commerce. I want to assign multiple categories to a single product, but in the Item edit page, the Category field allows selecting only one category

                                  • オンライン勉強会のお知らせ Zoho ワークアウト （2/19 参加無料）

                                    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。 2月開催のZoho ワークアウトについてお知らせします。 今回はZoomにて、オンライン開催します。 ▶︎参加登録はこちら（無料） https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/6AyVUxp6QDmMQiDGXGkxPA ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Zoho ワークアウトとは？ Zoho ユーザー同士で交流しながら、サービスに関する疑問や不明点の解消を目指すイベント「Zoho

                                  • doubts about customer happiness in zoho desk

                                    Good afternoon, Desk community. The reason for my message is that I have a question regarding the customer satisfaction surveys we can ask our clients to rate our service. I know that in Desk, you can activate Customer Happiness to send a survey to the

                                  • COQL API in JS Widget only pulling 200 records

                                    Hello! We've been building a custom homepage widget using the Zoho JS SDK, and it seems that this https://help.zwidgets.com/help/latest/ZOHO.CRM.API.html#.coql only allows 200 records. I thought the limit was 2000 for COQL queries, but am I mistaken?

                                  • Standard Description Field - Can I change label or add dd tooltip

                                    Is there a way fo you guys to allow the customer to change the label name for the description field in the customer portal when submitting tickets. Or at least allow us to add a tooltip to clarify what description we need from them. I know I can create my own separate multi line description field but if I do that, it doesn't have the nice toolbar with Bold, Italic, Underline, color, font, indent, etc. Can you please allow us to add a tooltip to the zoho standard description field?

                                  • Introducing parent-child ticketing in Zoho Desk [Early access]

                                    Hello Zoho Desk users! We have introduced the parent-child ticketing system to help customer service teams ensure efficient resolution of issues involving multiple, related tickets. You can now combine repetitive and interconnected tickets into parent-child

                                  • Ability to CC on a mass email

                                    Ability to CC someone on a mass email.

                                  • Different Task Layouts for Subtasks

                                    I was wondering how it would be possible for a subtask to have a different task layout to the parent task.

                                  • Compensation | Salary Packages - Hourly Wage Needed

                                    The US Bureau of Labor Statistics says 55.7% of all workers in the US are paid by the hour. I don't know how that compares to the rest of the world, but I would think that this alone would justify the need for having an hourly-based salary package option.

                                  • Customizing Helpcenter texts

                                    I’m customizing the Zoho Desk Help Center and I’d like to change the wording of the standard widgets – for example, the text in the “Submit Ticket” banner that appears in the footer, or other built-in widget labels and messages. So far, I haven’t found

                                  • Ability to Edit Ticket Subject when Splitting a Ticket

                                    Often someone will make an additional or new request within an existing ticket that requires we split the ticket. The annoying part is that the new ticket maintains the subject of the original ticket after the split so when the new ticket email notification

                                  • Automatically Update Form Attachment Service with Newly added Fields

                                    Hi, When I have a Form Setup and connected to a 3rd Party Service such as OneDrive for Form Attachments, when I later add a new Upload Field I have to remove and redo the entire 3rd Party Setup from scratch. This needs to be improved, such as when new

                                  • 🚀 WorkDrive 6.0 (Phase 1): Empowering Teams with Content Intelligence, Automation, Accessibility, and Control

                                    Hello, everyone! WorkDrive continues to evolve from a robust file management solution into an intelligent, secure, and connected content collaboration platform for modern businesses. Our goal remains unchanged: to simplify teamwork, strengthen data security,

                                  • Reopen ticket on specific date/time

                                    Is there a way that we can close a ticket and setup a reopen of that ticket on a specific date and time? (without using the "on hold" ticket option)

                                  • Column letter from number

                                    Hello, I am trying to select a cell and i have the column number. How do i do this or is there a way of getting the letter from the number? Thank you

                                  • API credit COQL COUNT

                                    The docs describe API credits in COQL from the LIMIT perspective: https://www.zoho.com/crm/developer/docs/api/v8/COQL-Overview.html When using aggregate functions such as `COUNT` or `SUM`, is that billed as 1 API credit?

                                  • Weekly Tips : Save Time with Saved Search

                                    Let's assume your work requires you to regularly check emails from important clients that have attachments and were sent within a specific time period. Instead of entering the same conditions every time—like sender, date range, and attachments included—you

                                  • Remove 'This is an automated mail from Zoho Sign' in footer

                                    Hi there, Is it possible to remove or change the text under the e-mail templates? I can't figure out how to do that: Would love to hear from you. Kind regards, Tristan

                                  • Organize and manage PDFs with Zoho PDF Editor's dashboard

                                    Hello users, Zoho PDF Editor's dashboard is a one-stop place to upload, sort, share PDF files, and more. This article will explore the various capabilities that Zoho PDF Editor's dashboard offers. A few highlights of Zoho PDF Editor's dashboard: Upload

                                  • Custom function return type

                                    Hi, How do I create a custom deluge function in Zoho CRM that returns a string? e.g. Setup->Workflow->Custom Functions->Configure->Write own During create or edit of the function I don't see a way to change the default 'void' to anything else. Adding

                                  • Passing Info from Function to Client Script

                                    Hello, I have recently started making use of client script for buttons, allowing me to give the user information or warnings before they proceed. This is great. However, I have never quite managed to pass back any extra information from the function to

                                  • Drag 'n' Drop Fields to a Sub-Form and "Move Field To" Option

                                    Hi, I would like to be able to move fields from the Main Page to a Sub-Form or from a Sub-Form to either the Main Page or another Sub-Form. Today if you change the design you have to delete and recreate every field, not just move them. Would be nice to

                                  • Zoho Payroll for Canada

                                    Is anyone else having problems getting setup for Canada?

                                  • Next Page