Power of automation :: Automatically Update Task Dependencies in Zoho Projects Using Custom Functions

If you're working with complex projects in Zoho Projects, you may find that managing task dependencies can be a time-consuming process. Luckily, with the power of custom functions, you can automate the process of updating task dependencies based on certain conditions. In this post, we'll show you how to automatically update task dependencies in Zoho Projects using a custom function.

The Use Case

Let's consider a scenario where a user has created a task with multiple dependent tasks. The dependency is set to Finish to Start. So only after completing the first task, the next task will be worked upon. If the final task status is changed to rejected, then all dependent tasks status should automatically changed to Open. In this case, we can use a custom function to automatically update the status of all dependent tasks based on the final task's status.

The Custom Function Code

To achieve this, we can use the following custom function code:

// TODO: Please create a connection for the Zoho Projects service with the scopes "ZohoProjects.tasks.READ,  ZohoProjects.projects.READ, ZohoProjects.tasks.UPDATE". Replace 'xxxxxxxxx' with the connection name. Click this link below to learn how to create the connection. 
// Link - 
https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/kb/projects/integration/connections/articles/connections-23-5-2022#How_to_establish_a_Connection
// TODO: Replace the param value with the status name

statusNameTobeChanged = "Reopen";
projectsAPIEndPoint = "
https://projectsapi.zoho.com/restapi";
isPredecessorOpen = false;
taskDetails = zoho.projects.getRecordById(portalId,projectId,"tasks",taskId,"xxxxxxxxx");
info taskDetails;
info "-------------------------------------";
if(taskDetails != null && taskDetails.get("tasks") != null)
{
	taskInfo = taskDetails.get("tasks").get(0);
	if(taskInfo != null && taskInfo.contains("dependency") && taskInfo.get("dependency").contains("predecessor"))
	{
		taskpredecessor = taskInfo.get("dependency").get("predecessor");
		info taskpredecessor;
		info "-------------------------------------";
		if(taskpredecessor.size() > 0)
		{
			taskLayoutDetails = invokeurl
			[
				url :projectsAPIEndPoint + "/portal/" + portalId + "/projects/" + projectId + "/tasklayouts"
				type :GET
				connection:"proj"
			];
			info taskLayoutDetails;
			info "-------------------------------------";
			statusNamevsIdMap = Map();
			if(taskLayoutDetails != null && taskLayoutDetails.get("status_details") != null)
			{
				statusDetails = taskLayoutDetails.get("status_details");
				for each  status in statusDetails
				{
					statusNamevsIdMap.put(status.get("name"),status.get("id"));
				}
			}
		}
		info "Status NamevsId Map: " + statusNamevsIdMap;
		if(taskpredecessor.size() > 0)
		{
			nextPredecessorIds = taskpredecessor;
			maxIterations = [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10];
			for each  currIndex in maxIterations{
				info "----------------(level:"+currIndex+")---------------------";
				if(nextPredecessorIds.size() == 0){
					info  "Predecessor not found";
					break;
				}
				info  "Level:"+currIndex+", Next Predecessor Ids:"+nextPredecessorIds;
				taskpredecessor = nextPredecessorIds;
				nextPredecessorIds = [];
				for each  predecessorId in taskpredecessor
				{
						updateTaskParameter = Map();
						updateTaskParameter.put("custom_status",statusNamevsIdMap.get(statusNameTobeChanged));
						info "updateTaskParameter: " + updateTaskParameter;
						taskDetails = zoho.projects.update(portalId,projectId,"Tasks",predecessorId,updateTaskParameter,"xxxxxxxxx");
						if(taskDetails != null &&  taskDetails.contains("tasks")){
							taskInfo = taskDetails.get("tasks").get(0);
							info taskInfo.get("name") +" has updated";
							if(taskInfo != null && taskInfo.contains("dependency") && taskInfo.get("dependency").contains("predecessor"))
							{
								nextPredecessorIds.addAll(taskInfo.get("dependency").get("predecessor"));
							}
						}
					}
				}
			}
		}
}
return "success";
// TODO: Please create a connection for the Zoho Projects service with the scopes "ZohoProjects.tasks.READ,  ZohoProjects.projects.READ, ZohoProjects.tasks.UPDATE". Replace 'xxxxxxxxx' with the connection name. Click this link below to learn how to create the connection. 
// Link - 
https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/kb/projects/integration/connections/articles/connections-23-5-2022#How_to_establish_a_Connection

Conclusion

By using custom functions in Zoho Projects, you can automate many repetitive tasks and save yourself valuable time. This custom function is just one example of how you can use custom functions to update task dependencies based on certain conditions. With a little bit of creativity, you can create custom functions that suit your specific project needs.

Watch this space for more custom function codes.

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