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

    • 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,

    • 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

    Nederlandse Hulpbronnen


      • Recent Topics

      • How to add formatting in zoho.cliq.postToUser(...) message?

        In a CRM Deluge function, I'm trying to use the message formatting guidelines given here: https://www.zoho.com/deluge/help/cliq/posting-to-zoho-cliq.html#message-formats My message is: message: #Title text. The result in Cliq is: #Title text. (no large

      • How to add line breaks in zoho.cliq.postToUser(...) message?

        In a CRM function using Deluge I'm sending this message and attempting to add some line breaks but they are ignored. Is there another way to add these breaks? My message: message: New urgent task\nDescription \nThis is a fake description.\n A new line?

      • Zia Agents/End of Day Reports

        As a manager or owner it would be nice if Zia analyzed today's (or this week's tickets) and gave an end of the day report to management team. - what important tickets were worked on or submitted today? - what agents were unproductive today and answered

      • Project Cost Tracking

        I see there are questions/concerns that Zoho doesn't track costs to a tasks in a project. We are a manufacturer and are in the early stages of tracking costs to project. I would like to expand out the COGS Chart of accounts in Books and record costs via

      • How to record if the payment made is return due to transaction failed.

        So there is Bill of $2000, and a payments made transaction to clear the bill. The amount is actually deducted from bank account. However, a few days later, I found the bank returned only $1750 cause there are $250 bank service charge for this failed transaction.

      • Help Center Customization UI

        The customization screens for the help center needs the UI improved. It looks straight out of 2004. The Zoho Desk normal UI is great. All it takes is uniform fonts and colors across all parts of the tool... I compare this to Zendesk Guide.

      • Este domínio já está associado a esta conta

        Fui fazer meu cadastro na zoho e quando digitei meu domínio recebi essa mensagem que meu domínio estava associado a uma conta que eu nem faço idéia de quem seja. Como que faço pra resolver isso? Atenciosamente, Anderson Souza.

      • I need some help in Expenses Per Diem Policy

        this is my script written for restricting the PerDiem Components. Say if Lodging and Per Day Allowance both is selected from Per Diem Page then the report should gets auto rejected. When Im trying to executing it says the following error {"code":11,"message":"The

      • Adding Photos to Dashboards on Zoho Analytics

        I am creating a dashboard to showcase data from survey results from focus groups. I am creating a focus group participant profile tab where it is filtered by the name of the participant and showcases information about them using KPI widgets. I am running

      • What is the difference between Retainer invoice and Advance Payments?

        Retainer invoice seem like they are just advance payments with extra details. Instead of creating a Sales Order with order details, a retainer is created. It feels like they are a workaround to link advance payments with sales orders. Is there any advantage

      • Exporting record notes in bulk

        Hi team, Is it possible to bulk export the notes attached to a record? i.e to a CSV file or otherwise. Our use case is exporting all notes for our lead/account/Deal records. We have another system we'd like to import these notes to but I can't seem to

      • Field customization

        Hi Team Good day! I am a commission agent who sell and purchase goods from vendors, while in purchasing invoices I am not able to deduct the expenses such as commission and other expenses on actual amount. Kindly help me to customize the invoice based

      • vendors / customers with 2 different address and gst no

        Why can't we have option for more than one address and depending on the state option for more than 1 GST no. ? We have customers / vendors PAN india with different addresses and GST no. for different states.

      • Error: Invalid Element gst_no, Invalid Element gst_treatment, Invalid Element place_of_contact

        so i am creating a new contact post request and i want add gst infomation when amount is above 50000 and if pass gst info in request body then i get this errors > Error: Invalid Element gst_no, Invalid Element gst_treatment, Invalid Element place_of_contact

      • Add multiple Billing Addresses under one GST number

        My client owns multiple businesses in various locations but they all come under one GST. Is there a way to add multiple billing addresses for the same GST? Managing this by adding multiple Shipping addresses is not an option. The client wants the GST

      • Zoho Mail API - Upload Attachment

        https://www.zoho.com/mail/help/api/post-upload-attachments.html I followed the steps from the API documentation and wrote a backend in JavaScript to send emails. Normal emails are sent without any problems. However, I can’t send emails with attachments.

      • Unable to create custom fields for shipment order

        I'm unable to create custom fields for shipment orders, even though the custom fields are set up correctly. A request to the following endpoint: https://www.zohoapis.com/inventory/v1/settings/preferences/customfields?organization_id=${ZOHO_ORGANIZATION_ID}&entity=shipment_order

      • Kaizen #202 - Answering Your Questions | Testing and Using REST APIs in Widgets

        Hello Developers! Welcome back to a fresh week of Kaizen! Thank you for your active participation in sharing feedback and queries for the 200th milestone. This week, we will look at the following queries related to widget: Widget Testing Using REST API

      • Introducing the 'Send as Email' option on the Zoho Desk iOS mobile app

        Hello everyone! In the latest version(v2.10.2) of the Zoho Desk iOS app, we have brought in support for the 'Send as Email' option while creating a ticket. This feature enables you to reach out to the customers by sending outbound emails. The emails are

      • Zoho Forms Not Loading on Website – DNS Resolution Error

        Dear Zoho Support Team, User ID : 20069458731 We are experiencing an issue with the Zoho Form embedded on our website (https://vitel.com.tr/satis-destek-formu/). The form is not loading, and the following error message appears in the browser: “forms.zohopublic.eu

      • Data backup retention question/

        My zohocrm subscription gives me 2 full data backups per month. I have a scheduled backup configured to run twice a month. I just went to download my backup and i can't find it, it ran about 9 days ago... From what i can tell with google zoho only keeps

      • Basic Apple Watch App

        Sometimes I leave my phone behind. I will get push notifications that tickets are updated etc.. It would be nice to at least view them and do a few basic functions. reassign. public reply. private comment.

      • Look and Feel Uniformity

        Someone needs to go through the mobile app and match the look and feel of the web version. For example, it is global standard to highlight private notes as yellow background hue. Desk does that on web, but not on mobile. Mobile also has an odd blue icon

      • Managing two books in Zoho Books

        is it possible to effectively manage two separate books within Zoho Books? My organization is considering handling accounting for two distinct subsidiaries, and we would like to understand the best way to achieve this within the Zoho Books.

      • Display All Custom Buttons Without Dropdown on Record Page

        In my org's workflow we usually want to do some kind of quick action off of an individual record - i.e. of an individual contact, or individual deal. What we have always found a hindrance is the location of all custom buttons being in the drop down on

      • Zoho Sales Team - Extremely Slow Response Times

        Hi everyone, Has anyone else experienced unusually slow response times from Zoho’s sales team? I sent an email last night, and it’s been nearly 24 hours with no reply. While I understand delays can happen, this seems longer than expected for a sales inquiry.

      • Yodlee Bank Feeds

        I'm well aware of the many bank feed issues out there that haven't been resolved, but I'm looking for information on Rules in relation to bank feeds. U.S based, Bank of America user and prior to Yodlee all of my banking feeds and Rules worked seamlessly.

      • Unable to create custom function

        Unable to create custom function - Please check the screenshot for the details HERE IS THE FUNCTION!! try { // 1. Fetch the details of the approved Bill using its ID billDetails = zoho.books.getRecordById("Bills", organization.get("organization_id"),

      • Need a feature which can validate PAN from Income Tax Portal

        Hello Zoho, We need a feature which can help us validate PAN which is being entered in AR/AP Profiles to check if it is valid and display the name as per Income Tax so as to get rid of incorrect PAN into the systems. Please do the needful Thanks

      • PAN - Aadhar Link Status

        Can Zohobooks also get latest PAN-Aadhar Linking Status from Income Tax Portal ?

      • Canvas translation

        We want to offer our CRM system to our users in English and Dutch. However, it seems that text in our deal Canvas isn't available for translation through the translation file. The same applies to the field tooltips. They don't appear in the translation

      • Are Cadences visible to anyone with Cadence permission?

        When setting up a new Cadence is it possible to restrict its use to a specific user? How can I prevent users from making modifications to existing Cadences?

      • Super Admin Logging in as another User

        How can a Super Admin login as another user. For example, I have a sales rep that is having issues with their Accounts and I want to view their Zoho Account with out having to do a GTM and sharing screens. Moderation Update (8th Aug 2025): We are working

      • Show my cost or profit while creating estimate

        Hi, While creating estimate it becomes very important to know exact profit or purchased price of the products at one side just for our reference so we can decide whether we can offer better disc or not .

      • Issue on Upload API and href image URL

        Here is my Full API Code , URL : URL: https://desk.zoho.com/api/v1/uploads/659563000000193003/content Headers* Authorization: 'Zoho-oauthtoken 1000.ed5ce2836bf5ba9b946f5ec9************88e73ff4883a3e9c58ffeb7870' orgId: 7586***** RESPONSE{ "errorCode":

      • Issue when downloading a Mail Merged Zoho Writer Document as .docx

        Hi, We are using within Zoho CRM mailmerge to create documents. This results in a Zoho Writer document. When we try to download as a Microsoft Docx file we get following error: "Word experienced an error trying to open the file. Try these suggestions.

      • 【Zoho CRM】ケイデンス機能のアップデート

        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、ケイデンス機能のアップデートをご紹介します。 ケイデンス機能の2つの強化されたことで、適用と解除のタイミングをより柔軟に管理できるようになり、 よりタイムリーで的確なコミュニケーションが実現できるようになりました。 目次： 1. ケイデンスの再開／最初からのやり直し 2. ケイデンスからのデータ解除タイミングの設定 1. ケイデンスの再開／最初からのやり直し 手動削除、完了、または適用解除条件が満たされた場合など、以前に適用解除されたデータをケイデンスに再適用できるようになりました。

      • Rescheduled US meetups: Zoho Desk user meetups are coming to seven U.S. cities in October and November, 2025

        Hello to our Zoho Desk users in the United States, We're excited to share the revised dates for the upcoming Zoho User Groups happening across the US this summer. Our product experts are heading to seven cities throughout the country, and for the first

      • Anyone get the OpenAI API to work in Zoho Meeting?

        Has anyone been able to get the OpenAI API to work in generating meeting summaries? I have been trying, but I get an error that says "OpenAI key notes request rate exceeded. Please try again later or upgrade your open AI account." I contacted Zoho support

      • Push Notifications Customization

        There is no way to customize the notifications we get. I would like to be able to get notifications based on if they are assigned directly to me, my team, my department, or perhaps tickets that match a specific criteria (a contact or account is a VIP

      • Next Page