With the Third party access (API keys) feature, users can follow this two-part setup to use Zapier to integrate Discussions (that they are a Moderator for), Tasks, or Activity (if they are System Admins only) with other web applications to perform automated actions.
Table of contents
- Generating your Discussions API key
- Generating your Tasks API key
- Generating your Activity API key
- Making a Zap (Discussions example)
- Making a Zap (Tasks Zap options)
- Making a Zap (Activity Zap options)
- Zap templates
1. Generating your Discussions API key
*Before you begin, ensure you are already registered with a Zapier account
1. If your System Administrator has given you Discussions API management rights, you should see an action menu icon (three dots) at the top of your Discussions list. Click on it to open the Discussions Settings screen.
2. Under Third party access (API Keys) you should see two headings: Your endpoint URL and Key management. (Your endpoint URL is not required for the Zapier setup.)
3. Go to Key Management and click Add a new key. In the Description field, give the key an appropriate name (i.e. “Zapier”), and then click Add.
4. You should now see your API key in a yellow field. Click Copy and save it. This will be the only time you will see that key, so ensure you have it copied and saved securely.
5. You can now log into your Zapier account and complete the rest of the setup below ("Making a Zap").
2. Generating your Tasks API key
Tasks is also available as an endpoint option in Zapier. The process you need to follow for generating a Tasks API Key is exactly the same as the one above for Discussions. Once your System Admin has given you Tasks API access, open your Tasks, click on the action menu (three dots), and select Manage Integrations. Then follow the same steps shown above.
3. Generating your Activity API key (System Admins only)
API keys for Activity can only be created by System Administrators. You don’t need to be a News Editor to use this automation, but it’s advisable so that you can delete automated posts if necessary.
Before you begin, you must have created an Automation user. The Activity API allows you to generate one API key per Automation user. You can use this same key to create multiple Zaps or custom automations.
1. To begin, click on the action menu (three dots) in Activity and select Manage Integration Key.
2. This will bring up the Activity API menu. Here, you’ll see a similar menu to Discussions or Tasks. Under Key management, click Add a new key.
3. Under Add a new key, you’ll see a dropdown of your available Automation users. To create your key, select the Automation user you want to use and press Generate Key.
4. You should now see your API key in a yellow field. Click Copy and save it. This will be the only time you will see that key, so ensure you have it copied and saved.
Tips:
- This will be the only key you can have active for that Automation user at once
- If you want other users at your organization to be able to create Zaps in Activity, share the key with them
- You can create multiple keys if you have more than one Automation user. Additional Automation users are available for the cost of a standard seat.
- If you lose the key or want to reset who has access, you must revoke access to create a new one. This will break all current integrations, but will not delete existing posts. You can do so by selecting the key from the Activity API menu (shown below).
- If you want to test your automation without publishing to your public Activity feed, use a Sandbox account. If you don’t have a Sandbox, you can request one by contacting Jostle support.
3. Making a Zap
If you are not familiar with Zapier or Zaps, there are plenty of tutorials and guides available on the Zapier site. Just look for the little ? icon and/or click "Guide" to slide the guide in and out of your screen:
Making a Zap is broken down into two parts, and each part has multiple steps:
- Part 1 (When this happens...) is where you'll select and set up the app you want to integrate with Discussions or Tasks.
- Part 2 (Do this...) is where you'll select and set up the Jostle app* and configure the post or task you want to integrate with the app from Part 1.
*There are many apps can be used for Part 1, but only the Jostle app can be used for Part 2.
To begin this part of the setup go to the Zapier home page, expand the column on the left and click the Make A Zap button.
NOTE—the workflow for creating Zaps for Discussions and Tasks are exactly the same. However, each has unique fields within their own workflow. The example below will walk through how to create a Discussions post Zap. Following it will be a section detailing the unique options available when creating a Tasks Zap.
If you are unsure of anything at any time during the setup access Zapier's in-app guides mentioned above.
Making a Zap: Part 1 (When this happens...)
Discussions Zap walkthrough
1. Choose App & Event
After clicking the Make A Zap button , you'll the see the apps that are available to you. After you select an app, you will be able to select a related trigger event.
2. Choose Account
Next, you'll enter your account connected with the app you've selected.
3. Customize Event
Next you'll enter specific details that will identify your event. For example, I chose for the Zap to search my Google Calendar for events posted under Customer Communication that have the word "Voice" in their title.
4. Find Data
To complete this part of the setup, Zapier will do a test search for a matching event. If successful, you can move on to Part 2.
Making a Zap: Part 2 (Do this...)
1. Choose App & Event
Here is where you'll search for and select the Jostle app and then indicate whether this Zap is for Discussions or Tasks. For the purposes of this example, you would select "Create a Discussion post"
2. Choose Account
In this step you'll encounter an access permission pop-up. Select Discussions and enter the API key you previously copied and saved into the appropriate fields and then click Yes, Continue
This will confirm your Jostle account and link it to Zapier.
3. Customize Post
Here is where you'll build the content that you want the Zap to post for you.
For the Discussion Post Content you can enter either or both of the following:
- customized text
- pre-formatted data applicable to your chosen app/event.
For Discussion, click on the arrows and select the Discussion you want your Zap to post to. Remember, you will only see Discussions for which you are a Moderator.
NOTE—these posts will appear in your Discussion timelines as normal posts from yourself. However, there will be an indication below your name to indicate that they are automated by Zapier.
But if you want to emphasize that they are not being posted by you, in the next section, you can opt to remove your name and have the Zap posted from a "Bot" instead.
Whichever you choose, click Continue when you're done.
4. Send Data
Once you’ve configured your post, if you know you have a matching event already available you can send a test Zap. If all goes well, you should see a Success screen.
And your test post will have been added to your chosen Discussion.
When you return to your Zapier Home page, you should see now your new Zap listed there, with a toggle for when you want to turn it on or off.
4. Making a Zap: Tasks options
In the above workflow, for Making a Zap: Part 2, if you select Create task(s) as your action event, when the access permission screen pops up, you will need to select Tasks, enter your Tasks API key, then Continue.
You will then follow the same workflow as a Discussions Zap, but some of the elements within will be changed:
After entering the details for your task (Name, Description, Due Date) you will get to a section where you can add Collaborators and/or Assignees via options in a drop-down menu:
Collaborators are people you want included on the same task. Assignees are people who will have a copy of the task you are creating assigned to them (i.e., it will duplicate the task and assign it to multiple people). Assignees will automatically be added as Collaborators as well.
For example, the details shown in the screenshot at the top of this section indicate that this is a Zap to create a task to update project summary slides for a team meeting. If each person on this team who has their own slide is added as an Assignee, they will each receive their own copy of the task requiring them to update their slide for the meeting.
NOTES
- detailed information about most of the fields can be found directly below the text entry for each
- if you are creating an individual task, you can either add yourself as the only Assignee or leave it blank and you'll be added by default.
Once your Collaborators and Assignees are set, you can click Continue and finish up by testing your Zap.
6. Making a Zap (Activity Zap options)
To create a Zap for Activity, select Activity API as your action event in Zapier. When the access permission screen pops up, you will need to select Activity, enter your Activity API key, then Continue.
You will then follow the same workflow as a Discussions Zap, but some of the elements within will be changed:
- Add content to your Activity post. Using text or variables from previous Zap steps, customize the text and/or photo content that will be included in your post. To include an image, you must use a public URL that leads to the image you want to post. You must have text content, photo content, or both to post in Activity.
- Customize the posting user. You can optionally change the avatar, name, and handle of the user that will make your post.
The avatar will be the profile picture of the posting user. It must be a public URL to an image. The name will appear where a regular user’s name would on an Activity post. If you leave this blank, the Automation User’s name will be used instead. The handle will appear with an @ symbol next to the user’s name. Nothing will appear there if you leave this blank.
- Optionally add a link to external content, like a social media post, blog, or video.
7. Zap Templates
For your convenience, we've made some basic Zap templates for a number of popular apps. Once you become familiar with Zapier, you can use one of the shortcuts linked below (or any found on our integrations page) to create your own versions of these Zaps.
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