Using TaskClone with Email

Send action items to most apps that support creating tasks via email.

The power of a simple email

Long before online task apps developed API integrations that allow 3rd parties to directly connect to their database, many provided a feature to allow you to add tasks via a simple email.  In most cases, these apps convert the email subject into the task title and the email body into a note or comment.  

For apps that do not have an API or we haven’t yet built a direct API connection, we can send tasks via email.  In fact, some of these apps can parse special syntax used in the subject of the email and add parameters like due dates and labels to the resulting task in their system.

TaskClone email support

There are three basic types of email integration and TaskClone supports two of them.

1. Unique email address.  These task apps provide users with a unique email address where you can forward tasks and the task app will convert the email into a task in their system.
2. Registered email address.  For added security, these task apps require you register the sending email address before they will process any incoming emails from that address.
3. App email address.  These apps require you to use the exact address you use to log into their service.  TaskClone cannot support these apps.

Unique Email Address  

If you select a destination app that uses a unique email integration, you will be prompted to enter the email address during connection setup.  You can refer to our Email Support table for links to instructions on where to find the unique email in popular apps.

Be sure to remove any brackets, nicknames, etc. and just input the email address itself.

Registered Email Address

If you select a destination that uses a registered email integration, you will be prompted to enter the email address during connection setup. You can refer to our Email Support table for links to instructions for popular apps.  In addition, you’ll need to register your unique “TaskClone Email" address with the task app or they will reject our emails.  Your TaskClone Email is unique to your TaskClone account and can be found in your Account Overview.

Generally, registering your TaskClone Email takes the following steps:

1. Copy your TaskClone sending address.  It is always in the format accountID@actions.taskclone.com and can be found in your Account Overview.  
2. Paste your TaskClone Email into your task app
3. Initiate confirmation.  Most apps will send a confirmation email to the TaskClone Email address.  We automatically forward that email to your Account Email with us.  
4. Confirm registration.  Once you click the confirmation link in the forwarded email, registration is complete.  Sometimes forwarding disables the link and you’ll need to copy & paste it into your browser instead.

Email Support Table

See the table below where the App column links to instructions from the destination app on their support for Unique and Registered emails. In addition to the apps below, any app that converts emails into tasks should work (see Unique Email Address and Registered Email Address above).

Limitations of Email

While email is very powerful, it has limitations:

1. Two-way sync of task completion status is impossible with a one-way method like email
2. Task parameters syntax is not supported.  However, the task app may have its own syntax to parse emails which you can use as part of the task title.  Our Supported Apps table indicates parameters supported
3. Apps that do not use the subject of the email as the task title will not work with TaskClone