Content:
1. Introduction
2. How to create new cards over email with predefined properties?
3. How to update existing cards over email?
1. Introduction
You can create and update cards over email, without even accessing the system.
This can be achieved through the Kanbanize email integration feature that hooks your inbox to the Kanban board(s).
All you need to do is send an email to any of the following emails:
- The Kanbanize email address that you have integrated.
Example: “Text_YourDomainName@kanbanize.com" (please, check Scenario 1 from the dedicated article) - Your custom domain email address that is integrated to Kanbanize.
Example: support @spacex.com (please, check Scenario 2 from the dedicated article) - You can also create and update cards if you send an email from your registered and integrated Kanbanize email address to the default Kanbanize notification email address: “YourDomainName_notifications@kanbanize.com”.
With this functionality, you can not only create and update cards, but you can also define the position on the board (columns, lanes) where to be created.
2. How to create new cards over email with predefined properties?
In order to create a new card over email, you have to format the text and set up the properties as follows:
THE SUBJECT of the email should contain the name of the board* where the card is to be created as well as the title of the card (e.g "Create a KPI Report"), while the email BODY will be used to define the card properties such as assignee, column, priority, etc.
*SUBJECT: The name of the board where the card is to be created should be present surrounded by curly brackets.
For example:
Subject of the email: {boardname} Create a KPI Report
Body of the email: {#assignee:John #column:requested}
This email will create a new card on the board called “boardname” with a card title “Create a KPI Report”. The card will be assigned to John and will be positioned in the "Requested" column.
BODY: This is a list of the properties that can be set when creating a card, following the format:
{#assignee: name} or {#column: name}:
If you want to set more than one property, you need to follow the format: {#assignee: John #column: requested}
Important: The email body properties (e.g. title, description, assignee, etc.) are case-sensitive and have to be in all lowercase. In case the properties are specified as Title, Description, Assignee, the fields are left blank.
- title – Title of the card. When creating a new card, the subject of the email is used as a title.
- description – description. When creating a new card, the email body will be used as a description.
- customid - 12345
- color – The code of the color without the # sign.
- priority – low, average, high, critical.
- size – Could be a number or S, M, L, XL, XXL, XXXL
- assignee – a valid username (must exist)
- deadline – Deadline in any of the following formats: 2012-05-05, now, 10 September 2012, -1 day, -1 week 2 days, last Monday
- tags – any tag
- extlink – external link
- comment – Adds a comment to the card. There could be multiple comments.
- subtask – Adds a subtask or multiple subtasks. If you add @username, the subtask will be assigned to that person. For example #subtask: This is subtask @username2
Subtasks can only be created on new cards via email - it is not possible to add a new subtask on an already existing card via email. - watching – If you put it to anything but FALSE you will be watching the card. By default, watching is off.
- column – If you have columns with the same names, you need to specify the complete path: Column.SubColumn.Subcolumn2. If this property is not set, the card is created in the backlog. If a card is to be created in a column and the limit of the column is to be exceeded, you need to set the property “reason”.
- lane – The swim lane the card is to be created into. If not set, the card is created in the first swim lane.
- workflowname - The workflow in which the card/initiative should be created.
- reason – Reason to exceed a limit.
- template – When in this format, for example { #template: Bug }, this property can set a template for the new task card. Note that if the template contains linked cards, they will not be applied.
- custom field – In the description of the email, in the format {#NameofCustomField: Value }
Note: You could also allow non-registered users to create/update cards. They need to send the email to the specific email: (“YourDomainName_notifications@kanbanize.com” or “WhateverYouDesire_YourDomainName@kanbanize.com")
If you are assigned to only one board or if you have a board set to auto-open, then you can omit the boardname property.
All email attachments will be added to the card.
3. How to update existing cards over email?
Please, note that cards can be updated only by senders that are registered in the system.
If you want to update a particular card via email, you need to specify the card ID in the SUBJECT.
For example:
Example 1. {boardname} This is title
Example 2. {boardname}{123} This is title
The subject from Example 1 will trigger the creation of a new card.
The subject from Example 2 will trigger the update of a card with id 123.
You can add/edit custom properties in the EMAIL BODY to control various options. The properties are passed by surrounding them with curly brackets and following the format: {#param: value}
For example:
{ #assignee: username #color: FF00FF #column: name # lane: name}
These properties in the email body will change the card color and assignee and will move the card to the defined position. Note that cards cannot be moved from one workflow to another so the workflowname parameter would not work for updating existing cards.
This is the complete list of properties that can be set:
- column – the name of the column where a card is to be moved. If you have columns with the same names, you need to specify the complete path: Column.SubColumn.Subcolumn2.
- lane - the name of the lane where a card is to be moved.
- color – The code of the color without the # sign.
- priority – low, average, high, or critical.
- size – Could be a number or S, M, L, XL, XXL, XXXL
- assignee – a valid username (must exist)
- deadline – Deadline in any of the following formats: 2012-05-05, now, 10 September 2012, -1 day, -1 week 2 days, last Monday
- tags – any tag
- extlink – external link
- comment – Adds a comment to the card. There could be multiple comments.
- watching – If you put it to anything but FALSE you will be watching the card. By default, watching is off.
- reason – Reason to exceed a limit.
- template – When in this format, { #template: Bug }. this property can set a template for the new task card.
- custom field – In the description of the email, in the format {#NameofCustomField: Value}