Zapier to OmniFocus Setup? (More OF than Z)

hey MPU!

Need help with this tidbit.

I am using Zapier to send me stuff to Omnifocus so it’s easier for my tasks. However, everything gets dumped into the Inbox from Zapier.

Is there a way to have things that come into Inbox get “auto-assigned to a project” depending on the language written in the task?

Currently: the only way I manage it is by going into and moving things to the project, but that can get tedious. I dedicate Sunday evenings to this specific project which can involve on average 45 tasks. Throughout the week Zapier sends stuff to OF, by Sunday, there are about 45 tasks.

Seeing them daily in my inbox is an eye-sore. Moving them daily would be tedious.

Thoughts?

At the moment, I don’t believe you can specify syntax for auto filing in OF. Maybe a plugin could do that though, parsing a specific syntax (Taskpaper syntax would make sense). But OF automation is still young so I’m not sure it has been done.

@joebuhlig wrote the OmniFocus Auto-Parser AppleScript years ago. Last I checked, it worked with the latest version of OmniFocus.

With this in place, you would just need to make sure that the actions that are added to the OmniFocus inbox using Zapier (via Mail Drop) are formatted in a way that allows the OmniFocus Auto-Parser to assign the appropriate tag(s), project, defer date, etc. The AppleScript could be triggered manually or automatically.

On a side note, there are times when it’s helpful to have Zapier-generated items stay in the OmniFocus inbox as they may require further review.

For example, when I wrap up a session with a client a “Follow up with client x” action is automatically added to my OmniFocus Inbox. In some cases, no follow-up is needed and I simply delete this action. In others, the follow up will only take a minute or two and I do it to get it off my plate. If the follow up is more involved I tag it and add it to the appropriate project/single action list.

I hope this helps!

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Thank you @timstringer for the link! I will check it out today. Right now, I have a mix of different accounts that are hooked into Zapier and notify me via Omnifocus when something new is added. Samples are “a new item to an RSS feed”, “a new item was uploaded to XYZ location or service”

I guess in a way, I could set a time to review the Inbox specifically for those items (in addition to my regular usage) and just move them to the right project daily.

You’re very welcome, @FrMichaelFanous.

I typically clear my OmniFocus inbox multiple times a day. This helps keep my system up-to-date and relevant and cleaning the inbox never seems to feel like a chore.

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I still use it every day, so yes it still works :slight_smile:

My setup has keyboard maestro firing off the script every 15 minutes, so I don’t have to manually trigger the script or go to the OF inbox

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