Integrating Ad hoc Workflows with OmniFocus

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In the course of running Comalatech our team has to juggle all sorts of data relating to clients. As you might hope, we "eat our own dog food" using Ad hoc Workflows to track customer relationships and to manage clients and prospects. A key workflow for us is one that tracks the different states of clients (from prospect to active customer to renewal), and that automates the creation of relevant tasks in each state. We've become remarkably proficient at using the plugin for getting things done.

While the Ad hoc Workflows plugin provides a Tasks Dashboard as well as a Space Tasks Report I always wanted to be able to incorporate some of these tasks into OmniFocus, my favourite personal task manager. By pulling them into OmniFocus I can prioritize work items against, e.g. family and community priorities of my life.

OmniFocus became even more useful when I got my iPad so I set out to create a bridge between personal tasks and Ad hoc Workflows.

Below I detail how I accomplished integration in Ad hoc Workflows using macro-based scripting. In short I added a link in a task recipient's email, which when clicked, the tasks is sent to OmniFocus. It's a handy trick.

How it works

Here's part of the default behaviour of the workflow: when a task is created an email is sent to the assignee:

Creating ad hoc task

I update the email body (details below) to include a link to Add to OmniFocus:

Inbox - Add to OmniFocus link

When I click the link, the task is created in OmniFocus:

Creating OmniFocus task

The task is now in OmniFocus and it includes a link to the page:

Managing OmniFocus tasks

Putting it together

First, make sure you have version 3.0.3 (or later) of Ad hoc Workflows.

Then you need to create a user macro which is going to generate the link to create the page, and then update your workflow's trigger to include the OmniFocus macro.

1. Creating the user macro

You need to create a User Macro containing the following code:

The user macro must be defined without body and generating HTML:

Creating User Macro

The Macro takes two parameters: The first one is the task name, and the second one is a text to be included as a note in the OmniFocus task.

2. Updating trigger

Now, you have to update your workflow trigger to include the {omnifocus} macro:

{workflow}
    ...
    {trigger:taskassigned}
        {send-email:user=@assignee@|subject=@task@ has been assigned to you}
        Task _@task@_ on @page@ has been assigned to you by [~@user@].\\
        {quote}@comment@{quote}
        {pageactivity}
        {omnifocus:@taskname@|@comment@}
        {send-email}
    {trigger}
    ...
{workflow}

Updating Workflow Trigger

That's it! Every time a task is assigned, the email sent will include a link for the recipient to add to OmniFocus.

Don't have an iPad?

If you are using a commercial license of Ad hoc Workflows for Confluence make sure you get on our mailing list! Once a year we run a survey that offers a significant discount off renewal plus a a much coveted chance to win an awesome prize. Yup, you guessed it, this year's prize was a 32gb Apple Wifi iPad.

You missed it? Okay. Get on our mailing list.

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