Bot button menu and guided flows

Until now, using the Taskie bot meant remembering commands. Now there's a button menu below the message box, and most things take just a few taps. For actions that need several pieces of information — like creating a task — the bot asks questions step by step and you just answer.

Button menu

After you link your account, send /menu or start a conversation and a button keyboard appears below the message box. The buttons are organized into a few groups: my tasks, create and log, time, projects, search and settings. Choosing a group shows that section's buttons, and a back button is always available.

• The buttons do exactly what the text commands did, and the commands still work too.
• Button labels are matched loosely: spelling variations such as invisible joiner characters or look-alike letters don't stop a button from being recognized.
• The button menu is available in Telegram, where it sits right below the message box and is the quickest way to work from your phone.

Step-by-step flows

Six common actions run as step-by-step conversations. The bot asks one question at a time and shows a summary for you to confirm at the end:

• Create task: asks for the title, project, assignee and due date, one step at a time.
• Log time: takes the task, duration and a description, and logs the time in that task's workspace.
• Start timer: starts a timer on the task you pick, and you stop it with one button.
• Add comment: you pick the task and send the comment text.
• Create project: asks for the project name and a short description.
• Search: takes your search query and shows the results with an open button.

At any step, you can send /cancel to cancel the current flow without saving anything.

New commands

• /menu: show the button menu again.
• /cancel: cancel the step-by-step flow in progress.
• /project: choose the active project for what you do next.
• In Telegram, the command list is also available from the menu button next to the message box.

Other improvements

• Time logged from the bot goes to that task's workspace. Previously, it could be logged to your default workspace.
• Your conversation with the bot is treated as continuous for up to an hour, so you don't have to name the project or task again in every message.
• On networks without direct access to the messenger service, an admin can configure and test the bot connection through a proxy.

To link your account and review all the commands, see the messenger bots guide, and to set up notifications, see notifications and reminders.