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Create a Zap

Begin putting what you've learned into practice by making your first Zap. You'll create an automated workflow to help make the most of your learning time using Coda and Google Calendar.

Coda Student Planner doc

Copy this doc to follow along using Coda.

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In this video, you'll begin putting some of what you've learned into 0:00

practice by creating your first Zap. 0:03

Remember, a Zap is an automated workflow that connects the apps and 0:06

services you use together. 0:09

Earlier, we reviewed some of the apps you can connect with Zapier and 0:11

popular Zap templates. 0:14

One automation I talked about to help facilitate learning and 0:16

time blocking was creating Google Calendar events from Google Sheets rows. 0:19

There's a Zap template for that, but we're going to make something similar from 0:24

scratch using an app called Coda instead of Google Sheets. 0:28

Coda makes working with spreadsheet data a whole lot easier with tables that act 0:31

like databases that let you easily organize and manipulate data. 0:35

We have workshops about Coda, which you can review in the notes with this video. 0:39

So here's the Coda doc I'm going to use. 0:43

I've included a link to this doc in the notes so you can copy it and 0:46

follow along with me. 0:49

When I add a new row to the Learning Plan table with the lesson title, 0:51

start date, time, and link, I want to automate the creation of 0:55

a Google Calendar event on the start date and time I choose here. 1:00

The calendar event will also display the lesson title and the link to the lesson. 1:05

You can also use Google Sheets as the setup is almost identical to what we'll do 1:10

with Coda. 1:14

Be sure to review the instructions in the notes for 1:15

this video if you want to connect Google Sheets to Google Calendar. 1:17

Before you get started, I recommend creating your Coda table or 1:20

spreadsheet and entering a sample row that you'll use later when testing your Zap. 1:23

I know the process I want to automate or the problem I'm trying to solve, 1:29

automatically block off learning time on my calendar. 1:33

So to create my Zap, I've broken down the problem into the following. 1:36

The apps I want to use are Coda and Google Calendar. 1:40

The event that will trigger my Zap is adding a new table row. 1:44

The action my Zap will perform is create a new Google Calendar event. 1:48

Finally, what information do I want to move between those apps? 1:52

Well, the lesson name, its link, and a start date, and time. 1:56

I'll head over to my Zap dashboard and 2:01

get started by hovering over the left sidebar menu, and clicking Create Zap. 2:03

This brings up the Zap editor. 2:09

When you open the Zap editor, you'll be prompted to pick an app as your trigger. 2:12

Remember, the trigger starts your Zap and the action is what the Zap actually does. 2:15

The editor displays many popular and frequently used apps. 2:20

I want to connect Coda to Google calendar. 2:24

So first, under app event, I'll search for Coda, and select it. 2:27

Next, you're asked to choose a trigger event. 2:34

This is what I want to happen in my trigger app that signals Zapier to start 2:37

the Zap. 2:41

In this case, it's when a new row gets created in our Coda table. 2:41

So as the trigger event, I'll choose New Row. Click Continue, 2:46

and the next step is to connect to your app account and 2:52

customize your trigger event. 2:55

If this is your first time connecting to an app via Zapier, you'll be prompted to 2:57

sign into your apps' account to give Zapier permission to access it. 3:01

I've already connected my Coda account with Zapier, so 3:04

I'll select it from the drop down and click Continue. 3:07

Next is setting up the trigger options to fit your needs. 3:12

Since Zapier is already connected to my Coda account, I can select 3:15

the Coda doc I want to trigger my Zap, in this case, My Student Planner. 3:20

Within that doc, there's a table called Learning Plan, 3:28

I want to trigger an action when a new row gets added to this table. 3:31

So I'll select Learning Plan from the table drop down. 3:36

Click Continue, and now it's time to test our trigger. 3:43

Zapier will look for a row in my Coda Learning Plan table and 3:47

use it as sample data to ensure it works. 3:50

This is why I suggested that you have at least one real instance of your trigger. 3:53

In our case, a Coda table row, 3:57

so Zapier can use it for this test, and you can confirm that the right account is 3:59

connected and the trigger is set up correctly. 4:03

Click Test trigger, and good, 4:07

Zapier lets me know that it found a row in my Coda account with the data shown here. 4:09

Keep in mind that Zapier is only looking for information during the trigger test, 4:16

not posting or changing any data that already exists in your trigger app. 4:20

If all the test information looks correct, click Continue. 4:25

Next, we'll set up the second part of the Zap, the action or the event, 4:30

a Zap performs after it's triggered. 4:34

I want Coda to do something in Google Calendar, so 4:37

I'll click on Google Calendar to select it as my action app. 4:40

Then choose the action event or what we want our Zap to do. 4:46

In this case, we want to create a detailed calendar event, so 4:50

I'll choose Create Detailed Event from the drop down, then click Continue. 4:54

As with Coda, 5:01

we need to give Zapier permission to access our Google Calendar account. 5:02

And if this is your first time connecting to Google Calendar via Zapier, 5:06

you'll be prompted to sign into your account. 5:09

I've already connected my Google account with Zapier, so 5:12

I'll select it from this drop down and click Continue. 5:15

Now we get to customize how we want our Google Calendar event to appear. 5:18

First, click on the drop down under Calendar to select the specific calendar 5:23

you want Zapier to create an event in. 5:27

For instance, 5:30

you might have a learning calendar separate from your personal calendar. 5:31

I'll select my learning calendar from the list. 5:36

And if you want to create the event in your personal calendar, that's fine too. 5:40

Next, this "Summary" field is the main text that appears in any Google Calendar event. 5:45

The text you type into the field will appear the same every time this Zap runs. 5:51

For example, I'll type the text, "It's time to learn". 5:56

And wouldn't it be great if we could include the name of the lesson, or topic, 6:02

here in the summary, for example, "It's time to learn JavaScript Basics"? 6:06

Well, you can. 6:10

When you click inside a field, 6:12

a drop down menu prompts you to insert data from your trigger app. 6:14

This is where you can move information 6:18

from your Coda table row into a Google calendar event. 6:21

Notice how when I click on "Show all options", 6:24

these options match the name of my Coda table columns. 6:28

For example, Lesson, Start Date & Time, and Link. 6:32

So, after my text, I'll insert data from my 6:37

Lesson column by selecting Lesson from this list. 6:42

This is called field mapping. 6:47

When you map a piece of data, like a lesson, what's shown in the editor is 6:50

a placeholder, but the data will only be used by the Zap when we test it. 6:54

So with that in mind, I suggest clearly labeling your table or 6:59

spreadsheet columns to make this part a little bit easier for you. 7:03

Next, I'll fill out the description field with any text or 7:07

Coda data I'd like to insert. 7:11

This seems like a good place to display the link to the learning material like 7:13

a Treehouse course. 7:16

So I'll type the text, "This is today's lesson:". 7:18

Then insert data from my link column by selecting the Link option 7:25

from the drop down. 7:29

The calendar event needs a start date and time, so 7:37

the only other fields I'll enter information for 7:41

will be Start Date & Time, and End Date & Time. 7:46

First, I'll select my Coda table's Start Date & 7:50

Time column to set the start date and time. 7:55

I'll do the same for the End Date & Time field. 8:01

Since I don't have explicit end time data, I'll need to modify the value for 8:07

this field. 8:11

Let's say that I want to block off one hour of learning time. 8:12

Well, to adjust the date and time values in a Zap, 8:16

you can use date and time modifiers. 8:18

You adjust the values by adding or subtracting time directly in the field. 8:21

In my Zap, I'll use the plus sign to increase my Start Date & 8:27

Time value by one hour by typing a space, then +1h. 8:33

Now the Zap will create a calendar event for one hour, 8:38

starting on the date and time you specified in the Coda table. 8:42

I've posted information about date and time fields and modifiers in the notes, 8:50

and feel free to customize any of the remaining options. 8:54

For example, setting the location if you want conferencing or reminders. 8:57

I'll leave these blank. 9:03

I finished setting up my action, so now I'll click Continue. 9:05

Finally, it's time to test our Zap to make sure our calendar event is created 9:13

correctly. 9:17

I'll scroll down, and, click Test & Review. 9:19

And Zapier will test your Zap by performing the action according to 9:24

how you've mapped your fields in the action step. 9:28

Unlike with a trigger test, when you test the action, 9:31

Zapier will perform the actual task you've set up to be automated. 9:34

If the test was successful, you'll get a success message and Zapier will 9:38

let you know that a detailed event was sent to Google Calendar just now. 9:43

And you'll notice that when your action is set up successfully, 9:50

a green checkmark icon will appear in the top left of the step. 9:54

Right now, I'll bring up my Google Calendar and see that a new event 10:00

was created for July 21st at 12 PM, and it's one hour long. 10:05

This summary lets me know that it's time to learn JavaScript Basics and 10:11

the description includes the link to a course. 10:15

Great, it worked. 10:18

If something doesn't look right or you receive an error when testing your 10:19

Zap, make any changes you need in the Zap editor and try your Zap again. 10:24

Once you're happy with how your Zap works, you can turn it on. 10:29

But before we do that, let's name our Zap so 10:33

we can easily identify it on our dashboard. 10:35

In the upper left, click "Name your Zap" and enter the name you want to give your Zap. 10:41

I'll name mine "Generate Google Calendar events from new Coda rows". 10:47

You can also add more information about your Zap like a description by clicking 10:55

the gear icon in the right sidebar to open the Settings tab, 10:59

then entering your text in the description field. 11:03

Okay, we've set up, tested, and named our Zap, we're now ready to turn it on. 11:07

You can turn on your zap by clicking Turn on Zap, or 11:12

using the ON/OFF slider in the editor. 11:16

Let's try it out. 11:20

My Zap is now on. 11:26

Over in my Coda table, 11:30

I'll add a new row and enter a lesson, 11:33

let's say Python Basics, the topic is Python. 11:38

I'll add a start date and time, 11:49

And the link to the course. 11:57

Depending on which Zapier plan you're on, 11:59

it could take anywhere from 1 to 15 minutes for 12:02

Zapier to check your trigger app for new data and perform the desired action. 12:06

I'll check my Google Calendar and see the new event created on the date and 12:13

time I set in the Coda table with the lesson's name and link, great. 12:19

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Automate Your Work with Zapier

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You have completed Automate Your Work with Zapier!

Create a Zap

Coda Student Planner doc

Further Reading

Coda Workshops

Related Discussions

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