Can I trigger a Butler rule when a checklist item *with a due date* is added to a checklist?
Asked by Brian Adler:

++**Question**++

Can I trigger a Butler rule when a checklist item ++with a due date++ is added to a checklist and is there a variable that will allow me to use the due date in the rule actions?

++**Background**++

I have a board named "Companies and Contacts". The name of every card on the board is either a company name or a person's name.

I have a rule that automatically adds a checklist named "Next Actions" to every card when the card is added to the board.

On any given card, the "Next Actions" checklist shows the next several actions to be done related to that specific company or person. Many checklist items have due dates. I'm the only person accessing the board, so I don't bother assigning the checklist items to myself.

These are not subtasks, because the card names are not tasks, they're company names.

I have a separate board named "My Tasks" where I manage all of my tasks. It has lists named "To do today", "Done today", "Tickler" (for tasks with due dates), and "To be done" (for tasks without due dates)"

++**Here's what I'd like to automate:**++

++Trigger++ : When a checklist item ++with a due date++ is added to the "Next Actions" checklist in a card on the "Companies and Contacts" board,

++Actions++: I'm not sure of the exact actions, but here's what I'd like to end up with:

* A new card in the "Tickler" list on the "My Tasks" board. The name of the card is the text of the checklist item, the due date of the card is the due date of the checklist item, and the card has a link back to the original card on the "Companies and Contacts" board
* A link from the original checklist item to the new card that was created.

I'd also like to automate what happens when a checklist item ++without a due date++ is added to "Next Actions". That's largely the same, except the new card goes in the list "To be done" and has no due date.


Answers:
author: milynnus
body: [@Brian Adler](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/3986212) since you are referring to due dates on checklist item, I assume you are using advanced checklist.

Currently, even with advanced checklist, Butler does not have a trigger when checklist item due date is added or updated. From an action perspective, it does trigger a "updateCheckItem" which means that you can inspect and take the necessary action via webhook or API on actions.

The checklist to card conversion is well documented in <https://help.trello.com/article/1165-task-dependencies>

Since I do not have advanced checklist, I cannot recall how item due dates are handled with native Trello item-card conversion.

Also in a recent post, someone wanted to have variable that can be used to determine which list to post to.

With all the above, my first custom power up project was to see how the above can be better managed from a project office perspective. Hence this MVP, <https://youtu.be/TE1jPfkwako>


author: Iain Dooley
body: [@Brian Adler](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/3986212) Butler Bot used to have a trigger when a checklist item was added that had a date in the name, but the thing is that a checklist item is never added \*with a due date\* because you must first create the item before setting a due date on it.

AFAIK there is currently no trigger in Butler when a due date is set on a checklist item but that seems like something they will be very likely to add in future.

Until then, the only clear workaround would be to use linked checklist items (with each item linked to a separate card) rather than checklist due dates.


Tags: butler

checklist