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Exploring interactive email actions

How can I take action on Tallyfy tasks directly from email?

You can’t - yet. But we’re working on something that could change how you handle tasks in your inbox.

Interactive email actions would let you complete Tallyfy tasks right inside your email. No switching apps. No extra clicks. Just get things done where you already spend your time. The technology exists - Microsoft Actionable Messages for Outlook and Gmail Markup Actions for Gmail - and we’re exploring how to bring it to Tallyfy.

What are interactive email actions in Tallyfy?

Think of them as buttons and forms that actually work inside your email. You’d approve a request, mark a task complete, or add a comment - all without clicking a link or opening another tab.

Here’s the difference: Traditional emails make you click through to a web page. Interactive emails bring the action to you. Buttons, forms, confirmations - they’d all work right there in your inbox.

Microsoft Actionable Messages

Microsoft’s solution embeds “Adaptive Cards” into Outlook emails. These cards display information and let you take action:

  • Click Approve or Reject on a Tallyfy approval task
  • Add a quick comment to a task
  • Mark a simple task as complete

When you click something in the card, Outlook sends your action back to Tallyfy to update the task. It’s secure. It’s fast. Learn more on the Microsoft Learn platform ↗.

Gmail Markup Actions

Gmail uses schema.org markup (typically JSON-LD) in the email’s HTML. This markup tells Gmail to show interactive elements. You get two main types:

  • One-Click Actions: Perfect for approvals and confirmations - one tap and you’re done
  • Go-To Actions: For complex stuff that needs a full webpage

Just like Outlook, when you click an action, Gmail sends it back to the service. Check out the Google Developers documentation for Gmail Markup Actions ↗ for the technical details.

How could this benefit Tallyfy users?

Let’s be honest - switching between email and web apps is annoying. Interactive emails would fix that:

  • Speed: Approve requests in 2 seconds instead of 30. No login screens, no page loads.
  • Focus: Stay in your inbox for quick actions. Your flow stays unbroken.
  • Mobile-friendly: Ever tried logging into a web app on your phone? Yeah, exactly. One-tap actions would be a game-changer.
  • Time savings: Those 5-second approvals add up. If you handle 20 tasks daily, you’d save 10-15 minutes every single day.

Potential Tallyfy use cases

Here’s what we’re thinking about:

  • One-click approvals/rejections: Get an approval request. Click Approve or Reject. Done. No login required.
  • Marking tasks complete: Some tasks just need acknowledgment. One button in the email could handle it.
  • Adding quick comments: See a task update? Reply to the email, and your comment gets added to the task automatically.
  • Simple form submissions: Need to pick an option or enter a short response? Do it right in the email (yes, forms can work there too).

What’s next?

This isn’t live yet - we’re still exploring. Building interactive emails isn’t simple. We need rock-solid security, and it has to work perfectly across different email clients. That takes time.

But we think it’s worth it. The productivity gains would be huge. We’ll keep you posted as we figure out the best way to make this happen.

Integrations > Email and SMTP

Tallyfy provides comprehensive email integration through custom SMTP configuration Gmail add-on functionality automated notification management and interactive email actions development to streamline workflow communication and task management directly within existing email platforms.

Email > Gmail add-on

The Tallyfy Gmail Add-on enables users to create tasks launch processes and track status directly from their Gmail inbox while maintaining email context and reducing app switching.
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