Using Drafts with Zapier

Zapier is a web service which allows creation of "Zaps" which are automated actions that can integrate with over 300 different online services, like Box, Evernote, Gmail, Facebook, Github and many more.  If you are not familiar with Zapier, check them out and setup an account.

Zaps can be triggered a number of different ways.  One of these ways is via incoming email sent to a unique address assigned by Zapier to your account. By combining Zaps that are triggered by incoming email to your Zapier address with Drafts' background email actions, you can create single tap actions in Drafts that send text to Zapier and can then feed it to any of the many services Zapier supports. This opens up an incredible world of possibilities - creating files in Box, posting to Facebook pages, and so many more.

Start by setting up a Zap in your Zapier account which uses the Email service, with "New Inbound Email" as the trigger.  When you set this up, Zapier will provide you with the email to use to send these incoming emails to. Make note of this email.

Then create a new action in Drafts, and add an "Email" step (or install this example to start).  Set the "To" field on the email step to the unique address Zapier supplied.  Turn on the "Send in Background" option so the email is sent immediately.

There are a number of ways you might configure the email action from here, depending on the setup of your Zap – but below is an example which will allow you to post to a Facebook Page from Drafts with a single tap.

Example: Posting to a Facebook Page

As an example, I have setup and shared a Zap which does the following:

• Looks for an incoming email to your Zapier account with the subject "#facebook_page"
• Posts to body of the email as a new post on a selected Facebook page.

To start setting up this Zap in your Zapier account, visit the zap's share page and "Start Using this!". You will have to modify the Zap to link your own Facebook account and select from your available Facebook pages.  You can use the tools in the Zapier account to alter and test the Zap to your satisfaction.

Then, install this sample Zap: Facebook Page action from the Drafts Action Directory in Drafts.

Once installed, find the action in your All actions list, swipe right on the action and tap the edit button.  Tap steps, then the Email action step.  You will need to edit the "To" value to match your personal Zapier email address.

Note that the subject of the email is set to the value "#facebook_page" – which is the same value setup as a filter for incoming emails on the Zap.  Setting up multiple Zaps with different filters and modifying duplicates of this action could allow you setup as many trigger actions in Drafts as you might desire.