In this article, we will describe how to send email data extracted by Parseur to any app or database using Zapier. Thanks to Parseur integration with Zapier, you can send any parsed email data to almost any app or database. All of this is in real time!
Note: this article assumes you already have created and configured your Parseur mailbox. Check out this page to get started if that is not the case.
What is Zapier?
Zapier is a cloud automation tool that connects apps together. You can connect two or more apps to automate repetitive tasks without coding or relying on developers to build the integration.
Zapier allows to seamlessly connect thousand of applications together, by creating so-called "zaps". Check out the Zapier homepage to see if Zapier is integrated with your favorite app.
Step 1: Connect Parseur to Zapier
We are going to be using Zapier as the middleware that will collect data from Parseur and send it to the application of your choice. So, the first is to connect Zapier and Parseur together so that Parseur knows where to send data to.
The first place to look for is our Zap Templates. Zap Templates are pre-made "zaps" between Parseur and other applications:
Open your mailbox in Parseur
Go to the Export section
Click on the Zapier tab
Search for the application you'd like to connect to or click on one of the popular zaps
If you don't find what you're looking for from the list above visit the Parseur page on Zapier).
Go ahead and sign up (or log in if you already have a Zapier account).
Step 2: Select the trigger app
Zapier will then ask you to create your first Zap. A Zap is a sort of recipe that tells Zapier what to do:
where to get the data from: they call these Triggers, for example, getting data when a parser has processed a document is a Trigger
where to send it to: they call these Actions, for example, creating a new card in a Trello list is an Action.
If you create your Zap from a Zap template, your zap will be pre-populated with defaults. If not, you will start with a blank zap.
Choose Parseur
Step 3: Select the Parseur trigger
You will now choose which type of Trigger you want to use.
You have 2 main triggers visible:
New Document Processed: this is the default trigger to choose. It will be triggered every time a document has been successfully processed.
New Table Processed: choose this trigger if you are using Table Fields in Parseur and want to send each row individually to Zapier. Check out our Parsing Table article for more details.
Those 2 triggers are the ones you'll almost certainly need. There are also some other less common triggers for specific use cases. They are hidden by default:
New Document Processed (with sub-list items): use this trigger if you have table fields and the app you're sending data to support sublists
New Document Not Processed: use this trigger when you want to be notified with a document could be processed by Parseur
... and other more obscure that you probably won't ever need.
Click Continue
Step 4: Connect Zapier to Parseur
From the dropdown list, click "+ Add a new account"
A new page will open asking for your Parseur credentials. Follow the instructions on the screen.
Step 5: Select your Parseur Mailbox
Once connected to your Parseur account, Zapier will list all your mailboxes. Select the one you need.
Click Continue
Click Test & Continue
Step 6: Select the action app and action event
Search for your app either from the list or by typing its name in the search box.
The next steps will depend on which application you want to send the parsed email data to. But general steps remain the same. In this example, we will assume we want to update a Trello List and create a card every time an email is processed.
Next, you will have to choose which Action event you want your app to perform. After which, Zapier will ask you to connect to the app with your credentials.
The most important step: you will now have to map fields of your mailbox to fields of your connected app.
Zapier will show you all fields available in the Action app. Click on fields to assign Parseur fields to each of them.
You can assign several Parseur fields to the same target field along with some custom text (for example, see the Description field in the screenshot above).
Step 7: Start using Zapier integration!
Finally, once the mapping is done, Zapier will perform a test to make sure everything is like you wanted it.
You can send a new document to your mailbox or reprocess an existing one to test your integration.
Now:
Only once, Zapier will send to your connected app all emails that have already been parsed.
Then, every time a new email is processed, it will send the data in real-time to your app using Zapier
Going further with Zapier: advanced usage
Pause your Zap while making tests
To temporarily pause your zap, head over to your dashboard in Zapier and turn the zap off.
Post process Parseur data in Zapier
You can create further refined data extracted by Parseur in Zapier by using multi-step zaps. For example, you can add a step to use Zapier Text Formatter to post-process your data.
If on a Pro plan or above, you can also use Parseur Post Processing feature.
Add conditional business logic to your Zaps
You can use Zapier Paths to build conditional workflows with different execution branches based on the data sent by Parseur. Check out this page to learn more about Zapier Paths.
#ERROR in Google Sheets when using Zapier
If you are connecting your mailbox to Google Sheets and get "#ERROR" in your spreadsheet, it can be because Google Sheets tries to convert your field into a formula (this can happen if your field is a phone number that starts with "+1 ...." for instance).
To fix this, surround your field with ="YourField" as shown below.
Delay trigger of your Zap
In some cases, you may want to delay triggering your Zap (or a set of zaps) in order to let the connected application perform a task. In that case, Zapier offers 3 ways to work around delays:
Delay for
Delay until
Delay after queue
Check out how to add delays in your zaps for. more information.