Need help assigning checklist items based on a custom field or other suggestion

[Pamela Laurie]

We have cards created in Trello via a Zoho API. Each card includes several custom fields, including an Event Manager dropdown (first names only).

After the card is reviewed, we use Butler automation to move it to our Booked Events board and generate a checklist with assigned tasks and due dates. Due dates are calculated from the Event Date custom field.

Our current automation works like this:

• A Card Button called “Assign to – [Event Manager Name]” moves the card to the Booked Events board and adds the first batch of checklist items.
• Each checklist item is assigned either to me, our scheduling manager, or the Event Manager, and the due dates are set relative to the Event Date.

Because the checklist is long, the button only creates the first batch of items. The final item in that batch triggers a rule, which adds the next group of checklist items, and so on. In total, it takes one button plus several rules to generate the full checklist.

The problem is that this entire automation sequence has to be duplicated for each Event Manager.

For example:
• “Assign to Allison” → checklist items assigned to me, Scott, or Allison
• “Assign to Naomi” → checklist items assigned to me, Scott, or Naomi

As our team grows, maintaining separate buttons and rule chains for each Event Manager isn’t scalable.

My questions:

1. Is there a way to use one button and one automation chain that assigns checklist items to the Event Manager based on the value of the Event Manager custom field or some other field or card assignment, instead of hard-coding the name?

2. I know Butler supports {username}, but that assigns the task to whoever clicked the button. In our case, the sales person clicks the button, not the Event Manager.

3. Is there a more efficient way to structure this type of automation that I might be missing?

Happy to share screenshots if that would help clarify.

Thanks for any ideas!

[Mike - Dreamsuite Consulting]

Hi @Pamela Laurie 

I may have misunderstood but you should be able to do something like this:

assign the item to member @{{%Event Manager}}

Lemme know if that works?!

[Rishabh S]

Hi Pamela, :)
Hope you are doing well,
Welcome to the community!!

Adding to @Mike - Dreamsuite Consulting 's answer.

Instead of having the "Event Manager" dropdown list their first names which Trello with not recognise, change the values to be their exact Trello usernames (without the @ symbol).

• Old Dropdown: Allison

• New Dropdown: allison_events

Once the Custom Field holds the actual username, you can build one Card Button or automation that dynamically pulls that value using the Custom Field variable {{%Event Manager}}.

Your action would look like this:

assign it to @{{%Event Manager}}

Alternatively,

If you cannot change the dropdown name fields. You just need to create a "translator" field.

1. Create a new Custom Field: Make a simple Text field called "Manager Username".

2. Create "Translation" Rules: Set up one board rule per Event Manager to translate their first name into their system username.

   • Rule 1: When custom field "Event Manager" is set to "Allison", set custom field "Manager Username" to "allison_events"

   • Rule 2: When custom field "Event Manager" is set to "Naomi", set custom field "Manager Username" to "naomi"

3. Build one Card Button that triggers your checklist chain, pulling from that new text field:

   assign it to @{{%Manager Username}}

I hope this helps.
Thanks.

[Pamela Laurie]

Ah thank you!  This will make that work flow so much more efficient.