Connect Microsoft Planner to Unblockd
Link a Microsoft Planner plan to an Unblockd project and its tasks come in as tasks, with their status kept in step.
Updated · About the Microsoft Planner integration
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What Unblockd reads
Unblockd reads your Microsoft Planner plans and the tasks in the ones you link to an Unblockd project. You choose which tasks to bring in; each becomes a task under a deliverable, with a link back to Microsoft Planner as its first proof. From then on its status follows Microsoft Planner.
It’s read-only. Unblockd never creates, edits, or deletes tasks in Microsoft Planner.
A task that’s blocked in Microsoft Planner opens a blocker your team sees first. Nothing reaches your sponsor until someone on your team chooses to share it.
The access token is encrypted before it’s stored. How Unblockd handles your data.
Before you start
- In Unblockd, a workspace admin connects Microsoft Planner, once for the whole workspace. Members see it in Settings but can’t connect or disconnect it. Anyone on the team can then link it to a project.
- In Microsoft Planner: A Microsoft work or school account that's a member of the plans you want to link. Personal Microsoft accounts can't connect.
- Only basic plans can be linked. Premium plans aren't reachable through Microsoft's Planner API.
Connect Microsoft Planner
- Open Connected toolsSign in to Unblockd and open Settings, then Connected tools.
- Press Connect beside Microsoft PlannerFind Microsoft Planner under Most used, or press Show all 33 tools, or type its name in the search box. Then press Connect on its row.
- Approve access in Microsoft PlannerMicrosoft asks you to sign in, then lists the permissions Unblockd requests. If your organization requires an administrator to approve new apps, Microsoft asks for that approval instead; send the request to your Microsoft administrator. Unblockd requests Tasks.Read (read plans, buckets, and tasks), User.Read (read your name, to label the connection), and offline_access (stay connected without asking you to sign in again).
- Back in UnblockdYou come back to Connected tools, which says “Microsoft Planner is connected. Next, link it to a project from the project’s Sources tab.” Its row shows the account and Connected.
Link it to a project
- Open the project’s Sources tabOpen the project from Projects, then its Sources tab.
- Press Link a sourceIt’s under the list of linked sources. If more than one tool is connected, choose Microsoft Planner under Tool.
- Pick the Microsoft Planner planUnder Microsoft Planner plan, pick the one this Unblockd project runs on. Only plans the connection can see are listed, and ones already linked here are left out.
- Choose where items landUnder New items land in, choose a deliverable, or leave Choose each time. It’s the first choice when you bring items in, and where new items go if automatic import is on.
- Press LinkThe Microsoft Planner plan appears in the Sources list, ready to bring items in.
Starting a new project? On New project, open “Bring work in from a tool”, choose Microsoft Planner and the plan, and leave “Bring in open items as tasks” on to start with its open tasks. It’s linked as the project is created.
Bring in items
- Press Bring in itemsOn the project’s Sources tab, press Bring in items on the Microsoft Planner plan’s row. Unblockd lists the open tasks that aren’t in this project yet.
- Choose the deliverableUnder Add them under, choose the deliverable they belong to. Each item comes in as a task under it.
- Choose the tasksTick the tasks you want, search by key or title, or press Choose all. Then press Bring in. Up to 50 come in at a time; run it again for more.
New tasks can also come in on their own. An admin turns on Bring in new items from linked sources in Settings, then Automations, and each source can opt out or pick its deliverable from its ⋯ menu, under New items. Up to 25 come in per sync, checked every hour and on every sync.
How sync works
Each task becomes the first status that matches:
- Completed
- Becomes: Done
- In a bucket with Blocked, On hold, or Waiting in its name
- Becomes: Blocked
- In progress
- Becomes: In progress
- Not started
- Becomes: To do
| In Microsoft Planner | Becomes |
|---|---|
| Completed | Done |
| In a bucket with Blocked, On hold, or Waiting in its name | Blocked |
| In progress | In progress |
| Not started | To do |
Unblockd checks Microsoft Planner again when someone opens the project’s Sources tab and the last check is more than 10 minutes old, when you choose Sync now from the source’s ⋯ menu, and once a day. The row shows when it last synced. A large source catches up over a few checks.
- Done in Microsoft Planner finishes the task in Unblockd, because the link back to Microsoft Planner already counts as proof. A task that needs a sign-off stays where it is until the sign-off is recorded.
- Blocked in Microsoft Planner marks the task Blocked and opens a blocker for your team only, and posts to your team’s chat channels if you’ve connected any. Someone on your team confirms it and can turn it into an ask for your sponsor. If the task moves on in Microsoft Planner, the task follows; the blocker stays open until your team resolves it.
- A title changed in Microsoft Planner changes in Unblockd too. A tool never puts a task In review: that needs a reviewer chosen in Unblockd.
- Tasks from a tool stay with your team. Your sponsor sees each deliverable’s progress, not the tasks under it.
Disconnect and revoke access
- Press DisconnectIn Settings, then Connected tools, press Disconnect on Microsoft Planner’s row.
- ConfirmIf it’s linked to projects, Unblockd first says how many plans it will unlink. Press Disconnect Microsoft Planner to confirm, or Keep.
- Deleted: the connection, its stored access, and every Microsoft Planner plan linked through it, across all your Unblockd projects.
- Kept: tasks already brought in stay as ordinary tasks with their history and proof links. They stop following Microsoft Planner. Connect again and relink the same Microsoft Planner plan, and they follow it again.
- Microsoft keeps the permission you granted until it's removed. Remove Unblockd from the apps your Microsoft account has access to, or ask your Microsoft administrator to.
To stop one project following Microsoft Planner without disconnecting it for everyone, open the linked Microsoft Planner plan’s ⋯ menu on the Sources tab and choose Unlink. Its tasks stay, but stop following Microsoft Planner.
Troubleshooting
- Needs reconnecting
- What to do: Microsoft Planner turned down Unblockd’s access, for example because it was revoked or the person who connected it left. The row says “Reconnect to keep it in sync.” An admin presses Reconnect and approves access again; linked plans and their tasks carry on.
- Retrying
- What to do: The row says “Couldn’t reach it on the last try. It will try again.” Microsoft Planner didn’t answer the last time Unblockd tried. Nothing is lost; the next sync picks up where it stopped.
- Rate limits
- What to do: Unblockd reads one item about every 0.65 seconds, up to 200 per check, to stay inside Microsoft Planner’s limits. If Microsoft Planner still says to slow down, Unblockd stops that check and picks up on the next one. Sync now waits 60 seconds between runs on the same source.
- A plan is missing
- What to do: Only plans the connected account can see are listed. Check its access in Microsoft Planner, or reconnect with an account that can see it.
- Only an admin can connect
- What to do: “Only a workspace admin can connect or disconnect tools.” Ask an admin, or have one change your role in Settings, then Members.
- The connection link expired
- What to do: “That connection link expired or was started by someone else. Try again from here.” Start again from Connected tools and finish within 10 minutes.
- A different account
- What to do: “This workspace is linked to a different account for that tool. Disconnect it first.” Each workspace connects one Microsoft Planner account. Disconnect the old one first.
- Coming soon
- What to do: A tool that shows Coming soon instead of Connect can’t be connected yet.
| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| Needs reconnecting | Microsoft Planner turned down Unblockd’s access, for example because it was revoked or the person who connected it left. The row says “Reconnect to keep it in sync.” An admin presses Reconnect and approves access again; linked plans and their tasks carry on. |
| Retrying | The row says “Couldn’t reach it on the last try. It will try again.” Microsoft Planner didn’t answer the last time Unblockd tried. Nothing is lost; the next sync picks up where it stopped. |
| Rate limits | Unblockd reads one item about every 0.65 seconds, up to 200 per check, to stay inside Microsoft Planner’s limits. If Microsoft Planner still says to slow down, Unblockd stops that check and picks up on the next one. Sync now waits 60 seconds between runs on the same source. |
| A plan is missing | Only plans the connected account can see are listed. Check its access in Microsoft Planner, or reconnect with an account that can see it. |
| Only an admin can connect | “Only a workspace admin can connect or disconnect tools.” Ask an admin, or have one change your role in Settings, then Members. |
| The connection link expired | “That connection link expired or was started by someone else. Try again from here.” Start again from Connected tools and finish within 10 minutes. |
| A different account | “This workspace is linked to a different account for that tool. Disconnect it first.” Each workspace connects one Microsoft Planner account. Disconnect the old one first. |
| Coming soon | A tool that shows Coming soon instead of Connect can’t be connected yet. |
Still stuck? Press Report a problem on Microsoft Planner’s row in Connected tools, or choose Report a problem with Microsoft Planner from a linked plan’s ⋯ menu. One tap sends the tool and what the row shows about the connection (never a key or token) to the Unblockd team, and someone replies by email. You can send 5 reports every hour, or write to hello@unblockd.ai any time.
Connect Microsoft Planner now
Open Connected tools in Unblockd and press Connect beside Microsoft Planner. You’ll need to be a workspace admin.