Episode IV:Handling User Inputs in custom functions

Episode IV:Handling User Inputs in custom functions

Hi Everyone,

We've been exploring custom functions which help in performing advanced automation tasks. Custom functions enable you to achieve possibilities based on your organization's requirements. Custom functions require user inputs that allow the function to operate specifically for your organization based on the data provided.

The User Inputs section

Zoho Desk team provides you custom functions in a uniform code format. We have the "user inputs section" at the beginning of most of our custom functions.
The code below demonstrates what the User Inputs section looks like in custom functions. The User inputs section lets you feed in customized inputs based on your organization/portal.
  1. // ----<<<< User Inputs format>>>>----
  2. logs = Map();
  3. deskUrl = "https://desk.zoho.com";  //Replace .com the domain based on your DC
  4. Orgid = "***********" //replace with org ID
  5. cfApiName = "cf_field_name";// replace with the API name of the custom field
  6. departmentId = ***********;// Replace *********** with your department Id
  7. templateId = "enter_the_email_template_id";
  8.  
  9. from_email = "enter_the_from_email_address";
  10. // ----<<<< Code Section >>>>----
  11.  
  12. logs.insert("templateId":templateId);
  13. if(templateId != "")
  14. {
  15. // info templateId;
 
Here's how you can add your portal-based inputs to the custom function:
  1. // ----<<<< User Inputs with data >>>>----
  2. logs = Map()
  3. deskUrl = "https://desk.zoho.au";  //DC is au
  4. Orgid = "10000000x7" //replace with the complete org ID
  5. cfApiName = "cf_country_name";// replaced with the API name of the field Country name.
  6. departmentId = 29x0x0x0x0x0x9;// Replace *********** with your department Id
  7. templateId = "1x3x00xx9x8xxx0x0x";
  8. from_email = "1x4x00xx1x0xxx0x0x";
  9. // ----<<<< Code Section >>>>----
  10. logs.insert("templateId":templateId);
  11. if(templateId != "")
  12. {
  13. // info templateId;

What makes the 'User Inputs' section valuable in custom functions?

Some developers prefer to include user inputs directly within the code in every line.  However, using the dedicated User Inputs section offers several advantages: it keeps your code clean, enhances efficiency, and separates hard-coded values from the logic, making your custom function more manageable and easier to maintain.
In the User Inputs section, you’ll need to replace the sample values or placeholders with actual data. This is necessary because the Arguments option in the Custom Function script provides access to only a limited set of field values. In most cases, inputs such as Org ID, ticket ID, and API names must be entered in the User Inputs section to ensure the function runs correctly and is tailored to your organization/portal.

User Inputs: where to get the required values?

This section explores how to fetch the user inputs required for specific parameters.  These inputs play a key role in helping you code custom functions tailored to your needs. In most cases, they include IDs related to your organization, tickets, custom views, departments, holiday lists, and more; each referring to a unique record ID within the Zoho Desk platform.

1. Zoho Desk Domain

Many user inputs begin with "replace .com based on the your DC".
The easy way to find your DC(data center) or location is from the browser's URL. Login to your Zoho account via this link, your DC is present after accounts. zoho.
For example : deskURL = "https://desk.zoho.com";
If your DC is IN, replace .com with in in the deskURL like this "https://desk.zoho.in". Based on your DC : eu/au/in, replace .com with the respective DC alone.


2. Org ID

To get the Org ID of your Zoho Desk portal, go to Setup >> APIs under Developer Space. You will find the Org ID under the API Plan details.

3. Ticket ID

To get the ticket ID, go to Tickets >> open the ticket for which you want the ticket ID. In the browser's URL, you will find an 18-digit number  after the "/tickets/details/" section, which is the ticket ID of the particular opened ticket.



4. Contact ID

To fetch the contact ID, go to Customers and choose the contact for which you wish to find the Contact ID. In the browser's URL, you will find an 18-digit number at the end of the URL after the "/contacts/details/" section. This is the contact ID for the selected contact.



5. Account ID

To get the Account ID, click on Customers in your Zoho Desk portal, then click on Account on the bottom left of the window. Click on the account for which you want the account ID. Once the account is displayed, the 18-digit number at the end of the browser's URL after "/accounts/details/" is the Account ID for the selected account.


6. Agent ID

To fetch the Agent ID, go to Setup (S) >> User Management >> Agents. You can search the Agent using the Search space on the top left. Select the Agent for detailed view. The 18 digit number in the browser URL at the end after the "/user-control/agents/" is the Agent ID of the selected ID.


7.  Department ID

Navigate to Setup >> Organization >> Departments >> select the department for which you want to fetch the ID. The URL in the browser has the department ID after the "/general/departments/" section.


8. Help Center ID

To fetch the ID of the Help Center, go to Setup >> Channels >> Help Center >> select the Help Center for which you want to fetch the Help Center ID, then click Customization. Now the browser URL will have the 18-digit number between #setup/channels/  <Help Center ID> and /hcCustomize.


9. ID of Business hours

To get the ID for a business hour configured, go to Setup >> Organization >> Business Hours. Select the Business hour to view the Business hour page. The browser's URL will have the business hour ID after "/businesshours/edit/" section.


10. ID of a Holiday list

To get the ID of the Holiday Lists configured, go to Setup >> Organization >> Holiday Lists. Click on the Edit button in the Holiday list to view the Holiday list page. You will find the Holiday list ID next to "/holidaylist/edit/" in the browser URL.


11. Email template ID

Navigate to Setup >> Customization >> Email Templates. Click on the Email template for which you need the ID. Once you've selected the Email template, you can locate the Email template ID in the URL of the email template page. It is found after the "/emailtemplates/edit/" section.
 

12. Custom field API name

When custom functions are triggered based on  a specific field or a custom field created, they require the field's API name to be included in the user inputs.
To fetch the API names, go to Setup >> Customization >> Layouts and Fields >> Field list. You will find the API name for the respective Field Name in the Fields list. 

13. Custom view ID

Some custom functions operate based on a custom view you've created. To execute the custom function based on the custom view within your portal, you'll need the custom view ID.
To fetch the ID of the Custom View, select the Module where you created the Custom View >> Views >> choose the custom view, right click on the page and select inspect. Click on Network in the Inspect tab. Click clear to clear the Network tab. Click Save on the custom view. In the Network console, the first 16 digit number you see is the Custom view ID. Click on the ID to view the headers, you can confirm the ID here.
To fetch the Custom View ID:
  1. Navigate to the module where the custom view was created.
  2. Go to Views and select the desired custom view. Click Edit on the custom view.
  3. Right-click on the page and select Inspect to open the developer tools. Click the Network tab.Click on Click Clear to empty the Network logs.
  4. Now, click Save on the Custom View. In the Network console, look for the first 16-digit number—this is the Custom View ID.
  5. Click on that entry to view the Headers, where you can confirm the ID.
 
With this episode, we bring the custom function series to a close.

Here are the links to visit the previous episodes:

We’d love to hear how these inputs have helped you! If there are any topics you'd like us to focus on, share them in the comments below.
Until the next post, see you soon!
Lydia | Zoho Desk

    • Sticky Posts

    • Register for Zoho Desk Beta Community

      With the start of the year, we have decided to take a small step in making the life of our customers a little easier. We now have easy access to all our upcoming features and a faster way to request for beta access. We open betas for some of our features

    • Share your Zoho Desk story with us!

      Tell us how you use Zoho Desk for your business and inspire others with your story. Be it a simple workflow rule that helps you navigate complex processes or a macro that saves your team a lot of time; share it here and help the community learn and grow with shared knowledge. 

    • Tip #1: Learn to pick the right channels

      Mail, live chat, telephony, social media, web forms—there are so many support channels out there. Trying to pick the right channels to offer your customers can get pretty confusing. Emails are most useful when the customer wants to put things on record. However, escalated or complicated issues should not be resolved over email because it's slow and impersonal.  When you need immediate responses, live chat is more suitable. It's also quick and convenient, so it's the go-to channel for small issues. 

    • Welcome to Zoho Desk Community - Say hello here!

      Hello everyone! Though we have been here for a while, it’s time to formally establish the Zoho Desk Community; we’re really happy to have you all here! This can be the place where you take a moment to introduce yourself to the rest of the community. We’d love to hear all about you, what you do, what company or industry you work for, how you use Zoho Desk and anything else that you will like to share! Here’s a little about me. I am Chinmayee. I have been associated with Zoho since 2014. I joined here

    • Webinar 1: Blueprint for Customer Service

      With the launch of a host of new features in Zoho Desk, we thought it’ll be great to have a few webinars to help our customers make the most of them. We’re starting off with our most talked about feature, Blueprint in Zoho Desk. You can register for the Blueprint webinar here: The webinar will be delivered by our in-house product experts. This is a good opportunity to ask questions to our experts and understand how Blueprint can help you automate your service processes. We look forward to seeing

    • Recent Topics

    • Analytics : Highlighting a single bar in a bar chart

      I have a bar chart showing values across a year by week. I have a user filter to change the selected week, however the year graph will remain as showing the full year.  Is there anyway to conditionally format or construct the year graph to highlight the selected week ? 

    • Agents permission per department

      Hi Team, can I setup permission for each agent what they can do in each department, for example I want account department agents to only have view access to support department tickets and not allowed to assign or reply to clients. I am sure this would

    • Zoho CRM with Built-In MCP Support

      Zoho CRM now provides built-in support for Model Context Protocol (MCP), enabling AI tools to connect and perform CRM actions using natural language. Zoho CRM MCP servers act as a bridge between AI agents and Zoho CRM, exposing CRM capabilities as callable

    • Choose Component for User Filter

      This filter in the Choose Component for User Filter would be better if had an Order or Group by function. Also, the Specify the default filter values: is very confusing and limiting.

    • Inviting client to setup brand and more

      Hello, There are two most critical functions which must be added in Zoho Social for Agency. Invite user/client to setup brand and link social media. As a agency we tell our clients, we don't want your social media credentials to manage your account. Then

    • Disable - order online at zoho store

      I'm running cafe with Zoho POS. Doing good, however this enablement (Disable online order only on zakyastore.in) would enhance the business. Support asked to close -> "We can close the store from more options in the Mobile store > Overview > Store details

    • Mass email from Report output

      Hi, I'd like to send a mass email based on a report output. The report is pulling multiple information from linked modules. Each line of the report ends up with a contact name, email and multiple field values pulled from the linked modules (some are custom

    • Schedule from AI with Zoho Bookings MCP Server

      Greetings from the Zoho Bookings team! We’re excited to introduce the Zoho Bookings MCP (Model Context Protocol) Server integration, a powerful new way to bring AI-driven automation into your scheduling workflows. With MCP, you can connect Zoho Bookings

    • Issue with attaching files to a task through the API

      Hello! I've implemented a function that creates a task for every new bill that is created but I haven't been able to attach to the task the files which are attached to the bill. I have encountered multiple errors but the most common one is error 33003:

    • Create your own Zoho CRM homepage using Canvas - Home View!

      Hello everyone We are excited to share a new enhancement to Canvas in Zoho CRM that gives users more control over how their homepage looks and works. Introducing Canvas Home View! What is Canvas Home View? You can now create and design a custom homepage

    • How to make separate ledgers for GST (different types). Based in India

      Hello Everyone, I am trying to configure GST for a small business and I am not able to create separate ledgers for the different types of GST. In the reports all of it is mentioned under one heading which is not allowed. How do I make sure that the different

    • Zoho mail admin panel not opening

    • Setting default From address when replying to request

      At the moment, if I want to reply to a request, the From field has three options, company@zohosupport.com, support@company.zohosupport.com, and support@company.com.  The first two are really internal address that should never be seen by the customer and

    • Introducing SlyteUI : From Idea to a Working Interface in Minutes

      Hello everyone! Are you spending hours building basic UIs? Does even the smallest customization feel like a major task? CRM customization should feel intuitive and straightforward, not time consuming or exhausting. SlyteUI makes this possible by simplifying

    • Zia Agents in Zoho CRM: a better way to set up digital employees

      Hello everyone, If you've been using Zia Agents in Zoho CRM, so far using Connections was the only deployment method you're familiar with. You create an agent in Zia Agents (define its objective, write instructions, use tools, add knowledge base) and

    • Canadian Banks ?

      Can you advise which Canadian Banks can be used to fully sync credit cards and bank accounts? Thanks

    • Combined Tasks and Issues View (Jira-Style Unified Workload)

      Hello Zoho Projects Team, We hope you are doing well. We would like to submit a feature request regarding task and issue visibility in Zoho Projects. Current Behavior: At the moment, Zoho Projects separates Tasks and Issues into different modules, each

    • Scale up your support with Zia actions

      Hi there, Have you explored how Zia can help automate repetitive tasks? In customer support, every detail matters when delivering the right solutions to customers, and Zia is here to support you. This edition highlights how Zia can simplify and streamline

    • Disable Zoho Contacts

      We don't want to use this app... How can we disable it?

    • Allow Zia Agents using Zoho One Account

      When I went to try Zia Agents, it forced the creation of a new, separate account. This seems counter-intuitive to me. I don't want to manage a separate account. Plus, aren't Zoho One users the ones most likely to adopt Zia Agents most quickly? It seems

    • My Zoho mail stopped receiving or sending emails about 3 hours ago

      Its a pop 3 account. The emails get into the actual mailbox on the server and I can send emails directly from the server, but they are no longer in Zoho, in neither of my Zoho accounts. All green ticks under Mail Accounts under Settings

    • POP mailbox limits

      If I am accessing a remote POP mail server using Zoho Mail is there a mailbox quota for the account or is it all related to my mail account storage limits?

    • SPF: HELO does not publish an SPF Record

      I am using Zoho mail. Completed all of the required prerequisites from the dashboard to avoid any issues with mail delivery. But when checking on mail-tester.com getting the following error. Can anyone help me solve this?

    • Check out in Meetings

      Why there is no check out in Meetings of Zoho CRM, very difficult to track

    • Ability to Attach Images When Reporting Issues to Zoho Projects from Zoho Desk

      Hi Zoho Desk Team, Hope you’re doing well. We’re using the Zoho Desk–Zoho Projects integration to report bugs directly from support tickets into the Zoho Projects issue tracker. This integration is extremely useful and helps us maintain smooth coordination

    • Zoho Show Keeps Crashing and Goes Down with the Data

      Today, I am experiencing something unusual: Zoho Show keeps crashing and goes down with the data. When you try to reopen the same deck, you get that lovely "Presentation not found" error. This has happened today rather frequently with multiple decks.

    • Outgoing Mail Blocked – Suspicious Login Activity (Need Clarification and Solution)

      Hello, I’m currently facing an issue where my Zoho Mail account has been blocked due to “suspicious login activity,” and outgoing emails are restricted. Here are the details shown: Block type: Outgoing mail blocked Reason: Suspicious login activity A

    • Escalate the tickets to the escalation team through email

      Hi Zoho Team, I would like to ask if it is possible to escalate the tickets when the status changed to "Escalated" by sending an email to them. I have attached the snapshot from my Zoho desk where I want it to email to a certain group(escalation team).

    • Mailbox storage showing incorrect usage

      My mailbox shows 4.99 GB used out of 5 GB. However, actual mailbox usage is only around 394 MB. Trash and Spam are already empty. IMAP/POP is not enabled. WorkDrive is not in use. This appears to be a storage calculation issue. Please help to recalculate

    • Google Fonts Integration in Pagesense Popup Editor

      Hello Zoho Pagesense Team, We hope you're doing well. We’d like to submit a feature request to enhance Zoho Pagesense’s popup editor with Google Fonts support. Current Limitation: Currently, Pagesense offers a limited set of default fonts. Google Fonts

    • Have to ask: WHY is Zoho Purposefully blocking Apple Reminders?

      I just have to ask: Why is zoho purposefully blocking Apple reminders (CalDav). This is just strange... I just can't see a reason why this is done both within the Zoho calendar and mail calendar? These are both paid services. Why? This little simple feature is forcing me to leave Zoho. Our workflow depends on Reminders and after talking with an Apple engineer, they noticed theat Zoho is purposefully blocking this caldav port call. I just don't understand why. Thanks!

    • I am not able to check in and checkout in zoho people even location access allowed

      This issue i am facing in mackbook air m1, I allowed location in chrome browser and i also tried in safari but getting similar issue. Please have a look ASAP.

    • Printing receipts with 80mm thermal printer and Zoho Creator

      I have a sales form in my Zoho Creator app and I would like to print receipts for customers. Question 1: From what I've read on this forum there's no way to submit and have the receipt print automatically, you'd have to go through the printer dialog,

    • Integrate with WooCommerce using Wordpress Plugin

      We’re thrilled to announce a powerful update to the Zoho Marketing Automation WordPress plugin with WooCommerce integration! This enhancement enables new possibilities for businesses running online stores using WooCommerce, empowering them to merge seamless

    • Removing To or CC Addresses from Desk Ticket

      I was hoping i could find a way to remove unnecessary email addresses from tickets submitted via email. For example, a customer may email the support address AND others who are in the helpdesk notification group, in either the TO or CC address. This results

    • When I schedule calendar appointments in zoho and invite external emails, they do not receive invites

      Hello, We have recently transitioned to zoho and are having a problem with the calendar feature. When we schedule new calendar appointments in zoho the invite emails aren't being sent to the external users that we list in participants. However, this works

    • Sync desktop folders instantly with WorkDrive TrueSync (Beta)

      Keeping your important files backed up and accessible has never been easier! With WorkDrive desktop app (TrueSync), you can now automatically sync specific desktop folders to WorkDrive Web, ensuring seamless, real-time updates across devices. Important:

    • Unable to send

      Hello, I am unble to send any single email during the whole time due to the Zoho IP 136.143.188.16 being bloked by SpamCop.net Please help can somebody help me?

    • Errorcode 554

      Hello, I am unble to send any single email during the whole time due to the Zoho IP 136.143.188.16 being blocked by SpamCop. Please can somebody help me?

    • Spamcop

      Have been trying to email several of our clients and many of our emails keep getting bounced back with an error that states: ERROR CODE :550 - "JunkMail rejected - sender4-op-o16.zoho.com [136.143.188.16]:17694 is in an RBL: Blocked - see spamcop.net/bl.shtml?136.143.188.16"

    • Next Page