Zoho Developer Community Monthly Digest – March 2025

Zoho Developer Community Monthly Digest – March 2025



Hello everyone,

This month is packed with exciting product updates, learning sessions, and powerful community conversations that remind us: sometimes, the best solutions come from a single shared question. From quick workarounds to upcoming training events and product releases, there's something here for everyone.

Let's dive in!

Upcoming Events

Creator Tech Connect

Title: Product release updates in Zoho Creator
Date: April 9–10, 2025
APAC & ANZ: 11 AM to 12 PM IST – Registration Link
EMEA: 4 PM to 5 PM IST – Registration Link
Americas: 9 PM to 10 PM IST – Registration Link

Creator's tech connect series comprises of technical sessions that provide immersive training on the key essentials and technical nuances of building a solution in Zoho Creator. This is a great opportunity for our developer community to stay informed about Creator's new feature releases, product roadmap, best practices to follow while scripting in deluge, new deluge concepts, and cloud functions. In our previous session, we discussed advanced UI/UX customizations in Zoho Creator. In the upcoming session, we will explore the recent product release updates in Zoho Creator.

ZDK CLI (Zoho Development Kit Command Line Interface)

Date: April 10
Time: 10:00 AM IST & 8:00 PM IST (GMT+5:30)

Managing metadata in Zoho CRM shouldn’t feel like navigating a maze. Yet, the endless clicks to modify profiles, roles, modules, or layouts—and the challenges of version control—can quickly become overwhelming. What if you could skip the hassle and manage your metadata effortlessly? Introducing ZDK CLI—your one-stop solution for streamlining metadata modifications, pushing changes directly from the command line, and tracking updates seamlessly with your preferred Version Control System (VCS). Register now to discover how to take control of your CRM workflow with ZDK CLI.

Extensions 101

Title: Zoho Projects – Data Storage
Date: April 17
Time: 10:00 AM IST & 8:00 PM IST (GMT+5:30)

This series aims to guide developers through the process of building extensions for various Zoho products using the Zoho Developer platform, Sigma. Our previous sessions in this series covered extension development for multiple Zoho products and highlighted the platform's key capabilities for developing efficient extensions. Register for the upcoming sessions, where we'll delve deep into developing extensions for Zoho products like Projects, CRM, Books, and Desk.

Zoho Developer Hangout – Episode 21

Title: Zoho System Integration: Collect, Manage, and Utilize Data
Date: April 23
Time: 8:00 PM IST (GMT+5:30)

In this session, we’re featuring a ZDC Hackathon 2024 winner from the Zoho Creator Category who tackled one of the biggest business bottlenecks—hiring—and turned it into a fully streamlined, automated system. Wonderboy, Sourcing Coordinator & Junior Developer at WeThinkCode_, built this project using Zoho Creator, CRM, and Forms, simplifying the entire recruitment process—from collecting applications to sending updates via WhatsApp and email. It’s smart, practical, and something you could absolutely build on. Register here.

Catalyst 101

Title: Data & File Management and Querying
Date: April 29
Time: 10:00 AM IST & 8:00 PM IST (GMT+5:30)

Catalyst is a full-stack cloud development platform that simplifies the complex. Build, test, host, deploy, and optimize solutions like never before. Its easy learning curve eliminates complexities, empowering you to craft bold innovations at the lowest total cost of ownership (TCO). This is a four-part learning initiative that focuses on offering a thorough understanding of Catalyst—Zoho's cloud computing platform. Click here for registration and more details.

Learning Table Series

Title: Creator for the Property Management
Date: May 8, 2025
APAC & ANZ: 11 AM to 12 PM IST – Registration Link
EMEA: 4 PM to 5 PM IST – Registration Link
Americas: 9 PM to 10 PM IST – Registration Link

We designed this series to provide users with valuable insights and knowledge of Creator's capabilities in various business use cases and applications. This year as well, we have adopted the 12 Months 12 Industries concept. Every month, we will focus on a specific industry, illustrating its unique processes with real-time business scenarios and how to make best use of Creator for that industry. Our previous webinar on Creator for the Asset Management was a success, and during the upcoming session, we'll be exploring Creator for the Property Management.

Zoholics USA 2025

Date: May 13–15
Location: GRB Convention Center in Houston

Join us for three days of inspiration, innovation, and invaluable connections. Whether you’re attending breakout tracks, scheduling 1-on-1 expert sessions, or mingling in networking lounges, we promise you’ll leave with actionable insights and a refreshed perspective on your business. More details here.

Resource Spotlight

Info
We've consolidated all the resources from the developer community learning series into a centralized hub for your convenient access. Consider bookmarking our Zoho Developer Community website to stay informed about the latest updates in the developer community.
Alert
Postman’s 2025 Developers’ Choice Awards at POSTCON ’25

If you’ve found our Zoho CRM Developers API collection on Postman helpful, we’d be honored to have your support! This collection is regularly updated with a focus on simplifying your development experience and helping you work with our APIs effortlessly. We’re excited to be a part of this contest and your vote could help us win. Your support not only motivates us but also drives us to improve and deliver more value to our developer community.

Please cast your vote here and share our profile. Voting lines are open until April 18, 2025. 
  • Zoho Creator
    Get access to the previous Zoho Creator Session recordings from Youtube & Zoho Creator Studio below:
  • Zoho Analytics
    Let's explore how the integration between Zoho Analytics and Zoho Desk can transform customer support, helping teams move from basic reporting to data-driven decision making in this blog.

  • Zoho Flow
    One of the biggest advantages of using Zoho Flow is that all your workflows are in one place, making it easy to make changes, switch them on or off, and monitor how every step is performing.     Now we're making it even easier for you to keep track of your flows and perform quick operations. Say hello to the Zoho Flow mobile app for iPhone!

  • Zoho Notebook
    AI is advancing rapidly and becoming a staple in our daily lives. From boosting our writing skills to enhancing productivity, AI tech is all around us. Because AI is so impactful and becoming the future of advanced technology, we thought, why not implement it in Zoho Notebook to make your writing experience a piece of cake? I    ntroducing Notebook AI, our powerful AI writing assistant in Zoho Notebook.

  • Zoho Directory – Always Verify #09
    As we march ahead into April 2025, you have on your screens yet another edition of Always Verify. We have searched the internet far and wide to bring you impactful Identity and Access Management stories- MFA mandates, ransomware attacks, crazy authentication workflows and of course, the Oracle Cloud breach.

Community Discussions

It’s a great reminder that in the right community, every challenge is just one conversation away from a breakthrough.

Zoho Developer Forum

  • @Nik ran into a snag trying to remove backslashes from a string in Deluge, so he came up with a quick workaround—bit of a hack, but hey, it did the trick. Then @Andres stepped in with a much cleaner fix that made things way easier. Want to know what the fix was? You’ll have to check out the post! Just goes to show, even a messy workaround can lead to a solid solution when you share it with the right crowd.
  • @Federico ran into a workflow hiccup while creating a related record in Zoho CRM—every time he hit “Save,” it would bounce him right back to the parent record. He wanted to stay on the newly created record instead. What followed was a thoughtful exchange around client scripts, potential workarounds, and platform limitations. While there's no one-click fix (yet), the conversation shed light on the why behind this behavior—and sparked ideas that might just lead to a future product tweak. Curious how others are handling it? The post’s worth a read.
  • When @Richard ran into a frustrating error in his Zoho Books Deluge script, the error message wasn’t giving him much to work with. He reached out to the community, and @Bhoomi, our MVP, stepped in to help, spotting a small but crucial syntax issue—something as simple as a missing semicolon. It’s a reminder of how sometimes the smallest detail can cause the biggest roadblock. Check out the post for the full solution!
  • @Taryn noticed something strange—values entered into a custom field on the Lead form in Zoho CRM weren’t saving, and the field just lit up yellow with no error message in sight. It was one of those head-scratcher moments until @Anonymous User stepped in with a simple but spot-on suggestion: check the field’s permissions. Sure enough, that was the culprit. Just another example of how a fresh pair of eyes in the community can help uncover what you might’ve missed.
  • When @ebizness set out to automatically create a new Contact every time a custom CRM module received a new record, things seemed straightforward—until the workflow threw an error. While @Ishwarya guided them through the workflow setup, it was @Max Tyack who shared a golden tip that turned the tide. The moment @ebizness tried it, everything clicked into place. Curious what that magic tip was? Head to the thread to see the clever trick that made the automation work seamlessly!
  • @Hayden’s post casually introduces the concept of the Levenshtein Distance algorithm—measuring how many edits it takes to turn one word into another—while showing how he built a working fuzzy matching system in Deluge. Using maps to mimic 2D arrays and a quirky recursive helper, he proved that with a bit of creativity, even compact scripting tools can be stretched to do pretty impressive things. A fun read that’s both educational, entertaining, and super cool!

Developers ZUG Cliq Channel

Info
These conversations are confined to the Developers ZUG Cliq channel members. If you're keen on becoming a part of this space, visit our website, click JOIN NOW, and complete the form to get an invite to the channel.
  • This thread explores a real-world use case that pushes readers to think beyond the UI. By sharing her situation, Trish uncovered a workaround others can benefit from. Conversations like these empower developers to dive deeper into Deluge, workflows, and modular automation—things the docs might not cover, but the community certainly does!
  • When the documentation doesn’t cover a unique use case, conversations with peers help fill the gaps. When @LaVerne set out to trigger a custom function from the Zoho Cliq check-in (without using Zoho People), @Mike helped highlight some platform boundaries, while @Pranit offered practical insights and opened up the idea of using Cliq Widgets as a potential custom solution.
  • @Mangesh faced a common developer pain point: missing custom fields in the Zoho Books API response. His precise question led to a straightforward and helpful answer from @Pranit, who offered a simple tip that now makes API calls more predictable. It’s proof that asking clear questions gets you closer to clean solutions—especially when the right folks are listening.

Community Spotlight

Cliq Contributors

We want to express our sincere appreciation to all our community contributors. Your commitment, expertise, and the time you invest are invaluable to the community. 



For those who are new to the Zoho Developer Community, check out this post to get started. 

Make sure to follow the digest every month for the most recent updates and conversations. Stay connected and participate in the forums and the Cliq channel to be featured in the upcoming month's digest. Wishing you all an amazing month ahead!


SEE ALSO

    • Recent Topics

    • Deprecation of the Zoho OAuth connector

      Hello everyone, At Zoho, we continuously evaluate our integrations to ensure they meet the highest standards of security, reliability, and compliance. As part of these ongoing efforts, we've made the decision to deprecate the Zoho OAuth default connector

    • Alphabetically

      How can i arrange alphabetically - (Manage Manufacturer) Field in Item Master 

    • Spotlight series #6: The Show app for Android TV has a new look!

      Hello everyone! We are delighted to introduce our revamped and redesigned Show app for Android TV.  Smart TVs are exploding in popularity. Android TV alone has over 110 million active monthly devices. Zoho Show, as part of a constant effort to improve

    • Can i set a default value for country and state in address field in zoho creator?

      Can i set a default value for country and state in address field in zoho creator?

    • Convert HTML to PDF & Send as Email Attachments in Zoho Creator (Deluge)

      This approach is useful for sending welcome letters, instructions, or promotional offers after order creation. // 1. Define the variables using the submitted input customerName = input.Customer_Name1; orderID = input.ID; customerEmail = input.Email_Address; //

    • Redirect after submission is not working after a few submission

      I have setup redirect url correctly and everything works as expected. However, it seems that there's a limit to the number of submissions before the redirect stops working. After the "limit" is reached, the page redirects to a seemingly zoho hosted page,

    • Enhancement Request for Multi-Asset Work Order Feature

      Hello Latha, Thank you for your continued support. The multi-asset Work Order feature is extremely helpful. I did some testing based on our requirements, and during the process, I noticed a few areas where we need your team’s support to improve the feature

    • Marketing Tip #8: Run limited-time offers

      Exclusive offers that don't last long make shoppers purchase right away instead of waiting. Run a flash sale or limited-time discount to convert interest into sales. Try this today: Set up a "Buy X Get Y" coupon in Zoho Commerce valid for a limited time

    • Add Option to Mass Dispatch by User

      Hello! We are using the dispatch console to dispatch service appointments to our service ressources. Right now, the process is our dispatcher verifies each ressource's route for the day and dispatches it after validation. Sadly, there doesn't seem to

    • Free webinar: Zoho Sign unwrapped – 2025 in review

      Hey there! 2025 is coming to an end, and this year has been all about AI. Join our exclusive year-end webinar, where we'll walk you through the features that went live in 2025, provide answers to your questions, and give you a sneak peek on what to expect

    • Zoho Projects - Email notification relabelling of modules not present on default templates

      Hi Projects Team, I noticed that in the default email template notification, the word "bug" was not renamed to the lable I am using in my system. As many users may used the Bugs modules for various purposes including Changes, Revisions, Issues, etc...

    • Publish to LinkedIn via API

      Hi, Is it possible to publish a job opening to LinkedIn (paid job slots) if creating a job opening via api / deluge function? Or is the user required to manually publish via the job boards process? Many Thanks Adrian

    • Is there a way to automatically add Secondary Contacts (CCs) when creating a new ticket for specific customers?

      Some of our customers want multiple contacts to receive all notifications from our support team. Is there a way to automatically add secondary contacts to a ticket when our support team opens a new ticket and associates it with an account? This would

    • Include the "Added Email ID" to the Filters of a Report

      Hi, With a Report and lots of entries, a normal thing is to filter entries by the submitter, but that is not included in the Auto Filter of Reports and you can't add a custom filter to a Report without specifying the actual value. I would like to be able

    • Loops in Deluge

      Hi, Can someone tell me how I do a simple loop in deluge? For example, if i have a variable "X" containing a number of loops to perform, i would like to perform an action X amount of times. X = 10; do while (Y < X){       // ... do something } to further explain, the equivalent in PHP of what i am trying to acheive would be: $X = 20; for($Y = 1; $Y < $X; $Y++ ){       // ... do something } Thanks

    • I am facing a problem with an if-else condition

      If I use if, else if, and else conditions in Deluge with the same variable name, sometimes the variable causes an error because the same variable name is present in every block

    • Zoho Projects - Reply by email to @ mentions posted on the Feed.

      When mentioning someone on the Feed (Status), it would be great if that mentioned person could reply to the email notification to update the Feed thread.

    • Zoho Analytics Bulk Api Import json Data

      HI, I’m trying to bulk-update rows in Zoho Analytics, and below are the request and response details. I’d like to understand the required parameters for constructing a bulk API request to import or update data in a table using Deluge. Any guidance on

    • Record Overseas Transactions Along with CC charges

      Hi All, We receive payments via stripe in multiple currencies and stripe takes around 2.5% fees. The amount is settled in INR into our local bank. What should be the currency of the income account used for Stripe payments? Here is a sample flow that we

    • Product Updates in Zoho Workplace applications | October 2025

      Hello Workplace Community, Let’s take a look at the new features and enhancements that went live across all Workplace applications this October. Zoho Mail Create Signature from Compose window You can now effortlessly create a Signature using the Create

    • Subform data to Sheets

      I have been trying to setup a Zoho Flow automation to bring any Subform input to a Zoho Sheets but it seems impossible to post the subform entries to a Zoho Sheet. Is there any way to do it via Zoho Sheet API? https://www.zoho.com/sheet/help/api/v2/#CONTENT-Insert-row-with-JSON-data

    • Edit Contact Roles in the Potentials Mod

      New to ZOHO so I need some help. I work the same people on different projects concurrency. Their contact info remains the same but their role changes from project to project. In the Potential Mod you can pick contacts and assign a Role to them. I know

    • Is there a way to disable the Activity Reminders Pop-Up Window every time I log in?

      Just wondering if there is a setting to disable the window from opening every time I open my CRM? Thanks Chris

    • Auto-sync field of lookup value

      This feature has been requested many times in the discussion Field of Lookup Announcement and this post aims to track it separately. At the moment the value of a 'field of lookup' is a snapshot but once the parent lookup field is updated the values diverge.

    • Hide fields only for creation

      Hello, I'd like to hide some fields only during the creation of a contact in Zoho CRM. In fact I have some fields that are automatically calculated thanks to an automation, so when my users create a contact I don't want them to fill those fields. I know

    • Rich-text fields in Zoho CRM

      Hello everyone, We're thrilled to announce an important enhancement that will significantly enhance the readability and formatting capabilities of your information: rich text options for multi-line fields. With this update, you can now enjoy a more versatile

    • Font Size 11 - Zoho CRM Email Templates

      Our company communicates with our vendors exclusively using Calibri Font Size 11, as this is the standard formatting for professional emails. Since the CRM only allows for the selection of font sizes 10 & 12, we have been unable to utilize the CRM email

    • Error 400 Booking

      Added a custom domain to Booking. Am Getting a SSL Error that has some other domain on the SSL and giving a 400 error. Followed instructions and it stated it verified our domain.. However it is not working. Please Help!

    • Error AS101 when adding new email alias

      Hi, I am trying to add apple@(mydomain).com The error AS101 is shown while I try to add the alias.

    • How do I change a form's name? Why isn't this more intuitive?

      Can someone please let me know how to change a form's name?

    • Link Purchase Order to Deal

      Zoho Books directly syncs with contacts, vendors and products in Zoho CRM including field mapping. Is there any way to associate vendor purchase orders with deals, so that we can calculate our profit margin for each deal with connected sales invoices

    • Zoho Projects - Email Notifications for Feed Updates

      Hi Projects Team, I'm working with a client who wants a simple way to communicate with their customers on projects. Getting the customer to add comments to Tasks or Bug records is not ideal, as we need a way which is easy with minimal training, and has

    • Zoho Analytics Export API

      Hi Team, I’m working on some integration tasks and wanted to confirm if it’s possible to retrieve a Zoho Analytics table as JSON data using a Deluge script. I’ve already stored my custom data from multiple sources and combined it into a single source.

    • Loading Project Balances in ZOHO Books for each project

      Hello, What is the best method for loading project balances actual and budget into ZOHO books to provide tracking to our project managers. We have projects and federal awards (also treated as projects) which span multiple years. We are converting from

    • Weekly Tips : Make collaboration effortless with Whiteboard in Zoho Mail

      Working with your team often means switching between emails, notes, and other applications just to explain an idea. Maybe you are trying to sketch a layout, plan a workflow, or quickly brainstorm ideas—with text alone, things can get confusing. So how

    • Zoho Sites "pages" management page

      I have 80 plus pages on zoho sites. When I go to the "pages" link to view and edit pages, They are not in any kind of order, so I spend lots of time searching for pages when I need to edit or create new. How can I change the view order of all my pages

    • Introducing the all-new email parser!

      Greetings, We are pleased to introduce to you, a brand-new, upgraded version of the Zoho CRM Email Parser, which is packed with fresh features and has been completely redesigned to meet latest customers needs and their business requirements. On that note,

    • Zoho Projects - Refine Access to Collaboration Menu

      Hi Projects Team, I noticed that Calendar, Chat and Meeting menu options in the Collaboration section are visible to client users, even when they don't have access to the features. This could be confusing and frustrating, because if it's there you expect

    • Zoho Projects - Add Feed to Project Tabs

      Hi Projects Team, I'm working on a lightweight communications requirement for one of my customers in relation to communicating with their client users via Zoho Projects. I noticed that the Feed is only available in the Collaboration section, but you can

    • Kaizen #217 - Actions APIs : Tasks

      Welcome to another week of Kaizen! In last week's post we discussed Email Notifications APIs which act as the link between your Workflow automations and you. We have discussed how Zylker Cloud Services uses Email Notifications API in their custom dashboard.

    • Next Page