Leverage layout rules to customize workflow

Leverage layout rules to customize workflow

Layout rules in Zoho Sprints primarily aim to customize the field layout of your creation forms to meet complex requirements. But it doesn't stop there. Its customization can push the boundaries of how your fields behave, how data is gathered, how processes are branched out, and how workflow is channeled.

Based on conditions, you can tailor field behavior, direct the life cycle of an item, mandate specific actions, restrict the field options, or auto-assign users. The possibilities are aplenty.

We've tried to provide a few sample scenarios that help you automate your data collection and progress tracking flow. If you have any specific requirements, please state them in the comments, and we'll find out if layout rules can help you.

Use case 1: Restricting item statuses based on work item types

With layout rules, each item type can have its own workflow. This means it can have its own unique set of statuses that align with its specific lifecycle.

Let's assume you have three item types: Bug, Story, and Task.
Each type follows its own lifecycle, represented by the following statuses.
  • Bug goes through the To Do, In Progress, Bug Fixing, Bug Testing, and Done statuses.
  • Story has To Do, Ideation, In Progress, Development, Review, and Done.
  • And Task moves through a simple To Do, In Progress, and Done.
To align with these flows, certain statuses should not be available to specific item types. For instance, a story or a task should not be moved to the Bug Fixing status. Similarly, a bug or a task should not be moved to the Development status.

To enforce this, we can create layout rules that control which statuses are available based on the item type.

So, we'll create three conditions with each item type as the primary field.
  • If the item type is Bug, specify the condition with the trigger action to restrict the status pick list to To Do, In Progress, Bug Fixing, Bug Testing, and Done.
  • If the item type is Story, specify the condition with the trigger action to restrict the status pick list to To Do, Ideation, In Progress, Development, Review, and Done.
  • If the item type is Task, specify the condition with the trigger action to restrict the status pick list to To Do, In Progress, and Done.
Together, these conditions control the status progression for each item type. So, when you create a bug, it will only progress into the statuses that belong to the Bug lifecycle.


Use Case 2: Restricting future statuses based on the item's current status

When your team requires a pre-defined strict workflow where an item can be moved from a specific status to only a few statuses, layout rules can help implement this. For example, an item in the Bug Fixing status should only move to Bug Testing, and no other status. This way, each status controls the next status in the workflow.

To ensure this, create layout rules specifying conditions for each of the item status:
  • If the status is To do, specify the condition with the trigger action to restrict the status pick list to In progress and Rejected.
  • If the status is In progress, specify the condition with the trigger action to restrict the status pick list to In progress and Development.
  • If the status is Development, specify the condition with the trigger action to restrict the status pick list to Review Level 1.
  • If the status is Review Level 1, specify the condition with the trigger action to restrict the status pick list to Reopen and Review Level 2.
  • If the status is Reopen, specify the condition with the trigger action to restrict the status pick list to In progress.

Use case 3: Making a field mandatory based on item status or item type

Let's assume you want a field to be made mandatory only when the item is moved to one particular status. Which implies the field will remain non-mandatory during other statuses and will be mandatory only at that particular status. So, the progress to that status must be allowed only when the mandatory field is updated.

For instance, when an item is moved to the Done status, the Approver field must become mandatory to record completion approval. To ensure that this process is executed, you can create a layout rule where the primary field is the Status Name. If the status field is updated to Done, specify the condition with the trigger action to set the Approver field as mandatory.
​
​

Use case 4: Showing or hiding a section or field based on item types

Layout rules enable you to show or hide fields or sections based on item type conditions.

Let's say a section with fields related to a new feature should only be visible when the item type is New Feature.

Similarly, when the item type is Security Issue, the section with fields related to Security issue must be visible.

To achieve this, create a layout rule with Item Type as the primary field.
  • Create a condition for the New Feature item type with a trigger action to show the New Feature Details section.
  • Create a condition for the Security Issue item type with a trigger action to show the Security Issue Details section.

Use case 5: Selecting specific assignees for item types and priorities

Layout rules can help you assign users based on the item type and priority. Let's say your team has a group of developers with varied levels of experience and expertise. You want to assign the high priority items to a more experienced member like John, while assigning low priority items to a novice like Peter.

If the item type is Bug and the priority level is Critical, you can assign the bug to John. If the priority level is High, it goes to Peter.

To meet this requirement, you can create a layout rule with Item Type as the primary field.
  • Create a condition for the item type Bug with a subcondition where the priority level is Critical and the trigger action has the Set Field Value Assignee as John.
  • For the same condition, add a subcondition where the priority level is High and the trigger action has the Set Field Value Assignee as Peter.
Similarly, say you want the Task item type with a medium priority level to go to Helen, and a low priority level should go to James.
  • Create a condition for the item type Task with a subcondition where the priority level is Medium and the trigger action has the Set Field Value Assignee as Helen.
  • For the same condition, add a subcondition where the priority level is Low and the trigger action has the Set Field Value Assignee as James.


These are just a few examples of how layout rules can streamline your project management. Do you have any particular scenario that needs resolution? Please share it with us.

Thanks,
Zoho Sprints Team

    • Sticky Posts

    • Tip #28 - Plan less and deliver more using WIP limit in Zoho Sprints

      Hello, It's been a while since we met with a quick, interesting tip. As the saying goes, "Too much of anything is good for nothing", today the focus is on delivering your outcomes with the right amount of planning. Your plan should be practical, calculative, and achievable for driving a qualitative success.    Laura's plan   Laura has a habit of planning her project deliverables before assigning work to her team-mates. Once the plan is finalized, she schedules a general meeting with her team and

    • Tip # 3- Working on the Scrum board

      Continuing from our Tip #2 on leading to a sprint, let's see how to manage the work items on the Scrum board.  Once you start the sprint your work items are automatically displayed on the Scrum board where you will actually manage the work items. It is a snapshot of the backlog items identified for the current sprint.    The layout of the Scrum board Simply put, the scrum board is just like a physical board with sticky notes on which the work items of the active sprint are displayed.  The scrum board

    • Tip#2- Leading you to a Sprint

      Product Backlog After the user stories are written and finalized, they are sorted to create the Product Backlog for the project during the Backlog Grooming meeting. This is a master list of all the work items that have been identified for the project and sorted by priority. Requirements are not constant during this period.The Product Backlog is dynamic and is an ongoing process. Every user story in the Product Backlog is customer centric. The Product Backlog includes: User centric stories based on

    • Tip #1- Why swimlanes?

      Lanes define a clear path to reach your destination. In Agile, swimlane is one such concept that sets a simple and clear process of the work that you do.   The concept of swimlane can be related to the pool, where the swimmers gather in their respective lanes to start off. Similar to the pool, work items are grouped in different categories. Each category is referred as a lane and is displayed in horizontal format. Swimlanes are effective in categorizing the work items with respective to specific

    • Recent Topics

    • Standardize email communication with Signature Template

      Maintaining a consistent and professional signature across all outgoing emails is essential for any organization. However, when users manage their signatures individually, it often leads to inconsistencies like varying formats, missing designations, or

    • Zoho Books: tax is not automatically pulled from product-data anymore - why?

      Hi, until a short time ago, you could set a default taxrate for each product/item. This taxrate automatically appeared each time the item was chosen in an invoice or quote. Why does this not work anymore? The field is still there at the product record,

    • Setting up property management in Zoho Books

      Hi, I run a property management business that manages property complexes. There are multiple owners, some owning more than one property on the same complex. My role is to manage the fees they pay for maintenance of common areas, such as the swimming pool

    • Zoho Creator to GMAIL API Setup - Where Do I Begin?

      Does anyone know how to connect Zoho Creator to Google Workspace (Specifically GMAIL?) We have FLOW setup and working fine to send emails via GMAIL, but Flow doesn't accept file attachments which is a major problem. So, we need to be able to send an email

    • Kiosk Page Refresh

      We have a Kiosk running from a button in contacts to update values and also add related lists, which works great, but when the kiosk is finished the page does not refresh to show the changes. Is there a way to force the contact to refresh/update when

    • Setting GC session variable programatically in a website

      Hi! Is there a way now to programatically set session variables from a website for a Guided Conversations? The current available methods are dependent on react-native.

    • Ticket Merge Error

    • Refresh frequency

      Dear Zoho Team, I really, truly appreciate that Zoho Books gets frequent updates. As a matter of fact this is how a good SaaS company should stay on top. However, I feel that I have to hit refresh almost every day. This was exciting at the beginning but

    • Update application by uploading an updated DS file

      Is it possible? I have been working with AI on my desktop improving my application, and I have to keep copy pasting stuff... Would it be possible to import the DS file on top of an existing application to update the app accordingly?

    • Two-factor authentication (2FA) Log-in Problems

      The Two-factor authentication (2FA) Login on my passwords doesn't match , so it wont accept login I'm down to my last backup code.

    • Remove my video

      Hi, How can I remove my video so that I don't have to see myself. It's weird so I always remove my own video from what I see but cannot find this feature here. Thanks!

    • Client Script: Any plans to add support for multi-select field with onChange

      Client Script is fantastic and the documentation lists multiselect form fields as unsupported. Just wondering if there are any plans to make this a supported field. https://www.zoho.com/crm/developer/docs/client-script/client-script-events.html 2. Field

    • Feature Reqeust - Include MPN In Selectable FIelds

      I have noticed that the MPN is not available to show in the list view of Items. Please consider adding it as EAN, UPC and ISBN are all available, so it doesn't make much sense to exclude this similar option. Thanks for considering my feedback.

    • Experience effortless record management in CRM For Everyone with the all-new Grid View!

      Hello Everyone, Hope you are well! As part of our ongoing series of feature announcements for Zoho CRM For Everyone, we’re excited to bring you another type of module view : Grid View. In addition to Kanban view, List view, Canvas view, Chart view and

    • Windows Desktop Application for Bigin

      I'm finding the need for a standalone Bigin desktop app for Windows users. Most of my daily work is done through a browser, so I often have several open tabs while working with customers and checking product information, etc. With Bigin currently only

    • Set another Layout as Standard

      We created a few layouts and we want to set another one to standard:

    • Salesforceに添付ファイルを格納したい

      お世話になっております。 Salesforceに添付ファイルを格納したく、カスタムオブジェクトに連携し、 「ファイルのアップロード」項目を設けました。 実際、エラーもなく送信出来たのですが、実際生成されたカスタムオブジェクトのレコードを見ると、どこにも添付ファイルがありません。仕様として、この添付ファイルはSalesforceのどこに格納されるのでしょうか？ 今回作りたいフォームは、複数の書類を添付するため、Zohoformのファイルアップロード項目「本人確認書類」「源泉徴収票」などの項目を、Salesforce側にも設けた「本人確認書類」「源泉徴収票」という各項目にURLリンクとして紐づけたいと思っておりました。

    • Knowledge Base article lists

      Is it possible to adjust the number of articles that are visible under a category of the Knowledge Base portal? Currently it looks like by default it populates about 5 articles before it puts the "more" option at the bottom. Looking to see if I can extend

    • Discrepancy in Contracts with Fields list/Layout

      The Support Plan field on the layout isn't in the fields list. What am I missing?

    • Migrating all workflows to another Zoho account

      We are going to transfer into another company, and we are going to get new emails and new Zoho accounts. Is there a way to migrate (or save in some sort of external file) all presets and settings that we have on this account? That includes primarily workflows,

    • Edit The Newsletter

      There doesn't seem to be the ability add a title and a caption below the button. Can this be done?

    • Unable to Delete Items – No Visible Transactions but Error “Items which are a part of other transactions cannot be deleted…”

      Hello Community, We are using Zoho Inventory for our business and encountered a persistent issue that is preventing us from deleting certain items. The message shown is: “Items which are a part of other transactions cannot be deleted. Instead, mark them

    • Keyboard UX for Assemblies

      The new Assembly module has a counter-intuitive behavior that ought to be corrected. When an Assembly is ready to be entered, there are two options given, the blue-highlighted "Assemble" and the gray "Save as Draft". This correctly implies that the normal

    • landed cost-need help with different currency under the same bill

      I’m having trouble recording landed costs in Zoho Inventory/Books. My purchase order is in CNY, but the landed cost (freight) I pay is in USD. Zoho forces everything under the same bill to use one currency, so I can’t enter the landed cost in its actual

    • Improved Functionality PO Bill SO Invoice

      Hello, I need to enter over 100 items, it's frustrating to scroll a few item rows and wait for more to load, then scroll again. It would be nice to have buttons that scroll to the top or bottom with one click. Furthermore, these items I'm adding are VAT

    • Generate a link for Zoho Sign we can copy and use in a separate email

      Please consider adding functionality that would all a user to copy a reminder link so that we can include it in a personalized email instead of sending a Zoho reminder. Or, allow us to customize the reminder email. Use Case: We have clients we need to

    • I would like to request a new feature or setting for SalesIQ.

      Hello Zoho Team, I would like to request a new feature or setting for SalesIQ. Currently, when a user opens our contact widget and clicks on the "Chat with us" option, it opens a standard chat window that remains empty until either the user types a message

    • In Zoho inventory Converting sales return to cerdit note from using Api from Creator Error details: {"code":-1,"message":"Invalid Sales Return ID."}

      In Zoho inventory Converting sales return to cerdit note from using Api from Creator Error details: {"code":-1,"message":"Invalid Sales Return ID."} this is button Function used in the Creator map Inventory.Create_Credit_note(int CRE_ID) { return_value

    • Zia should track how customer relationships evolve over time

      Here's a feature idea that I've been thinking about The Problem Zia is great at analyzing individual interactions email sentiment, call transcription, best time to contact. But here's what it can't do: tell you how a relationship has evolved over time.

    • FSM integration with Books

      Hi, I have spent a few months working with FSM and have come across a critical gap in the functionality, which I find almost shocking....either that, or I am an idiot. The lack of bi-directional sync between Books and FSM on Sales Orders/ Work Orders

    • How to Track Inventory Usage from Zoho FSM to Zoho Inventory?

      Hi everyone, We’re currently working on integrating Zoho FSM with Zoho Inventory, and we’ve encountered a challenge we’re hoping the community can help us understand better. Here’s the context: When we create a Work Order in Zoho FSM that involves parts

    • Set Field Mandatory by Client Script ZOHO CRM

      #Tips of the day We can set the field as mandatory by the client script var field_obj = ZDK.Page.getField('Custom_Field1'); field_obj.setMandatory(true); Custom_Field1 = Field API Name Apart from is if you have required any kind of Zoho work please do

    • associating products with accounts

      I have all my accounts and products in zoho now. I need to generate a sales order for an account. The product lookup feature on the sales order shows no products...how can I get them to appear.

    • Can we rely on order of returned ids when inserting multiple records?

      Hello! API https://www.zoho.com/crm/developer/docs/api/v8/insert-records.html does not mention that the response array will match the input array*, keeping this important information implicit and someone might have doubts to rely on it. (*the response

    • New UI for Writer - Disappointed

      I've been enjoying Zoho Writer as a new user for about 6 months, and I really like it. One of my favorite things about it is the menu bar, which you can hide or leave out while still seeing most of your page because it is off to the left. I think this

    • Zoho CRM Community Digest - February 2026 | Part 2

      In this edition, we’re highlighting a few more product enhancements, along with some helpful community discussions that explore everyday CRM scenarios from automating reminders and managing lead outreach to making the most of APIs and client scripts.

    • Dont want to list inactive items.

      If an item is made inactive, there is no point in showing it in the item list. Please provide an option to hide all inactive items in 'Preferences'. 

    • Client Script event on any field of a Detail page

      Hi everyone! I'd like to trigger a Client Script when a user modifies a field - any field - from the Account Details page, how can I do this? I don't want to trigger it on a specific field, but on all of them. Thanks in advance!

    • Tip #66 - Exploring Technician Console: Network Statistics - 'Insider Insights'

      Hello Zoho Assist Community! Have you ever wondered why a remote session feels sluggish, or wanted to check whether connectivity issues are on your end or the customer's? That's exactly where the Network Statistics feature in Zoho Assist comes to the

    • REFUND REQUEST FOR PLAN SUBSCRIPTION CANCELLED

      I have cancelled my Zoho Books subscription and would like to request a full refund for the subscription. Kindly process the refund at your earliest convenience.

    • Next Page