Kaizen #134 Manipulating Rich Text Field (RTF) using Zoho CRM APIs

Hello everyone!

Last week, we discussed Deciding on the type of applications: Self-client or Server-based? This week, we will discuss the Rich Text Field (RTF) and how we can manipulate RTF using Zoho CRM APIs.

In this post,

What is a Rich Text Field (RTF)?
Use case
Rich Text Field creation in a module using the Create Custom Field API
Adding values to the RTF using the Insert Records API
Fetch complete data of RTF using the GET - Rich Text Field API
Updating Rich Text Field using the Update Records API
Deleting RTF using the Delete Custom Field API
RTF using the COQL API
RTF using Bulk APIs

1. What is a Rich Text Field?

The Rich Text field is the preferred choice when there is a need for formatted text and a larger character limit. It can accommodate up to 50,000 characters, including HTML elements that are generated when the text is formatted, making it ideal for entries that require styling and organization, such as product descriptions or detailed client communications. Although tooltips can be added to improve user interaction, the rich text field does not support encryption or mandatory input settings.

Using rich text can improve the visual appeal of your information by providing different font styles, colors, and highlights. This allows for effective communication of important details. Bullet points and numbered lists can enhance readability, while bold, italics, or underlined texts can emphasize crucial information. Increased and decreased indents can help organize data, and the strikethrough feature can easily indicate changes or updates.

2. Use case

Consider Zylker, an org that uses Zoho CRM as their sales management system to store reports or feedback on its employees' sales performance report, total revenue, sales breakdown by product, key achievement, challenges faced, action plan, and to-do lists. These are stored in the multi-line field's rich text format type for better visuals and to identify the important information easily.

Let us see how to create RTFs using APIs, and how to access or update RTF using different available APIs. Note that the Rich Text type of multi-line field is supported from version 6.

3. Rich Text Field creation in a module using the Create Custom Field API

To create a rich text field in a module, first know the module's API name using the GET - Modules Metadata API, then create a custom RTF field in that module.

Request URL to create Rich Text Field :

{api-domain}/crm/v6/settings/fields?module=Employees

Request Method : POST

Sample Input :

{
"fields": [
{
"field_label": "Feedback",
"data_type": "textarea",
"length": 50000,
"textarea": {
"type": "rich_text"
},
"tooltip": {
"name": "static_text",
"value": "employee's feedback"
}
}
]
}

4. Adding values to the RTF using the Insert Records API

To add values to the created rich text field, you should know its API name.

Using the api_name of the Employees module, make a GET - Fields metadata API call to get the list of fields (along with their api_name) in the Employees module. Search for the field in which you need to add values to the Rich Text Field. In our case, it is Feedback.

Request URL : {api-domain}/crm/v6/Employees

Request Method : POST

Sample Input :

{
"data": [
{
"Company": "Zylker",
"Name" : "Patricia Boyle",
"Email": "patricia@zylker.com",
"State": "Texas",
"Feedback": "Sales Performance Report Salesperson Name: Patricia Reporting Period: Q1 2024 Total Sales Revenue Generated: $250,000 Sales Breakdown: <ul style=\"list-style-type:disc;list-style-position:inside;padding-inline-start:20px;\"><li style=\"color:rgb(51, 51, 51);\">Product A: $100,000</li><li style=\"color:rgb(51, 51, 51);\">Product B: $80,000</li><li style=\"color:rgb(51, 51, 51);\">Product C: $70,000</li></ul> Key Achievements: <ul style=\"list-style-type:disc;list-style-position:inside;padding-inline-start:20px;\"><li>Exceeded sales targets for Product A by 20%.</li><li style=\"color:rgb(51, 51, 51);\">Secured 5 new clients for Product B, contributing to a 25% increase in sales.</li><li style=\"color:rgb(51, 51, 51);\">Closed a high-value deal for Product C with a revenue of $50,000.</li></ul> Challenges Faced: <ul style=\"list-style-type:disc;list-style-position:inside;padding-inline-start:20px;\"><li style=\"color:rgb(51, 51, 51);\">Market competition intensified, resulting in longer sales cycles.</li><li style=\"color:rgb(51, 51, 51);\">Difficulty in accessing decision-makers for key accounts, leading to delays in closing deals.</li><li style=\"color:rgb(51, 51, 51);\">Some clients expressed concerns about pricing, requiring additional negotiation efforts.</li></ul> Action Plan: <ol style=\"list-style-type:decimal;list-style-position:inside;padding-inline-start:20px;\"><li style=\"color:rgb(51, 51, 51);\">Targeted Marketing Campaigns: Launch targeted marketing campaigns to increase brand visibility and attract potential clients.</li><li style=\"color:rgb(51, 51, 51);\">Enhanced Networking: Strengthen networking efforts to establish connections with decision-makers and key stakeholders.</li><li style=\"color:rgb(51, 51, 51);\">Client Retention Strategy: Implement a client retention strategy to address pricing concerns and ensure customer satisfaction.</li></ol> To-Do Lists : Continued focus on building strong client relationships, identifying new opportunities, and leveraging resources effectively to drive further sales growth in the upcoming quarters."
}
]
}

Notes:

If you enter incorrect API names for fields, the system will skip them and the record will be created successfully, but the values won't be added. This rule applies to RTF too.
When using the Insert Records API for bulk records creation and the Update Records API for bulk records update, you can add up to 50,000 characters to RTFs in each record.
For details on supported HTML tags and their attributes, refer to the help document.

The below GIF shows the result of the above input in the UI.

When you add values using HTML tags to the RTF via API, the input will be transformed into formatted data.

5. Fetch complete data of RTF using the Rich Text Field API

The Rich Text Field supports up to 50000 characters. Using the GET - Records API, you can fetch only the first 500 characters of the rich text field ('Feedback' in our case) in the response. If the @has_more property in the GET- Records response is true for the Rich Text Field (RTF) value, it indicates that the RTF contains more than 500 characters.

To fetch the entire data, we have introduced the GET - Rich Text Field API in V6, enabling the retrieval of complete data from rich text fields.

Below Sample shows how to fetch full data :

Request URL : {api-domain}/crm/v6/Employees/5725767000002594018/actions/fetch_full_data

Request Method : GET

Response :

6. Updating Rich Text Field using the Update Records API

Updating a rich text field doesn't require any special steps. It is similar to the process how we update other fields in a record, using the Update Records API.

7. Deleting RTF using the Delete Custom Field API

General notes :

Rich text fields are not supported in subforms, List View, Kanban View, Canvas View, Sheet View, Related Lists, Lookup popup, global search, filters and criteria, formula fields, report export, and integrations.
Rich text fields are not supported in the Search API.
Rich text fields are supported for importing and exporting records, using the Bulk APIs. The data will be exported as HTML content. For example, Patricia will be exported as Patricia.

8. Rich Text Field using the COQL API

Retrieve the Rich Text Fields from a module through a COQL query. Note that RTFs cannot be used in the criteria. Similar to the GET - Records API, the COQL API response fetches up to 500 characters of the RTFs. To fetch its complete data, use the GET - Rich Text Field API.

Request URL : https://www.zohoapis.com/crm/v6/coql

Request Method : POST

Sample Input :

{
"select_query":"select 'Feedback' from Employees where Company is not null"
}

Response :

9. Rich Text Field using Bulk APIs

Bulk Read API :

Bulk Read API allows you to fetch a large set of data i.e., you can fetch a maximum of 200,000 records in a single API call. You can export complete data of rich text fields in a module. Note that RTFs cannot be specified in the criteria.

Request URL: https://www.zohoapis.com/crm/bulk/v6/read

Request Method: POST

Sample input :

{

"callback": {

"url": "https://www.example.com/callback",

"method": "post"

"query": {

"module": {

"api_name": "Employees"

"file_type": "ics"

}

The Bulk Read API is an asynchronous API, the response will not be available instantly; the bulk read job is scheduled. Once the job is completed, it'll be notified in the callback URL. The records are available in a downloadable CSV file or ICS file (for events).

Below is a sample downloaded CSV file:

Unlike the GET - Records API, the Bulk Read API fetched the RTF's complete data.

See our Bulk Read API documentation to know how to view the status of the scheduled job and download the file in detail, along with more sample requests and responses.

Bulk Write API:

Bulk Write API allows you to insert, update, or upsert a large set of data. In the CSV file module, using the Bulk Write API, you can add up to 50000 characters to the RTFs for each record in a row.

Prepare your CSV file

The Bulk Write API only accepts a CSV file compressed into a ZIP file as input.

Below picture represents values added to the rich text field:

Please ZIP the CSV file once you add values to the Rich Text Field.

Upload your CSV file :

This involves making a POST API call, with the ZIP file containing the required data.

Headers

Header Name	Description
feature	bulk-write
X-CRM-ORG	Your zgid which you get from the Organization API

Request URL: https://content.zohoapis.com/crm/v6/upload

Request Method: POST

Create a bulk write job :

Request URL : {{api-domain}}/crm/bulk/v6/write

Request Method : POST

Sample Input for bulk insert :

{
"operation": "insert",
"ignore_empty": true,
"callback": {
"url": "https://example.zoho.com/test",
"method": "post"
},
"resource": [
{
"type": "data",
"module": {
"api_name": "Employees"
},
"file_id": "5725767000002613001",
"file_names": [
"Rich.csv"
],
"field_mappings": [
{
"api_name": "Name",
"index": 0
},
{
"api_name": "Feedback",
"index": 1
},
{
"api_name": "Company",
"index": 2
}
]
}
]
}

Refer to our Bulk Write API help document and get more information on how the Bulk Write API works, how to prepare your CSV file, and how to upload your CSV file, and how to check the job status.

We trust that this post meets your needs and is helpful. Let us know your thoughts in the comment section or reach out to us at support@zohocrm.com

Stay tuned for more insights in our upcoming Kaizen posts!

Cheers!

Previous Kaizen Post :

Kaizen #133 - Deciding on the type of applications: Self-client or Server-based?

Additional Reading :

API Help Documentation : Rich Text Field API
Kaizen Series
Knowledge Base Documentation

Join us for our upcoming Zoho CRM Developer Series: Zoho CRM APIs, where you can explore more about Zoho CRM APIs. Register Now!

Topic Participants
Subramanian K
Vigneshwaran K

Sticky Posts
Kaizen #152 - Client Script Support for the new Canvas Record Forms
Hello everyone! Have you ever wanted to trigger actions on click of a canvas button, icon, or text mandatory forms in Create/Edit and Clone Pages? Have you ever wanted to control how elements behave on the new Canvas Record Forms? This can be achieved
Kaizen #197: Frequently Asked Questions on GraphQL APIs
🎊 Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – We want to hear from you! Do you have any questions, suggestions, or topics you would like us to cover in future posts? Your insights and suggestions help us shape future content and make this series better for everyone.
Kaizen #198: Using Client Script for Custom Validation in Blueprint
Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – 1 More to the Big Two-Oh-Oh! Do you have any questions, suggestions, or topics you would like us to cover in future posts? Your insights and suggestions help us shape future content and make this series better for everyone.
Celebrating 200 posts of Kaizen! Share your ideas for the milestone post
Hello Developers, We launched the Kaizen series in 2019 to share helpful content to support your Zoho CRM development journey. Staying true to its spirit—Kaizen Series: Continuous Improvement for Developer Experience—we've shared everything from FAQs
Kaizen #193: Creating different fields in Zoho CRM through API
🎊 Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – We want to hear from you! Do you have any questions, suggestions, or topics you would like us to cover in future posts? Your insights and suggestions help us shape future content and make this series better for everyone.

Recent Topics
Signature image size changing on replied emails
Hi, Sometimes I see the size of the image I use as signature changes when I open replied emails. Do you know why is this happening? It doesn't seem to happen when I send emails to Gmail though. Signature should look like in attachment "Signature_normal.jpg"
Não consigo enviar emails. "Razão:533"
Não consigo enviar emails. "Razão: 533 Relaying disallowed. Invalid Domain" aparece e me impede de enviar emails... Como resolver o problema?
Error when setting up IMAP access in Gmail
Hi I set up POP3 access via Gmail for my Zoho-hosted domain email. I just tried to change it to IMAP access, however when inputting the settings I received the following error message from Gmail "Missing +OK response upon connecting to the server: * OK
Zoholics Europe 2025: Unlocking the Power of Zoho CRM : A Hands-On Workshop
Why should you attend? At Zoholics Europe 2025, Zoho’s official user conference, you’ll have the opportunity to connect directly with experts and explore powerful tools that help businesses elevate customer experiences. Be sure to attend one of the most
"Wrong password or login" Problem to configure Zoho on MAIL App on my Macbook
Hi, I'm having problems to configure my e-mail on my MAIL App(Macbook pro). My e-mail is hari@trespontoum.net Actually was working perfectly, and still working on my Iphone. My MAIL App prompt me that my login or password is wrong. I tried to change 3
How do I delte a mailbox alias
Hi everyome, I have created a mailbox alias on one of my accounts, but I can't figure out how to delete it again. When I go into the control panel on my super-admin account and click on user details and the settings for the user, I can see the mailbox
Allowing vendors to Upload Purchase Invoices against Purchase Order
Work Flow: Once Project is executed, We send Purchase order to every Vendors asking them to Share the invoice against the same. Most of the time Vendors Send invoices through Mails but our Finance Team miss to book those Purchase Invoices in Zoho Books.
Deluge - forward incoming email with original attachments and content but new subject
I'm working in ZohoMail with a 10GB paid account. Using a filter and a custom function, I can send a new mail with the original email content and a new subject, but I'm struggling to find how to attach the original attachment to a new mail - or even to
Error: "The conversation window has expired." on WhatsApp
Hello, I would like to know why this error appears in the messages within WhatsApp from the CRM: "The conversation window has expired." The question arises because a potential client sent us a message at 11:00 PM and we are responding the next day at
How to Sync Desk KB and Sales IQ KB?
Hi, we have just started to use Desk and are using the SalesIQ Chat. Ideally I'd like to use the 'FAQ' feature on chat (which uses SalesIQ KB) and also allow our customers to use the self-service KB that comes with Desk. Unfortunately they are two different
Need help! Unable to send message; Reason: 554 5.1.8 Email Outgoing Blocked.
Hi Zoho team My account name is senpai.atelier, it’s been few days I can’t send Emails with the same error messages. I’ve raised the issue to support@zohomail.com that doesn’t respond to my query. I wonder if you may help troubleshooting soon.
Zoho arrives to Spam on all Microsoft Accounts (Outlook, Hotmail, Microsoft 365)
I believe this is a very serious issue. All my email accounts in Zoho arrives straight to SPAM. Thing is, a lot of clients rely on email arriving to Inbox, specially on Microsoft Accounts since it is used a lot both for business and personal email sending.
Registeration
I just added the TXT code. What next?
Cannot receive password protected zip files
Hello, I cannot received a password protected attachments. Also all my members in the same domain has the same problems. Can you please help me? Best regrads
ERROR 554 5.1.8 Sender Address Blocked code(554)
We have an email with Zoho ( comercial@bruiser.com.br), but, when we try associate the account in GMAIL, the server shows this message: 554 5.1.8 Sender Address Blocked code(554) I see this error appear when the limits of returns exceded 10 messages,
How do I associate pricebooks to a customer?
I setup a few pricebooks, that worked fine. But now the only thing I can do with it, when I enter a quote or sales order, I can select which pricebook to use, but I have to do this product by product every time I add one. Is there a way to connect a pricebook
Zoho mail stopped receiving emails
Our email are stopped to receive outsider email. i have checked the DSN, it's pointed to ZOho mail. Can anyone help me to fix this issue urgently? Thanks
send email from web application
Hello, I'm experiencing an issue with sending emails from my web application. Here are the configuration parameters currently in use: ini Copia Modifica quarkus.mailer.from=noreply.sedis@mondonovo.net quarkus.mailer.host=smtp.zoho.com quarkus.mailer.port=465
Custom CSS in Zoho Form
Hi, Please let me know, how we can add custom css in Zoho Form. Thanks
Zoho Recruit
Getting this issue
Missing Email
We recently started using ZohoMail we migrated our users from google workspaces. The migration process seemed to have gone smoothly however not all emails are showing in the inbox folder. For example: If I sort the inbox folder from old to new. (Oldest
Client Script Quality of Life Improvements #1
Since I'm doing quite a bit of client scripting, I wanted to advise the Zoho Dev teams about some items I have found in client script that could be improved upon. A lot of these are minor, but I feel are important none-the-less. Show Error on Subform
Account blocked after accessing via VPN
All my accounts are blocked after using a VPN. I have submitted multiple support tickets without response. It’s critical that my email be restored asap Can you please provide a way to unblock my accounts
Exchange Rate Updates
Hi, It would be great that when you work with multiple currencies, the exchange rate updates automagically every day (as seen on Zoho Books) or at least that when you create/update an opportunity the exchange rate could be manually updated, or maybe both!
Courses without signup
Can I create "real" public courses where no signup is needed?
Espace Sandbox – Votre environnement de test sécurisé dans Zoho Projects
Zoho Projects propose un sandbox sécurisé pour tester des configurations, des personnalisations et des modifications sans compromettre les données en production. Note : Disponible avec le plan Enterprise le plus récent basé sur les utilisateurs (y compris
Descargas en learn
Buenos dias, yo en mis cursos para no tener que cargar los archivos que utilizare en las lecciones decidi utilizar la opcion de bloques para añadir un enlace de mi workdrive con el video que deseo para que sea todo mas organizado, pero hay un problema.
Mail delivery
I initially had a problem sending any outgoing mail and was able to fix it on my own, given Zoho support never got back to me. However, despite being able to send emails now, none of my mail to different Gmail addresses are arriving, and they are not
Mermaid Support & Zoho Learn
Hi Zoho Team, I’m currently working with Zoho Learn and was wondering if there’s any way to add support for Mermaid syntax to create flowcharts, sequence diagrams, and other visual elements within articles or lessons. Mermaid is widely used in technical
Blocked due to VPN
Hi My account outgoing mails and IMAP access have been blocked due to using a vpn being interpreted as suspicious logins. I’ve tried to mail support but not sure if this is also blocked. This is extremely frustrating as I’m using a vpn because I’m travelling
reset admin access.
I am a user under the domain @lanutraceuticals.com. I do not have admin access. Kindly let me know the administrator contact or help me reset admin access.”
Unsubscripation booked domin
Kindly Un subscription booked domain
How to change Super Admin
Good Day, Can someone kindly guide me on how to change the super Administrator. I have tried many times but could not succeed.
Events disappearing in Calendar
To reproduce the bug: 1.- Add a new event in Calendar 2.- Type any name for the Event 3.- Click "Create" 4.- The event appears 5.- Click on the event to open it 6.- Optional: Edit the event 7.- Click OK 8.- After two seconds, the event disappears Now, click on another day and then come back to the inserted event's day. The event appears.
Mail transfer to a contact with multiple accounts
Hi, Since we can only associate one email for a Contact across Zoho, would it be a problem if we want to merge our mailbox in the future? For example, Mr. Jones is the main POC for 5 accounts, once we merge our mail where would the messages go-- is it
@mention not working in Mail
Am I missing something? When trying to forward a message there is a hint you could do this also by "@mention" at the end of the message. When typing (for example) "@s.." there should appear addresses from my contacts, shouldn´t it? But nothing happens! So what can I do? Best regards and thanks for any help in advance! JH P.S.: Sorry for my bad English.
Enable Zia-Powered Deluge Assistance and AI Agent Without Mandatory OpenAI Integration
Hi Zoho Creator Team, Hope you're doing well. We’d like to request a feature enhancement related to Zia's AI capabilities in Zoho Creator, particularly regarding Deluge Assistance and the AI Agent. Currently, as shown in your documentation (Generate Deluge
Zoho Sign community meetup series - India
Hello everyone! Zoho Sign is a comprehensive digital signature application tailor-made for Indian businesses with unique features like Aadhaar eSign, eStamping, USB/PFX signing. We are now excited to announce our first meetup series for Zoho Sign in India,
Product Updates in Zoho Workplace applications | June 2025
Hello Workplace Community, Let’s take a look at the new features and enhancements that went live across all Workplace applications this June. Zoho Mail Slideshow view for inline images in Notes View all your inline images added in a notes in a effortlessly
Assign multiple vendors to the same product
Guys, My business often purchase the same product from several vendors (based on price and availability). Is it possible to assign more than one vendor to the same product? I saw this same question in this forum, from some time ago. Is this feature available or, at least, in Zoho's roadmap? If not, is there any trick to solve my problem? Without this feature, I simply cannot manage my company's inventory, limiting very much the use of Zoho CRM. Waiting for your reply. Leonardo Kuba Sao Paulo / Brazil
Next Page

Kaizen #134 Manipulating Rich Text Field (RTF) using Zoho CRM APIs

Kaizen #134 Manipulating Rich Text Field (RTF) using Zoho CRM APIs

1. What is a Rich Text Field?

2. Use case

3. Rich Text Field creation in a module using the Create Custom Field API

4. Adding values to the RTF using the Insert Records API

5. Fetch complete data of RTF using the Rich Text Field API

6. Updating Rich Text Field using the Update Records API

7. Deleting RTF using the Delete Custom Field API

8. Rich Text Field using the COQL API

9. Rich Text Field using Bulk APIs

Topic Participants

Subramanian K

Vigneshwaran K

Sticky Posts

Kaizen #152 - Client Script Support for the new Canvas Record Forms

Kaizen #197: Frequently Asked Questions on GraphQL APIs

Kaizen #198: Using Client Script for Custom Validation in Blueprint

Celebrating 200 posts of Kaizen! Share your ideas for the milestone post

Kaizen #193: Creating different fields in Zoho CRM through API

Recent Topics

Signature image size changing on replied emails

Não consigo enviar emails. "Razão:533"

Error when setting up IMAP access in Gmail

Zoholics Europe 2025: Unlocking the Power of Zoho CRM : A Hands-On Workshop

"Wrong password or login" Problem to configure Zoho on MAIL App on my Macbook

How do I delte a mailbox alias

Allowing vendors to Upload Purchase Invoices against Purchase Order

Deluge - forward incoming email with original attachments and content but new subject

Error: "The conversation window has expired." on WhatsApp

How to Sync Desk KB and Sales IQ KB?

Need help! Unable to send message; Reason: 554 5.1.8 Email Outgoing Blocked.

Zoho arrives to Spam on all Microsoft Accounts (Outlook, Hotmail, Microsoft 365)

Registeration

Cannot receive password protected zip files

ERROR 554 5.1.8 Sender Address Blocked code(554)

How do I associate pricebooks to a customer?

Zoho mail stopped receiving emails

send email from web application

Custom CSS in Zoho Form

Zoho Recruit

Missing Email

Client Script Quality of Life Improvements #1

Account blocked after accessing via VPN

Exchange Rate Updates

Courses without signup

Espace Sandbox – Votre environnement de test sécurisé dans Zoho Projects

Descargas en learn

Mail delivery

Mermaid Support & Zoho Learn

Blocked due to VPN

reset admin access.

Unsubscripation booked domin

How to change Super Admin

Events disappearing in Calendar

Mail transfer to a contact with multiple accounts

@mention not working in Mail

Enable Zia-Powered Deluge Assistance and AI Agent Without Mandatory OpenAI Integration

Zoho Sign community meetup series - India

Product Updates in Zoho Workplace applications | June 2025

Assign multiple vendors to the same product

Next Page