Seamless Round-Trip Navigation for Related Blocks (Detail View)

Seamless Round-Trip Navigation for Related Blocks (Detail View)

As highlighted previously in this post (and here, here, here, and here), we still lack a fundamental capability for seamless navigation in Related Blocks. The popup that appears when adding a related record doesn't exist for viewing/editing existing records, and there's no URL pattern to open a detail view within report context. This creates unnecessary friction, and I'm hoping the Zoho team can address this in a future update.

The Core Limitation
When viewing a record's Detail View, Zoho Creator allows you to display related child records in a Related Block. Developers can create clickable links to these child records using URL formula fields (set to display as HTML) or RTF fields populated via workflow. Using zc_NextUrl, it's possible to redirect users back to a filtered report or a direct detail view URL.

The problem: Direct detail view URLs open as standalone pages outside any report context—there's no "back" button, no way to close the detail view and return to the report listing. Whether you redirect to a filtered report (requiring an extra click) or to a direct detail view URL (losing navigation context), neither option provides a seamless round-trip experience.

Note: This refers specifically to Related Blocks in Detail Views (parent-child relationships at the Report level), not Subforms within a Form.
Expected Behavior Current Zoho Creator Behavior User Impact
Click on related record → Opens record's Detail View Possible via URL formula (HTML) or RTF workarounds ⚠ Requires workaround setup
After editing → Redirect back to filtered report Possible using dynamic zc_NextUrl ⚠ Returns to report, not detail view
After editing → Return to parent's Detail View open No URL pattern to open detail view within report context ✗ Broken UX: Redirects to list, user must find and reopen parent record
Direct URL to open record's detail view Possible, but opens as standalone page outside report ✗ No "back" navigation, loses report context
Open child in popup (stay on parent) Works for ADDING records, but not for viewing/editing existing ones ✗ Inconsistent behavior between add vs view/edit
Current Workarounds (All Suboptimal)
To achieve what should be native functionality, developers must resort to complex workarounds. Frustratingly, the popup behavior that works perfectly when adding a related record doesn't exist for viewing/editing existing records:
Workaround Approach Implementation Problems Status
zc_NextUrl → Filtered Report Use zc_NextUrl to redirect back to a report filtered to the parent record - ✓ Returns user to correct report showing parent
- ✓ Report context and navigation preserved
- ✗ Detail view is NOT open on return
- ✗ User must click again to open detail view
⚠ Extra click required
zc_NextUrl → Direct Detail View URL Use zc_NextUrl to redirect to the parent record's direct detail view URL - ✓ Opens parent's detail view directly
- ✗ Opens OUTSIDE report context
- ✗ No "back" button or report navigation
- ✗ User is stranded on isolated page
⚠ Loses navigation context
URL Formula Field (Display as HTML) Create a formula field with direct URL, set to display as HTML to render as clickable link - ✓ Can navigate TO the child record
- ✓ Can use zc_NextUrl for return
- ✗ Same limitations as above for return navigation
⚠ Return options both flawed
RTF Field with On Success Code Use Rich Text Format field populated via workflow to create clickable link - ✓ Can navigate TO the child record
- ✓ Can use zc_NextUrl for return
- ✗ Same limitations as above for return navigation
- ✗ Extra workflow scripting required
⚠ Return options both flawed
Replace Related Block with Embedded Report Use a Page with an embedded/filtered report instead of native Related Block - Loses native Detail View layout
- Requires custom Page development
- More complex maintenance
- Loses summary layout formatting
⚠ Functional but high effort
JavaScript Widget Build a complete custom widget to replace Related Block functionality - Requires significant development effort
- Must rebuild all Related Block features
- Maintenance overhead
- May not match native styling
✗ Overkill for basic navigation
The Core Problem: Detail View Opens Outside Report Context
While a direct URL to a record's detail view exists, it opens as a standalone page outside of any report context. This means:
  • ✓ You CAN open a detail view directly via URL
  • ✗ But it's NOT within a report—there's no "back" button to return
  • ✗ User is stranded on an isolated page with no navigation context
  • ✗ Using zc_NextUrl to this standalone URL still leaves user outside report context
The inconsistency: When adding a related record through the detail view, Zoho Creator already opens a popup that preserves the parent context. This same behavior simply doesn't exist for viewing or editing existing records.
What's needed: Either (1) extend the popup behavior to view/edit, or (2) provide a URL parameter (e.g., &view_mode=detail) that opens the detail view within report context.

Example: The Add vs. View/Edit Inconsistency
Consider a common business scenario—viewing a Customer record with their related Orders:
Note: If the diagram below doesn't display correctly in your browser, the key point is illustrated in the comparison between [+ Add Order] (which opens a popup preserving context) vs. [Edit] existing record (which navigates away, losing context).
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ CUSTOMER DETAIL VIEW (within Customers_Report context) │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Name: Acme Corporation │
│ Email: contact@acme.com [Close] ← Returns to report │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ RELATED ORDERS [+ Add Order] │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐│
│ │ Order # │ Date │ Amount │ Status │ Link ││
│ │ ORD-002 │ 2024-02-20 │ $3,500 │ Pending │ [Edit] ←─┼┼─ User clicks
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘│ existing record
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
│ │
│ [+ Add Order] │ [Edit] existing
▼ ▼
┌─────────────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────────────┐
│ ✓ POPUP APPEARS │ │ ✗ FULL PAGE NAVIGATION │
│ (Parent preserved!) │ │ (Context lost!) │
├─────────────────────────┤ ├─────────────────────────┤
│ New Order Form │ │ Must use zc_NextUrl │
│ [Save] [Cancel] │ │ with flawed options... │
│ │ │ │
│ ✓ Close → back to │ │ A. Filtered report │
│ parent detail view │ │ (extra click) │
│ │ │ B. Direct detail URL │
│ WHY DOESN'T THIS │ │ (no navigation) │
│ WORK FOR EDIT TOO? │ │ │
└─────────────────────────┘ └─────────────────────────┘

What Should Happen Instead
Proposed Solutions (Either Would Solve This):

Option 1: Extend Existing Popup Behavior to View/Edit
When adding a related record through the detail view, Zoho Creator already opens a popup that keeps the parent context intact. Simply extend this same behavior to viewing and editing existing records in the Related Block:
Current behavior:
[+ Add Related Record] → Opens popup → Parent detail view preserved ✓

Requested extension:
[Click existing record to view/edit] → Opens popup → Parent detail view preserved ✓

// The infrastructure already exists - just needs to be applied to view/edit!

Option 2: URL Parameter to Open Detail View Within Report Context
Provide a URL parameter that can be appended to a report URL to auto-open a specific record in its detail view context:
// Proposed URL parameter - opens detail view WITHIN the report
#Report:Customers_Report?record_id=12345&view_mode=detail

// Used with zc_NextUrl for seamless return navigation
edit_url = child_edit_url + "&zc_NextUrl=" + encodeUrl(parent_detail_view_in_report_url);

// After save, user returns to parent's detail view WITH report context
// User can click "back" or close detail view to see report listing
Either solution would achieve Contextual Persistence. Option 1 may be simpler since the popup infrastructure already exists. Option 2 would provide more flexibility for developers building custom navigation flows.

Related Issues
This limitation compounds other navigation frustrations in Zoho Creator:

Real-World Impact
This limitation affects virtually any application with parent-child relationships:
  • CRM systems – Viewing a Contact's related Cases, Opportunities, or Activities
  • Project management – Viewing a Project's related Tasks or Milestones
  • Order management – Viewing a Customer's related Orders or Invoices
  • Inventory systems – Viewing a Product's related Stock Movements or Purchase Orders
  • HR applications – Viewing an Employee's related Leave Requests or Performance Reviews

User Experience Impact: Developers must choose between two poor experiences: (A) extra clicks to reopen detail views, or (B) stranding users on pages with no navigation back. Neither option provides the seamless round-trip navigation users expect from a modern database application.


Request to Zoho Team

Can this be addressed in a future update?

The popup behavior for adding related records already proves this is technically feasible—the infrastructure exists. We just need one of these two solutions to achieve Contextual Persistence:

1. Extend Popup to View/Edit
Apply the existing "Add" popup behavior to viewing/editing records in Related Blocks
2. URL Parameter for Detail View
Add a parameter like &view_mode=detail to open detail view within report context

Either solution would eliminate the current friction where users lose their navigation context or require extra clicks to return to their workflow.

Community Input Requested: Has anyone found an effective workaround that maintains contextual persistence when navigating to/from related records? This has been a long-standing request across multiple community posts, and a native solution would benefit countless Creator developers.


    • Recent Topics

    • Add deluge function to shorten URLs

      Zoho Social contains a nice feature to shorten URLs using zurl.co. It would be really helpful to have similar functionality in a Deluge call please, either as an inbuilt function or a standard integration. My Creator app sends an email with a personalised
    • form data load issue when saving as duplicate record is made

      Hello. I have a form with a lookup when a value is selected the data from the corresponding record is filled into all of the fields in the form. But the form is loaded in such a state that if any value is changed it will take all of the values pre loaded
    • Invoice template, how to change the text under "Notes" and "Terms and Conditions"

      In "Invoice templates", there are two text/info sections at the bottom:"Notes" and "Terms and Conditions". It is possible to change the names of these two headings, but how is it possible to change/alter the text under it. As a standard it says "Thank you for your business" under Notes - I need to change it into something different- How? Thank you.
    • Recurring Tasks and Reminders in Projects

      Recurring tasks are tasks that are created once, and then recreated automatically after a designated time period. For example, the invoice for your billable tasks is due every week. You can set that task to recreate itself every week. Also, the future
    • Unable to remove the “Automatically Assigned” territory from existing records

      Hello Zoho Community Team, We are currently using Territory Management in Zoho CRM and have encountered an issue with automatically assigned territories on Account records. Once any account is created the territory is assigned automatically, the Automatically
    • 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
    • Wishes for 2026

      Hello, and a happy new year 2026! Let's hope it's better for everyone. I'd like to share some thoughts on Zoho One and what could be useful in the short, medium, and long term. Some things are already there, but not applied to Zoho One. Others seem like
    • How to Integrate Zoho Books with Xero (No Native Connection Available)

      Hi everyone, I’m currently facing an issue with integrating Zoho Books invoices with Xero, as I’ve noticed Zoho does not provide a native integration with Xero at this time. I would like to ask: What are the common or recommended solutions for syncing
    • ZohoSalesIQ.Chat cannot send messages

      Chat cannot send messages. Our app implements the customer service chat window functionality by integrating the Mobilisten SDK. Recently, we encountered an issue: after successful SDK initialization and visitor registration, when the `startWithQuestion`
    • Markup instead of discount??

      Is it possible to have the discount field on an invoice or estimate be a markup instead? It's the very same functionality that I am looking for - to be able to markup an individual item by either a $ or a % and have that cost added (instead of subtracted) to the item cost.  Currently, I use the tax feature to accomplish this, but it's very awkward to have "Markup 15%" listed after the subtotal. Plus, if I want to markup items at different rates, I end up with several "markup" lines in the totals
    • Plan switch

      I thought I pressed the Free button, but after they set up the account, I see that I am on a Premium trial. Is this usual? How do I get onto the Free version?
    • 'Tax registration date'?

      The second question in setting up is 'Tax registration date'. My first question: which tax? My second question: why do you need the registration date?
    • What if we don't have an ABN?

      Australian business. Setting up. We have no ABN. It's not compulsory. Field not allowed to be blank. What to do?
    • Keeping track of project expenses

      I have talked to a few support techs and it is very hard for me to believe that Zoho's project accounting software can't keep accounts for my projects. I must not understand what they're saying. We get a contract to build something. So the project revenue
    • Linking Multi-UOM Barcodes to Products in Zoho Books

      Greetings, I'm using Zoho Books for retail shop and I'm running into a bit of a challenge with products that have multiple Units of Measurement (UOMs) and corresponding barcodes. For example, I sell cigarettes both as individual packets and in cartons
    • How to change "from" email address when invoicing.

      HELP! I'm new to Zoho Books and when I first set it up used a different email address than I currently want to use. I've tried to go to settings and change the default email address but when I generate an invoice it still shows the old email address (although I can't find it anywhere else). I really need to get this changed before I can use the program. Any help would be appreciated.
    • Critical Issue: Tickets Opened for Zoho Support via the Zoho Help Portal Were Not Processed

      Hi everyone, We want to bring to your attention a serious issue we’ve experienced with the Zoho support Help Portal. For more than a week, tickets submitted directly via the Help Portal were not being handled at all. At the same time no alert was posted
    • Hide/Show Subform Fields On User Input

      Hello, Are there any future updates in Hide/Show Subform Fields "On User Input"?
    • Cloning Item With Images Or The Option With Images

      Hello, when I clone an item, I expect the images to carry over to the cloned item, however this is not the case in Inventory. Please make it possible for the images to get cloned or at least can we get a pop up asking if we want to clone the images as
    • Custom validation in CRM schema

      Validation rules in CRM layouts work nicely, good docs by @Kiran Karthik P https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/kb/crm/customize-crm-account/validation-rules/articles/create-validation-rules I'd prefer validating data input 'closer to the schema'
    • Adding Default Module Image into mail merge field

      As with most people finding their way to these forums i have a specific requirement that doesn't seem to be supported by Zoho I have created 2 custom modules to suit my purpose 1 is an inventory type module that lists aluminium extrusions, and all relevant
    • Is it possible to roll up all Contact emails to the Account view?

      Is there a way to track all emails associated with an Account in one single view? Currently, email history is visible when opening an individual Contact record. However, since multiple Contacts are often associated with a single Account, it would be beneficial
    • Managing credit cards

      Hi, I'm hoping someone on this forum can help me out managing credit card accounts.  Transaction are entered as expenses using the credit card account and, as expected, the card balance shows as a negative since this is clearly money I owe them.  Once I make a payment, of the full amount owed, I woudl expect the balance to become zero. It doesn't, the negative balance just keeps on increasing even though the payment is reflected correctly in my main operating account.  No-one at Zoho seems to understand
    • Free Training - Explore What’s New in Zoho One 2025

      Greetings! We hope you have all had a chance by now to get hands-on with the new features and updates released as part of ZO25. Yes, we understand that you may have questions and feedback. To ensure you gain a comprehensive understanding of these updates,
    • Quick way to add a field in Chat Window

      I want to add Company Field in chat window to lessen the irrelevant users in sending chat and set them in mind that we are dealing with companies. I request that it will be as easy as possible like just ticking it then typing the label then connecting
    • How to create a two way Sync with CRM Contacts Module?

      Newbie creator here (but not to Zoho CRM). I want to create an app that operates on a sub-set of CRM Contacts - only those with a specific tag. I want the app records to mirror the tagged contacts in CRM. I would like it to update when the Creator app
    • Zoho Sheet for Desktop

      Does Zoho plans to develop a Desktop version of Sheet that installs on the computer like was done with Writer?
    • How to import data from PDF into Zoho Sheet

      I am looking to import Consolidated Account Statement (https://www.camsonline.com/Investors/Statements/Consolidated-Account-Statement) into zoho sheet. Any help is appreciated. The pdf is received as attachment in the email, this document is password
    • Trigger Workflow, Approval Process, Blueprint by Deluge in Zoho CRM

      #Tips & Trick If you intend to activate your Workflow, Approval Process, or Blueprint through either the deluge script or Zoho CRM API during the creation, updating, or deletion of a record Try this Script mp = Map(); trigger = List(); // Workflow trigger.add("workflow");
    • Zoho Projects Android app: Integration with Microsoft Intune

      Hello everyone! We’re excited to announce that Zoho Projects now integrates with Microsoft Intune, enabling enhanced security and enterprise app management. We have now added support for Microsoft Intune Mobile Application Management (MAM) policies through
    • Cant't update custom field when custom field is external lookup in Zoho Books

      Hello I use that : po = zoho.books.updateRecord("purchaseorders",XXXX,purchaseorder_id,updateCustomFieldseMap,"el_books_connection"); c_f_Map2 = Map(); c_f_Map2.put("label","EL ORDER ID"); c_f_Map2.put("value",el_order_id); c_f_List.add(c_f_Map2); updateCustomFieldseMap
    • Admin asked me for Backend Details when I wanted to verify my ZeptoMail Account

      Please provide the backend details where you will be adding the SMTP/API information of ZeptoMail Who knows what this means?
    • Kaizen #223 - File Manager in CRM Widget Using ZRC Methods

      Hello, CRM Wizards! Here is what we are improving this week with Kaizen. we will explore the new ZRC (Zoho Request Client) introduced in Widget SDK v1.5, and learn how to use it to build a Related List Widget that integrates with Zoho WorkDrive. It helps
    • Set connection link name from variable in invokeurl

      Hi, guys. How to set in parameter "connection" a variable, instead of a string. connectionLinkName = manager.get('connectionLinkName').toString(); response = invokeurl [ url :"https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/freeBusy" type :POST parameters:requestParams.toString()
    • Possible to connect Zoho CRM's Sandbox with Zoho Creator's Sandbox?

      We are making some big changes on our CRM so we are testing it out in CRM's Sandbox. We also have a Zoho Creator app that we need to test. Is it possible to connect Zoho CRM's Sandbox to Zoho Creator's Sandbox so that I can perform those tests?
    • I Need Help Verifying Ownership of My Zoho Help Desk on Google Search Console

      I added my Zoho desk portal to Google Search Console, but since i do not have access to the html code of my theme, i could not verify ownership of my portal on Google search console. I want you to help me place the html code given to me from Google search
    • Timeline Tracker

      Hi Team, I am currently using Zoho Creator – Blueprint Workflows, and I would like to know if there is a way to track a timeline of the approval process within a Blueprint. Specifically, I am looking for details such as: Who submitted the record Who clicked
    • Primary / Other Billing Contacts

      If you add an additional contact to a Zoho Billing Customer record, and then mark this new contact as the primary contact, will both the new primary and old primary still receive notifications? Can you stop notifications from going to the additional contacts
    • Is it possible to enforce a single default task for all users in a Zoho Projects ?

      In Zoho Projects, the Tasks module provides multiple views, including List, Gantt, and Kanban. Additionally, users can create and switch to their own custom views. During project review meetings, this flexibility creates confusion because different users
    • [Free Webinar] Zoho Creator webinars - Learning Table and Creator Tech Connect Series in 2026

      Hello everyone, Wishing you all a wonderful new year! May 2026 and the years ahead bring more opportunities, growth, and learning your way 🙂 We’re excited to kick off the 2026 edition of the Learning Table Series and Creator Tech Connect Series ! Learning
    • Next Page