Title: Store, retrieve, and access entity-specific data in widgets using | Community | Zoho Projects

Title: Store, retrieve, and access entity-specific data in widgets using | Community | Zoho Projects

Data storage - Overview

Storing data related to the extension you are working on is essential. It can be saved as key-value pairs for an entity or extension, known as entity and extension properties, respectively. Data can be saved for the following entities using entity properties: projects, tasks, issues, and milestones. Similarly, using extension properties, data can be recorded for an app and stored for the extension.

Support and Limitations

The entity properties allow you to store, retrieve, update, and delete data for an entity, while the extension properties allow you to do the same with an extension. Learn more about data storage functions that can be performed using entity and extension properties.

The data stored for an entity using entity property will be retained if the extension is uninstalled. However, when an extension is uninstalled, any data stored using the extension property is lost. You can refer to the limitations of entity properties and limitations of extension properties for additional details.

Scenario

A manufacturing firm uses Zoho CRM to manage its production and sales units, and also uses Zoho Projects for task management. Customers of the firm may raise cases of the"feature request" type to the solution experts for an enhancement or a request for a new feature for the existing products. The solution expert logs these requests as cases in Zoho CRM and begins working on the feature request through a task in Zoho Projects. In this way, the Zoho CRM solution expert who is the task owner in Zoho Projects can handle and manage the development-related activities to provide the feature as a solution to the customer through the Zoho Projects task.

Additionally, multiple customers may request the same feature for a product. In this scenario, it would be easier for the task owner or solution expert to keep track of all their CRM cases related to a feature request in one space, so that whenever a requested feature is completed, this can be communicated with customers of these tracked cases.

What can be done to ease the solution expert/task owner work?

The task owner would benefit from viewing a list of all their open Zoho CRM cases from inside the Zoho Projects task tab. This would allow them to view and associate the cases related to the feature request they are working on from within the task.
Once they have completed the feature enhancement and come up with a solution for the request, they can simply preview all of the Zoho CRM cases related to that feature request from within the task itself and offer an update to the customers.

Goal: Ease user experience by allowing them to view and associate Zoho CRM cases within the task details tab.

Solution

To accomplish this goal, we are going to use data storage along with a few other features in our extension.
  • First, allow the task owner to view case-specific details from the list of CRM cases. For this, we can create a task details tab widget named "CRM Cases". In this widget, we can include a drop-down menu and select a case to access case-specific details. This can be accomplished using the widgets approach explained earlier in this post.
  • Using the data storage concept, store the associated case for the task entity, allowing the task owner to view it as "Associated CRM Cases" alongside the drop-down selection the next time the widget loads. This enables the task owner to associate several cases with the task and view them all in a single widget.                                                              

Required components
  • A connection between Zoho Projects and Zoho CRM needs to be established to establish a secure integration between the products.
  • An extension configuration process includes:
  1. Creating an extension.
  2. Configuring the plugin manifest.
  3. Setting up the widget code.
  • Display all open Zoho CRM cases of the task owner as a drop-down list in a task details widget tab called "CRM Cases", and thereby allow the task owner to choose a case for which they want to view further details.
  • Implement the modal box feature to display case-specific details of the chosen case and also allow the task owner to associate the case to the task through a button in the modal box
  • Store the associated case for the task using the data storage concept (entity.store) in the modal box.
  • Display the associated cases by retrieving (entity.retrieve) it from the stored data and having them displayed as part of the widget along with the drop-down that displays the open cases.
Let's explore these components now.

Connection

We have created a connection to establish a secure integration between Zoho Projects and Zoho CRM. You can refer to this post for detailed guidance on establishing a connection.
                                                                  
                                     

Extension configuration

Extension creation: We have created a new extension for Zoho Projects. Learn more about the steps to create an extension

                                      

Plugin-manifest.json configuration: Once the extension was created, we configured the plugin-manifest.json file to include the created connection and a widget. For detailed understanding on configuring the plugin-manifest.json file, refer to our earlier post.
For our extension use case, the plugin-manifest.json file is configured as shown in the below screenshot.
                                     
                                                                  
Setting up the widget code

Now that we've set up the other components, let's move on to writing our widget code and incorporating the data storage and modal box feature.
Displaying CRM cases in "CRM Cases" task tab - Please find the index.html code snippet attached in the post.
  • In the code snippet, the current Zoho Projects user's email is retrieved using the current_user instance of zohoprojects.get JS SDK method and saved in a variable called "currentuseremail".
  • The user's CRM org ID and their CRM cases are then fetched by invoking the Get Organization Details and Get Records APIs, respectively, using the Zoho Projects request JS SDK method. Certain mandatory parameters must be passed to the SDK method to invoke the mentioned CRM APIs, such as the third-party URL, data object, and connection. If you require further details on how the Zoho Projects Request method works, you can refer to our earlier post, which explains the working and the required parameters for invoking this method in detail.
  • From the Zoho CRM get records API response, a drop-down list is generated in the widget, with the Zoho Projects task owner's open CRM cases.
  • The end-user can select a value from the drop-down list to view the case-related details. This selected value (the selected case) is then fetched. When the Get Case Details button is clicked, a modal box instance is created and opened using the modal.create and instance methods. When the modal box opens, the selected case ID value is emitted using the emit method and the keyword "stored-files".
  • Using the emitted values, the case details is populated in a modal box, and if the solution expert finds that the case is related to the feature request handled in the Projects task, the case ID is saved using the entity.store method and associated with the current task. (This is addressed in the casedetails.html code in the next section).
  • The associated value stored in the modal box using the entity.store method is then retrieved in the index.html page using the entity.retrieve method. Using the retrieved associated case ID, when the widget loads, the Zoho CRM Get Records API is invoked again. From the response, the unclosed cases and the cases which have the email ID as that of the current Zoho Projects user's email address (fetched earlier and saved in variable currentuseremail) are filtered and displayed as the "Associated CRM cases" in the widget.

Modal box to display the details of the chosen case - Please check casedetails.html code snippet attached in this post
  • In the code snippet, the value emitted from the index.html, using the emit method for the keyword "stored-files" is received by the on method in the modal box UI. Using the received value, a hit is made to the Zoho CRM Get Records APIs using the Zoho Projects Request Method again.
  • The essential details are retrieved from the case-specific details returned by the Zoho CRM Get Records API and displayed to the task owner for reference. These details allow them to check on the case and associate it with the current Zoho Projects task if it is related to the feature request.
  • If the case is associated, the associated case value ID is saved with the entity.store property.
  • This stored and associated value is then received and retrieved using the entity.retrieve in index.html, from which the Associated CRM cases value are populated in the widget as mentioned earlier. This is addressed in the index.html code in the previous section.
Now that we have completed the setup and have all the extension components ready, let's go ahead and see the output.

Sample output: 

                                     

In this example, we used the data storage for an entity feature to save task-related data and retrieve it when needed. Similarly, we can store data for an app to perform various storage functions such as save, retrieve, update, and delete. We hope you found this information useful. Keep following this space for more insights!

Sign up for a Zoho Developer account and start developing extensions for Zoho Projects using Sigma.


SEE ALSO


Next>>

    • Recent Topics

    • Getting error while while deleting from Activities Object

      I am trying hit this endpoint: - DELETE https://www.zohoapis.in/crm/v2.1/Activities?ids=725820000001141076%2C725820000001143056 HTTP/1.1 But getting the below error: - {"code":"INVALID_REQUEST_METHOD","details":{},"message":"The http request method type

    • Zoho CRM Developer Series - Queries

      Hey everyone! We’re excited to invite you to our next Zoho CRM Developer Series focused on Zoho CRM Queries, happening on June 5, 2025 and June 26, 2025. Whether you're working on CRM customizations, integrating with third-party services, or just curious

    • Announcing Zoho Community Developer Bootcamps in India – Extensions

      Hey everyone! We're back with another line-up of Zoho Community Developer Bootcamps in India! Following the success of the first leg of bootcamps on Extensions, we're now ready with the second leg. These bootcamps focus on empowering developers of all

    • Bidirectional sync between Zoho Bookings and Zoho CRM - Part 1

      Hey, community members! The default integration between Zoho CRM and Zoho Bookings is unidirectional, which means that any appointments booked, rescheduled, or deleted in Zoho Bookings will be reflected in Zoho CRM. However, any modifications made to

    • Announcing New Features in Trident for macOS (v.1.19.0)

      Hello everyone! Trident for macOS is here with interesting features and enhancements to elevate your workplace communication. Let's take a quick look at them. View and manage .pst files. A .pst (Personal Storage Table) file is an Outlook Data Storage

    • View Answer Bot conversations?

      We are trialing Zia and are experimenting with Answer Bot on our knowledge base. So far so good! Management asks me if it is possible to view Answer Bot conversations, the purpose being to look over its shoulder and confirm that it is working as des

    • ZOHO Sheet View for Activities

      Hello I am beginning to look at importing previous events into activities as utilizing events as timeslips for engagements, we have added fields such as duration, billable, etc. However to use Events on a regular basis would require the ability to use

    • Create Login Pages in Zoho Creator

      Hello everyone, I have a question, is it possible to create a login page that is connected to the database in the zoho creator report? The email and password typed in the page will match the one in the database. attached is the image of the page that

    • Unveiling Zoho CRM's New User Interface - The NextGen UI

      Hello Everyone, Last Wednesday, May 14th,2025, we announced the public release of Zoho CRM For Everyone, our most significant update yet. This release brings a modernized CRM experience with a redesigned user interface, new capabilities for cross-functional

    • 【参加無料】6月ユーザー交流会 参加登録 受付開始（東名阪の3都市開催）

      ユーザーの皆さま、こんにちは。コミュニティチームの藤澤です。 6月に東京 / 大阪 / 名古屋の３都市でユーザー交流会を開催します！ 各地域のユーザーによるZoho 活用事例や、自社活用・運用について参加者同士で情報交換が出来るグループワークなどを予定しています。 ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー ※以下、記載順で開催予定 🟠 大阪ユーザー交流会 6/5(木) 18:00-20:20 ・会場：APイノゲート大阪 ・予定セッション ┗Zoho サービス活用事例：Zoho

    • Invalid URL error when embedded sending url into iframe for my website when using in another region

      Hi team, My site is currently working on integrating your signature feature as part of the system functionality, it's working great but recently there's been a problem like this: After successfully creating the document, i will embed a sending url into

    • Need details on search criteria for zoho.crm.searchRecords

      Hi, If I understood correctly the integrated functions (getRecords, searchRecords, etc..) I can use inside Functions in Zoho CRM are actually using the Zoho CRM V2 API. I am looking for all the field types and criteria I can use with searchRecords. The

    • Custom Serial numbers in Inventory tied to customers

      Hello, We have both software and hardware serial numbers that we need to track for active customers in the field. We do not know the serial numbers for the software until the customer buys it as its not a stock item but something we order and deploy for

    • Kit Items Breaking Automations - "Provide mapped components for all kit items"

      This has been brought up in other threads, but I believe this issue warrants its own topic. Whenever a sales document (Estimate, Sales Order, Invoice) is created or manipulated programmatically, trying to include a Kit as an Item throws this error: "Provide

    • What’s New in Zoho Inventory | April 2025

      Hello users, April has been a big month in Zoho Inventory! We’ve rolled out powerful new features to help you streamline production, optimise stock management, and tailor your workflows. While several updates bring helpful enhancements, three major additions

    • Issue with inventory and shopify

      Hello! We're having some issues with Inventory not synchronizing all our products with our shopify store. We've tried multiple times to synchronize them. We have multiple locations and it seems to just be getting a part of the inventory. When we sell

    • Add an option to disable ZIA suggestions

      Currently, ZIA in Zoho Inventory automatically provides suggestions, such as sending order confirmation emails. However, there is no way to disable this feature. In our case, orders are automatically created by customers, and we’ve built a custom workflow

    • Deluge script for purchase receive

      Trying to create purchase receives.... receive.put("purchaseorder_id",poId); // purchase order associated ... receive.put("line_items",itemList); result = zoho.books.createRecord("purchasereceives", orgId, receive); info result;...... {"code":9,"message":"Purchase

    • ZOHO BOOKS - RECEIVING MORE ITEMS THAN ORDERED

      Hello, When trying to enter a vendor's bill that contains items with bigger quantity than ordered in the PO (it happens quite often) - The system would not let us save the bill and show this error: "Quantity recorded cannot be more than quantity ordered." 

    • Automatic Pick LIst

      The pick should have the feature to send you to the FIFO location and tell you from wich bin you should get the product. Depending on FIFO LIFO or what we choose

    • Picker users

      Hi FOr bin location we are starting to use Android app. The users are allowed to chance the asignee, but they are the Asigneed persons. We should have the avility to choose or setup these fields.

    • Zoho Inventory MobileApp compatible with barcode scanners such as Zebra

      Hi, Although the Zoho Inventory App is working with a scanner mode taken directly through the cell phone which I do not consider it as efficient, I would like to know when are you planning an update on the app so it can be compatible with bar code scanners

    • Work Orders / Bundle Requests

      Zoho Inventory needs a work order / bundle request system. This record would be analogous to a purchase order in the purchasing workflow or a sales order in the sales cycle. It would be non-journaling, but it would reserve the appropriate inventory of

    • More Payment Gateways For South Africa

      Hello, please add more payment gateways that cater for South Africa to the Zoho ecosystem. Yoco - pay now with card (integrated but there is a problem) Others to consider Payflex.co.za - pay now with card or pay later using credit from payflex Float.co.za

    • Zoho Inventory Feature Roadmap Visible To All

      Hello, please consider making your feature roadmap visible to us users so that we know what to expect in future. This may appease current users who are seeking clarification on feature implementation dates, so that they can make an informed decision whether

    • Kaizen #147 - Frequently Asked Questions on Zoho CRM Widgets

      Heya! It's Kaizen time again, folks! This week, we aim to address common queries about Zoho CRM Widgets through frequently asked questions from our developer forum. Take a quick glance at these FAQs and learn from your peers' inquiries. 1. Where can I

    • Sync Zoho Docs and Google Drive

      Sync Zoho Docs and Google Drive -  how can I do it?

    • Compensation | Salary Packages - Hourly Wage Needed

      The US Bureau of Labor Statistics says 55.7% of all workers in the US are paid by the hour. I don't know how that compares to the rest of the world, but I would think that this alone would justify the need for having an hourly-based salary package option.

    • Is it possible to link a CRM field or Zoho User to a ticket auto assign function.

      Dear Support, I have a unique situation at our company. So I know it might be able to link a ticket to the client account owner from the CRM. However, is it also possible to link an email field, username or other field in the CRM to a new ticket created

    • Boost your Zoho Desk's performance by archiving tickets!

      The longer your help desk operations are, the more likely it is to accumulate tickets that are no longer relevant. For example, ticket records from a year ago are typically less relevant than currently open tickets. Such old tickets may eventually lead

    • How to overcome Zoho Deluge's time limit?

      I have built a function according to the following scheme: pages = {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10}; for each page in pages { entriesPerPage = zoho.crm.getRecords("Accounts",page,200); for each entry in entriesPerPage { … } } Unfortunately, we have too many entries

    • Drill Down - Pivot Table

      Is there anyway to have drill down options in pivot tables like in the chart function?

    • Allow Zoho form to send to one of our ogranizations groups

      All emails from the form submission are being held for moderation. I have permissions set to organization members, and I think I have the forms setup in our DMARC

    • Kanban view - which modules support this view?

      Recently (a few days ago), we started exploring Zoho Recruit and like to use Kanban view to visualise the data in different modules. I just found out from emailing Zoho Support that they need to enable Kanban view for different modules (why?). Which modules

    • Email notification for followers

      Is there a way to enable email notification for followers of a support ticket? ie: Ticket #123 is owned by Agent#1, Agent#2 adds themselves as a follower. Whenever ticket #123 receives an email from the customer, Agent#1 receives an email. Agent#2 would

    • Prevent duplicate with custom fields?

      I was wondering something about custom field/custom modules in Zoho Desk. For some reason you can make a custom field mandatory but not unique? For example, if I create a custom module to manage equipment and renewal and make a field serial number no

    • Remove the dot menu and + sign on sub form

      If I don't want the user to be able to add more entries on a subform, am I able to remove the dot menu and the + sign?

    • Writing Checks to Employees for Reimbursable Expenses

      I couldn't find a way to write a check through books or expense to an employee for reimbursable expenses. The expense created an entry in the system with a debit (expense) credit (liability). I entered a bill and used the liability account so it would

    • Peppol Malaysia API

      Hi Zoho Books, my country Malaysia will going to implement "Peppol" (E-Invoicing), starting 1 Jul 2025 for all businesses. The government intends to provide API for accounting app. The workflow involves creating an invoice from accounting app, triggers

    • Pipeline in Custom Modules

      I love the way the Sales Pipeline looks and functions with reports. I would like to add the save pipeline features and visualization to a custom module, however, I only see that these pipelines are only available for the Deals module. Is there a way to add pipelines to custom modules?

    • Next Page