Kaizen #170: FAQs on Notification APIs

Kaizen #170: FAQs on Notification APIs

Hello all!!
Welcome back to another post in the Kaizen series!

In this post, we will address the most frequently asked questions about Zoho CRM's Notification APIs from the Zoho CRM Developer Community Forum.



Notification API

This API allows you to subscribe to events such as creating, updating, and deleting a record in a module through a webhook URL. Each of these actions triggers a corresponding HTTP request to your webhook.

1. How can I turn off related record notifications when using the Notification API?

Answer: 
When enabling the notification, you can pass "notify_on_related_action": false in the input data. This will prevent a notification from being sent for related records (like the account record) when the contact record is updated. If this parameter is not included, the default value is true, meaning related records will still receive notifications.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. What is the expiry duration for a channel, and how can I update it when it expires?

Answer:
  • From V2 to V3: The default channel expiry time is one hour, with a maximum limit of one day.
  • From V4, the default expiry time remains one hour, but the maximum limit is one week.
To continue receiving notifications, you must resubscribe the channel before its expiry using the Enable Notification API.
Example:
If your channel expiry time is set to one day, the best practice is to re-subscribe every 23 hours and 55 minutes (just under 24 hours). If you do not specify an expiry time during subscription, the channel will expire within one hour by default.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. A few modules have not received any notifications, even though we have already subscribed to them. How should we handle this?

Answer:
We suggest updating the notification for the modules where you are facing issues and checking again.
If this does not resolve the problem, please share the following information with support at support@zohocrm.com, and our experts will assist you further.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. How can I get my notify URL since I have subscribed to multiple channels for different modules using the Notification API?

Answer:
You can use the channel ID obtained during the notification subscription to retrieve the notify URL through the GET Notification Details API. The response will provide the module-specific notify URL, along with other details like return_affected_fields, resource_name, channel_expiry, and more. Explore further by using our Notification API.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5. How can I use the Notification API to get notification when a deal is created or edited?
Answer: You can use the Notification API to subscribe to events like creation or editing of deals.
Note that the notification channel expires after a maximum of one day / one week (channel_expiry),
so you must update it regularly to keep the notification alive.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

6. I am not receiving notifications after updating my configuration using the PUT - Update Details of a Notification API. How can I ensure proper notifications in Zoho CRM?

Answer:
The "events" JSON array is mandatory when updating your notification configuration using the PUT - Update Details of a Notification API. Ensure you include the "events" JSON array with valid data in the input data, along with respective channel_id and channel_expiry keys.

For updating specific details, you can use the PATCH - Update Specific Information of a Notification API, where the "events" key is not mandatory.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7. Does the token field become null when I update a notification using the PATCH request?

Answer:
In the PATCH request for updating notification details, only the fields provided in the input data are updated. Fields not included in the input will retain their existing values. 

                     PUT Method

                       PATCH method

The  PUT request replaces the entire notification details for the specified channel_id with the information provided in the input data.

The PATCH request updates only the specific fields included in the input data, while preserving all other existing notification details.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

8. Why shouldn't  I delete the current channel using "channel_id" with "HTTP method DELETE", and then create a new one with the parameters I need?

Answer:
Deleting and recreating notifications in Zoho CRM is not recommended, as it may result in missed notifications for data changes that occur during the gap between deletion and recreation. Istead, you should update the expiry time regularly, add new events, or enable new notifications using the existing APIs (e.g., PATCH or PUT).
However, if you no longer need a notification channel, you can use the DELETE method to remove it completely. For selectively deleting certain events from an existing notification, use PATCH call.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

9. Can I get notifications when specific actions, such as updates or deletions, occur on certain fields? How can I achieve this?

Answer:
Yes, you can receive notifications only for specific fields when they are updated. Use the "notification_condition" JSON array key in your input to set conditions for these fields. This support is available from Zoho CRM API version 6. Refer to the Enable Notifications API document for details on setting up field-specific conditions.

Sample Input:


{
    "watch": [
        {
            "channel_id": "10000",
            "events": [
                "Leads.all"
            ],
            "notification_condition": [
                {
                    "type": "field_selection",
                    "module": {
                        "api_name": "Leads",
                        "id": "554023000000000131"
                    },
                    "field_selection": {
                        "field": {
                            "api_name": "Company",
                            "id": "554023000000000525"
                        }
                    }
                }
            ],
            "channel_expiry": "2024-12-31T09:58:09+05:30",
            "token": "leads.all.notif",
            "return_affected_field_values": true,
            "notify_url": "https://webhook.site/2c9a0xxc20fa9"
        }
    ]
}

This JSON input sets a notification channel for monitoring all actions related to the Leads module in Zoho CRM, specifically focusing on changes to the "Company" field. 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

10. How can I know which fields have been updated and what their new values are?

Answer: 
By default, notifications do not include details about the updated fields. To know information about fields that were modified along with their new values, set "return_affected_values": true in your input body when enabling notifications. 

Sample Input:


{
    "watch": [
        {
            "channel_id": "10000",
            "events": [
                "Leads.edit"
            ],
            "notification_condition": [
                {
                    "type": "field_selection",
                    "module": {
                        "api_name": "Leads"
                    },
                    "field_selection": {
                        "field": {
                            "api_name": "Company"
                        }
                    }
                }
            ],
            "token": "leads.all.notif",
            "return_affected_field_values": true,
        }
    ]
}


Sample Response JSON Notification:


{
  "server_time": 1735038997457,
  "affected_values": [
    {
      "record_id": "5725767000005053017",
      "values": {
        "Company": "Tech Info"
      }
    }
  ],
  "query_params": {},
  "module": "Leads",
  "ids": [
    "5725767000005053017"
  ],
  "affected_fields": [
    {
      "5725767000005053017": [
        "Company"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "operation": "update",
  "channel_id": "10000",
  "token": "leads.all.notif"
}

In the above response,  the "affected_fields" contains a list of the fields that were modified and "affected_values" contains the new values for the modified fields, along with the respective record details.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

11. I am trying to use the Zoho Notification API. I can successfully enable notifications, but I don't receive any notifications when an event occurs.

Answer:
  • Ensure that your webhook URL is active and accessible. If it is down, Zoho CRM cannot send notifications about data updates.
  • Check if the notification channel has expired. 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

12. Can I receive notifications if a subform or multi-select lookup (MxN) field in a module is modified or updated?

Answer: 
Yes, you can receive notifications when a subform or MxN field is updated. Though subforms and MxN fields are fields in a module, the system internally creates a separate module for each. As a result, subforms and MxN fields are treated as independent modules. 

To enable instant notifications for actions performed on these modules, use the respective API names of the subform or MxN (linking module) in the input body.

Sample Input:


{
    "watch": [
        {
            "channel_id": "10000",
            "events": [
                "Project_Details.all"  //Project_Details represents the API name of the subform
            ],
            "return_affected_field_values": true  
        }
    ]
}

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


13. How is the Notification API useful for data synchronization with a third-party application?

Answer: 
Refer to our Kaizen #122 for a detailed explanation of data synchronization  between Zoho CRM and third-party application using the Notification API and the Bulk Read API with a third-party application.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

14. I am facing delays in receiving notification responses for bulk records. In what cases do notification delays occur, and how can I ensure faster notifications for bulk record actions?

Answer: 
When performing bulk actions (e.g., record creation or updates), if your processing speed exceeds 100 milliseconds per notification (e.g., 500 to 800 milliseconds), it will result in notification delays.
To avoid delays, ensure that your processing speed remains below 100 milliseconds per notification.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please note that the above-mentioned queries were frequently asked in the Zoho CRM Developer Community Forum and most of them were addressed by the Zoho CRM Support team. This post aims to put them all in one place and add additional questions with their solutions.


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!!!

✨Wishing you a fantastic year ahead in 2025 ✨



    • Sticky Posts

    • 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.

    • Kaizen #226: Using ZRC in Client Script

      Hello everyone! Welcome to another week of Kaizen. In today's post, lets see what is ZRC (Zoho Request Client) and how we can use ZRC methods in Client Script to get inputs from a Salesperson and update the Lead status with a single button click. In this

    • Kaizen #222 - Client Script Support for Notes Related List

      Hello everyone! Welcome to another week of Kaizen. The final Kaizen post of the year 2025 is here! With the new Client Script support for the Notes Related List, you can validate, enrich, and manage notes across modules. In this post, we’ll explore how

    • 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.

    • Kaizen #216 - Actions APIs : Email Notifications

      Welcome to another week of Kaizen! For the last three weeks, we have been discussing Zylker's workflows. We successfully updated a dormant workflow, built a new one from the ground up and more. But our work is not finished—these automated processes are

    • Recent Topics

    • Add Support to Upload Inventory Items with Categories or Enable Separate Upload for Inventory Categories

      Currently, Zoho Inventory does not support uploading new items along with their parent and sub inventory categories using the item import feature. This creates challenges for businesses with structured inventory hierarchies when trying to upload items

    • Zoho Books | Product updates | August 2026

      Hello users, July has been an exciting month for Zoho Books! This month, we're excited to introduce HTML PDF Templates, Placeholders as Pills, expanded approval workflows for Sales Returns and Journals, and significant compliance updates across the India,

    • Zoho CRM Layout Rules: Nine New Actions, Profile-Based Execution, and Interactive Preview

      Hello everyone, Availability: This feature is now available for customers in the JP and SA DCs. It is planned to be released for other customers in soon. We’re excited to announce powerful new enhancements to Layout Rules in Zoho CRM - a feature built

    • Zoho Books and TRAINING SALES receipt label for eTims?

      Hi, Can Zoho Books implement TRAINING SALES receipts and push them to eTims for test? In other words how can we send to Zoho or even create in Zoho training mode invoices and TEST the workflow POS>Zoho Books>eTims and back without actually registering

    • Reporting Tags and COGS

      Is there any way to get COGS recorded against reporting tags? The use cases seems very straightforward to me. If I'm running a P/L report against a specific reporting tag (I use mine for customer type, but it could be used for regions, etc.), the revenue

    • Hide Custom Fields for Customers or Vendors

      For whatever reason, all custom fields added to the Customer module also get added to the Vendor module. This leads to a clunky experience for users, as many custom fields we add only apply to one or the other. There should be a "hide" option to hide

    • Onboarding process

      I urgently need onboarding support. My account still shows trial period.

    • Detailed General Ledger - Display Transaction Description in Reports

      Hi Zoho Team, I'm currently using Zoho Books and have a question regarding the Detailed General Ledger report. When we enter a description or narration in transactions (Bills, Journal Entries, Expenses, etc.), the report does not display this description.

    • Zoho Mail Does Not Integrate with Analytics

      Hello everyone, Just wanted to make a quick post about the problem with zoho mail. Currently it does not connect to Zoho Analytics, which I think is crazy considering both of these applications have existed for a long period of time. Even zoho voice a

    • Net ##th Terms (e.g. due on the following 15th)

      I have a client who pays me twice monthly per our contract. It would be helpful to have terms on my invoices where the invoice is due on the 15th or the 30th of the same or the following month.

    • 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

    • Project status update visibility within a project

      Currently the only place within Zoho projects to see status updates for a given project is actually not in the project it's self it's in the Collaboration section and then by searching for a given project and clicking on the status tab. It would be great

    • Using custom CRM fields

      I have created a series of fields in the Deals module that need to be linked to fields in a contract I have customized. I can only see how to map standard fields, not the custom ones. How do I do this?

    • Como limitar o Zia Agent?

      Geralmente quando estamos criando um agente de IA no ZIa Agent Studio, colocamos o que ele deve fazer, utilizando as instruções que colocamos no Knowledge Base. Mas como colocamos limites que não devem ser ultrapassados? Para isso utilizamos os Guardrails,

    • An important update for Zoho Cliq desktop users

      The latest version of the Zoho Cliq desktop app (v1.8.0) will no longer be supported on macOS 10.15 Catalina and earlier versions. This is because the framework we use (Electron) no longer supports some older macOS versions. If you’re using macOS 10.15

    • All new Address Field in Zoho CRM: maintain structured and accurate address inputs

      Availability Update: 29 September 2025: It's currently available for all new sign-ups and for existing Zoho CRM orgs which are in the Professional edition exclusively for IN DC users. 2 March 2026: Available to users in all DCs except US and EU DC. 24

    • Zoho Flow - Zoho Desk trigger "Ticket created or updated" overrides Department

      Just in case anyone else has this issue. We had a Zoho Flow with the Zoho Desk trigger "Ticket created or updated". In the trigger I had selected a Department (Sales). What happens is that the Department ID (Sales) is submitted as part of the request

    • Layout rules in Zoho FSM

      As titled, is there an item in the pipeline or an ETA for the implementation of layout rules in Zoho FSM? Similar to how they work in Zoho CRM https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/kb/crm/customize-crm-account/customizing-page-layouts/articles/create-conditional-layouts

    • 2026 Product Roadmap and Upcoming Features

      This is your guide to what is coming in Zoho Vertical Studio throughout 2026. We’ll update this post throughout the year as items move from development to release, and as and when new initiatives are added. Once a feature is released, it will be reflected

    • Introducing Canvas templates: Design once, apply everywhere

      Greetings all! We're happy to introduce Canvas templates, a Forms view enhancement that enables you to design form layouts just once and apply them seamlessly across multiple modules. Imagine you use five CRM modules (Contacts, Deals, Leads, and more),

    • Zoho Projects - Will there ever be a send email feature in Zoho Project?

      Hi team, Are there plans to or will there ever be a sendemail feature in Zoho Projects, brining it in line with other similar platforms like Asana, ClickUp and Monday? I know that you can add comments via email to a specific task, but I believe this only

    • Why cant i see the Campaigns module in my Zoho app

      I am on the ZOHO CRM Standard edition. I can clearly see and use the Campaign module when viewing the ZOHO CRM desktop. When I switch to my phone, the Campaign Module does not show. I have gone through all the settings I can think of, but I still can't

    • 📣 Ask the team behind Zoho SalesIQ: Summer '26 Q&A

      Hi everyone! Following our recent webinars, Summer '26 Release: What's New in Zoho SalesIQ—where we walked you through all the new features, what they do, and how they work—and Driving the AI Evolution: Building Smarter Customer Experiences with Zoho

    • Always display images from this sender – Is this feature available?

      In Zoho mail, I had my "Load external images" setting set to "Ask me", and that's fine. That's the setting I prefer. What's not fine though is I always need to tick "Display now" for each email I get, regardless if I've done that multiple times from several

    • Set Custom Icon for Custom Modules in new Zoho CRM UI

    • Displayed sample tracking for multi branch setup.

      We have multiple branches and one of the biggest challenges for us to be able to track if a particular item is in display or not. I am shooting in the dark but I am wondering if there is a solution for the following : Each product used for display is

    • How do I migrate from Office 365 to Zoho Mail?

      Check out Advik Email Migration Wizard, this software is specially developed to move mailboxes from Office 365 to Zoho Webmail. In addition you can migrate from Gmail, Yahoo, Rediffmail and 80+ webmail servers to ZOHO MAIL. Isn't it amazing? This is an all in one email migration solution. Steps to export emails from Office 365 to Zoho Webmail are as follows; Run Advik Email Migration Tool in your system. Select Office 365 as source and enter its login credentials. Select mailbox folders and choose

    • Connection Issues

      Morning. Seems like a few of my colleagues that are offsite are having issues with connection to cliq, even when their internet is working perfectly fine and only 1 person onsite has issues. Can you please explain? Thanks

    • Goals API - Zoho People

      Hi Team, I would like to get the API details for retrieving organisation-wise Goals from Zoho People. Currently, I am able to retrieve individual employee goals using the following API: https://people.zoho.com/api/v3/performance/goal/{emp_id} However,

    • Backorder process review - Automating Removal of Sales Order from "On Hold" When PO is Received

      Hello Zoho Inventory Team, Currently, sales orders in On Hold status are released only when the bill for the purchase order is created. In our workflow, it would be much more efficient if the sales order could automatically move out of On Hold as soon

    • Cliq iOS can't see shared screen

      Hello, I had this morning a video call with a colleague. She is using Cliq Desktop MacOS and wanted to share her screen with me. I'm on iPad. I noticed, while she shared her screen, I could only see her video, but not the shared screen... Does Cliq iOS is able to display shared screen, or is it somewhere else to be found ? Regards

    • Which Is the best online store to buy office furniture in Australia ?

      The most important part of your office is the office furniture. Your office is not complete when you have not put the required furniture in place. You need a furniture in your office so that you and your employees have desks, tables, and chairs which

    • Add "Product Code" as available column and search criteria for Assemblies

      Hi Zoho Community. For product (item) assemblies, it would be helpful to be able to create a custom view search criteria that limits the view by product code or perhaps product category. Currently, Product Code is not an available option to display as

    • What's New - July 2026 | Zoho Backstage

      Hello everyone, We hope you’re having an expectation-exceeding event experience! We’ve been hard at work bringing you a bunch of enhancements designed to make event management even easier. Let’s take a look at what’s new in Zoho Backstage. Export delivery

    • Delete Field that is used in a Zoho Flow connection

      I'm trying to delete a Field used in a Webhook created by Zoho Flow with CRM Connection and i get the following alert: When going to the alert i get to the following issue, can't edit it since its been deployed by a pluggin But yes i have here the prompted

    • Q3 USA ZUG Meetups - Build AI Agents with Zoho

      Hi everyone! What if you could build your own AI agent from scratch in just one session? That's exactly what we're going to do at the upcoming ZUG Meetups across the United States, where you'll get hands-on experience with Zia Agents and explore how AI

    • Data Export is forcing Creation/Modified date just like reports

      The data export now forces you to select a created or modified date. There is not an All-Time option. This severely cripples the whole function of data export for audit purposes. If the data export (or reports for that matter), requires a date, there

    • Default ticket template in helpcenter

      Hello, I have a web form and a ticket template created. How can I make that my default ticket template? If an user clicks New ticket or create a ticket, I want that template to be the default one. Thank you for the time and info.

    • Zia Agents looks promising, but I still cannot deploy my first agent or connect WhatsApp after weeks of support tickets

      Hi Everyone, I am posting here because I am stuck and need practical help from someone who has successfully deployed a Zia Agent with WhatsApp. Zia Agents looks like a very promising product. I have watched the platform expand quickly, and I have noticed

    • Valid characters for use in email addresses using Zoho's apps/APIs

      We have found an issue with the + sign character in zoho subs - we are allowed to create a customer with an email address that has a plus sign but the API doesn't allow the + so the billing portal is not created. We are going to prevent users from using

    • Next Page